Apple MacBook Air Review Discussion

Apple's latest notebook, the MacBook Air, is being hailed as the world's thinnest. At well under an inch at the thickest point, the Air offers a thin design coupled with an extremely lightweight package for a notebook that has the same basic footprint as the standard MacBook. The flip side to all of this, however, is the (some say inexcusable) list of features left out, with a staggering price tag that has wallets cowering in fear at the cost of the top tier configuration.

Read the full content of this Article: Apple MacBook Air Review

 

Man, this notebook is sexy. Too bad this Apple turned out to be a lemon.

 

If you want a toy why not save $1300 and buy an Asus Eee PC.

 

I found several websites which mentioned that Apple was misapplying thermal grease on their notebooks which was causing the extreme heat problems. I've seen many people claim that reseating the processor with the proper recommended small dab of Arctic Silver 5 dropped the CPU temps as much as 20 Celcius in some extreme cases. Though the Air doesn't seem NEAR as hot as some of the macbooks get. Like to test the theory for us?

 

That is one gorgeous notebook. Nice review, btw.

 

great review, but somehow I feel that many will still be sold on its aesthetics alone.

 

My experience with the MBA is the exact opposite of Kevin's. I used mine over 6 hours last night (on AC) and the thing was amazingly cool. No part of the machine even felt warm except in the small area directly below the internal heatsink. Even that was only luke warm to the touch. I do use a Targus iPodium to lift the rear of the machine up, but I've been using it with every notebook I've owned for the past several years. I've owned MBs and MBPs (and a multitude of Windows machines), and they do have a tendency to run very warm at times so I have a frame of reference.

The machine NBR had was a dud or some of their testing varied from what I consider typical use. Either way I can say that their results are not what I or many other owners are experiencing.

 

lol@installing Vista on it. Even if the price didn't kill it for me, the port issue would. As would the battery issue.

Really, I don't get it. I mean, I guess there is a market for it...but even if you just like OS X there are better choices. What I really want to see from Apple is a budget MacBook. Now that'd be something.

 

How dare you use the words "Apple" and "budget" in the same sentence. Somewhere in California Steve Jobs is planning your doom ... while he warms himself beside a fireplace lit by burning $100 bills.

 

Good one Jerry.

Budget? Son where have you been? A few years ago a budget notebook was around $2K. I use EEE PCs as wheel chocks for my car!

 

The lit keyboard is something I really wish the TZ had. At night or even on a dark plane, it's a little tough to make out the keys. Not normally a big deal, but on teh smaller than normal keyboard, it's more problematic.

 

Typing at night on the TZ was probably my biggest complaint with the machine. The color of the key characters didn't contrast well in dim light. I touch type, but with the key spacing on the TZ I still needed a peek every once in a while. Sony needs to change the color to a more reflective silver or white. Then again all Sony really needs to do is add a backlight.

 

Like I mentioned in the review, the heat was during stressful activities. I suppose if you want to, you could run wprime for 32m, and see how your notebook does after that.

The only way it would really stay super cool is if it was locked into the max battery life mode in windows, or the similar mode in OSX. anything beyond that and it would still warm up to levels up that of a normal non-metal notebook.

 

Hardcore apple fan must have item.
Others: We are fine with our Asus EEE.

 

Nice review, however, you didn't mention that amongst the AWOL items is a CD/DVD drive, meaning yet another external USB device that has to be dragged around if the user needs CD/DVD functionality.

Unfortunately this new Apple reminds me of nothing so much as my own little vaio Z1A (see avatar) - the then-sexiest laptop alive (circa 2003), but similarly handicapped (although not nearly as badly - the Z1A at least has a CD/DVD drive, and a swappable battery). I have no doubt that there will be many who will be seduced by the appearance of this system, only to be ultimately frustrated by the very high limitations inherent in it.

 

Notebook - PCMark05 Score
MBA (1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7500, Intel X3100) - 2,478 PCMarks
VAIO NR (1.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5250, Intel X3100) - 3,283 PCMarks
VAIO CR (1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7100, Intel X3100) - 3,612 PCMarks
VAIO TZ (1.20GHz Core 2 Duo U7600, Intel GMA 950) - 2,446 PCMarks

This is not what I was expecting. On par with a 1.2Ghz U7600?

