Apple MacBook Air User Review

"The world's thinnest notebook" is the catchphrase Apple uses to try and sell you its new laptop, the MacBook Air. But is it much more than that? Or does being thin all it has going for it? At 0.16" at its thinnest point, it is indeed thin, but what compromises had to be made in order to fit an entire Mac into a package this thin that weighs only 3 lbs? Indeed, lots of compromises had to be made, but it's up to you decide to what extent these compromises will affect you.

When Steve Jobs unveiled the MacBook Air at MacWorld San Francisco back in January, the reactions were quite mixed: while many stood in awe at how Apple managed to shoehorn an entire computer into such a compact design, a great number of people expressed disappointment: "too many compromises," people complained. Not enough USB ports, a lack of storage, a non user-replaceable battery, no ethernet jack, and no internal optical drive are just some of the other shortcomings that many have noted. But do those matter?

Before we kick off this review, here are the specifications of the machine being reviewed:

• Mac OS X 10.5.2 Leopard
• Intel Core 2 Duo P7500 1.6GHz (4MB L2 cache, 800MHz frontside bus)
• 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
• 80GB 4200 rpm parallel ATA hard disk drive
• 13.3" glossy widescreen TFT LED backlit display at 1280 x 800
• Intel GMA X3100 graphics (144MB of shared memory)
• iSight webcam
• Airport Extreme WiFi (IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
• Micro DVI, USB 2.0 port (480 Mbps), Audio out
• Dimensions : 0.16-0.76", 12.8", 8.94" (H, W, D)
• Weight: 3.0 pounds (3lbs 0.6oz actual)
• Integrated 37-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
• 45W MagSafe power adapter with cable management system (6.5oz)

Reasons for Buying

I switched to Mac OS X in January 2007 with a new iMac, so this isn't my first (or even second) Mac. I still use XP and Vista sometimes, but my OS of choice is Leopard. A problem with many online reviews I find is that the reviewer brings the whole Mac vs. PC debate into the review. Which OS is better is of zero importance here.

Nobody "needs" a MacBook Air, but I wanted something smaller than my previous 15.4" notebook, and I had a great offer from someone to buy it. So why not? The MacBook Air was almost half the weight, had a smaller footprint, and had enough power for me. Best Buy had a six hour "special" online sale and I was able to get the base model of the MacBook Air for $1,699.99 (Canadian). For the potential buyers out there: don't forget that if you are a student, you are eligible to receive a $100 discount on the MacBook Air. Also, it is a good idea to buy it in the summer, before school starts, because at that time, Apple gives you a free iPod Nano and a free printer. Well, you need to pay the tax, and the rebate forms are among the most annoying I have ever experienced, but they do pay you back, eventually.

What's Inside The Box?

Apple takes great pride in its packaging. The box is similar to that of the iPhone, except larger. Personally, I'd rather have Apple cut $50 off the price and have the machine come in an ugly plain box, but that's neither here nor there. Inside the box, you will find (hopefully along with the MacBook Air itself) a 45W MagSafe power adapter along with an extension cord for it, micro-DVI to DVI and micro-DVI to VGA cables, a cloth with which to clean the screen, OS X reinstall disks, and some manuals. Notably absent from the box is the ever popular white Apple remote that can be used to control Front Row (Apple's version of Windows Media Center) and also as a clicker in Keynote presentations.

Instead, Apple offers this as a $19 add-on. Weak. Back in the day, when you bought a 3G iPod, you'd get a dock, a remote, a carrying case, etc. Now, you will find none of those in the box. Well, Apple is going towards the same strategy with their computers, unfortunately. There are two reasons why Apple chose not to include the remote (please note that it is no longer included with their other laptops, either): the first is because many people already have remotes because they own other Apple products (I already had two of these remotes before buying the MacBook Air). Another (and more likely) reason is simply because they can. It doesn't bother me that they don't include the remote, but it might bother other people. So if you were looking forward to playing with the little white Apple remote, be prepared to shell out an extra $19 for it. Apple is a profit-maximizing company, and many would argue it would be foolish of them to include something for free if many people are willing to pay for it!

Of course, with every new Mac you get iLife '08, which is essentially iTunes-like software but for pictures, movies, etc. Also, note that there is no advanced word-processing software right out of the box. Only "TextEdit" is included, a primitive, WordPad like application. Microsoft Office 08 is available for Mac, and it runs native on Intel, but personally I find it just as sluggish as the old version on both the MacBook Air and my 24" iMac.

Problems Right Out Of The Box

Battery charge time woes

I was excited while taking the MacBook Air out of its beautiful packaging. My first goal was to drain the battery of the MacBook Air fully and then let it charge overnight. I'm not sure if that's the "Apple" way to calibrate the battery, but it has worked well for me in the past.

It must have been charging for at least 7 hours when I asked myself why the charge indicator was still orange! Why is it taking so long? Past experience has taught me that a laptop will charge in 4-5 hours (max!). I turn it on and to my surprise it's only about 65% charged! I figured it was just "this one time" and after more use the charge times would descend to more reasonable levels. Was I ever wrong! After 10 battery cycles, the battery was consistently taking more than 8 hours to charge, sometimes as long as 10 hours. I was growing old waiting for the thing to charge.

Apparently, I was not the only one experiencing abnormally long charge times. A quick search on Google will point you to many frustrated users who experienced identical issues. As of the time of this review, supposedly there is a new firmware update that fixes the issue but I cannot confirm as my original MacBook Air was exchanged for a new one that charges just fine right out of the box. After more than a week of usage I couldn't get the battery of my first unit to charge in a decent amount of time. Thankfully, the replacement charges very quickly - on average it takes less than four hours to charge from zero percent.

Click, click, click

Another problem, you ask? I don't know if this was really a problem, but on my first unit, the hard drive made a notable "click" every 20 seconds. Again, a quick search on Google will reveal many people who are experiencing the same issue. The sound was by no means loud or obtrusive. Many people said the sound was normal and it was just the hard drive parking its heads. The sound is supposedly characteristic to this particular type of hard drive, which is the same used in the iPod. However, my second unit does not click at all. Strange. I'll let the reader decide on this one.

Enough about the initial problems. Let's examine this machine in greater detail.

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Design

Apple really hit the nail on the head with the design on this notebook. Firstly, it is built like a tank. It does not feel fragile or flimsy at all, and is extremely solid. You need to hold it in your hands to understand how solid is really is. The build quality is impeccable. It feels like a solid block of aluminum. The screen is pretty well inflexible and shows no ripple when bent. Every detail on the MacBook Air was engineered so as to obtain the highest level of quality: you can tell that the engineers did not skimp anywhere in terms of build quality. The notebook is thin (obviously) and very light. It feels like almost nothing in a back pack. Even when compared to the MacBook (around 2 lbs more), the difference is remarkable. There are pictures all over the internet of this notebook and you need to see one yourself to judge, so that's all I have to say about the design.

