Amazon may offer one of the best holiday deals on the red-hot MacBook Air. But don't count out California retail giant Fry's Electronics before doing the usual comparison with Best Buy.
Amazon is serving up a pretty good deal on the popular 11.6-inch MacBook Air, offering the MC505LL/A model right now for $959, which Apple lists for $999 (1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo chip, 64GB flash memory drive, and 2GB RAM). This was based on a price check I did Saturday morning Pacific Time. Which brings me to a caveat: the price can change quickly, as demand for this unit appears to be high.
Fry's Electronics--whose giant warehouse-size stores are located mostly in California and Texas--will beat that price, though. At a Fry's I visited Friday night in Los Angeles, the MC505LL/A Air model was on sale for $949.
Not to be outdone, the MacConnection is selling the same model for $1 less, at $948. Though the online store shows it "on order."
Amazon is also offering the 11.6-inch MacBook Air model MC506LL/A (which ups the flash drive capacity to 128GB from 64GB) for $1,148.99, a discount of $50 off the list price.
So far, Best Buy isn't offering any special deals on the new MacBook Air.
(Correction: The current-generation 13.3-inch model is available for $1,299 with a 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB Memory, and a 128GB flash memory drive. That's a few hundred dollars less than I paid for the similarly-configured, prior-generation 13.3-inch model with a 1.86GHz processor, the same-capacity solid-state drive and same amount of memory. Ironically, that older model is listed for $1,699 on Best Buy's site. Go figure. )
And let me add as a postscript: Fry's beats Best Buy handily (for effort, not necessarily the result) on interior decorating. (Amazon can't compete because it has no brick-and-mortar stores.) I've been to Fry's stores all over California--Palo Alto, Sacramento, San Diego, and Los Angeles, and throw in Phoenix, Arizona, too--and I always find myself gawking and/or scratching my head at the curious dioramas that usually occupy a corner of the store (see photo). And decor, as well as bargains, usually get amped up during the holidays.
Updated at 9:30 p.m. PST: correcting for current 13.3-inch MacBook Air model with 1.86GHz processor.
Little-known meteor shower this month could have dangerous stowaways: The Beta Taurids are rarely seen, but there's increasing evidence they've been strongly felt at least once in the past.
Building a rocket in a garage to take on SpaceX and Blue Origin: Gilmour Space Technologies is a plucky startup in the new space race.
Discuss: Best Buy vs. Amazon: MacBook Air edition
Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.