Customer Reviews

Apple MacBook Air 13.3" Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 64 GB Solid-State Drive)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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 its 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 its 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 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.

I have been the informal tech guy for two Airs. One for 8 months, one for 6 months. I have also traveled with them. They are generally wonderful, especially if the weight is a big factor. All other laptops seem heavy and inelegant. But ...

(1) If you ever want to use an ethernet connection to the internet (as opposed to wireless), then you have to bring the dongle that converts the one USB port to ethernet. For example, to check your office email at a Kinko's. Definitely buy it. You will want to travel with this and an ethernet cable, in case your hotel room has an ethernet connection and no (or poor) wireless reception.

(2) To do a quick full restore from Time Machine, you need BOTH an OSX disc (either Disc 1 that comes with the Air or an off-the-shelf OSX disc) and the back-up hard drive. But you only have one USB port and no firewire ports. The SuperDrive will not share that port on a USB hub (nor will it work on any computer but an Air). It is easy to back up with Time Machine to a small external drive. (We used a Western Digital Passport.) But consider using a Time Capsule or an external hard drive that has its own power supply. The powered external drive is not elegant, but if you ever need to do a full restore (and you might because your Air will lead a hard life, especially if it is a student's life), it will save you a couple of hours if you use a powered external hard drive. The SuperDrive that you can buy for the Air (and you should buy it, it is small and light) does not work from a USB hub. A powered DVD drive from another manufacturer (ours is from Toshiba) works on a powered USB hub. The WD Passport would not connect to the Air via a powered USB hub (at least through the hub I used, and that hub has had problems). But a powered WD MyBook external hard drive did connect to the Air via the powered hub. So use a powered external hard drive for your Time Machine backups, and if you need to do a full restore, get a powered USB hub and a powered external DVD drive with a USB output. The Apple Genius Bar might not have these. Note: See (11) and (12) below for alternate methods for a full restore, in one of which the WD Passport worked fine.

(3) The Genius Bar geniuses know a lot more about the MacBook than the Air because the Air is still relatively new.

(4) If you ever do a full "restore and erase" from the two discs that come with the Air, you need to know this: At the end of first disc, about 1.5 hours into the process, it flashes "Get ready to insert Disc 2." Then it reboots and eventually says "Installing. Calculating time remaining" and ejects the disc. It does NOT say "Insert Disc 2". If maybe you were not watching it for the entire first 1.5 hours, you would not have seen the message at the end of Disc 1 before the reboot. What it wants when it ejects Disc 1 is for you to insert Disc 2. Not very brilliant programming. Every two-disc Windows program and game says "Insert Disc 2 and press Enter." Not these install discs. I found out when I went to the Genius bar and the Genius restarted the install process. He went to lunch and I watched the computer for two hours (this is what I want you to avoid), so I happened to see the message at the end of disc one. It was a special moment in my life.

(5) Be careful where you put the Air and the SuperDrive. I heard of someone throwing out their Air with the Sunday paper. Might be an urban legend, but we lost a SuperDrive, possibly the same way.

(6) Backups to Time Machine are more likely to happen if you use a Time Capsule as a wireless router + external hard drive. You can also print through Time Capsule, instead of plugging the printer into the Air when you need to print. Be sure to have the printer plugged into the Time Capsule and turned on before you install the Time Capsule. Otherwise, you will probably need to call Apple Care to walk you through the re-install with the printer. Don't get off the phone until the printer works and Time Machine works, not just the wireless internet. For a student whose life is on the Air, I would definitely consider the Time Capsule an essential accessory to the Air. For someone who uses the Air as an occasional computer for travel and has her life on an iMac with an ethernet connection to the internet, the Time Capsule is nice but not necessary.

(7) Get a neoprene sleeve for the Air. Then when it is thrown into a backpack or briefcase, it will be safer. Also, in its sleeve on a desk it is less of an object of desire for thieves (in my humble opinion). After all these months, the Air is still eye candy (as you well know if you got this far in this review). Consider a color other than black, which is harder to see and find.