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Processor

When designing the MacBook Air, Apple looked at its competitors and borrowed from them what they thought was good, and improved upon what they thought was bad. For starters, they thought the 3.0 lb weight was a good target, but they felt that too often did the other companies compromise on speed. Therefore, Apple decided to go with a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo processor from Intel. Problem is, however, that this chip was physically far too big to fit into the small case of the MacBook Air. At MacWorld, Paul Otellini of Intel explained how they custom designed Apple a state of the art chip that was a 60% smaller, was the width of a dime and as thick as a nickel, yet still packed in the same power as its full-sized bigger brother.

Pretty impressive! What it amounts too, though, is an overall fast computing experience. The MacBook Air does what it's supposed to do very well. The bottleneck for the MacBook Air in terms of speed is most certainly not the processor, but rather the hard drive.

Hard Drive

Spinning at 4200 rpm, the MacBook Air doesn't include the fastest hard drive on the market - in fact, far from it. Most other notebooks will utilize a 5400 rpm or even a 7200 rpm drive. Consequently, the MacBook Air is pretty slow to boot, and once booted, opening programs for the first time can sometimes be quite sluggish. After an application has been opened once, however, opening it the second time is much faster. Even for a novice user, it is noticeable that the MacBook Air uses a slower hard drive. The difference isn't huge, however, and I suggest you to try it out before buying.

The 80GB of storage in the MacBook Air is enough for me, but I anticipate that a good fraction of users need more than that. On my MacBook Air, I have installed Adium (a great chat program), Apple iWork '08 and Office '08. I have a few audio recordings, a couple word documents, some keynote presentations, and my e-mails. Most of my hard drive is empty. For more advanced users who want more HD space, you can gain quite a bit of space by doing a reinstall of OS X and removing the other language packs (the machine comes preloaded with tons of different language packs that most people won't need, and they take up valuable space). Also, you can opt not to install parts of iLife. For example, I opted not to install iDVD. There's no reason for me to have that program loaded onto my laptop which doesn't have a DVD burner! Also, I uninstalled iMovie and Garage Band. The MacBook Air isn't ideal for video editing, which I hardly do anyways, and Garage Band, although is fun to fool around on, isn't something I want wasting my scarce HD space.

For $999 (U.S.) extra, Apple will include a 64 GB SSD. Other reviews suggest that this option is not as fast as anticipated and that the hefty price tag for this option is in most cases not worth it. These drives supposedly offer safer data storage and faster boot times, but it's not "instant on" as many had hoped for. Also, the gain in battery life that the drive offers is small (some say only 15 minutes longer). Personally, I think it's ahead of its time, and that in a few years down the road, these drives will be mainstream and won't cost a thousand dollars to add on. I chose not to be an early adopter on this one. Supposedly, it is possible to change the hard drive in the MacBook Air yourself, but it's nothing a novice user would want to attempt.

RAM

The basic 2GB of RAM is pretty standard these days and is nothing to celebrate. In fact, a major criticism of the MacBook Air is that the RAM is non-upgradeable. So in the future, if you decide you need or want more, you'll be out of luck. It is important to note that virtually all other notebooks on the market offer this kind of upgradeability. This was a compromise that was made by Apple in order to make this machine so small and lightweight. I'm not the kind of person who will open up their machine and upgrade it, but there are many such people, and they will be disappointed by the MacBook Air's lack of upgradeability.

Ports (or lack thereof ...)

Perhaps the most common criticism of the MacBook Air is its lack of ports. On most notebooks, you'll find an integrated DVD-burner, a couple of USB ports, a card slot, an SD card reader, firewire, and more. The MacBook Air, however, has only a single USB port, a micro-DVI port with digital and analog video, and a headphone jack. Let's examine this in greater detail.

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The USB Port

Once you flip the little door down, you will expose the ports. For me, I found it pretty impossible to plug in my USB key without lifting up the entire computer. The problem is that the USB port is simply too close to the surface on which the MacBook Air rests. Given the thickness of the machine, I don't really see how they could have made it more accessible, but the point is that it's quite difficult to insert some peripherals into the USB port. The space around the single USB port is very cramped. Once you manage to hook up the USB peripheral, however, it works as expected.

But is a single USB port enough? It depends. If the MacBook Air is going to be your only computer, then no, one USB port is not enough. You'll want to have at least two, preferably three. But the MacBook Air wasn't really designed to be an only computer, but rather to act as a companion. The only time I actually used the USB port was when I was testing the machine to make sure everything worked! Seeing as I use the computer for e-mail, internet browsing, taking notes, etc., there is little need for even the USB port that is there. At the end of the day when I need to transfer my work to my desktop at home, I use my wireless network, and that saves me a bit of work and is much faster (yeah, I'm lazy...). As a supplemental computer, most people will be content with the MacBook Air's single USB port - but if you plan on using the MacBook Air as your only computer (which I do not recommend), don't say I didn't warn you.

The Headphone Jack

Just like with the USB port, it's pretty well impossible to plug in headphones without lifting up the entire unit. Thankfully, this notebook is extremely light so it's not a hassle. The headphone jack works as expected, except unlike other Apple computers I've used, the MacBook Air will exhibit a sort of beeping sound (much like a siren) every time you either stop or start playing something. It's a pretty awkward sound that's hard to put into words, but I wouldn't call it obtrusive at all; it's just something I noticed that was different on this laptop (both MacBook Airs I had exhibited this issue). I'm not sure whether it's a problem, but it doesn't bother me enough to return this machine again. My Shure SE210's fit in fine, but the jack is slightly recessed and you may require an adapter for certain models of headphones.

Micro-DVI

Thankfully, Apple supplies with the MacBook Air the appropriate adapters to output the video either through VGA or DVI. Nothing else to note about this.

Magsafe Power Connecter

Apple ships a smaller, 45W power adapter with the MacBook Air. The brick is pretty small compared to even the MacBook charger, which is a nice thing considering this is supposed to be an ultraportable. The design of the cable has changed on the MacBook Air, and the change is in my opinion, for the worse. I had an easier time connecting the cable to the machine on other Apple notebooks. This power cable requires a little more "guidance" in order to magnetically latch into its slot. I know I'm being picky, but I'm sure those contemplating this purchase will appreciate the details. For those wondering, no, the previous point is by no means a deal breaker.

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Wireless Capabilities

According to Apple, the MacBook Air "is the notebook that allows for a fully wireless lifestyle." Well, not really. Although it does integrate the newest 802.11n wireless technology as well as Bluetooth, it stops there. Unless you're in a wireless hotspot, it'll be difficult for you to get onto the internet. There are several USB add-on modems available but many have reported that such devices are too large to fit into the MacBook Air's cramped USB port.