 

Yea goes to show you how all of those "but it's not as slow as the sony tz" comments are far off base.

 

It's quite obviously because of the heat restriction, they had to tune it down. Why they din use the U7600 instead, maybe because of the extra cost to it.. who knows y...

 

Interesting review. So basically... It's slower and hotter than my MBP (under full load) and it also gets about the same battery life? At basically the same cost, I'm not impressed.

It is a nice form factor, but I agree with lunateck, they should have put a u7600 in there, or any other ulv. Though, I don't think it even impresses most apple fans lol. Only those with more money than sense :-D

But I guess I'll be looking at the new EEE and the new Dell Latitude for my next ultra portable. Overall quality review Kevin.

 

A very clear and concise review.

Prospective buyers should note that the Air falls short in every review topic covered except for its physical design and materials. It performs poorly, runs at high temperatures, lacks ports, and its all yours for two grand. Keep in mind that this ultraportable even failed to meet Apple's 5-hour battery life claim.

 

The sony, while a hair thicker, is smaller and benefits from a faster HD and bus IIRC. Then there is the optical drive and cellular broadband.

It seems like the MBA just gives up too much for the sake of being thin. Its not really that small, overall its an inch larger in two dimensions than the Dell and much bigger than the Sony or thinkpad. The thinkpad, Latitude, Fujitsu, Panasonic, and Sony ultraportables go small and light (in some cases smaller and lighter) than the MBA while still providing more performance and options.

The primary argument is "well, its an internet machine. You dont need super performance or a 1000 options." But then I am left wondering, why not get something still cheaper and smaller? You can get a stripped down Dell for $1400 that will do more than the MBA. Or the Asus. Both are just as small but still equally capable internet machines. The dell even has the built-in WWAN option so you could surf where the MBA cant, outside of Wifi range.

 

Whoops... I misread your temp readings. Thought they were Celsius.
Those temps aren't bad at all. The bottom of my enclosure hits 100 under a good load.

 

Since when did Apple fans look at specs? Last I checked, iPods are overpriced for what it's worth and yet it's a top seller.

This thing will sell well, trust me; they don't care about how bad the stuff inside are.

 

> It seems like the MBA just gives up too much
> for the sake of being thin.

Many will agree with you, but the MacBook Air will be very appealing to a lot of users. I tried one last night in an Apple store and you really have to hold it in your hands to appreciate how amazing it looks and feels.

The things that it leaves out will be a big deal for some folks, but others won't care. I rarely use the CD drive in my laptop, and the lack of ports is no big deal as I'm on a wireless network at home and at the office. And as far as processor power is concerned, MBA is fine for the things many folks use their laptops for -- email, web browsing, spreadsheets, word processing, etc.

The lack of a user-replaceable battery will be a dealbreaker to folks who like to carry an extra battery, but many laptop users don't do that anyway.

It's a niche product. It won't appeal to power users and battery swappers, but Apple will sell tons of them.

 

I don't agree with you, but thanks for your thoughts anyhow.

[Moderator note: Please don't be insulting or attacking here.]

 

He sounded pretty sincere, and intelligent, i dont get why you had to be an *** about it?

Counter with something else than just the by-now-pretty-tired fanboy ****, so that we actually could all benefit from this.

 

I am also quite surprised at its PCMark score vs the TZ, anyone know whats up? I also hear Apple couldn't fit in the 1.8" 160gb HDDs because they are slightly thicker than the 80gb ones for instance, would the former be able to fit in the TZ though?

We need to get some 1.8" 5400rpm drives already.

 

Yeah, I feel there's too much compromise on this MBA...it really is a very nice design, that's for sure. Its the lack of ports and high price that bothers me the most...I agree with the reasoning for a lack of an optical drive, I don't use mine often at all.

