We’ve been over the specs and we’ve shown you all of the angles, but now it’s time to answer the tough question. Is the MacBook Air good enough for road warriors? On paper, the answer is “absolutely–just look at it!” but when you dig a little deeper there are some reasons to think twice. And we’re not talking about the mono speaker. Let’s quickly review why this demanding crowd might hold off on forking over $1,799 or more for the ultimate mobile status symbol.

Issue #1: Can’t Replace Battery Yourself
Our friends at Engadget have reported that Apple told them you’ll need to bring your MacBook Air in to have the battery replaced once it starts to have trouble holding a charge. We don’t mind the $129 fee, but we’re assuming road warriors will mind being without their notebooks while this procedure is done. We’ll find out tomorrow from Apple how long this should take. The other issue is that you can’t order an extra-capacity battery or a replacement battery to take on the road. Don’t get us wrong, 5 hours is very good endurance, but other ultraportables offer 10+ hours of runtime when you outfit it with an extra battery.

Dealbreaker? For some it could be, especially for those road warriors who need to go all day without being plugged in.

Issue #2: Ethernet Not on Board
With 802.11n built in, you might think that an Ethernet port would be overkill. But there are plenty of hotels where the Wi-Fi connections are either not available or are just too flaky to trust. That’s why an Ethernet port is a must for some road warriors. Apple answers the call for wired connectivity with a $29 USB Ethernet adapter, but it supports only 10/100 speeds, not Gigabit.

Dealbreaker? We don’t think so. However, road warriors who don’t want to take their chances with Wi-Fi should snatch up the adapter or get a USB mobile broadband modem.

Issue #3: Just One USB Port
You can’t make a notebook that’s 0.76 inches thin at its thickest point and expect it to have lots of ports. In fact, it’s pretty amazing that the MacBook Air has what it does: a USB port, a Micro-DVI connector (DVI and VGA adapters included), and an audio out jack. Nevertheless, you’re pretty limited on the peripheral front. For example, if you have a USB EV-DO modem plugged in–or that optional Ethernet adapter–you won’t be able to have a USB memory drive plugged or other USB gadget plugged in at the same time. We wish there was room for just one more USB port (maybe on the left side), and we’d probably be willing to sacrifice a little thickness to get it.

Dealbreaker? This is a tough call. Sure, you can carry around a USB hub when on business trips, but that sort of defeats the purpose of the MacBook Air’s minimalist aesthetic. Having one port is not a dealbreaker, but it’s definitely a caveat.

Issue #4: No Optical Drive
We’ve always been kind of torn on this feature when it comes to ultraportables, and Apple makes a pretty strong case for leaving the optical drive behind. For one, you can rent iTunes movies and TV shows through iTunes and take them to go. Second, the Remote Disc feature lets you install software from a nearby PC’s optical drive. And third, most of today’s software installs over the Web.

Dealbreaker? For some, we think so. iTunes movies are affordably priced, but some users prefer being able to just pop in a DVD during that long flight. And movies on iTunes don’t become available until 30 days after the DVD release. For Netflix hounds, that’s an eternity.

MacBook Air vs. The Competition: Road warriors who care more about versatility than style might be better off splurging for a Panasonic Toughbook W7, which has a user-replaceable battery, Ethernet jack, three USB ports, and a DVD burner. It also weighs only 3 pounds and has a spill-resistant keyboard and integrated mobile broadband option. We haven’t had a chance to review this model yet, but it improves upon our Editors’ Choice-winning Toughbook W5.

On the other hand, the Panasonic offers a smaller display (12.1 inches vs. 13.3 inches), has a slower processor (1.06 GHz vs. 1.6 GHz) and is a lot thicker (1.4 to 2 inches vs. 0.2 to 0.8 inches). And it’s starting price is $2,099.

Other ultraportables like the 2.4-pound Toshiba Portege R500 (starting at $1,999) and the 2.7-pound Sony VAIO TZ series (starting at $2,099) are compelling Macbook Air alternatives in their own right in that they both have optical drives and solid state drive options–but they have their faults, too. The Toshiba weighs 0.8 inches thick at its thinnest point and features a relatively plump keyboard, but the display looks washed out in comparison with the Macbook Air. And while we like the Sony’s EV-DO connection, its display is a full two inches smaller than the Air, and we noticed a fair amount of crapware in our review.

And keep in mind these are just spec and feature comparisons. The fast and easy-to-use Leopard OS has a lot to do with the Air’s unique appeal.

Bottom Line: We’ll hold off on a final verdict until we’ve had a chance to do our full review of the MacBook Air, but it should satisfy road warriors who know full well what they’re getting–and what they’re not.