Life without an internal optical drive

Apple sells an external, USB-powered SuperDrive for $99 (U.S.). The drive appears to be quite lightweight, but still, what's the point of having an ultraportable if you have to lug around an external optical drive? Well, according to Steve Jobs, most users won't miss the optical drive. In his presentation at MacWorld, he described the major uses we have for our optical drives: we play movies, make backups, burn music CDs for the car, and install software. According to him, there are better ways to do all of these things.

Firstly, Apple has a service on iTunes that enables the users, for a small fee, to wirelessly rent movies. That takes care for our movie-watching needs, but what about us Canadians? I can't seem to find the rentals section on iTunes...Secondly, Apple has a better way of making backups - it's called Time Machine, and as I'm sure you're all aware of, it gives the user a simple and effective way to backup the computer. Apple also has a new device called Time Capsule which essentially is a wireless router with a built in hard drive. It allows the user to make wireless backups without plugging into an external hard drive.

Who burns music CDs for the car? According to Jobs, most of us have iPods now, so that is taken care of. What about installing software? Well, we can now do that wirelessly, too. Apple innovated and created something called "Remote Disk." Click on it in the finder of the MacBook Air and it shows Macs and PCs in the vicinity that have special software loaded on them that comes on a disk with the MacBook Air. The software is Mac and PC compatible. It amounts to the user picking a machine and asking to borrow its optical drive, and when you do that, the machine that will lend its optical drive gets a request to accept, and once accepted, the user on the MacBook air will be able to see what's in their optical drive. In fact, you can even load the Mac installer disk into a PC and send it over wirelessly to the MacBook Air!

The remote reinstall works well - I was able to do it without a hitch. However, you must be warned that without 802.11n, it will take a lot longer. On an 802.11n network, it took pretty well overnight. I didn't test it on an 802.11g network, but I'm assuming it will be far slower. Oh, and forget about playing DVD movies on the Air via Remote Disk.

Because the MacBook Air is my second computer, I only need to use Remote Disk to occasionally install software and to reinstall the OS every now and then. So far, since February, I've used remote disk twice - once to reinstall the OS and once to install Office. I can live without the internal optical drive, but can you? It really depends on your usage.

The Keyboard

Although my old Dell Inspiron was very portable, the keyboard was cramped. Although I was able to adapt quite well to it, it always felt more comfortable typing on a larger keyboard. The MacBook Air ships with a keyboard pretty well identical to the keyboard of the MacBook. This makes sense, seeing as they're both 13.3" notebooks. Apple decided not to compromise on the keyboard and include a full size one. This was a good decision, in my opinion, as many ultraportables cut the weight down and decrease the dimensions of the machine at the expense of a comfortable keyboard. The keyboard on the MacBook Air is extremely comfortable, and you could pretty well type on it all day without feeling uncomfortable.

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The keys on the MacBook Air seem to be slightly more responsive than those on the MacBook, but my Apple Bluetooth keyboard is by far the best keyboard I've ever used in terms of feel. That being said, the MacBook Air's keyboard is in between the two, but still far superior to those found on most other laptops. The closest competitors in terms of keyboards would have to be found on the Thinkpads. All in all, the keyboard on the MacBook Air is a pleasure to use.

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To add to this, the keyboard is backlit. On an angle, the backlighting is kind of ugly because the light pokes through the sides of the keys where it's not supposed to, but overall the keyboard backlighting is a desirable feature. Only in a really dark room do I ever choose to activate it, however, because your battery life will suffer.

The Trackpad

The track pad on the MacBook Air is often noted as being "generous" and "huge." You would think this is a good thing, but I found it really to be more of a nuisance than anything. Yes, there is more space to move around on, but I found the MacBook and the MacBook Pro to offer trackpads that were the perfect size. But isn't bigger always better, you ask? Well yes, the larger trackpad on the MacBook Air does offer many advantages in terms of speed while moving around, but there is a nasty side effect. Because the track pad is so large, often when I'm typing, my cursor will randomly shift 3 or 4 lines up. Seeing as when I'm typing I normally look at the black board or the professor in class, etc., by the time I look down at my screen, I'll have inserted an entire paragraph somewhere else in my document! D'Oh! I thought I would get used to it, but I still make this error even after a few months of ownership. I will admit that it happens much less now than it did when I first got the machine, but I think that had the track pad been made slightly smaller I would not be making this error! This is especially frustrating when typing longer documents. I suppose what happens is that while resting my wrists on the MacBook Air while typing, my arms rub against the trackpad and the trackpad thinks it's a "click" so my cursor moves. I have not tried experimenting with the track pad sensitivity - perhaps lowering the sensitivity will fix this problem.

The track pad was most likely made so large so that the user has ample room to make use of the Multitouch gestures implemented by Apple first in the iPhone, and now in the MacBook Air. Also, the new MacBook Pros have recently adopted this new feature. These gestures are not as big a deal as they were made out to be. They are still somewhat helpful under certain circumstances, however. For example, suppose you're viewing a PDF document and the text is too small to read. Simply place two fingers on the track pad and spread them apart to magnify. To zoom out, simply pinch your two fingers together. In the control panel of the MacBook Air, Apple has included some helpful videos to show you how to work the touch pad. Another useful gesture is the triple finger swipe in Safari - this gesture allows the user to go back one page. These are examples of very simple gestures that allow the user to accomplish common tasks. I wouldn't use the gestures as a way to sell someone the Air if I had to, though. Although it's a leap forward, it's only a small add on from what the MacBook has. There's also a simple gesture that allows the user to rotate an image, but seeing as I rarely need to rotate images, this isn't a very useful feature for me, but may be of use to the reader. Overall, the gestures are a nice add on, but nothing to stop the presses for.

Upon inspecting the MacBook Air, you will immediately notice the tiny track pad button. The button is very small and takes some time getting used to, but I assure you that it won't cause any problems for most people in the long run. I mostly use the track pad to right click, left click, and drag things around, but I still use the button instinctively every now and then and have no problems with its small size.

The Screen

Both units I used suffered from no screen problems, thankfully. For every Apple device besides the iPod touch, I have never experienced any dead or stuck pixels. Aside from having no pixel anomalies, the two MacBook Airs I used had large viewing angles and very sharp pictures. I prefer matte screens, but that option is not available on the Air. The glossy screen makes the colors look more vibrant, but the reflection is sometimes annoying, and this type of display has more of a tendency to show dust and dirt. The MacBook Air's screen is evenly lit and suffers from no backlight bleeding. Overall, one of the best screens from Apple I have used. The colors on it are brighter than on my 24" white iMac, although I prefer my iMac's screen because of its much higher resolution and because it is matte. However, place the MacBook Air next to a MacBook, and you will notice that the MacBook has a pretty narrow viewing angle compared to the Air.

