Apple MacBook Air 13.3-Inch notebook Reviews

Apple MacBook Air Reviews

Compromises? Not In My View., March 17, 2008

By PenPal (San Antonio, TX) - I did a fair amount of soul-searching before pulling the trigger on Apple MacBook Air 13.3-Inch notebook purchase, in large part because of all the "compromises" apparently required to make as thin as Apple MacBook Air one is. For me, the MBA replaced a ThinkPad T-40, which has been as sturdy, consistent, and feature-laden as Apple MacBook Air 13.3-Inch notebook is unattractive. My worry was that, though I was sure I would like the size and appearance of the MBA, maybe I would miss the T-40's feature set. Worse, I might miss a particular feature while traveling. So, I almost didn't buy the MBA.

I needn't have worried -- the MBA is simply incredible. As others have mentioned, the case is quite sturdy. Apple's engineers ingeniously relied on some of the internal components themselves as part of the skeleton for the case. This sounds scary, except that they were designed to serve both functions. The keyboard is crisp and comfortable (and keep in mind that I'm coming from a very well-regarded keyboard in the ThinkPad). The trackpad gestures more than make up for all of the extra keys the ThinkPad has. Although it takes some getting used to, the three-finger swipe, the two finger "right-click", pinching/expanding, etc., are all intuitive, comfortable, and fairly addictive. I've even started missing them on my desktop. The screen is really impressive -- a *big* improvement from my previous laptop. And battery life has been just fine -- definitely not the advertised five hours, but consistently well over three.

What do I miss? Honestly, not much. I've started using downloaded movies when I travel, including iTunes rentals. They all look just as good as a DVD did (on a laptop, at least) and are better for battery life. When I use an external mouse, I use a Bluetooth wireless model, so it doesn't take up the USB port. I was never a battery-swapper anyway, so that's not an issue. (I'll probably gripe about the built-in battery every couple of years when I replace it, then forget it the rest of the time.) And I can't save everything I have on the hard drive, though it holds everything that I would ever need on-the-go. I don't even miss the Ethernet port, as I travel with an Airport Express, and have for years. For me, the only real downside is the speed of opening applications. Opening most apps is noticeably and annoyingly slower than with my desktop (or, presumably, than all of the other Apple notebooks). However, once open, they do just fine. I now leave them open, which Apple says is fine, and speed is more than adequate.

As a disclaimer, I should mention that I'm a lawyer, so my usage doesn't involve heavy graphic or media work. I tend to run the Microsoft Office suite, Safari, iTunes, iPhoto, watch movies, and use the internet. For those types of things, the MBA comfortably meets my needs. I've even added VM Ware's Fusion program (running Windows XP) and, once loaded, it does the job as well. A speed demon this computer isn't, but if you use general productivity software and Apple's consumer applications, you'll probably be very happy.

I own a MacBook Air... (update), February 16, 2008

By Axel Grothey (Rochester, MN USA) -
I just came back from a 3-day trip - my first travel experience with the MacBook Air. I do own a first generation MacBook Pro and was honestly tempted at first to bring it along in case I need "it". "It" mainly referred to the DVD drive, built-in ethernet and perhaps superior hard-drive speed/access time. I decided to go with the MacBook Air alone (and the USB ethernet adapter) - and see what happens.

It went great. First of all, the bag on my shoulder felt almost unreasonably light. Battery life was more than sufficient to support my three-hour flight with about 25% of capacity left at the end. Connecting to the internet at the airport (via wi-fi) and in the hotel (USB-ethernet adapter) was a breeze (note, however, that I did need the $29 USB-ethernet adapter).

At the conference, laptop-envy abounded... quite amazing, actually. The reaction of someone who has never seen it to Apple MacBook Air 13.3-Inch notebook is size, sturdiness, and form factor is quite impressive.

I ichatted with my family without problems with good quality video; the systems overall felt a bit more responsive than my 2-year old MacBook Pro with the first-generation Core Duo chip.

