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Apple Apple MacBook Air

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Ratings

PCWorld Rating, August 3, 2009

7 User Reviews Add your own »

Pricing

$949.00 From 1 Vendor Get Best Prices »

Spec Navigator
Processor
Memory
Display
Storage
Battery
Dimensions
Other Features
Networking
Multimedia
Software
Interface Connections
Included Devices
Warranty

Processor

Processor class	Core 2 Duo P7500
Processor speed	1600 MHz
Cache size	4096 KB
Bus speed	800 MHz

Memory

Installed memory	2048 MB
Maximum memory	2048 MB
Memory technology	DDR2-667 SDRAM

Display

Display size	13.3 inches
Maximum resolution	1280 x 800
Aspect ratio	16:10
Display type	LCD Display w/ Glossy Screen & LED Backlight

Storage

Total HD Size	80 GB
Optical Drive Type	DVD±R DL/DVD±RW
Optical Drive Speed	8
Removable Optical Drive	Yes
Slots	None
Number of Media Slots	0

Battery

Number of Included Batteries	1
Standard Number of Batteries	1
Type of Batteries	Lithium ion
Vendor Rated Battery life	5

Dimensions

Weight (min)	3 pounds
Weight (with accessories)	3.4 lbs
Width	12.8 inches
Depth	8.9 inches
Height	0.8 inches

Other Features

Input devices

Keyboard
Touchpad

Networking

Bluetooth	Yes
Included network card	Not included
Modem Type	Not Included
Wireless LAN Type	802.11n

Multimedia

Video chipset	Intel 965 Express chip set
Video integration	Integrated

Software

Operating system

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32 bit)

Interface Connections

Interface connection

USB - Universal Serial Bus Port
Audio - Headphone Out (1/8" Mini)
Audio - Line Out (1/8" Mini)
Bluetooth
USB - Universal Serial Bus 2.0

Included Devices

Built-In Speakers	Mono
Docking Station Port	No
Included devices	AC Adapter

Warranty

Warranty information

1 Year Limited Warranty

PCWorld Rating, August 3, 2009

7 User Reviews Add your own »

$949.00 From 1 Vendor Get Best Prices »

Lab Tested
How We Test Laptops »

Pros

Sleek, sexy, spartan design

Fantastic keyboard

Cons

So slim, there's little room for inputs

Poor battery life

Bottom Line

The Air's looks can't be denied. Its performance and expandability are whole other matters, though.

Apple MacBook Air Ultraportable Laptop

Apple MacBook Air Review, by Darren Gladstone March 25, 2008

The MacBook Air is a super-slim ultraportable laptop computer that you can slip into very thin spaces. Like anything else that Apple crafts, the Air's industrial design is phenomenal. But its beauty is little more than skin deep.

Miraculously, the Air houses a 13.3-inch, 1280-by-800-pixel display; a roomy keyboard; and a double-wide, multitouch trackpad within its petite, 0.75-inch-thick frame. But aside from a headphone jack, a USB port, and a mini-DVI port, it's not very well equipped. It lacks an optical drive, and to connect to a network via ethernet, you must purchase a $29 USB adapter.

Since the machine's base price is $1700, you pay a lot for the Air's style. At that price, the Air comes with a traditional, 80GB platter-based hard drive, but for an extra $1000, you can get a 64GB solid state drive. That raises the Air's price to that of the much-better-equipped Lenovo ThinkPad X300.

The Air's anodized brushed-aluminum casing is cool to the touch, and even the most anti-Mac person can't help but appreciate it. The gorgeous keyboard's cut-out key design is not only unique, it provides huge keys that feel great to the touch. They're amply spaced, too, so you won't find yourself regularly hitting the wrong keys.

You won't have trouble seeing the keys in dark rooms, either, because thanks to an ambient light sensor, the Air adds a subtle background glow to the keyboard when it gets dark. That feature works in the preinstalled Mac OS, of course, but not in Vista.

In the Mac OS, the enormous touchpad adorning the laptop's bottom recognizes multitouch commands, much as the iPhone's interface does--use two fingers pinching inward to zoom in, or stroke across the top to navigate pages, and so on. The feature is neat to see in action, but I'd consider it a bigger deal if Synaptics hadn't already delivered drivers that provide somewhat similar functionality for many Windows-based trackpad-based notebooks.

