MacBook Air: Sentiment and Tone Analysis Report

Prepared by The Parnassus Group

September 1, 2008

The Parnassus Group 8201 164th Ave NE Suite 200 Redmond WA 98052

Overview
Sentimine System Detects Little Blogosphere Negativity Perceived Over 8 Months of Content Aggregation. 1,761 Individual Pages Containing Posts Analyzed
Intent:
For any product, service, or brand we analyze, our primary goal is to determine the quantity and tone of blogosphere buzz that it is generating. Secondarily, we seek to catalog and evaluate what specific aspects of the online commentary are positive or negative in tone. In other words, we examine the specific criticisms and compliments generated relative to the target product or service. Sentimine then captures each resulting post/article and via analysis of the page geometry extracts only the core editorial content which is then tagged it for tone (positive, negative, neutral) regarding only the product being analyzed. For a representative sample of posts rated positive or negative, the system then extracts a subset of the article or post content that, according to internal metrics, best typifies the sentiment score. These extracts are then categorized at two discrete levels (major and minor,) and the results are charted and reviewed.

Methodology:
We begin by entering product searches into the Sentimine system which then sends these terms into several major (and some minor) blog search engines. The engines include but are not limited to Google, Technorati, Twitter, and IceRocket. The results are accumulated in real-time via their RSS feeds and de-duped, and splog (spam blog) entries are removed.

Reporting:
What you see here is an example of how we typically present the data that the Sentimine system generates. These reports are intended to deliver more than just a snapshot of whats being said -- they are designed to help a client develop an action plan for response as well as for product/service evolution.

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Net Tonality For All Content

1,761 Posts Rated Over 8 Months: 94 Percent Scored as NonNegative in Tone
Aggregate tonality is simply a compilation of all the tonal ratings captured. As you can see in the chart below, the summary for all posts cataloged indicated that overall tone was largely non-negative (but heavily neutral.)

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Tone Tracked Over Time

Net Sentiment Aggregated Monthly Shows Only One Initial Dip Into the Negative Zone Over 8 Periods
All posts were combined and sentiment scores were aggregated into a monthly aggregate total. For example, if one month had forty positive entries and thirty negative entries, the net total for the month would be a plus ten. 1,761 entries were counted over the 8 month period. These 8 months and the net sentiment score for each month are charted below. The initial negativity is a reaction from bloggers to the criticisms described later in this report. These negative points were overwhelmed by positives once bloggers were able to physically get their hands on the machines, and could perceive the aesthetic appeal. Note that the March spike in positive mentions was largely driven by the buzz surrounding the news that interviewer Charlie Rose had fallen while walking. Rose had received minor facial injuries while trying to protect the MacBook Air he was carrying at the time.

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Commentary Categorized: Level One Overview

Four of the Highest Level Topical Areas Rate Net Positive
Of the five major categories discussed, bloggers overwhelmingly considered the features, form factor, and aesthetics of the MacBook air, and talked relatively little about the value or quality of the product. Sentiment towards the quality, looks, and design of the laptop was significantly positive. Bloggers tended to think that the MacBook Air was not particularly a good value. By far the most talked about aspect of the MacBook Air is its feature set, where sentiment was mostly positive, but also registered a sizable negative reaction.

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Commentary Categorized: Features

Many Features of the MacBook Air Were Rated Predominantly or Completely Positive.
As we delve into the single largest area of sentiment, we see that bloggers liked the full-size keyboard, large/bright screen, and multi-touch trackpad. They indicated that the speed of the MacBook Air was adequate in most cases, but close to half of the recorded blog posts indicated the machine was too slow. Several features stand out, however, as being largely or wholly negative, notably battery issues (not removable, short life), security concerns (security researchers were able to hack a MacBook Air using an undisclosed Safari vulnerability), connectivity (wi-fi problems), and temperature of the laptop.

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Commentary Categorized: Form Factor

Bloggers Overwhelmingly Complimentary Toward the Form Factor of the MacBook Air.
There was some small level of negativity registered about the weight and overall size of the MacBook Air Many cited it as perfect for travel. Surprisingly, some bloggers felt that it was too light or too small. One blogger also felt that the MacBook Air was too sharp, and suspected the edges could cut someone.

