Apple MacBook Air Review:

With the Apple MacBook Air, Apple has created the world’s thinnest laptop–measuring an unprecedented 0.16-inches at its thinnest point (and 0.76 inches thick overall). Apple also introduces its vaunted multi-touch technology, found on the iPhone, to its laptops with the Apple MacBook Air, enabling you to pinch, swipe, or rotate to zoom in on text, advance through a photo album, or adjust an image via the oversized trackpad.

Despite the its slender shell, the Apple MacBook Air doesn’t skimp on the specifications. It includes a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, full-size and backlit keyboard, and a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing. The Apple MacBook Air is powered by a custom-built 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which provides an optimized, multithreaded architecture for improved multitasking performance. Other features include 2 GB of RAM, an 80 GB hard disk drive, Wi-Fi connectivity via 802.11a/b/g/n standards, a micro-DVI video output (with included adapters), and up to a 5-hour battery life.

It comes pre-loaded with Apple’s Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system, which adds over 300 new features including easy backup of your most important data via Time Machine, a redesigned desktop that helps eliminate clutter, and the newest version of the fast-loading Safari web browser. It also comes with the iLife ‘08 suite of applications, including iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, and iTunes.

Apple’s Thinnest Laptop Is Also Its Greenest
The Apple MacBook Air embodies Apple’s continuing environmental progress with its aluminum enclosure, a material highly desired by recyclers; Apple’s first mercury-free LCD display with arsenic-free glass; and brominated flame retardant-free material for the majority of circuit boards as well as PVC-free internal cables. In addition, the Apple MacBook Air consumes the least amount of power of any Mac, and its retail box, made primarily from 100 percent post-consumer recycled material, is 56 percent smaller by volume than the previously smallest MacBook packaging.

Apple MacBook Air Design
The thinness of Apple MacBook Air is impressive, but even more impressive is that fact that there’s a full-size notebook encased in the 0.16 to 0.76 inch of sleek, sturdy anodized aluminum. This svelte, 3-pound laptop has a vibrant, energy efficient 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, and its spacious trackpad offers multi-touch gesture support for pinch, rotate and swipe–making it more intuitive than ever to browse and rotate photos or zoom into web pages in Safari. It also features a full-size keyboard that’s backlit, making it ideal for dimly lit environments such as airplanes, studios or conference halls. It includes a built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the brightness of the keys as well as the display brightness for optimal visibility.

One of Apple’s most celebrated innovations is the MagSafe power adapter connector, which offers a magnetic connection instead of a physical one. So, if you happen to trip over a power cord, you won’t send the MacBook Air flying off a table or desk–the cord simply disconnects, without damage to either the cord or the system.

Optical Drive
Because of the amazingly thin design of the Apple MacBook Air, an optical (DVD/CD) drive was not included. To install software from a disc, you can wirelessly use or “borrow” optical drives on remote PCs or Macs using the Remote Disk feature. This allows you full access to an optical drive without having to haul one around. If you want to have an optical drive for burning CDs and DVDs, you can purchase the optional MacBook Air SuperDrive (sold separately). This multi-format CD/DVD read/write drive is powered by the MacBook Air’s USB port, eliminating the need to carry a separate power adapter.

Networking
The MacBook Air doesn’t include wired Ethernet networking, and instead relies solely on Wi-Fi to connect to your home network as well as wireless hotspots. The Apple MacBook Air built-in 802.11n wireless networking provides up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g, but it’s also backward-compatible with 802.11a/b/g routers, enabling you to communicate with the a wide variety of Wi-Fi resources. It works seamlessly with the optional AirPort Extreme base station as well as Apple’s Time Capsule Wi-Fi base station/hard drive–both of which include 802.11n capabilities. If you don’t have access to a wireless network, you can use an optional USB Ethernet Adapter (sold separately)

Use the built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) wireless technology to connect to your PDA or cell phone, synchronize addresses, or download pictures from your cell phone. You can also use a wireless headset for iChat audio chats and VoIP calls as well as quickly share files with a colleague.

Video Conferencing with Built-in iSight
Artfully placed in the display bezel is an iSight camera, which enables easy video conferencing as well as allows you to snap pictures of yourself and create video podcasts. Using the iChat AV application, video conferencing is integrated into your iChat buddy list, so initiating a video conference is a breeze. iChat also lets you hold audio chats with up to 10 people and provides high-quality audio compression and full-duplex sound so conversation can flow naturally. For video podcasting, you can record a short clip using the iSight camera, then use iWeb to create a video blog entry or post your GarageBand-recorded podcast.

Display and Graphics

Whether you’re working on a Keynote presentation or watching a movie before you catch a flight, every document, video, and photo on your Apple MacBook Air will look sharp on the glossy 13.3-inch widescreen display. With pixel-perfect 1280-by-800 resolution, it’s great for viewing and working with media. Video is powered by the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, which provides 144 MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory. It features Intel Clear Video Technology, which delivers outstanding video playback with sharper image quality, increased clarity, and enhanced visual quality of interlaced content on progressive displays.