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Overall, I would say that the MacBook Air has a display superior to that of the MacBook. I prefer the screens of the MacBook Pro and iMac because they offer a higher resolution. The Air has a 1200x800 resolution, which offers great readability and crispness, but I'd prefer a higher resolution screen. I don't think we'll ever see that, though, because if the resolution were any tighter on a 13" screen, surely some users with poorer eyesight would have difficulty reading it.

Speaker

What can you realistically expect in this department? The integrated (mono) speaker works well enough to show someone a funny YouTube video as well as to hear routine system sounds. If you're serious about audio, don't depend on the integrated speaker. It is moderately loud and the quality is not bad, but like any laptop, the sound is weak compared to external speakers.

Heat

Many users are experiencing overheating problems with the MacBook Air. A reported issue is that as the machine heats up, it shuts down one of its processing cores, and a sluggish computing experience results. In general, neither the first or second MacBook Air I used suffered from frequent overheating. After, say, an hour and a half of use, the MacBook Air would get hotter than it should be getting, but I wouldn't be worried about it. Most laptops I've used get hot after using them for a while, and the Air is no exception. Even on a hard surface though (not a bed or a couch), the MacBook Air would get warm enough that my palms became a little sweaty (gross, I know), but I still wouldn't call it a problem. MacBooks and MacBook Pros that I've used all get hot, too, and unless your MacBook Air is burning you or damaging your furniture, I wouldn't worry about it. I would conclude that for less than an hour of use, the Air will run very cool, but after that, particularly with WiFi on and the screen bright (i.e. maximum power usage), it will get warm, but it will never (and should never) become uncomfortable.

Noise

In general, the fans on the MacBook Air will run at 2500 rpm. Under normal usage, the MacBook Air is actually the quietest computer I've ever owned. At 2500 rpm, the fans are pretty inaudible, even if you put your head right up to the machine. In a very quiet room, you can hear a kind of "whine" but it's pretty inaudible and not very annoying. So in that sense, the machine is not 100% silent, but it's pretty close. It should be noted that my first machine did not "whine". It's not quite annoying as a "whine" (and it's nothing like the CPU whining described in some early MacBook Pros), it's more of a "beeeeeep," but the issue isn't severe enough for me to call Apple. In a normal room, it appears to be silent, but the sound is audible in a library.

Occasionally, under heavy usage, the fans will crank up to >6000 rpm. I don't think this is anything to worry about because for me, it happens very rarely and only under intense usage. Many users have reported fan speeds in this range while viewing YouTube videos, but neither of the two MacBook Airs I used suffered from this problem and I can confirm first hand that I have yet to see a MacBook Air that revs up its fans under such light usage. At 6000 rpm, the fans are obviously audible, but nothing that will drive you crazy when it does happen. It does not sound like a rocket ship about to take off from your desk. The sound is pretty annoying, though, especially in a quiet room.

Battery

Unfortunately, the battery in the MacBook Air is not meant to be replaced by the user. This was probably done in order to save space - that's the only advantage I can think of with respect to having such a battery. When it dies, you'll have to take it in to Apple to get it changed. Supposedly, however, the battery is very easy to replace by the user - it merely involves removing a few screws. Personally, when I eventually need to replace my battery I will be taking it in and not experimenting on my own. It's something I don't really have to think about now because the computer is so new, but I'm sure I will be bothered by it in the future. Knock on wood, my battery still has a long way to go! The fact that it's non user-replaceable isn't really a problem for me, and it probably won't be for a large number of people. Realistically, how often do you swap batteries? I don't even own an extra battery, so it wouldn't even be an option for me! But many frequent travelers surely must carry a spare with them, and they will be disappointed with this aspect of the notebook.

Five hours of battery life with WiFi is what you will get out of this thing according to Apple. Well, not really. Usually Apple underestimates the battery life in order not to get flamed by reviewers, but this time, they haven't done that. I feel like if I really tried had to conserve battery life by turning my wireless off and dimming down the screen, I could maybe squeeze out 5 hours, but realistically, with WiFi on and my screen on medium/low, I will get between 3.5-4 hours, depending on usage. Again, sometimes I'll get more, like 4.5 for example, but on a day like that, my WiFi will rarely be on. But on a day where my WiFi is on constantly, I probably won't get more than 4 hours. Apple should have quoted the battery life at 4 hours in my opinion. Seeing as this laptop is meant to be brought everywhere, I'd prefer to have more battery life. Six hours with WiFi would be optimal. I usually bring the charger with me because it weighs almost nothing and my university is very saturated with plugs. During a full day of school, I'll usually be typing and I'll only turn the WiFi on for maybe 15 minutes each hour or so, and I am able to get a good 4-4.5 hours, but this number will vary drastically based on the usage. But again, you will most likely not get 5 hours like Apple says.

iSight Camera and Microphone

The iSight camera on the MacBook Air is not as high quality as on the MacBook or the iMac. I don't know whether it's the resolution or not, but video definitely seems slightly sharper on the latter machines. The performance on the MacBook Air, however, is acceptable. The microphone performs great. I am able to record lectures using Quicktime Pro with ease. The microphone picks up everything, including my typing.

Warranty

The MacBook Air, like other Apple laptops, comes with a one-year limited warranty. Accidental damage is not covered.So far, this sounds like a pretty standard warranty, except with Apple you only get 90 days of free technical support, because $1,700 isn't enough to give me more phone support. Thankfully, there are really great internet communities out there (like notebookreview.com) and you'll be able to get help there. Apple also has a pretty decent online help web page with user discussion forums and troubleshooting articles. You can purchase Apple Care to extend your coverage, but I will note that when your battery is worn and needs to be replaced, Apple Care won't pay for it because the battery is a "consumable". Only if your battery is defective (i.e. holds a 30 minute charge only after three months of use) will Apple replace it. I wouldn't buy Apple Care for personal reasons (the cost of it being one of them), but many Mac users swear buy it.

Conclusion

I must say that as much as I enjoy using my MacBook Air, I can confidently say it appeals to a very specific audience. Specifically, a prospective MacBook Air owner should have another, more powerful machine. Likewise, anyone considering the MacBook Air should not care about changing the battery and only needs this notebook to do basic tasks. Video editing or gaming will not do too well on this machine.

This laptop is also pretty expensive considering the features you're getting. Go price up a Dell and see what you get for the same price as the Air - I guarantee you'll get a faster processor, larger hard drive, better graphics, etc. But the Air isn't meant to be a budget computer, and the user is paying for the design. If you want a small, lightweight, extremely durable, and good-looking machine, I wholeheartedly recommend the MacBook Air if you don't mind the price tag. Keep in mind that on average, Macs have great resale values. Check eBay to see for yourself. For most users, though, I would probably recommend the MacBook or the MacBook Pro if this will be their primary computer.