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Commentary Categorized: Aesthetics

Bloggers Found the Aesthetics of the MacBook Air to be Completely Positive.
Overall, many bloggers found the MacBook Air to be pretty or, in many cases, lusted for the machine (note appearance and visceral appeal spheres). Bloggers also found that the laptop felt good, looked cool and futuristic, and had a simple, and/or elegant design.

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Commentary Categorized: Value

Posts Tagged as Non-Neutral Regarding Value Largely Took the Position That the MacBook Air Was Overpriced
While some bloggers found that the inclusion of both Mac OSX Leopard and iLife with the purchase of a MacBook was a strong value-add, most posts indicated that the machine did not deliver adequate performance or connectivity for the price.

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Commentary Categorized: Quality

No Posts With Quality as the Primary Topic Were Scored as Being Negative Toward the MacBook Air

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Analysis of Post Content

Key Conclusions
The bloggers who expressed a polar opinion were largely enamored with the MacBook Air. Overall, it appears that Apple has a winner on their hands. This sentiment was primarily driven by the physical form of the product. The appeal was mostly defined by its appearance and then followed by its light weight, thinness, and overall mobility. The core features of the product were seen as a mixed bag. Many liked the keyboard, screen, and multitouch interface, but a significant proportion of bloggers were put off by the fixed battery with limited capacity, sub-par processor, and limited ports. Overall value was a sub arena (about 6 percent of the opinions cataloged) where the results were largely negative for Apple. Here, bloggers simply felt the price was too high for the functionality received.

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Analysis of Reviews: Positive and Negative Commentary Samples Broken Down by Category
For the 349 posts that the system rated as non-neutral, Sentimine extracted key passages which were then categorized
The Sentimine system was used to extract relevant/ aligned passages of text from 349 non-neutral rated posts that were tagged as being positive or negative in tone. These were then placed into the categories and metacategorizes illustrated in the charts provided above. These tabulations were then counted and sorted. The following pages present sample text extracted from actual posts that were representative of the sentiments expressed.

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Positive Commentary: Prioritized by Frequency

Form Factor: (93 Mentions)
Weight: (38 Mentions)
With a MacBook Air I would be able to slip the computer into any bag and not feel the additional weight.

Mobility: (27 Mentions)

As long as you need a machine that will accompany you anywhere ... the Macbook Air is simply perfect.

Size: (14 Mentions) Thinness: (33 Mentions)

After unboxing the whole thing and holding the Air in my hands for the first time I have to admit that my usual cynical self was nowhere to be found - I was absolutely baffled by the thinness and lightness of the MacBook Air. i didn't listen to any of the nay-sayers. i bought a MacBook Air. i still wasnt prepared for just how small and light this thing is. the keys are well spaced (unlike most ultraportables) and they have pleasant albeit light feedback.

Aesthetics: (84 Mentions)

Appearance: (49 Mentions)
Unless we see some real MacBook Air competitors out there at prices significantly lower than it Im going to pretend that the MacBook Air is the most beautiful computer in the world inside and out.

Simple: (4 Mentions)
In two weeks Ill be writing Delicious Library 2 on a MacBook Air every day. Because its simple and beautiful and I crave those things.

Futuristic: (4 Mentions) Visceral Appeal: (15 Mentions)

And yet somehow Jonathan Ives has managed create something that despite being a step back from anything I have in terms of power I still want it...Apple I hate you. Youve figured out how to generate lust. In spades. A man was recently stopped after security scanners didnt believe his MacBook Air was a real computer. First its a cool computer. It looks like its from the future.

Feels Good: (10 Mentions)

I am writing this post on my brand new juicy MacBook Air! It feels...well it feels just great! Like walking on air.

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Attention Getting: (2 Mentions)

I am sitting in the Air Canada lounge awaiting my departure to Vancouver and Hong Kong and a team of travellers are stopping by to admire look at and weigh my MacBook Air and to ask how I am liking it.

