Many consider Apple to be a leader in the computing world, but in many ways it is an attentive follower. Apple hasn’t historically been the first to introduce a new type of device, but rather a company that looks at where others have done poorly and attempts to do better. Apple didn’t invent the ultra portable, but with the MacBook Air it’s attempting to do it right.
The all aluminum exterior also means that it’ll always shock me after going through airport security, just like my MacBook Pro – great; it’s a small price to pay for a sturdy system.
The MacBook Air uses a 65nm Merom based mobile Core 2 Duo CPU running at 1.6GHz. For an extra $300 you can upgrade the chip to a 1.8GHz part (note that Intel only charges Apple an extra $32 for the faster CPU).
Obviously you can continue to use the MacBook Air as long as you’d like, but be aware of its planned obsolescence. The lack of memory slots is quite possibly the biggest issue, especially as applications grow in size. I remember reviewing the first Mac mini and complaining about not having 512MB of memory standard; these days 2GB is my sweet spot for OS X, and luckily Apple has outfitted the Air with just that. It’ll be another year or two before 4GB is the minimum smooth requirement for a decent OS X machine, but when that rolls around you’re out of luck with the Air.
Don’t buy this notebook if you’re not comfortable with having to buy a new one in another year or two. For the target market with the sort of disposable income necessary for such a habit, it’s not a terrible commitment.
During normal use the Air gets warm but not too uncomfortable to use on your lap. If you’re doing more than just typing/browsing with it, the system can get too warm to use on your lap. It definitely got there for me a few times while putting together this article, but it may vary depending on your tolerance for heat on your lap (and your desire to become infertile).
Part of the problem with the MacBook Air is that it’s designed for a world that doesn’t exist yet. Wi-Fi access just isn’t ubiquitous, you need to rely on a combination of Ethernet, WiFi and a 3G modem if you really want connectivity.
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