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Review of the New Ultra Thin MacBook Air:MacWorld is the annual tradeshow where Apple introduces its new products each year. Apple decided to avoid all the competition and hype surrounding ComDex and CES, creating their own alternative trade show many years ago, where Apple is the only star of the show - not a bad idea. The MacWorld new product announcements for 2008 pretty much centered around the new laptop Apple introduced, the ultra-thin MacBook Air. How much does the MacBook Air cost? With prices starting at $1799, this is not a cheap laptop, but it is fairly priced when compared to competitors in what is known as the "ultra-portable" or subnotebook market.
MacBook Air Specs and FeaturesSo how small is this new Apple laptop? How ultra-thin? From the side it is shaped like a wedge, with the smallest edge (front) being only .16" thick, and the hinged backside being .76" thick (or is that thin?). How much does the MacBook Air weigh? It comes in right at 3 pounds. So the ads that show it slipping into a manilla mailing envelope are real - it is small, thin, and light, no doubt, just like air! The Air comes with a 13.3 inch widescreen display (1280x800 resolution) and a full-size backlit keyboard. The screen uses LED backlighting and automatically turns itself up to full brightness when you open the laptop. And the backlit keyboard it also smart enough to light up when the ambient light in the room falls below a certain level - perfect for giving presentations or working on a dimly lit airplane so you can still see your keyboard. Mouse or cursor control is handled through the large trackpad at the bottom of the unit. But this trackpad in unlike ones you have used or seen before. It uses multi-touch features first introduced on the iPhone, like pinching, swiping, and rotating. For example, in Safari, you can use a 3 finger swipe to move forward and backward through webpages you have visited. Is this any easier than hitting the backspace key? Maybe not, but still kind of a cool, intuitive way to use your computer. A lot of these techniques also work in iPhoto, letting you zoom in and out and move between photos. It comes with Mac OS X Leopard up and running, so you get the latest operating system, the latest version of Safari, iLife 08, etc. On the exterior, there are very few connector ports. The power cord connects on the left side. A panel on the right side hides a single USB port, a micro DVI port (for connecting to a monitor or TV), and a headphone/speaker jack. This means there is no ethernet port for connecting to a non-wireless network - -this is a wirless-only network machine. Also, we'd like to have seen at least 2 USB ports (you'll probably need a USB hub if you want to hook up a mouse and printer or USB thumb drive, for example) and a memory card reader for handling SD memory cards and such (like from your digital camera). There is a camera and microphone built-in at the top of the screen as well for video conferencing or chatting, which works easily and well -- a little green light lights up next to the camera eye to indicate when you are being filmed.
Built from solid aluminum construction, the Air does not feel like a flimsy product. It is lightweight of course, but it is designed to stand up to the rigors that a portable laptop computer user faces everyday. It is based on an Intel processor, like all Macs these days, and the base model comes with 2GB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive. If you want the latest and greatest, you can also opt for a 64GB flash-based drive instead of a normal hard-drive, which reduces moving parts, speeds up boot time and app loading time, and decreases battery usage, but at substantial extra cost. What's missing here? How about a DVD drive? You won't find one here, one of the tradeoffs made between size/weight and features. If you like to burn DVDs or CDs, or watch DVDs on trips, you probably won't be too happy about this "lacking" feature. Apple does offer an external drive called the SuperDrive ($99, a fair price) which is powered by the USB port, so no other power cords are needed, but no one wants to lug that around. Apple also allows you to access optical drives (called Remote Disc) found on the network you connect to, so you can install software from CDs or import movies or music, but it still is not nearly as convenient as having a built-in DVD-R drive that most users expect in a laptop. If you already own a Mac, you have the option of copying over all your programs, files and settings to your new MacBook Air over your wireless network. The Air comes fully equipped for wireless networking, with both BlueTooth and 802.11 compatibility. Another complaint is the now-standard Apple problem of sealed-in, non-user-replaceable batteries -- yep, same thing here on the Air. You can't swap in or out extra batteries, and you have to take it in for service if you want a new battery. Ughh.. who came up with this? The battery however is pretty sturdy, and should provide over 4 hours of use between charges. So overall, we love the look and design of this little machine, just like most Apple products these days, and it works great for what it is designed to do. If you can overlook the DVD drive and lack of certain ports, and can afford the price, definitely put this on your shopping comparison list when looking for the right subnotebook for you. Buying or Pre-Ordering a MacBook AirApple is initially offering the new Air in two pricing configurations. The first is the base model listed above, with 2GB RAM and 80GB drive for $1799. The second comes with a slightly more powerful processor (1.8Ghz vs. 1.6Ghz) and the 64 solid-state drive (flash drive) instead of the hard drive, for $3098. As we mentioned, that's a pretty hefty premium for the latest gotta have gadget, a fast flash storage system. In our opinion, not worth the extra money, but you can decide for yourself. Since these were just announced, Apple currently has them listed with a 2-3 week delivery time. By the time you read this, they will probably be available at your local Apple Store or from Apple.com. Keep in mind that the standard MacBook (classic?) runs $1099 to $1299 (and weighs 5lbs), and it comes with the built-in DVD-R drive, so you are paying more than a 50% premium for this new thin design. Heck, you could almost buy 2 MacBooks for the price of an Air....hmmmm.!
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