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Apple MacBook Air 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo/2GB/80GB
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Average customer review:
Product Description
MacBook Air Notebook is ultrathin, ultraportable, and ultra unlike anything else. But you don't lose inches and pounds overnight. It's the result of rethinking conventions. Of multiple wireless innovations. And of breakthrough design. With MacBook Air, mobile computing suddenly has a new standard. What makes the Air so thin? MacBook Air is nearly as thin as your index finger. Practically every detail that could be streamlined has been. Yet it still has a 13.3-inch widescreen LED display, full-size keyboard, and large multi-touch trackpad. Its incomparably portable without the usual ultraportable screen and keyboard compromises. The incredible thinness of MacBook Air is the result of numerous size- and weight-shaving innovations. From a slimmer hard drive to strategically hidden I/O ports to a lower-profile battery, everything has been considered and reconsidered with thinness in mind.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #41541 in Consumer Electronics
- Brand: Apple
- Model: MB003B/A
- Released on: 2008-02-16
- Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, 3.00 pounds
Features
- 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
- 13.3" widescreen LED backlit display
- 1280-by-800 resolution produces vibrant images and rich colours
- Full-size, illuminated keyboard is perfect for staying productive
- Zoom, rotate, and scroll with a pinch or swipe of the multi-touch trackpad
- Blazing-fast 802.11n2 and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless technologies built in
- Between 0.4 cm and 1.94 cm thin, weighing only 1.36 kg
- Remote Disk feature that allows you to access the DVD or CD drive of a nearby Mac or Windows PC
- Pre-installed with Mac OS X Leopard and iLife 08
Editorial Reviews
Manufacturer's Description
What makes the Air so thin?
MacBook Air is nearly as thin as your index finger. Practically every detail that could be streamlined has been. Yet it still has a 13.3-inch widescreen LED display, full-size keyboard, and large multi-touch trackpad. It’s incomparably portable without the usual ultraportable screen and keyboard compromises.
Amazingly thin. Amazingly full-size.
The thinness of MacBook Air is stirring. But perhaps more impressive, there’s a full-size notebook encased in the 0.16 to 0.76 inch of sleek, sturdy anodized aluminum. And at just 3.0 pounds,1 MacBook Air is more than portable — it’s with you everywhere you go.
The glossy 13.3-inch, widescreen LED backlit MacBook Air display is the same viewable size as the screen on MacBook. The 1280-by-800 resolution gives you vibrant images and rich colors at full brightness the moment you open MacBook Air. So you get full-screen performance with all the benefits of a slim design.
The brilliance of multi-touch.
MacBook Air includes an oversize trackpad with multi-touch technology. You can pinch, swipe, or rotate to zoom in on text, advance through a photo album, or adjust an image. This gesture-based input so successful on iPhone and iPod touch now comes to MacBook.
Full-size, full-feature keyboard.
The keyboard is full-size with crisp keys just like the ones on MacBook. But MacBook Air goes further by adding backlit key illumination, making it easy to work in low-light settings such as airplanes and conference halls. A built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts keyboard and display brightness for optimal visibility. And with the oversize multi-touch trackpad, it just keeps getting better for fingers.
A smart LED display.
The backlit LED display allows for an even thinner build. It provides instant full-screen brightness the moment you open MacBook Air. The mercury- and arsenic-free display is also more power efficient, which translates to longer battery life.
Thin is in the details.
The innovative now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t port hatch flips down to reveal (and closes to hide) all the ports you really need: a USB 2.0 port, a headphone jack, and a micro-DVI port that supports DVI, VGA, composite, and S-video output. Even the MagSafe power connection has been reconsidered and slimmed to fit MacBook Air.
So thin yet so expansive.
MacBook Air comes with a way-more-than-generous 2GB of RAM built in — ample memory for working with your favorite applications. The 80GB hard drive provides plenty of storage space. And you have the option to upgrade to a 64GB solid-state drive, which has no moving parts for enhanced durability.
Micro. Chip.
MacBook Air performance is as impressive as its form, thanks to its 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. This chip was custom-built to fit within the compact dimensions of MacBook Air.
Built-in iSight camera.
Unlike most other ultraportable notebooks, MacBook Air includes a built-in iSight camera. It’s so smartly integrated, you hardly notice it’s there. The iSight camera and iChat software make video chatting easy anywhere there’s a wireless network.
The battery is slimmer. The performance isn’t.
