MacBook Air has amazing new graphics?up to four times faster?and a larger hard drive. Yet it's still ultrathin, ultraportable, and ultra unlike anything else. It's just 0.16 inch at its thinnest point, 0.76 inch at its thickest point, and a mere 3.0 pounds. With a 128GB hard drive, 2GB of fast DDR3 SDRAM, and the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, MacBook Air has more power for everyday tasks. But unlike other ultraportable designs, it doesn't compromise on features. The LED-backlit display provides instant full screen brightness the moment you open MacBook Air. LED technology also makes the display more power efficient, which translates to long battery life. The NVIDIA GeForce 9400M provides up to an amazing 4x performance boost over the original MacBook Air. Photos appear in iPhoto quickly. Transitions in Keynote are seamless. Games play more smoothly. And movie and video playback is better than ever before. You also get a spacious trackpad with Multi-Touch technology. You can pinch, swipe, or rotate to zoom in on text, advance through a photo album, or adjust an image. Or try out the new four-finger swipe. With this gesture, you can navigate up and down to use Expose modes or left and right to switch between applications. Engineered for the wireless world, MacBook Air also comes with 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, and Remote Disc to deliver unparalleled wireless versatility. Mobile computing has yet another new standard. 13.3 Glossy (1280 x 800) LED Backlit Widescreen Display Built-in iSight Camera and internal omnidirectional microphone Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 (U.S.) keys, including 12 function keys; Solid-state trackpad NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256MB Shared Video Memory AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi Wireless (802.11a/b/g/n) Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR Ports - USB 2.0, Analog Line Out, Mini DisplayPort, MagSafe Power Port Unit Dimensions - 12.8 (W) x 0.76 (H) x 8.94 (D) Unit Weight - 3.0 Pounds
Product Details
� Amazon Sales Rank: #98 in Personal Computers
� Brand: Apple
� Model: MB940LL/A
� Dimensions: .76" h x 12.80" w x 8.94" l, 3.00 pounds
� CPU: Intel Core Duo 1.86 GHz
� Memory: 2000MB DDR2 SDRAM
� Hard Disk: 128GB
� Processors: 2
� Display size: 13.3
Features
� Thinnest, lightest MacBook ever includes multi-touch trackpad, built-in iSight webcam, and up to 4.5-hour battery life
� 13.3-inch glossy LED-backlit screen; 128 GB solid-state hard drive; 2 GB of RAM (maximum capacity)
� 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor; NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics with 256 MB of shared memory
� One USB 2.0, built-in Wi-Fi (802.11n draft plus 802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Mini DisplayPort
� Preloaded with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system and iLife '08 suite of applications
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Product Description
With the MacBook Air, Apple has created the world's thinnest laptop--measuring an unprecedented 0.16-inches at its thinnest point (and 0.76 inches thick overall). Apple brings its vaunted multi-touch technology, found on the iPhone, to its laptops with the MacBook Air, enabling you to pinch, swipe, or rotate to zoom in on text, advance through a photo album, or adjust an image via the oversized trackpad. And the MacBook Air embodies Apple's continuing environmental progress with its aluminum enclosure, a material highly desired by recyclers; Apple's first mercury-free LCD display with arsenic-free glass; and brominated flame retardant-free material for the majority of circuit boards as well as PVC-free internal cables.
 The MacBook Air includes a vibrant 13.3-inch LED-backlit display and a full-sized keyboard. |
It comes pre-loaded with Apple's Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system, which adds over 300 new features including easy backup of your most important data via Time Machine, a redesigned desktop that helps eliminate clutter, and the newest version of the fast-loading Safari web browser. It also comes with the iLife '08 suite of applications, including iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, and iTunes.
Design
The thinness of MacBook Air is impressive, but even more impressive is that fact that there's a full-size notebook encased in the 0.16 to 0.76 inch of sleek, sturdy anodized aluminum. This svelte, 3-pound laptop has a vibrant, energy efficient 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, and its spacious trackpad offers multi-touch gesture support for pinch, rotate and swipe--making it more intuitive than ever to browse and rotate photos or zoom into web pages in Safari. It also features a full-size keyboard that's backlit, making it ideal for dimly lit environments such as airplanes, studios or conference halls. It includes a built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the brightness of the keys as well as the display brightness for optimal visibility.
 Amazingly thin at just 0.16 inches at its thinnest and 0.76 inches at its thickest point, the MacBook Air weighs just 3 pounds. |
One of Apple's most celebrated innovations is the MagSafe power adapter connector, which offers a magnetic connection instead of a physical one. So, if you happen to trip over a power cord, you won't send the MacBook Air flying off a table or desk--the cord simply disconnects, without damage to either the cord or the system.