Despite having a 1.6-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 (that's a relatively powerful CPU for an ultraportable), the Air scored behind some of the ultraportable notebooks in its 3-pound weight class--even ones that had slower processors. After we installed Apple's Boot Camp software and Windows Vista, the Air earned a 57 on our WorldBench 6 tests. Lenovo's ThinkPad X300, a business-oriented notebook, has a lower-powered CPU (a 1.2-GHz Core 2 Duo L7100), and yet scored a 64 on WorldBench--a significant 12 percent difference. You might suspect that the Air's being a Mac might have something to do with it--and perhaps it did, but previous Apple notebooks haven't had any performance issues on WorldBench, and in fact, for a time a MacBook Pro held the title of the fastest notebook we'd tested.

We also ran into some speed bumps with the Air initially (specifically, getting hardware-related function keys to work, such as those for the volume and brightness controls), but Apple's Boot Camp utility resolved some of the stickiest problems. However, this lightweight is light on run times: In our lab tests, the Air's battery lasted for 2.5 hours of operation. And because of its closed-case design, you can't swap in a new battery. So what at first seems a godsend if you're a frequent flyer will quickly ground you--unless, of course, you fly first-class on those planes now offering power outlets.

Ultimately, though, the Air is a victory of industrial design and single-minded purpose. It has decent performance for an ultraportable, but few standout features to speak of beyond the superficial. And yet, I still can't help wanting to stop and touch it.

--Darren Gladstone

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PCWorld Lab Results

Rating Breakdown
Performance
46
Features
68
Design
78
See Complete Lab Results »

Performance

Adobe Photoshop CS2	802
Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 DirectX	886
Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 Rendering	1346
Battery Life (Video Playback in hh:mm)	2:31:26 AM
Doom 3, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit	7
Far Cry, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit	17.73
Firefox 2	468
Microsoft Office 2003 with SP-1	465
Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9.0	407
Multitasking	613
Nero 7 Ultra Edition	927
Number of Included Batteries	1
Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator 1.5	339
Winzip Computing WinZip 10.0	427
WorldBench 6 Score	57
WorldBench 6 Word Score	Poor

User Reviews

Average User Reviews for Apple Apple MacBook Air

2 Reviews Add your own »

Latest User Reviews 2 reviews
Reviewed by: mcconnell

Duration of ownership: 2 Months

Strengths: Other than being very, very thin and fairly reliable, I haven't found any strengths. I will say that it is extremely portable.

Weaknesses: The processor is weak (even upgraded) and the HDD is small. I have felt very limited while working and playing games. I am a huge gamer and I also edit photos/videos a lot. This laptop, although small, doesn't have a lot of room to work. Also the lack of a CD/DVD drive, monitor port, small screen, lack of fire wire port, Ethernet port and only 2 USB drives make it extremely limiting.

Overall: I would have to say that I don't think Apple did very well with this laptop. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who is looking for power for work or play. It is very thin, almost too thin, but that doesn't make up for everything it is missing. For now I will go back to my Dell laptop (17 inch screen, 250 GB HDD, 2.4 Duo Core CPU, and 2 GB RAM).
Reviewed by: MBA4EVA

Duration of ownership: 3 Days

Strengths: The perfect ultraportable laptop for the majority of users. OS X and Vista capable. Solid performance.

Weaknesses: Relatively slow HDD only an issue for heavy duty read-write duties - upgrade is a possibility down the road though.

Overall: I had been unsure as to which of the three Macbook ranges to buy. If you want graphics performance get the Macbook Pro. If you want price vs performance get the Macbook. If you want a slick ultraportable with more-than-adequate performance for the majority of users, get the Macbook Air. I recommend it without hesitation. This is especially so if you get the external ODD, which works a treat when needed, and if you get the latest Airport Extreme and whack a big external HDD on it. The disk space issues become irrelevant as you can connect iTunes and iPhoto to your preexisting libraries without difficulty. You can also stream and media without any dramas whatsoever. Another winner from Apple.

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User Reviews From Around the Web

Reviewed by: totallyworfless

Strengths: Size, Weight, Look and coolness factor

Weaknesses: underpowered, only 1 usb port

Overall: Again, I am blown away by another apple product. This is one of the coolest laptops to hold in your hand. It's amazing how much a few pounds off the weight and the slimness of design makes such a big difference. I was a little disappointed by the battery power (only about 3 hours) though I've heard that other people have had varying amounts of battery life. All in all, I'm very happy about my purchase as a business traveler.
Reviewed by: mfauls

Strengths: Size, look, well integrated package

Weaknesses: Connectivity options, battery life, no CD/DVD

Overall: I have been an MS user for like 20 years. Vista: they should really be ashamed of themselves! Time for a new PC for couch surfing and decided I would give it a try. Glad I did. Very light, people all want to try it out when they see it. The learning curve from Windows took like an hour. People complain about Safari but I think it performs pretty well. I did download FireFox as a comparison, but like Safari on the Mac better. Biggest drawback: no DVD/CD and only one USB. Performance is quite OK.
Reviewed by: JoeJames55

Strengths: Great looking, ultra thin design.