The MacBook Air battery is our thinnest ever, yet it doesn’t compromise power. You can access the web wirelessly for five full hours.
Without wires, you’re free to go anywhere.
MacBook Air is the notebook that allows for a fully wireless lifestyle. It all starts with the fastest-available, next-generation 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR built in. And that’s just the beginning of the unprecedented wireless capabilities of MacBook Air.
Ahead of the curve.
In redefining thin, MacBook Air has shed something you no longer need: the optical drive. That’s because MacBook Air is built for the wireless world. So instead of watching DVDs, you can rent movies wirelessly from the iTunes Store. And instead of backing up files to a stack of discs, you can back up files wirelessly using Apple’s new Time Capsule. However, for those times when you still need to install software on MacBook Air from a CD or DVD, a new feature called Remote Disc lets you wirelessly use or “borrow” the optical drive of a Mac or PC in the vicinity. So you can have full access to an optical drive without having to haul one around.
Remote Disc: How it works.
Set up Remote Disc on a nearby Mac or PC.
Select a nearby Mac or PC with an optical drive. On that computer, install the Remote Disc Setup software (found on the supplied Mac OS X Install DVD). It is now permanently enabled for Remote Disc.
Insert the software disc you want to install.
Insert the DVD containing the software you want to install on MacBook Air into the optical drive of the Remote Disc-enabled Mac or PC.
Install the software on MacBook Air.
In the Finder on MacBook Air, under Devices, select the icon that says Remote Disc. Click on the computer you enabled, and then double-click to open the software DVD. Now proceed with the installation just as if you had a built-in optical drive.
Even migration is wireless.
How do you transfer all of your files, music, photos, and other valuable content from your old Mac to your new MacBook Air? Forget the FireWire cable — that’s the old way. MacBook Air lets you migrate everything wirelessly.
When you turn on MacBook Air for the first time, Setup Assistant walks you through the initial setup. Install the Remote Disc Setup software on the old Mac, and it will then be available to transfer information onto your new MacBook Air. It’s all wireless. All simple. And all secure.
Box Contents
Customer Reviews
Sheer brilliance
The MacBook Air has a full-size screen and a full-size keyboard. So ignore the fact that it is an ultraportable, most of the time when you're actually using it you'll forget how thin it is and simply focus on whatever you need it to do. The MacBook Air's 1.6 Ghz chip may not be quite as fast as the latest Core 2 Duo processors, but it is no slouch either.
While this Apple is a stunning piece of industrial design, it is not until you use it that you truly realise what a great achievement it is. The LED screen is amazingly bright and visible. The aluminium body is beautifully crafted, has magnetic latches and feels solid and strong. In short, iit is a full-size laptop in an ultra thin package. You know this already, so let me give you a user's perspective on the criticisms levelled at it:
1. Lack of removeable battery - Have you honestly ever replaced the battery on a laptop? In 15 years of using laptops I haven't. I really think this is a non-issue.
2. Lack of ports - An extra USB port would have been useful, but the lack of two USB ports and an Ethernet port should not be seen as a disaster. If you need to an Ethernet connection, simply use the specially designed USB dongle. If you need to print, simply attach a local printer directly via the USB port. If you need wireless connection because you have no Ethernet or WiFi network to connect to, simply attach a USB 3G data card. The point is you will only ever need one of these items at any one time and almost never will you need all three at the same time. (Admittedly you may need to print and use a 3G data card, but it is likely to be the exception rather than the norm.)
3. Lack of DVD drive - When we all start renting movies via iTunes, we'll forget this was ever an issue. In the meantime, you can buy a DVD drive which attaches very easily via the USB port. Apart from loading software - which is a good reason to have it - you'll seldom ever use it.
4. Small hard drive capacity. The 80 Gb capacity on the 1.6 Ghz model is not enough by contemporary standards and the 64 Gb capacity of the SSD (Solid State Drive) equipped model is pathetic. THIS IS THE ONLY REAL DOWNSIDE to the MacBook Air. By September, however, new larger-capacity 128 Gb SSDs with no moving parts will arrive, and so capacity should no longer be an issue. Be in no doubt, however, SSD is the future - very quiet, very robust and very fast access times make these drives a natural choice for laptops. If you buy either version of the MacBook Air, swapping the existing drive a larger drive in September should be relatively easy.
Apple's new Time Capsule, which is essentially a WiFi enabled hard-drive, is the perfect companion for the MacBook Air, not only because it provides a fast connection speed that gets round the problem of Ethernet and 3G cards usage and a single USB port, but also because it provides back-up via Time Machine, the back-up facility which is a part of Mac OSX (10.5.2).