(8) I understand that the wireless antenna is in the hinge that attaches the screen to the body of the Air. So it is somewhat directional. Try sliding it around to get better reception. You can check the packet flow in the Activity Monitor in Utilities to see what works best.

(9) Wireless reception does not seem to be a strength of the two Airs that I use. The 4 MacBooks that preceded the two Airs in our lives seemed to get more consistently good wireless reception. This is a shame, because the Air depends more on its wireless than the MacBooks, which have real ports. In future generations of the Air I hope that Apple finds a way to get the best possible wireless reception for the Air.

(10) The 80 GB hard drive in the Air is not big enough for a student's life if the student likes to store music and videos on it. An outboard hard drive is a distant second-best solution. (I liked the WD Passport for this, since it does not need external power and it is small, reliable and travels well. Consider wrapping it in bubble wrap in your backpack or briefcase. USB power is enough for this drive since you will not be doing a full Time Machine restore from this drive. To backup the stuff on this drive, you will need another solution, which might be Time Machine on the Time Capsule. Update: I attach the WD Passport and the printer to the USB port on the Time Capsule with a USB mini hub (not a powered hub), store videos on the Passport and back up the Air and Passport with Time Machine to the Time Capsule's hard drive. I wish the backup was not in the same room as the backed-up drives, but it is a lot better than no backup.)

(11) It is easy to connect the Air to another computer to use the other computer's CD or DVD drive. You need a good wireless connection for both computers. The Air asks the other computer for permission each time, and the other computer has to give permission each time. I connected to another Air and could use the SuperDrive on the second Air. I have heard of people using this as a way to access the OSX DVD when they do a quick full restore from Time Machine to the Air. I tried, could connect, but could not do a quick restore this way. The problem was that the both the OSX disc and the original Disc 1 that comes with the Air cause a reboot. After the reboot, the Air could not see the DVD drive in the other computer. End of quick restore process.

(12) Update: To do a full restore from Time Machine to the Air: Do an Erase and Restore with the start up disc or an OSX disc. Two hours later, when this is DONE and you have a fresh computer, it asks if you want to restore from a hard drive using Time Machine. THEN you start the restore. (At that point the restore process is finished with the DVD and you can unplug the SuperDrive and plug in your external hard drive, whether powered or not. The WD Passport worked fine to restore at this point in the process.) The whole process (including the restore from Time Machine) takes many hours, but it works great and you do NOT need a powered external DVD drive; the SuperDrive works fine for this. This waste of two hours (for the erase and restore) is the cost of a small, light computer, I guess. Now you know, too. I hope this saves you from the frustration that

I experienced.

Given all that, every Air owner I know would buy another one if they lost theirs. None would go back to a MacBook. (I do know people for whom the weight is not a big issue and who want more horsepower and ports and sometimes screen size, especially for games. They are happy with their MacBooks as their main computers.) Except for the wireless reception, the problems of the Air are problems for the tech person, not so much for the day-to-day user. Which is a good design choice.

(Note: Four months later: We now have two students using 80GB Airs and they both love them. Both use external drives, too. (WD Passports.) My wife had her Air stolen out of an unlocked car. Don't ask why it was unlocked. It was in a backpack with the superdrive, ethernet dongle, external hard drive, wireless mouse, etc. and they took the backpack. We had Lojack for Laptops on it and the LAPD got it back for us. Just the computer, but we did not complain. It took four weeks. I recommend Lojack for Laptops. The only hard part is remembering that you have Lojack on there. The sooner you remember and file a police report, the sooner you will get your laptop back.)

***UPDATE***

I originally purchased the MBA for home - however, due to it's weight and portability - it quickly replaced my work laptop - which was a Dell.

I have Office 2008 for Mac installed, use a Cisco VPN, and Firefox 3 (for .tiff files and some others that Safari didn't work with) When mobile, I am using a Sprint broadband wireless USB card when I am not using WiFi - and the MBA screams when it comes to running Oracle 11i.

So far, I haven't found anything that makes me miss my Dell.

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I purchased a custom configured MBA - I ordered it with the 1.8 Ghz processor and the 80 GB HDD.

