(LifeWire) - What is the MacBook Air
On January 15, 2008, Apple unveiled the MacBook Air, a sleek laptop intended to take its place alongside the iPod and iPhone in the gallery of Apple's hip, technological triumphs. The MacBook Air is undoubtedly an aesthetic marvel; at a super-thin 3 pounds, it can fit into a manila envelope. However, moving beyond the coolness and convenience factors, there are lingering questions over the MacBook Air's suitability - in terms of speed, power, and feature functionality - for more serious users, such as business people and gamers. Ultimately, if you need a laptop that's good enough to tide you over when you're away from your main machine, and don't mind turning some heads in the process, the MacBook Air is for you.
Specifications:
- The Intel Core 2 Duo processor 1.6 GHz standard (1.8 GHz optional)
- 80GB 4200-rpm Parallel ATA hard disk drive (optional 64 GB solid-state drive and an optional external USB SuperDrive)
- Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor, 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
- Built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi wireless networking (IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible)
- One external USB 2.0 port
- One micro-DVI port
- One headphone port
Power:
- Five-hour battery (although, depending on the laptop's configuration, this could be as low as two and a half hours in practice.)
Included Software:
- Installed software includes Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard (comprising Photo Booth, Quick Look, Safari, Spaces, Mail, Spotlight, Time Machine, Dashboard, iChat, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Xcode Developer Tools, Front Row)
- iLife '08 (iTunes, iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb).
Pros:
- The MacBook Air is thin and light enough to be taken anywhere.
- The head-turning design makes this one of the coolest products of the year.
- Details like the backlit, full-sized keyboard and automated screen illumination make it easy to type and surf the Internet without wearing out your eyes.
- You can't replace the MacBook Air's battery yourself. You have to turn the laptop over to Apple for that.
- There's no FireWire, which will disappoint digital video enthusiasts and those eager to burn CDs and DVDs.
- The USB port is recessed, so not all peripherals can reach it.
- This is the slowest MacBook on the market.
- MacBook Air sells a lot of accessories on the side instead of packing them in the box. For example, you'll have to buy the Ethernet adapter if you anticipate not using Wi-Fi, and you'll have to buy the external drive in order to play and burn disc-based digital media.
Overview:
The MacBook Air may not be fast enough for high-end gaming. The lack of FireWire reduces its utility for digital video enthusiasts and digital media copiers. Mobile business people won't like not being able to replace the battery themselves. But, in the end, it's clear that MacBook Air is a lover, not a spouse -- you take it on the road for flings, but you come back to your reliable desktop or robust laptop.