MacBook Air

Though Macworld’07 was hard to top with the introduction of the iPhone, Steve Jobs has done it again at Macworld’08 with the introduction of the Macbook Air – a new slim 13.3 inch laptop that barely weighs about 3 pounds, sports a thickness of 0.16-0.76 inches, is 12.8 inches wide and 8.95 inches deep. These figures make for a phenomenally thin laptop that comes with a native display resolution of 1280x800.
Eco lovers will be happy that the MacBook Air uses mercury and arsenic-free glass and less packaging.

However that’s not where the fun ends. Like the existing Macbooks, it has a full size keyboard which is backlit and sports an ambient light sensor that can adjust brightness. In a move borrowed from its iPod and iPhone range, the new touch pad is capable of recognizing and using multi-touch. Another interesting option that the new Macbook Air offers is the option of using a 64 GB SSD as an option for storage. The standard HDD has been slimmed to a normal PATA 4200 RPM 1.8 inch laptop drive.Only thing that goes against the MacBook Air is that it doesn't have a DVD writer or any Disc recorder or reader.

For its processing power the new Macbook Air utilizes an Intel C2D processing running at 1.6 GHz (with 1.8 GHz being offered as an option), 2 GB of DDR 2 667 RAM on an 800 MHz FSB. The Macbook Air also sports USB 2.0 jacks, Micro-DVI support for external display connectivity and full support for both 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. In terms of battery life Apple has said that with the SSD option, the laptop is capable of easily introducing 5 hrs of battery.

Technical specs

• .16 to .75-inch thickness on top
• 12.8 x 8.94 inches
• 3 pounds
• 5 hours of battery life with everything running
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor at 1.6 or 1.8GHz, motherboard the length of a pencil.
• 800MHz frontside bus.
• 2GB RAM 667MHz DDR2 standard.
• 13.3-inch screen, LED backlit.
• 1,280 x 800 pixels
• Micro-DVI adapter (for DVI, VGA, composite and S-Video output)
• Intel GMA X3100 Graphics processor with 144MB RAM shared
• 1.8-inch 80GB HD or 64GB Solid State Drive (no moving pieces, but for a stunning $1,300 price increase!)
• Multitouch trackpad with gestures. Pans, zooms, rotates, etc.
• 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1.
• Optional external HD for $99, USB-bus powered.
• Full backlit keyboard.
• One USB 2.0, one audio port, one Micro-DVI

Now while this laptop seems to be beautifully designed in typical Apple fashion, on paper it seems to be bit of a mixed bag. Firstly it’s fairly watered down and does not offer much in the way of power. In comparison with other 13.3 inch laptops, its battery life seems to be a little better but it loses marks for offering such basic storage options. Another thing is its cost. Its base model retails at $1798 and for a full fledged machine climbs for over $3,200. In this space it’s directly competing with its own brothers which will of course leave it in the dust. Apple in its zealous effort to get the product out seems to have starved it of space and a few other essential options.