 

I suppose I do need to actually see one, I just don't understand why someone would want to pay $1800 for doing those tasks :/ A VAIO notebook that is plenty stylish in its own right can be had for half that....and if you don't care about looks you could probably get by on a $399 Vostro 1000

The thing I found interesting was the person who mentioned the MBA is a little hotter then a MacBook Pro. I have SEEN those in person (they're pretty popular on my Campus) and they're plenty sleek...

I guess I'm just bitter because I like OS X but I can't bring myself to pay the kind of money that Apple likes to charge for its Notebooks.

 

My thanks to the moderator and Comfortablynumb.

I'll add that I have no intention of buying a MBA; it's too expensive and doesn't fit my needs. I was just trying to point out that its missing features aren't important to some users. It's a niche product.

Also, I thought Kevin's review was well-written and balanced.

 

Actually I completely disagree here. What you're saying is that it's the Apple fans who are buying ipods and what not. I think this will sell to a lot of people (well, I think it's going to sell to a lot of girls, it is a very girly laptop).

It's not.

How many of the ipod owners out there own macs? 5%? 10%?

The MBA will sell, but it will sell to people who think it's cute. I don't see it selling to a ton of the Apple users honestly. I have yet only talked to one person interested in buying one and only 2-3 people on these forums who want to buy one.

Those of us who own a current MacIntel probably won't buy one. Those who own say, an old Powerbook will probably take a look at the prices and what you get and buy the MB or MBP. But I do see this selling to more people who have never owned a Mac product simple because it's "cool".

I wouldn't say it's the concept thats so much flawed as the implementation.

 

on my thinkpad and other 15" and under notebooks, i've used the dvd-rom maybe once or twice for the past 3 years. never had a need for more than 1 USB for ipod/memory stick. all i did was web/office/print/youtube etc and all dvd drive/usb ports/ethernet card/etc did was weigh me down with something i never used. in fact, if i had a choice of taking away all those things to make my thinkpad whole lot thinner then i would've configured that way in heartbeat.

so yeah not everyone uses dvd-rom or 3 usb ports.

 

Saying "I bought an MBA" can be mistaken for bribing someone for an education degree

I like the design; then again I like Apple designs in general. It sucks that it has only 1 USB port. I'd go nuts - heck I've 4 ports on my Clevo, and 2 4-port hubs and they are all full. It's a sad thing that they had to compromise so much just because it should be able to fit inside a manila envelope. Ridiculous excuse, IMO.

 

Well, not to pick a fight, and I do agree MBA can fit certain people's need, but it's kind of funny that you used yourself as an example of a user that doesn't need the missed out features in MBA, and then come back and say it doesn't fit your needs...

 

Lol, 2,478 PCMarks, the Macbook Air is weak ...

I can't believe this, but I'm somewhat actually starting to feel sorry for Apple

 

Would you mind taking the Targus Podium off and see how the MBA fares? I know Kevin was definitely doing stress test so the temperature would be more extreme, but your example is also on the other extreme, helping it with a cooling enhancement device (since it's not an actual cooling pad with fan in it).

I think it will be helpful for all of us if both you and Kevin can do some normal tasks runs, without any form of cooling enhancement. I mean, I assume someone who spent $1800 to buy a 3 lb laptop for its "ultra-portability" doesn't carry a cooling pad with him/her everywhere he/she goes, right?

 

With that Wprime score and PCmark score, something is very wrong with its CPU it seems.

About missing features, well, taken alone, not everyone may need these. However, with so many features "missing", chances are most of people will need at least one of these features.

Besides, Apple already has an attractive 13.3 inch laptop in MacBook. If you are an Apple fan, I don't see why you don't get MacBook or MBP instead.

 

I use my cooling pad whenever possible. I take it with me on business trips so I use it as much as possible. For me that is the norm. I'm using it right now as I type this post on my Dell m1330, and it does a very good job of keeping this machine cool as well. I did use my MBA today at work without the cooling pad, and the net result was pretty much what I have been seeing with the pad. The only warm spot was directly underneath the CPU heatsink. The palmrests were cool to the touch as well as the keyboard area.

 

> Well, not to pick a fight, a...but it's kind of funny that you
> used yourself as an example of a user that doesn't need the
> missed out features in MBA, and then come back and say it
> doesn't fit your needs.