So far, I have to say I love this machine!

As some have mentioned - I thought I would miss certain devices - like an Optical drive (CD / DVD) or an Ethernet port - but so far I haven't missed either one!

I get about 3.5 hours to 5 hours out of each charge - and I have the power settings on 'performance' - which is as high as it gets - I imagine if I dialed it back to 'energy saving' I could get more. My Dell only lasted about 2.5 hours - so I know where all the outlets are in airports / airplanes / lounges when I am on the road. It is nice to only have to charge half as much!!

I am using my MBA in conjunction with a wireless network at my house. The remote disk feature worked seamlessly when I installed software from the SuperDrive on my Mac Mini via WiFi to my MBA. In addition, I installed the remote disk software on my Dell, just to see if I could watch a movie - and I could! (Remote disk allows a user to watch movies the user has created, and install software remotely - however, it doesn't allow a user to watch a commercial DVD remotely)

I thought the MBA would be fairly slow with larger programs such as PhotoShop - surprisingly enough it works just fine!

I am keeping all of the bookmarks, preferences, address books, mail accounts, etc synced between my Mac Mini, MBA, and iPod Touch using my .Mac account.

Any files I want to use between the devices, I use via 'Sharing Files' under preferences in Leopard.

If you haven't used Leopard before - you are in for a treat!

I have Expose set up so every time I move my mouse to the upper left corner of my screen 'All Windows' come to the forefront. I also have it set so if I move my mouse to the lower left portion of my screen, it launches Spaces.

Spaces is a program that works as if you have 'virtual desktops'. I set mine up to have 12 'screens' - two rows, six columns. This means I can be running up to twelve programs - or have up to 12 windows open at a time - move my cursor to the lower left of the screen, enter Spaces and switch between any of the twelve applications / screens - with literally one movement and a click.

Speaking of clicks - I don't use the track pad buttons like I used to - which was odd at first - but, once I got used to using the functions of the new track pad - one finger (tap=left click), two fingers (tap=right click), or three fingers (swipe=next page/screen), two finger pinch= small font/small pic, two finger spread=larger font/larger pic - I can't imagine ever going back.

Overall, I am VERY pleased with the performance of this device. I used to 'make a decision' whether or not to 'lug' along my laptop, now I just grab the MBA.

I recommend purchasing the Ethernet/USB adapter - we all have to use Ethernet at some point ;-)

BTW - if you are looking for a carrying case - I purchased a bag from SFBags.com which is basically a sleeve, a flap, and a shoulder strap for under a hundred bucks - and it's VERY high quality. You will want to get a size 13-2 (MBA) and a suspension strap (it has a gripper pad on it).

Let me start with a simple disclaimer, first I worked for Apple (a long time ago) for 11 years, I also worked for Microsoft for 6 years and I'm pretty comfortable in both camps but I truly love Apple for it's design and combined hardware/software implementations. I go through laptops pretty frequently and have owned UMPC's and full heavyweight desktop replacements. Having said all that, I think the MacBook Air is a home run IF you fit the right profile. The profile is that you want a device that you can carry around easily every day from meeting to meeting, home to work, travel, etc. This is not the laptop for your sole machine, instead it's truly the best device I've every owned for taking notes, staying on top of email, doing some on the fly spreadsheet or database creation, watch ripped or downloaded movies, and generally working through a "normal" business day. If you're looking for a game machine, power photo processing or video processing laptop, or 1 PC to suit all your needs this isn't the right product. But for me, it's close to 100% perfect, the battery life is good enough to get me through more than a couple of meetings, I can watch a movie that I rented on iTunes or ripped on a flight, I can easily do all my email on a week long trip, and basically take the machine with me wherever I go without a big penalty in weight or size. The display is super, the keyboard is wonderful, and I'm personally fine with not having a user replaceable battery. Bottom line is that, if you are clear about what you need, and understand the trade off's, the MacBook Air is a winner of a portable device.

Was one of the first to order this as it was just what I was looking for...it's stunning! Beautiful!

