“The MacBook Air is a new class of laptop, even though it has a similar design as its MacBook Pro brethrens. What makes this ultraportable unique from the MacBook Pros and everything else in the industry is its thickness, or rather, lack thereof. It measures 0.76 inches deep at the back, tapering down to 0.16 inches as you move toward the front bezel. That’s simply unheard of on a 13-inch ultraportable. The MacBook Air weighs in at 3 pounds and includes features that the rumor sites have long been predicting, including a 13-inch LED screen and an optional SSD drive. It lacks an internal optical drive, and the (very) limited number of connectivity ports will raise eyebrows, but the $1,799 starting price, standard voltage processing parts, and a full size keyboard make up for its few limitations,” Cisco Cheng writes for PC Magazine.
“It goes without saying that the MacBook Air’s design is absolutely gorgeous. The system is basically the length and width of the MacBook 13-inch, except it’s more than 25% thinner in the back and almost 90% thinner near the front bezel,” Cheng writes.
“Going with a 13-inch screen easily allows Apple to integrate a full-size keyboard, which is nearly identical to the one found in the MacBook 13-inch. The only differences are the illuminated keyboard brought over from the MacBook Pros and the fact that it’s black,” Cheng writes.
“The touchpad on the MacBook Air is the largest I’ve seen on any ultraportable. The single mouse button is narrower than the ones on the MacBook Pros, but responsive. The touchpad adds another unique feature in that it’s gesture-based. In addition to two-finger scrolling, the same two fingers can now rotate photos, pan through photo thumbnails, pinch and enlarge Cover Flow images, and play with font sizes, just to name a few functions. Applying three fingers will let you browse backward and forward in a Web browser, though this only works in Safari,” Cheng writes.
“But what’s up with the single USB port? Since the ultraportable doesn’t have an Express Card slot or a card reader, the only way to use a WWAN card or grab images off of your SD card is through an external USB device,” Cheng writes.
MacDailyNews Note: PC Mag and their ilk love card readers more than they loved floppy drives, if that’s even possible. An over 2 year old Nikon CoolPix P1 (that we sometimes use when we need a flash) transfers via Wi-Fi (we use iPhone’s camera much more often nowadays – it’s just too convenient). Welcome to the future, 2005 style! It also comes with a USB cable if you prefer old-fashioned methods. We haven’t touched an SD card (or a card reader) since we dropped a 1GB’er into the Nikon over two years ago. Maybe we should get a MacBook Air to go with it?
Cheng continues, “The Wi-Fi connection comes in handy, given the system’s lack of an optical drive. The company also launched Remote Disc, a software upgrade that allows you to access an optical drive from any PC or Mac on your network. You simply go to the Finder search field and locate the Remote Disc icon. Clicking on the icon will give you a list of computers on your network where you can then perform a function like installing software from a networked PC. You can grab content off of the optical drive as long as it’s not copy protected.”
“Apple is claiming 5 hours on a rather small, 37Whr battery, which sounds great on paper. On the other, it’s a non-user upgradeable battery, similar to those on the iPods. Apple does say that down the line, if the battery fails, a replacement can be purchased for $129 and installation is free; but Apple will have to perform the surgery,” Cheng reports.
Cheng reports, “Without a doubt, the Apple MacBook Air is expected to sell like hotcakes. For one, the laptop debuts at $1,799, a compelling price point when compared to the $2,000 price tags on the Sony TZ150N, the Panasonic W4, and the Toshiba R500.”
MacDailyNews Take: Oh, you mean those big thick things that can’t run Mac OS X, iLife, iWork and all the rest while also being able to run Linux and slum it with Windows if necessary? How much extra is that worth?
Cheng continues, “Though Apple sacrificed an optical drive and certain connectivity options, it did so to make its profile significantly thinner than that of the competition. It also accomplished feats like adding a huge 13-inch display, a full size keyboard, and fast processing parts—all on a 3-pound chassis. I’d say these are respectable compromises. That’s not to say that there isn’t room for improvement, because there is. But for now, the MacBook Air will captivate millions based on looks alone.”
Read the full article here.
It’s true.
I’m captivated by her and want to have v. soon.
I think its beautiful, but I’m not gonna get one.
Gobble Gobble went the turkeys now that realisation finally begins to sink in! except the gobble they spout is more like Gobble de gook as their ignorance shines through thier comments…. It’s not just the looks Mr. Cheng, its is the software first and foremost!!!
Thus spake the Crabapple….
Why trust someone who’s actually seen one?
Pshhhhh…
The guy at Wired was pretty impressed, too.
Why is it that when these review a PC brick, they always find many wonderful things to say about it???
REview of standard but new version Dell PC laptop.
Dell LPT-TOP 11223344-ST-VX Review.
Its a wonderful shade of dull silver!!
It looks like everyother PC out there.!!!
It is over priced and under performing, so rush out and buy it. !!!
It runs Winblows Vista with all its bloat. !!!
It brings nothing new to the table!!!