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Custom-built to fit within the compact dimensions of the laptop, the MacBook Air is powered by a 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a super-fast 1066 MHz front-side bus (FSB), and an enormous 6 MB of Smart Cache, an L2 cache that can be shared between the cores as needed. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)
The Intel Core 2 Duo's 128-bit SSE3 vector engine handles 128-bit computations in a single clock cycle, accelerating data manipulation by simultaneously applying a single instruction to multiple data. And its two execution cores are designed to share resources and conserve power, helping it to achieve higher levels of performance since it uses fewer watts. And with 4MB of shared L2 cache, the MacBook Air is a multi-tasking monster. With such substantial L2 cache, data and instructions can be kept close to the two processor cores, greatly increasing performance and allowing the entire system to work more efficiently. And, because the processor cores share the L2 cache, either can use the entire amount if the other happens to be idle.
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Whether you're working on a Keynote presentation or watching a movie before you catch a flight, every document, video, and photo on your MacBook Air will look sharp on the glossy 13.3-inch widescreen display. With the new NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor, the MacBook Air changes the game and just about everything you do with it. The 9400M provides up to an amazing 4x performance boost over the original MacBook Air. Photos appear in iPhoto quickly, transitions in Keynote are seamless, games play more smoothly, and movie and video playback is better than ever before. The 9400M graphics processor shares 256 MB of DDR3 SDRAM with main memory.
The MacBook Air now includes a next generation Mini DisplayPort, which delivers a pure digital signal that can drive up to a 30-inch widescreen display. The Mini DisplayPort is ultra-compact at just 10 percent the size of a full DVI connector, and is compatible with Apple's 24-inch Cinema Display. Adapters are also available for using VGA, DVI/HDMI and Dual-Link DVI displays
Hard Drive and Memory
For storage, this MacBook Air comes with a 128 GB solid-state hard drive. Faster and more reliable, solid memory provides a rapid boot-up and quicker access to applications while improving battery life. It's also more reliable than a hard disk drive because there are no moving parts. Since data is written to stationary memory instead of a spinning hard disk, you have less risk of hardware problems with the hard disk when you're on the move. The 2 GB of PC3-8500 DDR3 RAM (two SO-DIMMs of 1024 MB) has an industry-leading 1066 MHz speed, and it maximizes the capacity for this laptop.
Optical Drive
Because of the amazingly thin design of the MacBook Air, an optical (DVD/CD) drive was not included. To install software from a disc, you can wirelessly use or "borrow" optical drives on remote PCs or Macs using the Remote Disk feature. This allows you full access to an optical drive without having to haul one around. If you want to have an optical drive for burning CDs and DVDs, you can purchase the optional MacBook Air SuperDrive (sold separately). This multi-format CD/DVD read/write drive is powered by the MacBook Air's USB port, eliminating the need to carry a separate power adapter.
Networking
The MacBook Air doesn't include wired Ethernet networking, and instead relies solely on Wi-Fi to connect to your home network as well as wireless hotspots. The built-in 802.11n wireless networking provides up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g, but it's also backward-compatible with 802.11a/b/g routers, enabling you to communicate with the a wide variety of Wi-Fi resources. It works seamlessly with the optional AirPort Extreme base station as well as Apple's Time Capsule Wi-Fi base station/hard drive--both of which include 802.11n capabilities. If you don't have access to a wireless network, you can use an optional USB Ethernet Adapter (sold separately)
Use the built-in Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) wireless technology to connect to your PDA or cell phone, synchronize addresses, or download pictures from your cell phone. You can also use a wireless headset for iChat audio chats and VoIP calls as well as quickly share files with a colleague.
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Artfully placed in the display bezel is an iSight camera, which enables easy video conferencing as well as allows you to snap pictures of yourself and create video podcasts. Using the iChat AV application, video conferencing is integrated into your iChat buddy list, so initiating a video conference is a breeze. iChat also lets you hold audio chats with up to 10 people and provides high-quality audio compression and full-duplex sound so conversation can flow naturally. For video podcasting, you can record a short clip using the iSight camera, then use iWeb to create a video blog entry or post your GarageBand-recorded podcast.
Other Features
� Mini DisplayPort compatible with DVI, VGA, and dual-link DVI connectors (all optional)
� Analog audio output/headphone out (minijack)
� Built-in mono speaker and omnidirectional microphone
� Integrated 37-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery provides up to 5 hours of battery life
� Built-in full-size keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys, 4 arrow keys (inverted "T" arrangement), and embedded numeric keypad
� Supported resolutions: 1280 by 800 (native), 1152 by 720, 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, 800 by 500, 720 by 480, and 640 by 480 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio; 720 by 480 pixels at 3:2 aspect ratio
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The entire new MacBook family meets stringent Energy Star 4.0, EPEAT Gold and RoHS environmental standards, and leads the industry in the elimination of toxic chemicals by containing no brominated flame retardants, using only PVC-free internal cables and components, and using energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass.