I noticed that I never used my dvd/cd drives so this laptop works perfect for me as I travel a lot and with

everything else I carry around, I don't need a big clunky laptop in a big clunky case to carry around too.

This laptop fits in my existing briefcase easily with my other inter-office envelopes!

Like the iphone, its solidly built but not heavy. I have no fear that it will break in my briefcase.

I have been pondering for years to buy a 10" vaio from Sony. This is many times better with the large screen, full size keyboard, and of course Mac OS operating system means I don't have to have an anti-virus software that slows my computer down to a crawl and screws up my computer every time it is upgraded. Its cheaper than the vaio I was going to buy also.

This is perfect for me. I have a few year old powerbook I keep at home, just in case, but I think I'm going to have to turn that on every once in awhile to keep the battery going as I'm using the MBA all the time.

Wow! is what comes to mind When I opened the box for the first time, its so shiny and it really is a piece of Art more then a simple laptop.

I found it more beautiful in person then I did on the ads, the black keyboard looks great, and again on the ad thought silver would have been better but no longer think that.Being the 1.6/80 model everyone was saying the speed will be slow...Not True! Just sold my 2.2 Macbook with 4G of ram, and this is almost the same.

The screen, it is very bright more so then the current macbook, and to me seems much clearer.

Fans run at 2400 RPMs, no noise or heat...48-57 degrees surfing and mail open.

Charges to full in 3.5 Hours.

The think that impresses me most is the built quality, I have had 6 Apple laptops this year including the Macbook Pro and lots of Macbooks, this is the best built by far.

The track pad is so precise, and much better then my macbook.

The thinness will amaze you.

I am hooked :)

UPDATE:

I was given a 1.8/64 as a gift and wrote a review, that might interest people trying to decide if the SSD drive or HHD drive is right for you

http://thinkmacbookair.com/index.php/topic,70.0.html

I bought my Airbook at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue this evening and upon opening this beauty my first thought was: "MacBook Nano"

My first thought on turning on: super screen! I am a bright screen junkie and this screen is so much brighter than my old MacBook.

I have been a computer user for 13 years and a Mac User for about 8 or 9 and there is just something about buying a Mac that makes me giddy in a way buying a PC never did. Apple products truly are elegant and beautiful and make work seem less so . . .

I'm glad to see that the reviews here on amazon seem to be from actual AirBook owners as opposed to those reviews I've found elsewhere that are heavily weighed down by people who don't even own it.

The biggest complaints seem to be price and lack of optical drive.

In regards to price I don't really see the issue highly portable laptops are ALWAYS priced at a premium and the similar offering on the PC side (The Sony Vaio VZ that appears to have ripped off the MacBook's keyboard design) starts @ $2,199 for a 1.2GHz processor with a Hard Drive that is only 20GB bigger. Do I wish the AirBook was cheaper? Sure, but I'm one of those people who will pay to shave 2 lbs. off my travel weight.

In regards to the lack of optical drive - WAHOO! For me it was a reason to buy this AirBook. I rarely use an optical drive these days.

I don't burn CD's anymore I use an iPod.

I don't watch DVDs anymore, I rip them in Handbrake and watch them from the hard drive. So I can rip the movie on my iMac and transfer it via a memory card or a USB Drive. Easy-Peasy.

99% of the software I use can be downloaded from the net so no installation CD needed. The one program I did need was MS Office 2008 and the installation using my iMac's drive was flawless and straightforward.

As many around the 'net have stated I can't imagine this being anyone's primary computer but as a travel companion and for web-surfing, e-mail and documents Mac fans need not hesitate.

I haven't used any processor intensive programs such as Photoshop or VMWare but I don't have to: that's why I have my iMac. I'm currently using my AB with a few Firefox windows open with several tabs, MS Excel, MS Entourage and Filemaker and all is running quite smooth.

Do I wish Mac's Ultra-portable had a 11.1 or 12.1" screen instead of 13.3" making it even lighter with a smaller footprint? YES but I'm reviewing what IS not what I wish would be.

I actually find myself looking forward to my first business trip with this puppy because I know that will make me love this bad boy even more.