Hard Drive and Memory
For storage, this Apple MacBook Air comes with an 80 GB Parallel ATA hard disk drive (4200 RPM). The 2 GB of PC5300 DDR2 RAM (two SO-DIMMs of 1024 MB) has an industry-leading 667 MHz speed, and it maximizes the capacity for this laptop.

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
Custom-built to fit within the compact dimensions of the laptop, the Apple MacBook Air is powered by a 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a super-fast 800 MHz front-side bus (FSB), and an enormous 4 MB of Smart Cache, an L2 cache that can be shared between the cores as needed. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system’s performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)

The Intel Core 2 Duo’s 128-bit SSE3 vector engine handles 128-bit computations in a single clock cycle, accelerating data manipulation by simultaneously applying a single instruction to multiple data. And its two execution cores are designed to share resources and conserve power, helping it to achieve higher levels of performance since it uses fewer watts. And with 4MB of shared L2 cache, the Apple MacBook Air is a multi-tasking monster. With such substantial L2 cache, data and instructions can be kept close to the two processor cores, greatly increasing performance and allowing the entire system to work more efficiently. And, because the processor cores share the L2 cache, either can use the entire amount if the other happens to be idle.

Other Apple MacBook Air Features

• DVI output using micro-DVI to DVI adapter (included)
• VGA output using micro-DVI to VGA adapter (included)
• Composite output using micro-DVI to video adapter (optional)
• S-video output using micro-DVI to video adapter (optional)
• Analog audio output/headphone out (minijack)
• Built-in mono speaker and omnidirectional microphone
• Integrated 37-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery provides up to 5 hours of battery life
• Built-in full-size keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys, 4 arrow keys (inverted “T” arrangement), and embedded numeric keypad
• Supported resolutions: 1280 by 800 (native), 1152 by 720, 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, 800 by 500, 720 by 480, and 640 by 480 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio; 720 by 480 pixels at 3:2 aspect ratio

Apple MacBook Air User Said:

I purchased a custom configured Apple MacBook Air - I ordered it with the 1.8 Ghz processor and the 80 GB HDD.

So far, I have to say I love this machine!

As some have mentioned - I thought I would miss certain devices - like an Optical drive (CD / DVD) or an Ethernet port - but so far I haven’t missed either one!

I get about 3.5 hours to 5 hours out of each charge - and I have the power settings on ‘performance’ - which is as high as it gets - I imagine if I dialed it back to ‘energy saving’ I could get more. My Dell only lasted about 2.5 hours - so I know where all the outlets are in airports / airplanes / lounges when I am on the road. It is nice to only have to charge half as much!!

I am using my Apple MacBook Air in conjunction with a wireless network at my house. The remote disk feature worked seamlessly when I installed software from the SuperDrive on my Mac Mini via WiFi to my Apple MacBook Air. In addition, I installed the remote disk software on my Dell, just to see if I could watch a movie - and I could! (Remote disk allows a user to watch movies the user has created, and install software remotely - however, it doesn’t allow a user to watch a commercial DVD remotely)

I thought the Apple MacBook Air would be fairly slow with larger programs such as PhotoShop - surprisingly enough it works just fine!

I am keeping all of the bookmarks, preferences, address books, mail accounts, etc synced between my Mac Mini, Apple MacBook Air, and iPod Touch using my .Mac account.

Any files I want to use between the devices, I use via ‘Sharing Files’ under preferences in Leopard.

If you haven’t used Leopard before - you are in for a treat!

I have Expose set up so every time I move my mouse to the upper left corner of my screen ‘All Windows’ come to the forefront. I also have it set so if I move my mouse to the lower left portion of my screen, it launches Spaces.

Spaces is a program that works as if you have ‘virtual desktops’. I set mine up to have 12 ’screens’ - two rows, six columns. This means I can be running up to twelve programs - or have up to 12 windows open at a time - move my cursor to the lower left of the screen, enter Spaces and switch between any of the twelve applications / screens - with literally one movement and a click.

Speaking of clicks - I don’t use the track pad buttons like I used to - which was odd at first - but, once I got used to using the functions of the new track pad - one finger (tap=left click), two fingers (tap=right click), or three fingers (swipe=next page/screen), two finger pinch= small font/small pic, two finger spread=larger font/larger pic - I can’t imagine ever going back.

Overall, I am VERY pleased with the performance of this device. I used to ‘make a decision’ whether or not to ‘lug’ along my laptop, now I just grab the Apple MacBook Air.

I recommend purchasing the Ethernet/USB adapter - we all have to use Ethernet at some point

BTW - if you are looking for a carrying case - I purchased a bag from SFBags.com which is basically a sleeve, a flap, and a shoulder strap for under a hundred bucks - and it’s VERY high quality. You will want to get a size 13-2 (Apple MacBook Air) and a suspension strap (it has a gripper pad on it).

By J. McWhirter

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