Can you use the MBA as your only laptop? In my opinion the answer is for most of the time "yes", notwithstanding the trade-offs discussed, it all depends on what you use your computer for. I would certainly say that for 99% of home computing consumers screen size, keyboard layout and battery life are all optimised in this Apple machine.
Add Apple's almost perfect operating system, OSX Leopard, and the roadwarrior has everything she or he could possibly need. In other words, I have no hesitation in recommending this machine. I think it is sensational. You won't be disappopinted.
MacBook Air from a user
Have been building and using Windows PCs from the early 90's and used quite a few laptops, Compaq through Toshiba and Dell. A bit like driving Trabants they sort of work but break down frequently. You just accepted that you were going to have to wipe the discs and re-install Windows 3, 95, NT, 2000 or XP every 6 months or so. As for viruses on the kids computers...
Then in 2005 bought a Mac Mini as an experiment, and haven't looked back since. I still use a Windows computer every day, but prefer a Mac Mini every time. The original is now being used by one of my kids, we've never had to re-install anything, no blue screens of death and an absolutely silent operator, unlike the Win PCs whining away in the background.
Wanted a laptop, but purely for travel, nothing looked to be suitable and lugging the works Windows slugs had to suffice. Saw the specs for the MacBook Air and realised that although this was a first model, would undoubtedly get better, bigger drive, longer lasting battery etc, now was the time to lash out with the cash.
I don't regret it for one second. It works beautifully. The screen is gorgeous, the back lit keyboard ideal for working in the dark of a lecture theatre and it is a joy to type on. It's as fast as my MacMini and a lot faster than any of the other PCs in our household. Multi-tasking really does work, editing documents and presentations while listening to music, sorting images with the internet in the background didn't phase it one bit. Sure it doesn't have a DVD drive, but the remote drive worked really well, loaded up Office for Mac easily.
Downsides? Very pee'd off that I couldn't rip CDs onto it from the remote drive, or watch DVDs. That was very unreasonable and almost lost a star. The portable superdrive is also light and worked fine for watching movies on a recent journey. As for the shortage of ports, it was never an issue, Yes an ethernet port would have been good, but the wireless connection works flawlessly, and is just as fast if you have a new class n router. I only need one set of headphones, USB hubs are very cheap, though in practice I've never needed to use one. The Video connectors work and have driven an HD screen with no bother. The tinny little speaker? Sorry but does anybody listen to the laptop speakers when travelling? You're likely to get a glass of water over you and your laptop from fellow travellers! No replaceable battery? I used to carry one but never needed it, just more weight. Prefer to travel by train, they have plugs for a charger. In any case 4 hours is about all I would want to take at a laptop in one sitting.
It really is so light and easy to carry. Battery life is OK although it takes too long to recharge. Closing the lid is instant sleep but what is so great is that it wakes up INSTANTLY you open the lid again. I keep it upstairs in the bedroom and if I want to read emails, surf the BBC news site etc it works like a dream. It is so darned convenient, so much more convenient than any other laptop I have ever used in the past 20 years, it is used more often than any other portable I've owned. OK so it won't play the latest gorefest games, but for somebody who just wants a portable, full screen laptop you can touch type on, it has to be the best thing on the market.
Just one last thing. There are a lot of Mac haters out there, could it be the little green jealousy demon? The Mac Book Air is by far and away the most gorgeous looking laptop there is, beats the new Lenovo on every count except a built in DVD drive, and its even cheaper! If something is good, just accept it with grace.
Does what it does exceptionally well
I bought one of these from the Apple store on Regent Street on the day they became available.
There is no question it is a niche product. It is not for everyone, or even for most people, and I don't think I could seriously use it as my only computer. However, it is sensational for travelling with. It has a high quality, full-size keyboard, and a big, gorgeous screen. It is very comfortable to work with, and quick enough for writing, browsing and email. The battery life (closer to 3.5 than 5 hours in practice) also compares favourably to most laptops I have used.
The killer, though, is the size and weight. Seeing and holding really is believing, and carrying it is a blessing. There is just no comparison between carrying this and a conventional laptop through airports and on and off planes constantly. It is a life-changer.
So, like most Apple products, it does what it sets out to do very well indeed. It doesn't do everything a fullsize laptop can do (no DVD drive, no addon batteries). But to me, the trade-off in terms of size is totally worth it.