UPDATE: Since the MBA doesn't seem as slow as I feared it might be I installed Photoshop C3 and it works like a charm. Tried to install VMWare but no dice - you need the external drive for that as VMWare doesn't recognize Remote Disc. Another observation not only does the MBA run very quiet it runs VERY COOL - I can't remember the last time a laptop didn't burn the cr*p out of my lap!

This is my backup and travel computer at my MacPro would not really travel well.

First things first, this is probably not he computer you should be using as a primary computer, but as a second computer is excels.

I like the fact that I can fit it in my business folio and take it to work use it on my breaks and when I have some free time. It is also quite solid I had no fear of damaging it holding it on it's edges.

The feature I like best is the screen. They use the new LED backlighting instead of fluorescent so it is more energy efficient and way brighter then any other of Apple's displays even ont he MacBook Pro.

As for the 80gb vs solid state drive. I got the 80gb because while the solid state will read data faster and boot up and open applications faster then a MacBook Pro the 80gb drive writes data faster, and well I did not buy this computer for it's speed anyway.

By the way if you are concerned about the size of the hard drive I'll let you know what I do and hope it helps. When I am away I leave my MacPro on and set up my .mac account with Back to my Mac. I have a AT&T 3G wireless card and with that combo I can access the 1TB drive and all the applications on my MacPro. It will not obviously run as fast but it is the closest you will get to a 1.08 TB laptop at this point.

The good: I thought it wouldn't be as sturdy as it is, but it is! The screen is great. very thin and truly ultraportable, though not quite as light as you might think. overall, a truly beautiful laptop. i also think the price is excellent--a very fair price for such a nice ultraportable computer. most any serious computer user can afford this beauty. the power chord is great.

the bad: no optical drive, means no dvds, not cd installs, unless using another computer, by which it can use file sharing to transfer the data over wireless, which is FAR from ideal. this is a big downer, as everyone will want to watch a dvd sometime, expecially on the plane or on a trip... you should definitely buy a usb thumb drive or two, a usb hub, a usb ethernet device, and a nice case to go along with the purchase. u can buy an external cd/dvd player/burner, but lugging that along kills the form factor and portability of the unit. battery life is about 3-4 hours, for me, per charge, which is OK, not great considering i'm just surfing and using imail 3/4 of the time. throwing in a neoprene case or something should have been included for an 1800 dollar laptop. i have no problem buying one seperately, but throwing in a 5-10 dollar case would have been considerate, and other high-end laptop mfgrs throw this in.

the ugly: video capabilities are weak, just sufficient enough to get by. i can't edit movies with imovie nearly as well as i can with my macbook pro (1.8 ghz). and i'm afraid as more programs become more graphics intensive, this may be a big problem after a few years. harddrive speed is noticably inferior--the read access time and write performance are palpably slower than my other notebooks. harddrive space is limited as well, and considering there's no dvd/cd player, it magnifies the problem.

I could easily give this 4 stars, but will give it a 3 because it simply can't serve all my needs, no way. it's terrific as a primary laptop used for email and other light tasks, but if you're a serious computer user, it alone is nowhere near enough. it's probably worthy of 4 stars for it's overwhelming pro's, and 5 stars as a secondary/special use laptop, but the con's i mentioned earlier are legitimate and wonder how it's going to to fare with the next generation OS and programs, considering it's pathetic integrated video card. whereas, i know my macbook pro will be ready for whatever i throw at it for 5 more years.

on a side note, i also own a Dell M1330, and it's just 1.5 lbs heavier, but gives me alot more (cpu, hd, ram, and video!) power for almost half the price. also a sleek, pretty machine, but definitely not on my MBA's level aestheticly, and is not quite "ultraportable." still, if you're a pc user, i'd recc'd it. i have goen through a dozen notebooks over the past 6 years, handing them down to friends and family, and i now down to three (macbook pro, air, m1330, plus a desktop imac, and 1 desktop pc). don't get me wrong though, i currently adore my macbook air, it serves it's purpose very well. that said, my dell m1330 and my macbook pro are more indispensable and "important" to me.