Detail: (2 Mentions)
I had a chance to check one out and was impressed with the amount of detail that went into the design.

Noise: (2 Mentions)
Absolutely amazing. But its so quiet and light and just beautiful.

Packaging: (2 Mentions)
Apple really paid attention to the boxing details of the Air the box is REALLY well constructed and very similar to the new iPod/iPhone boxes.

Features: (79 Mentions)

Speed: (13 Mentions)
...starts and responds more quickly than my other laptops do; that runs its normal suite of Mac programs; that boots up as a Windows computer much faster than my Windows machine does; and that at this very moment is running three or four of the Windows

Battery Life: (8 Mentions)

5 hour battery life and a full-size back lit keyboard are certainly a plus.

SSD: (7 Mentions)
After using the solid-state-drive version of the MacBook Air for about 10 days the notebooks potential is what sticks with me the most.

Keyboard: (12 Mentions)

5 hour battery life and a full-size back lit keyboard are certainly a plus.

Screen: (6 Mentions)
This laptop though will blow you away. It fits inside of an envelope and still offers you a full-sized keyboard and super-crisp screen not to mention it only weighs a few pounds which is perfect for traveling! Besides being extremely user friendly...

Multi-touch: (10 Mentions)

I was able to try out the gesture sensitive controls on the trackpad - the pinching and zooming in works for photos on Preview as well as the amazing new gesture of pinching and rotating your fingers to rotate photos as well.

Environmental: (6 Mentions)
I had never heard of this before but according to the same critics the Macbook Air is made without harmful products and is therefore becoming rather celebrated by environmental watchers.

Miss Anything? (10 Mentions)

For day-to-day use it offers everything I need and nothing I dont making it 40% lighter than the Macbook that I was lugging back and forth to work every day.

CD/DVD: (5 Mentions)
A friend of mine just got a Macbook AIR and installing stuff over a remote CD rom. Thats cool!

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Easy to Use: (4 Mentions)

Hence the Air gets to call itself an ultraportable while being oodles more usable than anything else with that title.

Memory: (2 Mentions)
Even though it is so small it still packs a big punch with an 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2 gigs of DDR2 RAM. Also it comes with an 80 gig hard drive and a optional 64 gig solid state drive.

Hard Drive: (3 Mentions)

Even though it is so small it still packs a big punch with an 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2 gigs of DDR2 RAM. Also it comes with an 80 gig hard drive and a optional 64 gig solid state drive.

Security: (2 Mentions)
Macs are still by and large the most safe of any of the computer hardware thats out there right now.

CPU: (1 Mention) Runs Windows: (3 Mentions)

I saw it yesterday and Vista looks great on it. It turns out theres even more depth to the CPU in the MacBook Air its even less conventional than we originally thought.

Quality: (10 Mentions)

Sturdiness: (4 Mentions)
I finally got my hands on a MacBook Air. Though Im sure Im repeating what some others have said already I needed to state one thing before I do a more extensive evaluation: this unbelievably thin notebook is rock solid.

Power: (3 Mentions)
But the Air is currently a better performing machine which is a significant fact in the current explosion of subnotebooks.

Reliability: (3 Mentions)
It is a completely addictive thing and it can be not only a mobile companion but a reliable one as well.

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Value: (7 Mentions)
Price: (5 Mentions)
Its unfair to classify the MacBook Air as a laptop. Its not unless youre Mini Me. Its an ultraportable along the lines of the Sony Vaio TZ though it has a larger screen than the Vaio. Its also faster and cheaper.

iLife: (1 Mention)
All MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops are shipping with Mac OS X Leopard and Apples iLife application suite adding some extra value to your purchase as it always happened with Apples desktop and portable computers.

OSX Leopard: (2 Mentions)

Not only does it show that Mac is the most innovative computer manufacturer but the OS X features shown here screams Windows suck all the way!