If you want a light, thin, sturdy laptop with full-size keyboard, a gorgeous screen, MacOS X (10.5), and you don't necessarily need a CD/DVD drive (you can buy an external one, but somehow lugging this extra piece around somehow defies the purpose of the MBA), and can put up with not "optimal" hard-drive performance, then the MBA is exactly what you want!
I would buy the USB-ethernet adapter, though.

If you need high-speed performance, FireWire, a high-end graphics card, a built-in DVD/CD drive etc, then the MBA is not for you - but I guess then you would not be looking at this page...;)

Honestly, I could not be happier with my purchase. My MB Pro will be up on eBay soon...


Update:

I have been using my MacBook Air now for 4 weeks and have taken it on several trips. This now allows me to update some of the comments made before.

- Battery life: I am quite happy with the battery life which easily allows 3-4 hours of text processing, PowerPoint slide generation, and EndNote work. For me this mainly happens on flights which allows to lower the brightness of the LED screen to save power. I have not pushed my MBA to play videos. In fact, I have no digital entertainment files on it since these files can fill up the (limited) space on the drive quite fast.

- Ports: One USB port is not enough! For instance, if you have to connect to the internet via USB adapter (again, still indispensable!), you block the one and only USB port - unless you carry a USB hub along (Belkin has a nice 4-port one with a swivel design, but quite pricey). Thus, I have added a small USB hub to my travel utensils.

- Design: The MBA still turns heads and sparks comments. In fact, on one of my flights the captain himself left the cockpit to take a look after one of the flight attendants had told him about the MBA on my lap...

- Heat: The MBA is MUCH cooler than my MacBook Pro. You can easily keep it on your lap without feeling uncomfortable.

My wish list for future MBA generations:

- At least 2 USB ports. Should be easy to do.
- Reconsider built-in ethernet - the USB adapter works fine, but blocks the one USB port at this point.
- As soon as larger 1.8'' drives (HD or SSD) are available, they will surely find Apple MacBook Air is way into the MBA to overcome some space limitations.

- It might surprise some, but I honestly do not see a great need for a swapable battery. I would leave it as is in order to keep the amazing form factor.

Superb machine in most ways!, February 20, 2008

By PaulM "PaulM" - Superb quality, beautiful super-bright screen with good viewing angles, doesn't get hot like most notebooks, fantastic design that slips in between documents and you don't even notice it, good battery life given the power (I average 3 1/2 hours with regular use and wireless on), light weight, fast wifi connections, tiny power adapter and great feeling full-size keyboard that is backlit for work in low lighting. This is as close to the perfect travel computer that I've ever used!

Now the not-so-greats:

- there really should have been more than one usb port. It can be handled if you need more through a small usb hub, but that's not ideal. One more port should have been included.

- Wired ethernet. Would have been nice to have that built in too, but the dongle works well and is really almost never needed for me at least. I bring a small wireless router with me anyway so I never really need to use wired ethernet. Still, it's a convenience.

- built in battery that require unscrewing many screws to replace. This is a design decision and I'm not sure I agree with it. If the battery holds up reasonably well for a year or so and it's easy to get replacement batteries, I think it's not a bad decision, but if these batteries are not good quality and don';t last it'll piss me off. I'd like the option to bring an extra battery, but I've never done it before so even if I had the option I probably wouldn't use it. If you need to work for many hours on the plane, this is not good. On the other hand, it's just a matter of time before all airlines start having plugs for laptops in all cabins. Mixed feelings about this decision, but I love the design so much (and it would be different with a removable battery) that it feels like it outweighs this issue....not rational, but that's the way I feel.


That's it. This is the nicest laptop I've used, despite it's minor inconveniences. As long as you're aware of how you work and what you need and compare that with the macbook air's capabilities, you'll simply LOVE this machine.

Buy Apple MacBook Air

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Apple MacBook Air 13.3-Inch notebook - 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 64 GB Solid-State Drive

Apple MacBook Air 13.3-Inch notebook