A big problem is that people are judging the MacBook Air for what it is not rather than for what it is. In my opinion, this is one of the best-valued ultraportables money can buy. Sure, the new X300 from Lenovo has way more features, but the price tag will make you gawk when compared to the baseline MacBook Air. Even though the MacBook Air is an excellent product, it does have its limitations and quirks as discussed in the review. What can we expect, though? This is a first generation product, and surely it will improve with time. That being said, I would rate the MacBook Air an 8/10 overall.

Pros

• Great design: rugged, lightweight, and thin
• Comfortable keyboard
• Bright screen with a large viewing angle

Cons

• Lack of upgradeability
• Expensive
• Problems out of the box on the first unit, so it doesn't really "just work" like Apple says it does

 

I like the idea behind the Macbook air, however it makes too many compromises, it is slow, it is very expensive in fact it's price puts it right in the range of the Sony Vaio TZ which has an optical drive, performs about the same, is smaller, can have a larger hard drive and has more then double the amount of ports and also the Lenovo X300 is a much better contender.

And I know it is rather subjective but I hate the look of the Macbook air, and most other Apple products, any designer can make a silver box and stamp a label on it, design is meant to look good but be interesting, an Apple to me is just bland and their most radical design change in the last 5 years is offering the macbook in black...

 

Mine worked right out of the box, the initial battery charge also took very long but the drive doesn't click or make other noises.

If you're worried about upgradeability then buy a USB dock, I bought one, the ethernet, usb, firewire, serial and parallel ports work out of the box.

I've used remote disc over the ethernet (crossover cable) and it takes exactly the same time as it takes on other macs with drives, in other words it's very fast through ethernet, 2 hrs in total time.

Haven't read all the review but good job, well written!

 

yah...one of most problems of every apple products,is their price..except those ipods..
i always wondered why would they put such high price for it..
if they want to talk about quality like the AW,then they have to make sure that every single product that leaves the factory is ready use,without any flaws/defects/problems
but till now i still seeing some apple products do have defects based of my friends' experience

 

what apple should have done with the macbook air was add an expansion port to it (something like what hp has done on their notebooks) along side the existing ports. then like the hp, apple could have sold a dock that offers all the ports found on any macbook.

 

Or instead compare the same size Sony --the 13" LED, carbon fiber SZ series.
For $20 more than the Air, you now can get a 780N7 with a 2.5 GHz Penryn T9300, 3GB, 200GB 7200rpm HD, 8400MGS GPU (which can be powered off, using the X3100 for powersaving) which, all together, crush the Air.
Plus the internal WWAN, DVD, Ethernet, Firewire, 2nd USB, docking port, memcard reader, etc.
But 4 lbs instead of 3 lbs. Wow. Whole pound. Get to the gym, feeble nerds.

 

Apple! Give us PB G4 12'' design back!
Call it "Vintage/Heritage" or so... and release this year.

 

I don't know why people rant at MBA. I think people should know that this laptop is for fashion with minimal power. There are many people who would love such kind, especially girls and guys who don't need much computing power. Don't disparage the item just because it doesn't suit your taste, just don't buy it. I also like a laptop with much power and much feature, and that's why I'm using Fujitsu T2010, not MBA. But I won't criticize the MBA.
Considering this, I think the reviewer did a great job in showing an objective review of MBA without getting biased. I think for its niche market, it's a great laptop with a great style. One thing that I wish they would've done though is to make it 12 in to make it a real ultraportable.

 

Isnt everything is solder in like the memory and battery? Such a big disadvantage, dont you think?

I have my eye on the Latitude E4300 coming out soon.

 

I think it did a great job pushing consumer boundries in terms of size/weight/style, but I personally consider my Macbook Pro to be just as sleek (if not a little bit more, but I have a rectangle fetish) and it performs quite a bit faster with the additional 800MHz and 2 GB of RAM (not considering the drive and GPU).

But I can see why users who already have a desktop would like an Air for mobility.

 

The MBA is great, but there are those little things that mean it isn't quite there:
Yes, you wouldn't think it to be too much of a problem, and it wouldn't be to most audiences. However, I frequently swap batteries in my Latitude D420. A spare 9-cell is a necessity to reliably get the 4-5.
The same with the charge time, you really do appreciate the 2 hour charge time and 4 hours could be inconvenient.
The single USB port is annoying but manageable, it is effectively an admission that he MBA is not unusable as your only computer.
I also find a 90 day phones support to be completely insufficient; Standard is at least a year, with companies like Dell offering 3 year warranties with accidental damage cover.

Kudos to Apple for, once again, making an incredibly sleek and stylish machine and it is certainly useful to some people but it's market is even narrower than a standard ultraportable.

 

It's because there are better notebooks around that are more portable, more powerful, don't make compromises and imo look better for a cheaper price tag.

And why is everyone making a big deal about it being thin? If I remember correctly there was a notebook over 4 years ago that was actually thinner and had more usb ports then this (not the Sony x505, something else but can't remember brand, need to find that magazine again..) and to be honest I think most notebook developers could build a similarly thin laptop because the components are that sparse and it doesn't take much effort to solder everything onto the motherboard to give it less depth and simply increase the footprint.

 

excellent review!

oh, btw, i think you forgot to mention that it only has a mono speakers!

 

Edited! Thanks!

 

I got to play with a MacBook Air at my local Apple store not too long ago. I must say, the build quality is impressive--better than any other notebook I've messed around with. And of course, it is very thin and light.

That said, I wouldn't get one, even if I had the money or the need for a new notebook. It simply sacrifices too much to achieve it thinness.

 

I just came back from a business deal with a client today, he got so impressed with my MBA that he has decided to buy one himself too, his first words were "it's so thin and sturdy", good to mention he has sealed the deal with us too

 

It's more of a concept computer than anything.

 

One nitpick:
Intel did not develop a custom chip for Apple. They developed a special small form factor chip package for Apple. The chip inside is a standard part.

 

Correct, but if you refer to the "processor" as "the chip", then Intel custom-designed it. It's still the same Core 2 Duo, just in a smaller package.

 

Solid review on a Solid Laptop... Thanks...

Just a few points that seem to be missing... The name "Air" means more than simply light weight... It also means you can backup over the "Air" with a product that was announced at the same time: Apple's Time Capsule...

http://www.apple.com/timecapsule/

Belkin now sells "wireless USB hubs" for the MacBook Air so the need for even a single USB port is questionable. People talk about docking, when they don't understand... there is no longer a need for such a device, the "Air" is your dock....

Having obsolete "cable ports" on this modern of a laptop doesn't make much sense when you really think about it. We'll look back on laptops in ten years and say "remember when laptops had to use cables!" Basically, Apple is moving the industry forward here, but it's going to take the general public a while to understand the MBA feature set since it's just too advanced for most people to grasp.

It's called MacBook "Air"... NOT MacBook Cable...

One major surprise is the MBA is quite speedy, I keep seeing comments that think that since it is small, it can't be fast... ah, that's wrong. The efficient logicboard, 2GB Ram and OSX makes for a bit of a screamer, plenty fast for most anything you throw at it.