Heh heh, I guess it does sound funny. It's because the weight and size of my laptop isn't very important to me, because it mostly sits on my desk at home or work. I'm usually not carrying it for more than 10 minutes a day.

But if I WAS carrying it around all day, I would definitely consider a MBA if I could handle the price, as the other concerns (DVD drive, ports, etc) wouldn't be a problem for me.

(I use a MacBook Pro, 15", 2.33 GHz, 2 GB RAM)

 

I don't see it as something a current Mac user would purchase as a primary machine. I do think it will sell relatively well to the established Mac base. Keep in mind that generally speaking those that purchase Macs (especially the pro models) tend to have more disposable income so adding a $1800 machine to the mix isn't a huge issue. But that logic can be applied to just about any speciality notebook like the TZ, R7, Oqo 02, G2, etc. Very few people absolutely need these type machines, but they choose to own them for whatever reason they may have. I think that is where some people fall short with their logic when trying to understand why someone would purchase the MBA.

 

The battery life test would be more accurate if it were done entirely in OS X. Along with the bugs you mentioned, the windows drivers don't do power management as well.

 

Hey, Apple made the choice to allow XP/Vista to run on their machines. So they have to deal with the effects of the battery life. To do anything else would be to purposefully skew the results.

~50/50 gives you a good idea of the average life of the laptop anyway, so its a good idea.

 

I still find it hysterical that you'd install Windows on a Mac Oh well. Do we have any actual MBA owners here or potential owners who might post reasons why the MBA is appealing?

I admit, I'm not entirely opposed to the system. I look forward to a hardware refresh though I know that won't mean a lower price BUT I think the notebook has some good ideas. I like the thin and lightweight while still having a decently sized screen though it seems to me that the inability to change out the battery contradicts the idea of having a lightweight notebook that travels easily.

 

To be completely honest with you I asked an apple "expert" online what the reason was for them making the battery non removable both the the MBA and the iphone as well. I figured everyone always complains that it is non removable, but no one ever asks why it is done this way. So anyway, he tells me it is simply because both products are made so thin and jamb packed with electronics/hardware and the like in such a confined space unlike any ohter hardware device out there and because of that sole reason they figure that it is the safest way to make the battery non removable and therefore leave it for the experts to deal with replacement.

So it seams that this is purely done due to a saftey and technical issue and nothing more. Just thought I would share on the reason. It was always bothering me why they made it that way and nowhere could I find the answer so I am sure others wondered why too.

 

I personally wonder why Apple does not some how make their software and os to where it can literally download and work with any software no matter what os it is intended for? Is some idea like this even feasable? Wouldn't that be amazing? One simple OS that works with everything and anything!! Whether it be software/hardware. Now that is an OS that would sell sell sell!!! Saying my OS runs another OS does not really do it for me personally especially when there are still driver issues and support issues that don't make it seamless.

 

> it seams that this [non-removable battery] is purely
> done due to a saftey and technical issue

Interesting. I'm just speculating, but a one-piece bottom might also help make the MBA more rigid. The battery is quite large and would require a very big opening.

 

Apple sell hardware, not software. Sure, you can buy a iWork or Leopard box, but you'll admit they make the bulk of their profits off hardware. So, by releasing their OS for every PC, they are cannibalising their own sales. Those people who want a nicer OS have to either, in the case of OS X, buy it, or in the case of Linux, download it. If you don't want to do that, you're stuck with Windows.

And, having more choice for OSes is fantastic. You don't like one? Don't use it, it's simple. Sure, it'd be awesome if all our software worked on everything, but thats a pipe dream, because most software developers don't have the ability/money/market/time/expertise/motivation/balls to port their software.

 

great review.... i still would rather add a pound or 2 and get the SZ

 

I prefer a more boxy look like the MBP, but thats just my opinion...its alright I guess but I'd never buy it unless they dropped the price by about $1000...damn it would still cost $899 CAD lol.

 

Wow, what a great idea! Try it, its called Java. Java is a virtual machine that runs on any OS, so all your Java programs run on any platform with Java installed.