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Negative Commentary: Prioritized by Frequency

Features: (54 Mentions)
Battery Issues: (17 Mentions)
I just dont think 2 to 3 hours of use is enough for a laptop in this class "Apart from these amazing features however there are a few reasons why you should not get this product: The battery is sealed in. So you cant carry a spare battery in case you are out of power and there is no power outlet nearby."

CD/DVD: (3 Mentions)
In fact I dont really see the point in making it uber thin for portability just so I can carry around a tote bag full of attachments like an external DVD player special Ethernet jack attachment.

CPU: (2 Mentions)
Its incredibly sexy but when it comes to doing what people often do with Apple PCs create or edit multimedia or graphics the performance of this product just isnt acceptable.

Speed: (9 Mentions)
But the base model was slo-oh. It was painful and disappointing.

OSX: (2 Mention)
I was raise with all my computer knowledge using Windows platform. Ive tried to play with Mac twice and I keep getting the interface missing.

Security: (6 Mentions)
Well it looks like theres already a big winner looser: the MacBook Air which was hacked in less than 2 minutes. I guess Apples OS is all talk and no walk

HDD: (1 Mention)
A Macbook Air with the specs of a Macbook Pro would be perfect for me. Integrated graphics are fine. I can do without an optical drive. But I want a real mobile CPU like the 2.4ghz one in the low end Macbook Pro. And I want a real harddrive like the 200g

Connectivity: (6 Mentions)
I cant help asking myself whos buying these machines. we are talking about a $1 800 machine that is underpowered and has limited connectivity.

Temperature: (5 Mentions)
My biggest concern has been the amount of heat generated by this laptop.

Power: (4 Mentions)
Screw the underpowered MacBook Air.

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Value: (12 Mentions)

Price: (12 Mentions)
I doubt there is any computer on the market that gives you less bang for the buck than the MacBook Air.

Form Factor: (4 Mentions)

Size: (2 Mentions)
A lot of folks were disappointed that the MacBook Air from Apple was only thin and not small in its other dimensions because theres a need for a small computer with a full-size keyboard.

Weight: (1 Mention)
I was practically drooling on the macbook Air but it actually suffers quite a lot from being the lightest laptop on earth

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Term Extraction/Keyword Cloud

Words Frequently Used in Negative Toned Content
This word cloud displays the fifty words used most frequently in the content tagged as negative in tone. The size of each word is proportional to the frequency with which it appears in the relevant set; the bigger the word, the more often it appears. Even though this is a simple algorithmic frequency analysis, note the strong alignment with the in-depth contextual analysis that determined battery issues (battery,life,) performance (ports, power, performance) and value (expensive, money, price.) were central problem areas.

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Term Extraction/Keyword Cloud

Words Frequently Used in Positive Toned Content
This word cloud displays the fifty words used most frequently in the content tagged as positive in tone. The size of each word is proportional to the frequency with which it appears in the relevant set; the bigger the word, the more often it appears. Note the strong alignment with the in-depth contextual analysis that determined aesthetics (beautiful,pretty,cool) form factor (thin, slim, portable) and features (screen, trackpad, features.) were central areas of appeal.

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About this Report

This report serves as an example of the kind of document the Parnassus Group produces for clients who require actionable research regarding product launches. Commonly, clients will contract for this kind of report to analyze their own products, but is also used for competitive analysis. Using our proprietary Sentimine system, which automates the gathering and interpretation of unstructured online content, The Parnassus Group can create reports which cover just about any product, service, or brand that generates online buzz. If youd like to have us create a report for you, or are interested in purchasing our upcoming analysis of the T-Mobile G1, the first phone to be powered by the Google Android mobile software platform -- please contact: Kim Larsen [email protected]

About the Parnassus Group

The Parnassus Group is a Redmond-based social media agency that specializes in engagement strategy and brand monitoring. Our Sentimine tracking system is the most accurate automated sentiment tagging solution available, and allows us to conduct the in-depth research necessary to produce a reports like this.

Contact Us
If youre interested in commissioning a sentiment analysis report for one of your products or campaigns, please contact Kim Larsen by e-mail or telephone. Kim Larsen email: kim (AT) parnassusgroup.com phone: 425-985-0106

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