It's extremely durable, strongest mainstream laptop on the market perhaps. It's certainly tougher than the MacBook or MacBook Pro, the engineering here is a whole, higher level.

And lastly, if you know how to operate a phillips screwdriver, you can easily replace the battery when the time comes. Here is a video of how to do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyc8wMAihZA

 

Ah, actually Intel DID create this chip for Apple, watch the Jan 08 Keynote and the Intel CEO comes on stage and specifically said that Apple came to them requesting a special chip and Intel didn't think they could make it, but after lots of effort and help from Apple, they were able to do it. The CEO gives Steve one of the first chips, then leaves the stage.

You can see the clip here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIwv8biGbtQ

 

I'll keep note of that next time I take a long haul flight.

 

you can always take along an extra 5 hour battery pack for your macbook air, so it's not like there are no options...

http://www.batterygeek.net/Portable_Power_Station_p/pps_batterygeek.htm

 

I felt this was a biased review. It started out stating that people often bring the PC vs MAC debate into the review, when the operating systems are not whats being looked at....but all throughout this review, I felt thats EXACTLY what the reviewer did.

As many people have already stated, this just sacrifices too much to justify its price tag. And, as was previously mentioned, it is NOT the smallest laptop. Sony still holds that title. Another apple gimmick for the fanboys.

 

Apple has never claimed it was the smallest, just thinnest, which is true.

And don't make the mistake in saying "sacrifices have been made" to get it this thin. The name of the product has the word "Air" in it, which means all those features are there, but through modern wireless methods not by old-fashioned spinning discs or old cable technologies.

Once you understand that everything can be done "through the air" the product makes plenty of sense, but until you do... you will not understand how truly sophisticated this product actually is.

All laptops will work this way in the future, we all know that... it's just that the MacBook Air is the first laptop to forgo all the old legacy ports which can confuse people that aren't used to being on the cutting edge.

 

Hi there,

Glad you enjoyed the review!

In terms of the interpretation of the word "Air" - it depends on how you look at it. Both the MacBook and MacBook Pro are capable of wireless backup, and the MacBook Air has no "extra" features that add to this. Other Apple notebooks can also back up over the "air".

in terms of the wireless USB hubs...seems like a great idea that will be more and more popular in the future, but the reality is that for someone who takes their laptop everywhere, it becomes a hassle to have to bring other things along, i.e. charger/AC adapter, external optical drive, ethernet port, USB hub, etc. If you are a person who needs all these things with them, then please don't buy the MBA and all these add-ons. Buy something like a MacBook, or a dell XPS, or the X300 from lenovo.

And yes, it is quite speedy!

Finally, I actually did mention in my review that it is possible to remove the battery yourself. Personally, since I'm too chicken to do so myself, I'd probably take mine in, but im sure a large % of users will opt to do the replacement themselves.

 

Glad you read the review.

Actually, I will have to respectfully disagree with you. I think my review is anything BUT biased! It wouldn't be much of a review if you didn't point out the flaws, and only harp on the positives. I don't see what you mean when you say I compared operating systems throughout the review. Please elaborate further, citing examples of where this was done.

With regards to your 2nd point, to some people, the Air forsure does sacrifice too much. But why do you need an 8800 graphics card, 4 gb ram, 250 gb hard drive, 4 USB ports, DVD burner, etc., to check e-mail, browse the web, and take down notes? Each and every user out there will have a different need, and Apple's current lineup addresses those needs pretty well.

Sacrifices definitely had to be made to get it this thin. It is physically impossible (today) to have a MacBook Pro inside the case of a MacBook Air.

I will have to disagree that all the features are there, as you say. In fact, I believe they are not there for many people. What if you want to watch a DVD movie while on a plane, on your MacBook Air? This is just one example of something you can't do (there are many more I can think of). Obviously, people will say "well, rip it to your hard drive first", but not everybody has time to do that, and I'm sure a lot of people bring movies with them while traveling. What if you need to connect to a wired network for some reason and you don't have the dongle? The point of this isn't to give an exhaustive list of what the Air can't do, it's simply to make you aware that sacrifices have to be made and they have been made in the case of the MacBook Air. The important point, however, is the decision on where the sacrifices were made. For example, in order to get the weight down, many notebook makers resort to 11" screens and smaller keyboards, however, that's not where Apple compromised. Instead, they (clearly imo) compromised on, for example, the selection of ports.

 

That thing would be huge and defies the purpose of the MacBook Air.

 

(note: sorry not to multiquote and to have so many posts.)

The battery "can" be changed it's just not meant to be done by the user (but many claim it's as simple as removing some screws off the back). The memory is soldered in and can't be changed. But hey, even if you upgrade the MacBook Air to 4 gb ram, it won't give you that much of an improvement when you're running it off a 4200 rpm hard drive, haha.

 

I think that's a perfect description of it: Great concept, would love to own one, shame it's lacking in practicality.

Oh yes, here's the cry of "It's not a limitation, it's a feature!". Seriously, you want to plug in a mouse are you going to do that over wireless? If the future of the industry is lugging wireless routers everywhere, I'll stick to the past thanks.

Sure, can I do these things over the air:

• Connect a mouse
• Play a DVD on a plane
• Connect to a TV
• Transfer files of a wired network.

Nope, none of those can be done over wifi without a lot of setup. Wireless is the future is some ways, but it is still slower than the old cables and far too much hassle.

 

Why do you need a proprietary system to backup files? An Hard disk image is easy to create with software that costs about $40 and a usb hard drive isn't all that expensive either, so why bother spending what is likely to be over $150 to do what you can do with $40?

given the inherent slowness of USB, making it wireless makes things transfer at a crawl, and the wireless usb hubs aren't for the Air, they were primarily designed to sit on top of routers so you could attach printers/usb sticks to the whole network, however it was found it could take hours to transfer over 100mb of data.

Cable ports will still be here in 10 years, simply because until wireless technology evolves to become faster then cables people won't change, why accept a 20mbps rate over wireless when I can get at least 100mbps over an ethernet cable that actually costs less? Try buying bluetooth headphones, they sound horrible because the sound is compressed way too much just so it doesn't exceed bandwidth. And even wireless mice now have their own connectors, Logitech MX air? has it's own USB bluetooth, that's all your ports gone and you can no longer plug in a dvd player. So basically yes, the 'air' idea works if you are within 25 feet of your home router which has a wireless usb hub, a dvd player, a backup hard drive and usb keys, so in the end the Macbook air is terribly limited wherever you are by the lack of ports.