We predict that it will sell like hot cakes ( in china.)..
Hmmm, I think I have seen this review before.
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Just an after thought, can I use it for a shave?
considering the thinnest edge is almost razor sharp???
Ahem! taking other laptops thinnest edge as a comparison….
use the iPhone for a camera? No thanks, how about a real camera. How hard is it to plug your camera into the usb port?
I personally would not want a MacBook Air – I would rather have more screen space. Since I carry my laptop in my bag, the difference of a couple of pounds is not really consequential to me (note: I carry it pretty much everywhere and pretty much all the time).
That said, I cannot understand the complaint about “no card reader”. I think the USB is fine, considering that many (most?) people use that method anyway.
The one thing that is not getting enough attention is Remote Disk. That is a really cool workaround and I would not mind running that on my MacBook Pro. Maybe some day on the iPhone?
How many devices do people expect to plug into a laptop all the time anyway? This laptop is designed to be the ultimate in portability, so you don’t want a bunch of devices plugged into it at one time.
If you’re going to need a bunch of devices plugged in, get a USB hub – you won’t be carrying those devices around with you anyway. Kinda goes against the idea of portability.
Too bad they don’t get a base macbook under $1000. That psychological spending barrier we read about.
Unless you seek refurb’s.
Honestly, why do you need more than one USB port? I have a hub that I plug all my USB crap into, leaving the other 2 ports on my iMac empty. Same on my ancient Quicksilver PowerMac G4. I have one USB cable going to a hub where everything is all connected. The other USB port is not connected to anything. It is silly to insist upon multiple USB ports when you don’t need them. PLUS, most things can daisy chain via USB, or come with their own little hubs built in (ie: external hard drives).
So, if I were to get an MBA (MacBook Air), I’d come home after traveling it, and connect two cables. One being the power charger, and the other being a single USB cable connected to my hidden hub.
PC reviewers just don’t seem to get how most people use their stuff.
“Brethren” is already plural and means “siblings.” You only have brethrens if you have womens, mens, and childrens.
‘Will captivate millions’
It a TRAP! Run for your lives!!!
Nice looking, but the lack of a removable battery is definitely a deal breaker for me.
The author’s name is CISCO?
More complaints about removable batteries! You know, it’s just possible this machine wasn’t designed with you in mind. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.
How long do you think it will be before some third party comes out with a smallish supplemental battery that attaches to the power port anyway?
I don’t intend to buy it, but I have no complaints about the battery. Let Apple have the expense of recycling them and keeping them out of landfills–even though I’m sure they price the recycling costs into the new battery price.
One USB port is one too many and besides octopuses are so last century. 100% wireless all the way.
LOL! – Some people didn’t look at the MBA spec sheet, it has 90% of the Macbook features in a smaller, lighter package. No firewire won’t stop the MBA’s target market. The MB, and MBA both have integrated graphics, so neither is actually that full fledged anyway. In car terms, the MB, MBA, and MBP would be similar to, the family car, the coupe, and the Ferrari.
thanks, ken. i was waiting for that.
Scheduler.
The screen on your Macbook doesn’t even come close to this. You also don’t get a lit keyboard or “Gestures/Multi-Touch”. So your POS comment seems a little disingenuous, almost like you want to convince your self that you purchased the right product.
To be fair, I would get the MacBook too, but this is no POS at all.
It’s too expensive. Neat but too expensive. No surprise there. I’ll keep my Macbook and eeepc instead.
@Darkness
I don’t like it. I’m not buying it. And, I don’t need any advice from you.
@Brau
Hilarious!
I think I’ll have to see one of these in person. Every time I see a picture or even the video it feels like I get no sense of depth… like the thing is somehow defying the 3-Dness of this universe.
I know, that’s the point. But somehow I feel like I won’t really understand this product until it’s in my hands.
That said, I tried doing the one-hand-hold-it while one-hand-uses-it thing with my PB G4 and almost broke my wrist.
SJ said they went through nearly 100 prototypes before choosing this one, and then hoped the engineers could make it work. After that much effort, who else beside me thinks this is the design type of the MB and MBP for the next 3 to 5 years?
Having only a single USB port does not bother me; but the lack of FireWire certainly does. How are we going to troubleshoot these things in Target mode?
I fix loads of Macs using Target mode and I am wondering what Apple has designed into this MBA that will allow a dead/dying machine to be poked and prodded. Does it have some sort of boot ROM that will take it into a troubleshooting mode?
It’s cool. And I want one. But it seems a lot like a 2008 “Clamshell” to me (the “Clamshell” was the first iBook for those of you that may not remember). The first Clamshells had no FW ports, and only a single recessed USB. It took Apple coming out with a second iteration to finally put in what we all needed: FireWire. Those Clamshells still have value today if the HD is changed and RAM loaded up. They are great for kids. In fact, I just sold a nice graphite one last week.
So my point is: How are we as techs going to service this new Mac? And how long before a Rev.2 MacBook Air will come out to become “the perfection of the line”? Any thoughts?