Preloaded with Leopard and iLife '08
The biggest Mac OS X upgrade ever, the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system features over 300 new features, including:
� Time Machine, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac
� A redesigned Finder that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs
� Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application
� Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them
� A brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock
� Major enhancements to Mail and iChat
 Preloaded with Leopard, you'll enjoy enhanced productivity and a clutter-free desktop (thanks to the redesigned 3D Dock with Stacks). |
Time Machine lets you easily back up all of the data on your Mac, find lost files and even restore all of the software on their Mac. With just a one-click setup, Time Machine automatically keeps an up-to-date copy of everything on the Mac. In the event a file is lost, you can search back through time to find deleted files, applications, photos and other digital media and then instantly restore the file.
The MacBook Air also comes with the iLife '08 suite of applications that make it easy to live the digital life. Use iPhoto to share entire high-res photo albums with anyone who's got an email address. Record your own songs and podcasts with GarageBand. Break into indie filmmaking with iMovie and iDVD. Then take all the stuff you made on your Mac and share it on the Web in one click with iWeb.
Included Software
Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard (includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools)
iLife '08 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand)
What's in the Box
MacBook Air, 45W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, cleaning/polishing cloth, install/restore DVDs, printed documentation
Customer Reviews
Upgrading from Rev A to Rev B = well worth it.
So - I bit the bullet and upgraded from a Rev A 1.6GHz 80GB HDD MBA - to a Rev B 1.86GHz 128GB SSD MBA. I wanted to post my observations on what it's like to upgrade - I know many Rev A owners have - or are thinking about - upgrading to Rev B.
In this review, I refer to "Rev A" and "Rev B". The Rev A is my older 1.6GHz 80GB HDD MBA. The Rev B is my new 1.86GHz 128GB SSD MBA
Caveat - Unlike some (but not all!) Rev A MBA owners, I love my Rev A MBA. I've had zero problems with it. It runs cool and I have not experienced any core shut downs. It would heat up when most laptops normally heat up and the fans would kick. It would cool down quickly when I moved on to something else. With video it never stuttered... Perhaps my Rev A has run so nicely because I don't ask a lot of it. It is a second Mac to my Mac Pro - I use it primarily for email, word processing, iTunes movies and web surfing - on the couch and on the road. It has REALLY been a great laptop and I have nothing bad to say about it.
So why did I update? I wanted more space. I have my Rev A setup to duel boot (Vista) for business uses from time to time when I travel. That kills a chunk of space. Also - with the Rev A, I compromised - by not having my music, photos and other large files with me. Not a bad tradeoff. But the Rev B's larger hard drive was enticing - additionally, the Rev A has been so great, I'm willing to make the investment to have the latest/greatest version of the Air because it is such a leap/improvement over the Rev A - both speed and graphics-wise. I won't spend time on the A's form factor - those of you that own one already get that - it's great...
So here are my observations - they are based on the things I can see and observe - not "Xbench scores" - real world use - and hopefully it will give you an idea of the differences between Rev A and Rev B. As I type this, I have my Rev A right next to me - side by side with the Rev B.
My observations:
1) Packaging - The Rev B's packaging was similar to the Rev A's in terms of layout, but the Rev A packaging materials were FAR nicer. The Rev B's packaging is more in-line with the other Apple notebooks - white briefcase with handle. I really liked the packaging of the Rev A - very solid and heavy duty in comparison - it set the original Air apart.
2) Sounds - The first thing I noticed when starting it up: The Rev B (SSD) is, due to form, noiseless. The Rev A's subtle hum and hard drive noises are (obviously) completely gone. The click and general noises of the Rev A's hard drive was never something I really noticed - until it was gone... The Rev B is eerily quiet! Upgraders from the Rev A HDD will notice the difference.
3) Trackpad button - The Rev A's track pad button is comparatively mushy - it takes more travel to make a click. The Rev B's is very tight - less play. The Rev A's button never bothered me - interesting that the Rev B's is tighter - a purposeful improvement?
4) Keyboard - This was a surprise - and I had to double check this. The Rev B keyboard has been improved in a similar way to the trackpad button - the keys are quieter and seem to be more tightly secured. It's hard to explain, but the improvement has resulted in a typing experience that is quieter - less "rattley". To see what I mean, run your fingers back/forth lightly over a Rev A keyboard and the keys have more play and make more noise due to the looser keys. The Rev B is tighter when you do this - less play and less noise.