Apple isn't moving forwards, if they were they would have fit the dvd drive, extra ports and such in the first place instead of just telling everyone to buy every wireless contraption that's thinkable.

fine for office work/web browsing/whatever, but like most ultraportables (though the macbook can't really be classed as ultraportable since that's 12.1" or less) whenever you try to do something that requires a lot of power like decoding HD movies, design work it slows right down (though again not really applicable since you can't watch movies unless you rip them to the Hard drive)

Go take a look at any of the Thinkpad line, even the Thinkpad x61's build quality is milestones above Apples and it's cheaper

because taking out a screwdriver, and taking your laptop apart on a plane won't look odd or suspicious at all. And where will you buy that battery? Chances are Apple won't give you one because then you'd be opening the case and voiding the warranty

The Sony x505 was thinner almost 4 years ago.

 

Heh, I would of LOVED to point out the points in my earlier post, but ClockedRodent has already summed up anything I would of mentioned. However, about the biased review, my point was that you were guilty of the same thing you accused others of, bringing the PC vs MAC debate into the review. IMO, I felt it throughout the review, and it started from this 1 sentence, which I'll make bold ((since I'm not sure how to quote it at this point. And no, don't bother telling me how to just to side track my point))

Reasons for Buying

I switched to Mac OS X in January 2007 with a new iMac, so this isn't my first (or even second) Mac. I still use XP and Vista sometimes, but my OS of choice is Leopard. A problem with many online reviews I find is that the reviewer brings the whole Mac vs. PC debate into the review. Which OS is better is of zero importance here.

So you REALLY felt this review contained no bias? Ok, why the need to mention which OS you prefer? It's nit picking, yes, but I raise the point because after sentence, you continue to mention how OTHERS bring the debate in their reviews. I felt you did the same thing, and after reading your responses to other posters on here, I still feel like you're just fishing for excuses as to why this mac lacks so much. Again, just my opinions though, take them with a grain of salt.

 

Uh, no. This is the same confusion/mis-use of terminology as in the original review. The "chip," meaning the silicon die, was NOT custom made for Apple. Making a custom silicon die, especially one as complex as a modern x86 microprocessor, takes a lot longer than a year (more like 5 years). Even a port of a CPU to a new process can take an enormous amount of time/effort/money.

In the video, when they are talking about the "product" they are clearly talking about the entire packaged die. The real innovation here is the small form factor package. The whole "thin as a nickel" is refering to the package, not the silicon die.

This is just a nitpick and really not an important point. It's just annoying when fanboys try to proudly proclaim how the mighty Apple commissioned a custom chip for the MBA, when really the only customization was the package.

 

Yes, It's A Feature! Removing and rescrewing 19 phillips-0 screws while swapping the Air's "easy to replace battery" will give you the opportunity to meet your flight's seatmates from a new perspective, as you crawl around the cabin looking for the five the rugrat next to you knocked off your tray.
Simply snapping in a new battery and getting work done is disgustingly antisocial.

 

I like MacBooks, but not Apple's penchant for making hardware replacement difficult. It's as if hardware geeks only purchase IBM products, whereas "appliance operators" purchase Apple products. This is certainly contrary to the way Apple began, as experimenters and "geeks" - if you will - are what made the Apple II series. Its open architecture was great for 3rd party vendors and experimenters thanks primarily to Woz. Once Jobs took back the primary role, the Mac was introduced and "so long" to access to the hardware. For Jobs, proprietary is the name of the game.

I can replace the HD in my ThinkPad in less than 2 minutes tops, with only one screw, let only the extraordinary ease of the battery replacement. Plus, I can run either two HDs or two batteries in my ThinkPad with use of the UltraBay.

 

weal,great review,really enjoyed it

 

ah, it's the same as carrying an extra battery, so it's no different in that regard.

soon enough there will be snap on MBA battery packs if that is what you are looking for... just hang tight.

 

Ah, the MBA has Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR so of course you can connect a mouse without using WiFi.

I have 35 DVD Movies in my MBA and haven't once connected a DVD to it, in the MacWorld it's super easy to rip DVDs and pour them into any Mac.

Easy to stream TV content into a MBA either via Elgato or AppleTV, etc.

Why would you want to use a "wire" when you can copy it directly from a mounted wireless volume? Seems pretty backwards to me, but if you still like wires, you can just connect the MBA via ethernet.

Again, it sounds like you don't have a Mac... wireless is super simple to set up, just a few clicks and you are done. 802.11n is just as fast as 100BaseT, so I think you are living in the PC world to have such obsolete notions about the MBA.

 

You must be kidding us, he only mentioned his preference about leopard period. From your writing it appears you haven't even read his entire review, there is no mention of which OS is better and he didn't say macs are better or PC's are inferior, in fact he made it clear in the first paragraph he wasn't going to get into an OS debate which most mac reviewers talk about mostly.

 

802.11N is as fast as 100mb Ethernet in theory, in use I've never really seen it surpass the 40mb mark. Cables are more reliable, cheaper, and not really as limiting as everyone makes it out to be.

Face it, the Macbook air would be better with a bigger port selection and a dvd drive, all it achieved by getting rid of them was 'the worlds thinnest notebook' line which isn't true anyway, and would adding a few more millimeters really have made it so much less portable, after all, the Lenovo x300 can fit in the same letter as the macbook air can in the advert, and it is much more practical.

 

I'm getting about 55mb throughput, about the same as dragging a cable around the office / house. So using a cable is more hassle that it's worth.

No, the MacBook Air is great the way it is, it's just it goes above your comfort zone since you aren't yet using Macs. Windows doesn't handle wireless well, we all know that, so it's really an issue of your OS that you can't understand a higher level of laptop computing.

The MBA is the thinnest, that is true, what you are mistaking is the former Sony model is no longer produced, thus it's not in the running. Please stick with only facts, it will help your argument.

 

I agree that many companies are capable of producing such thin product. However, you should remember that just because they make it, it won't be popular right off the bat. There is risk associated with it. Probably many pople wouldn't like it because of all the forementioned reasons.

However, Apple is one of the few companies who usually take risk and take courage that an ordinary company would not make. And when they do they see a bunch. I'm not advocating Apple because I'm their fan. I never even used an apple product including the prevalent IPOD. However, as a business student and an entrepreneur, I give kudos to Apple who always tries to ahead of the pack and pulls it off with their amazing marketing. They locate the niche market that pepole thought was nonexistent before.

 

Time Capsule isn't proprietary, Apple doesn't use proprietary methods any more. That approach was stopped in 1998 with the iMac. Now everything Apple does is standards based. Using Time Capsule is not about making a "Disk Image", you can do that for free with OSX's Disk Utility, the value of Time Capsule is you can have all your home or office machines "incrementally" backup files to it over wireless... or have MANY people wirelessly backup to the same device... sweet... watch this video, then it will make sense to you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n3FEj0Qc8M

Adding a Battery or Hard Drive or Ram, doesn't not void the Apple Warranty. In fact you can do really anything to a Mac and the warranty isn't affected. ONLY if you break a component would a warranty situation arise, Apple's warranty is very lax, it let's the user do anything he/she wants.

