2008 Woodie Awards
The Skinny on Macbook Air
Elbert Esguerra
Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Features
Perhaps Steve Jobs thought about that common New Year's resolution to get slim at the Macworld Conference in San Francisco last month. He definitely did have tech-experts resolved as he waved around a manila envelope leaving us to wonder with anticipation whatever was inside.
What he revealed was nothing short of Apple's trademark hype-machine as he pulled out the all-new MacBook Air, the world's thinnest laptop computer and the crown jewel of this year's conference.
Granted this new rig is a slick piece of hardware, the question is does it warrant its $1800 price tag?
In case anyone is wondering, the MacBook Air is slim, and when I say it's slim, I mean ridiculously slim. Some of the exterior features are a 13.3-inch LED-backlit screen with built-in iSight and mic, 0.76 inches at its thickest and it weighs about three pounds. The weight is somewhat unexpected upon first glance, but that just enhances the sturdiness and mobility of the design.
The aluminum chassis is solid with aerodynamic curves and no protrusions, but also it's functional to keep to laptop cool. Its trackpad is a lengthy five inches but there is a reason why.
Inside, it sports an Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6 GHz processor with 2GB of RAM, and an 80GB hard drive that clocks in at 4200 rpm. This may seem a little underwhelming considering the older Macbook Pro has a base 120GB 5400 rpm hard drive. However, a 64GB solid state drive (SSD) is an option which conserves power, doesn't spin or heat up and costs an additional $1000.
That's right; a $1000 upgrade.
I assumed a compact design meant a more compressed keyboard, but lo and behold, opening the laptop reveals a full-size functional, backlit keyboard. Getting back to that trackpad, aside from normal rotating and pinching, it incorporates new fingering such as a three-finger gesture that enables people to move back and forth on a web browser, which is handy.
What makes the MacBook Air such a difficult sell right now is the exclusion of an optical drive. For those who need it, Apple suggests the USB 2.0 SuperDrive available for $99 (yes, another upgrade). It is nice that the laptop has a remote disc function, which detects and runs optical drives from other Macs or PCs via Bluetooth just as long as it's within the its network, so installing apps and file-sharing is fine. Still, not having that drive there is awkward, especially for those who use it for streaming DVDs and music.
The ports are nice, but unfortunately the number is inadequate, especially for those that dig that multiple connectivity. The drop-out port has the USB 2.0, a micro-DVI and headphone jack to go along with the MagSafe power port. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity is absolutely reliant since there is no Ethernet port built in.
Having said all of that, it is slim. And it is a Mac. Yes, it is portable and stylish because Apple wouldn't want people to have it any other way. Still, for the $1800 price tag plus additions, I'd say either wait for it to go down or go out and get a MacBook Pro instead. With all those extra accessories to lug around, whether you are a student or avid traveler, there isn't any definitive reason to shell out that much money for something this small.
But hey, it IS slim.
What he revealed was nothing short of Apple's trademark hype-machine as he pulled out the all-new MacBook Air, the world's thinnest laptop computer and the crown jewel of this year's conference.
Granted this new rig is a slick piece of hardware, the question is does it warrant its $1800 price tag?
In case anyone is wondering, the MacBook Air is slim, and when I say it's slim, I mean ridiculously slim. Some of the exterior features are a 13.3-inch LED-backlit screen with built-in iSight and mic, 0.76 inches at its thickest and it weighs about three pounds. The weight is somewhat unexpected upon first glance, but that just enhances the sturdiness and mobility of the design.
The aluminum chassis is solid with aerodynamic curves and no protrusions, but also it's functional to keep to laptop cool. Its trackpad is a lengthy five inches but there is a reason why.
Inside, it sports an Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6 GHz processor with 2GB of RAM, and an 80GB hard drive that clocks in at 4200 rpm. This may seem a little underwhelming considering the older Macbook Pro has a base 120GB 5400 rpm hard drive. However, a 64GB solid state drive (SSD) is an option which conserves power, doesn't spin or heat up and costs an additional $1000.
That's right; a $1000 upgrade.
I assumed a compact design meant a more compressed keyboard, but lo and behold, opening the laptop reveals a full-size functional, backlit keyboard. Getting back to that trackpad, aside from normal rotating and pinching, it incorporates new fingering such as a three-finger gesture that enables people to move back and forth on a web browser, which is handy.
What makes the MacBook Air such a difficult sell right now is the exclusion of an optical drive. For those who need it, Apple suggests the USB 2.0 SuperDrive available for $99 (yes, another upgrade). It is nice that the laptop has a remote disc function, which detects and runs optical drives from other Macs or PCs via Bluetooth just as long as it's within the its network, so installing apps and file-sharing is fine. Still, not having that drive there is awkward, especially for those who use it for streaming DVDs and music.
The ports are nice, but unfortunately the number is inadequate, especially for those that dig that multiple connectivity. The drop-out port has the USB 2.0, a micro-DVI and headphone jack to go along with the MagSafe power port. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity is absolutely reliant since there is no Ethernet port built in.
Having said all of that, it is slim. And it is a Mac. Yes, it is portable and stylish because Apple wouldn't want people to have it any other way. Still, for the $1800 price tag plus additions, I'd say either wait for it to go down or go out and get a MacBook Pro instead. With all those extra accessories to lug around, whether you are a student or avid traveler, there isn't any definitive reason to shell out that much money for something this small.
But hey, it IS slim.
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