5) Screen - Many complain that the Rev B's screen has faint lines. I've seen them on the Apple store floor models, and they do exist. It was a concerned when buying my Rev B, but I have yet to read about someone who was denied a refund by Apple if they had lines on the MBA screen. Bottom line - Apple stands behind their products - I was not afraid to risk having to make a return.
I've looked really hard at my Rev B and, if I get my head in just the right place and the screen tilted just right, I can see some lines - but they're REALLY hard to find and they are not as bad as what I've seen in the Apple store display Rev B airs. Looking at my Rev A, doing the same contortions, I can actually make out similar - albeit even fainter lines. My Rev B is a keeper - I really can't see the lines during normal use. Side by side, the Rev A and Rev B screens look identical to me. Same brightness, color saturation, etc, etc. I have both setup using the same display profile - the default "Color LCD" profile. I've played the same movie and frozen clips on the same frame - the screens look absolutely identical.
6) Display output - the Rev B has the newer Mini DisplayPort display - which replaces the Rev A's Micro DVI port. Unlike the Rev A, the Rev B does not include the VGA and DVI adapters. They're yours to purchase separately for an extra $29 each. Typical of Apple to remove extras in the Rev B edition... I never used the Rev A adapters and chose not to buy them for the Rev B until I need them.
7) 4 Finger gestures - I REALLY like these. I was surprised at how well they work and how much I use them. Four fingers up - see the desktop. Four down - Expose (awesome). Four to the right or left - switch applications. Good stuff. I like it.
8) Graphics - The Nvidia Graphics chip is a huge leap over the earlier Intel chip. I've run several games on my Rev B that could not run on the Rev A Air and they are actually very playable! I like this - I play games from time to time when I travel - while I fly... This is a great improvement and I like the ability to use applications that require mid-level graphics abilities.
9) Performance - I saved the best for last. This is the area where I'm really pleasantly surprised. The Rev B's performance is NOTICEABLY faster. Surprisingly so. In some respects it is faster than my Mac Pro (But not at the heavy lifting - not by a long shot!)
Here are some observations (note that applications start times are after a restart of OSX - I know that applications can be cached and load much more quickly the second time around).
Some of these differences may seem small, but they are huge - look at your watch and tick off 14 seconds... That's what it takes in additional time for Word to load on my Rev A. You start to really appreciate the SSD drive...
Start from complete shut down - Rev A: 56 Seconds; Rev B: 28 Seconds
Restart - Rev A: 58 Seconds; Rev B: 31 Seconds
Shut Down - Rev A: 3 Seconds; Rev B: 2 Seconds
Start Safari and load page (boston.com) - Rev A: 18 Seconds; Rev B: 7 Seconds
Start Entourage - Rev A: 24 Seconds; Rev B: 8 Seconds
Start iTunes - Rev A: 9 Seconds; Rev B: 4 Seconds
Open MS Word - Rev A: 17 Seconds; Rev B: 3 Seconds
If you're thinking about upgrading - it's a nice improvement.
Weigh your needs
After hearing so much about Mac's reliability I took the plunge with the MBA.
It is a beautiful piece of equipment with moderate power. I would recommend getting the Superdrive since the remote access does not play well with Windows machines. The wireless did link well with wireless internet at variable speed, but I could not help to notice that one of the first updates it downloaded was for the remote access.
The hard drive comes with 95Gig of available space due to the pre-installed Apple software. You can custom install a smaller version of the OS with a gain of seven Gig (remove languages, printer drivers and Alex's voice, etc.). It starts up and shuts down quickly. Battery life is not five hours, but expect at least three hours of use per charge.
If you use Windows, there are far faster laptops as a much lower price that exceed the processing speed of this system...but they ain't as light, pretty, and do not run Mac.
Best notebook I've ever had
Not only is the Apple Air is slickest notebook around, it's pretty powerful. I've run HD (720p) video on it flawlessly, and Google Earth, which a demanding program. The keyboard is fantastic and a dream to type on. The screen is absolutely beautiful. I've used some of my landscape photography as wallpaper. The 128gb SSD is very fast--if you're buying this computer, pony up the extra $$$ for the SSD.
The only negatives I can see are the lack of ports. One headphone jack, one video out (which you need an extra accessory for), and one USB? Thankfully, it has Bluetooth 2.1 so you don't have to waste the USB port on a mouse. Also, there's no Kensington lock (although the computer is small enough to tote around). Apple is going to let other companies make their own adapters for the Mini DisplayPort.
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