And no, the Sony x505 is no longer sold so it can't be the thinnest laptop, that is now held by the MBA. Stick with only facts... thanks!

 

It is not the thinnest laptop just because the x505 is no longer in production.. it was and still is thinner, meaning the mac is not the thinnest, it's simply very thin. That's an idiotic thing to say, just because something isn't in mass production doesn't mean it automatically never existed, that's like an telling an Olympic athlete that his time of 9 seconds in the 100m is no longer the fastest because he is no longer competing, even though the fastest at the time is 10 seconds

And I still maintain that dragging Ethernet cables around is easier then wireless, look at most offices now, they are all wired because trying to get a wireless signal stable in any mildly busy place is frustrating most of the time.

And I have used Mac's, yes the networking is better... by about 2-3% on average. In windows all it is, is right click > connect > enter password if there is one, I wouldn't call that difficult.

And try asking Apple for a replacement battery, I bet they'll be reluctant to hand one over, even then why would you want a spare battery? Try taking apart your laptop to replace a battery in a public place and you'll probably end up being arrested.

And the Apple doesn't 'take me out of my comfort zone' the fact is that instead of just including everything in the package and making it a little thicker they decided to take it all out and sell it to you separately at high prices.

And Apple has to be the biggest 'playing it safe' company ever, their whole model range is aluminium that has rounded edges and the logo stamped on the back. I mean come on, their most radical design change in the last 5 years has to be offering some of their products in a black colour.

And then why would you buy the time capsule? To me it's just an expensive external hard drive with some software, since when was it so difficult to spend half as much and back up yourself every so often.

The macbook air is like any other Apple product, simple overused design, expensive price, lots of unneeded compromises, lots of 'accessories' that should really be requirements, and people defending it even though there are better laptops around for the same amount of money or less. Sometimes it just defies belief the amount of patriotism (if it can be called that) Apple products attract.

 

In the Marketplace, only products that are currently "sold" can be compared against, so your argument is flawed and you know it. If we used your odd logic, we could say the Timex Sinclar is the world's "thinnest laptop" couldn't we?. That wouldn't make much sense would it... so the marketplace only uses currently sold items to make comparisons, and that makes the MBA the thinnest laptop, or if it makes you happy, the world's thinnest, most powerful laptop.

Cables are now being phased out, just watch what happens...

Apple doesn't need to sell you a battery, plenty of 3rd parties will sell MBA batteries within a few months. ipodjuice.com is already nearing production. It's just like the iPod or any Laptop, there are hundreds of battery choices. And by the way, Apple will sell you a MBA battery right now, just ask. Why would you be arrested for replacing a battery? That sounds like you live in a very terrible place. Do Tell!

Time Capsule is also a full blown 802.11n Wireless Access Point and 4 port Gigabit Router, if you just want that, you can buy the Airport Extreme, but Time Capsule is the same thing but with an internal hard drive. Obviously you can add a hard drive to an Airport Extreme, it's just more power cords / cables. No thanks...

Yes, Apple products are designed for people that really want the best in their lives, Apple doesn't take shortcuts since at their core, they are an engineering company, but sure, they cost about 10% more, but they resell for a lot more compared to the same money spent on a PC, so it's a better investment to go all with Apple stuff if you value your time and want a smooth running home or office system.

 

Well if you're using the marketplace, then my argument isn't flawed since there are still Sony x505's about and being sold on by a few, so by your own logic the Macbook air is not the worlds thinnest laptop.

until wireless gets much faster and more reliable, and cheaper it's not going to happen on a huge scale

ok, let's say you wanted to replace the battery to finish watching a movie on a plane, you first have to get out a screwdriver unscrew 9 screws, lift it off then undo more screws before finally replacing the battery. The only point in a spare battery is being able to replace it easily on the move, why would you want to do it in your own home next to a power outlet? And in this time where someone in airport security actually found owning a macbook air was enough reason to detain them for questioning, what do you think they'd do to someone who started disassembling their laptop on a plane? Especcialy with heightened security for 'terrorist threats' which mean airport officals don't even like electrical equipment being taken onboard.

yes but it still costs more then just a router + external hard drive, which makes it seem quite pointless unless you are somehow incapable of hiding the hard drive behind something to be in keeping with some home fashion

they are designed to trick people into thinking they are buying the latest hardware and pay a premium for it. In the world of computers you are judged on your price erformance ratio, and even Alienware who are renowned for having a pretty bad one, outdo Apples by a lot, you'd think an under clocked 8600 would be cheaper then 2 7950GTX's...

 

My own personal preference is under "reasons for buying". Obviously, if I preferred Vista or XP, I wouldn't have bought a Mac, hah.

My point was to say that one of the reasons I purchased this machine is because of the OS, among other things. But I left it at that, and I don't give any arguments to convince the reader that Mac > PC or vice versa.

Many other reviews devote lots of time to discussing why one is better than the other, but all I decided to do was put in my preference as a reason for buying, and leave it at that. I sure hope that anyone who buys the Air or any other apple computer prefers or at least likes OS X, otherwise I guarantee they won't be happy with it.

I will have to fully agree with you on that one. This was in the "reasons for buying" section, and nowhere do I try and sway the reader towards the Mac OS.

 

Check out this review of the X505.

$3000, 10" screen, tiny keyboard, 1.1 GHz processor, 512 mb ram. I'll take the MacBook Air, any day, over this machine! I mean I know this is from a few years ago, but put it simple, you can't compare todays laptops with this one. Had Sony followed up on this laptop, then we could compare, but whether or not this is "more impressive" than the macbook air is hard to tell, because although the design may be thinner, they made many compromises on this one, even by the tech. standards at the time.

 

Yes, of course. It's the latest revolution in travel and all us realists are just narrow minded PC users.

Yeah, and have you noted the battery life with bluetooth on? It's a drain on both the MBA and the mouse.

Lacking quality+HDD usage mean I really wouldn't want to do that. It hasn't occured to you that I might want to store other things apart from just movies?

Maybe I don't want to use AppleTV, how would I do it with a standard TV that I've got now without buying proprietary hardware? How about sending content from your computer to the TV, you got a wireless solution for that?

Because those "out of date" wires are faster than wireless. Theory and practice are two completely different things and I tell you that such speeds are fantasy.

The only way I can see the MBA making sense is if you live in a house full of every possible Apple accessory and never leave it. Then again, if you do that what would be the point of having an MBA?

I also note that the X505 had two USB ports that's one more than the mac! If Sony could do it all those years ago on a thinner machine then why can't Apple do it now?

 

you make a very good point, however, Sony can have the extra USB port, and Ill take the bigger screen, kb, more ram, etc, lol.

______

I didn't think my review would bring so much controversy to the table, haha. I think it's a good thing though that people disagree.