Weaknesses: No cd/dvd drive, 1.6 Intel Core 2 Duo

Overall: Hmm, gotta give it to Apple again for making a light weight, good looking machine. Same as the I-pod, a first. Again, same as the i-pod, lacking in MAJOR functionality. No cd/dvd drive is a real killer! Battery life is pretty average but for what this doesn't have, I would expect better. Plus, that 1.6 gig Intel... boring. If you are going to spend that much money on a laptop, you might as well get something with some real power and it only weighs in at 5-6 lbs? Just as easy to tote around, does 3 lbs really make a difference or are we all that lazy?
Reviewed by: psmile4me

Strengths: Dimensions, weight, visuals and style

Weaknesses: Security (no place for a laptop lock), not enough ports, particularly ethernet port (but a mini hub can be purchased, as well as a usb ethernet adapter), lack of cd drive

Overall: I received my MBA 2 days ago and once again Apple has made an impressive statement in the form of presentation. The packaging alone was a thing of beauty. Once I got to the actual product all I could do was smile and thank the Lord that my PowerBook G4 12-inch died a week ago. Up until that point my 12-inch was attached to my hip. Compared to the current lineup of Apple laptops, the MacBook Air is lacking in a few key areas like hard drive space, internal CD drive, ports and speed. But for a traveler who needs a laptop when I'm on the go, losing the load is so worth it and this dawn thing can fit into the slimmest of places and not wear me down when I'm running for a plane. Note: I remedied the hard drive problem with the purchase of a Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini 250GB portable hard drive, almost the size of a deck of cards. Final note: I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE my new MBA and could care less about the cons...BUT I better NOT hear about an upgrade 2 months from now:-)
Reviewed by: devilot

Strengths: Lightweight, solidly built, full-sized backlit keyboard, gorgeous 13.3" LED display, large multi-touch touchpad

Weaknesses: Faster than other ultra portables, but still a bit laggy, 1 USB port, remote/ ethernet dongle/ external SuperDrive are extra

Overall: Yes, this is NOT a _cheap_ notebook. Nor should it be if you take into account the little extras that Apple throws in such as the built-in iSight, lovely aluminum casing, magnetic latch, MagSafe adapter, backlit KB, "huge" multi-touch touchpad with all new gestures, and even the chipset had to be custom-built-- minimized to fit in this super thin notebook. Some complain, "Who's so weak that they'd pay a premium to lighten their load by 2 measly pounds?" But that's not really the way to look at it at all. If given a choice, would you rather tote around a magazine or a hardcover college textbook? I know which I'd prefer. And truly, the three pounds in day-to-day computing is very noticeable. It is very noticeably light! A true joy to bring out and about and just when moving around the house. For the user who doesn't use "power" apps (such as video/ music editing, or intensive graphics work), this is a superb notebook. NOT a desktop replacement like it's larger relative the 15" MacBook Pro, nor as cost-efficient and feature-filled as the cheaper but more power relative 13.3" MacBooks, but this is a solid machine that will readily handle web-browsing, word processing, the odd video clip or movie. This is also a great machine for the on-the-go traveler with lighter needs-- provided that they bring along the miniaturized AC adapter (and by mini, yes, it's still a brick, but it's about the size of the iPod charging brick, very small and light by computer power brick standards). Those who would complain about the built-in battery? That's silly! It costs $199 which INCLUDES labor for the battery swap. Guess how much the replacement batteries are for Apple's MBs and MBPs? Yup, $199. So it's really no different, and not a big deal at all. Yes, this is a revision A product-- please keep that in mind. There will inevitably be some kinks to be worked out with a brand new product. Not just hardware (occasional HDD clicking) but also software (KB backlighting is a bit skewed still, and remote disc doesn't always work perfectly) but I hope that given a little bit of time, these will be ironed out and as my external SuperDrive will soon be here, hopefully, that will help with some issues. Overall, a great secondary machine. Not without some drawbacks-- but none that aren't fully disclosed anyway and readily smeared all over the internet. Any buyer should be savvy enough to know that it has no built-in optical drive, for instance. But truly, a fantastic notebook for users with light needs and for those who prefer lighter packages.