"MacBook Air" or just Hot Air?
Techtree News Staff, Jan 16, 2008 1759 hrs IST
The "Air" is 0.16 inches thick at least, and 0.76 inches thick at best, and is just 3 lbs (1.36 kg) heavy, making it the ultimate notebook in terms of portability.
Among other Apple products launched at the Macworld 2008 today, the company's newest "MacBook Air" dazzled the most.
It's USP: "the thinnest notebook in the world", as Apple Chief, Steve Jobs, gave his verdict.
To begin with, a note on what makes this beautiful slim notebook unique -- and -- anorexic.
The "Air" is 0.16 inches thick at least, and 0.76 inches thick at best, and is just 3 lbs (1.36 kg) heavy, making it the ultimate notebook in terms of portability.
A 13.3-inches full-size backlit display, and a full-size backlit keyboard like in the MacBook Pro, ensures a non-cramped typing experience.
The machine has an Intel 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo processor, an 80GB hard drive (64GB SSD optional), and 2GB of memory.
It wears a multi-touch track pad that works on a platform similar to the one in the iPhone. This is quite an exciting feature -- for instance to toggle between photos, you can pan Right or Left, and to zoom in and out of images, you need to pinch in and out with your fingers.
The ultra thin notebook manages to pack an iSight camera, and features 802.11n fast Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless technology, and a thin Magsafe connector for power that connects at a 90-degree angle.
A flip-down door holds a headphone jack, a DVI port (to play projectors, external display), and a USB port.
"There's something in the air" is how Steve Jobs hinted it's time to bid adieu to some of the conventional factors that are featured in every day notebooks. The mantra for the "MacBook Air" is inevitably wireless connectivity.
While that's about the "MacBook Air" being unique, let's see what it isn't:
There's no wired Ethernet connection -- But for those who must own this notebook, but are certain that they cannot survive without a wired Ethernet connection, Apple has a USB Ethernet Adapter for them to solve the issue.
There's no internal optical drive -- A bold step toward the "wireless" revolution, as an optical drive is an integral part of any computer. And this -- despite the fact that most users need to burn CDs and DVDs at some point to access data at different places.
Nonetheless, Apple seems convinced that a Mac user will not require an internal optical drive, given that iTunes will provide movies and Time Capsule will back-up data.
And in case you still feel the need for an optical drive, the MacBook Air Super Drive is available at an additional cost of $99.
The battery isn't user-replaceable -- You can't manually change the battery when over a period of time, its battery life has depreciated to say an hour. This could pose a problem for those who plan to make a lifetime investment in the notebook. At the moment, a battery replacement regime will cost you $129.
There's just one USB port -- This could be a downer for many as a minimum 2 USB ports are sort of a necessity nowadays. Be prepared to attach an external adapter to support a couple of more USB slots!
And there's no Firewire port - Without this feature, you can forget about uploading digital videos from a camera.
All said, whatever the "MacBook Air" lacks, Apple is certainly providing external options to make up for the lack of those features. Then again, what's the point of owning a super-slim notebook, when you need to lug around external attachments -- that can be quite a bagful!
Finally, a note on whether Apple's "MacBook Air" is truly the skinniest of them all?
Yes, you can't escape the 'Mac effect' created by this stunningly thin notebook (and a load of external attachments). But for your information, there are other thin notebooks lurking around town.
The Fujistu LifeBook Q2010 and the Toshiba Portege R500 both measure at a very close 0.8-inches thickness to that of the Air's 0.76-inches. With these around, Sony's ultra-thin Vaio, mentioned by Jobs at the keynote for comparison, is quite an obese ultra-slim notebook with its 1.2-inches thickness.
However, neither of these narrow down to 0.16-inches, like the "MacBook Air".
So it's more or less established that the "Air" is indeed the slimmest of them all. Now will Intel's 0.7-inches "Metro" prototype turn real anytime soon? Hope someone's hearing!
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