MacBook Air: Yesterday’s computer in Tomorrow’s Body!
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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Today, as many of you know, Apple released the long awaited and begged for portable computer dubbed MacBook Air.
At the first sight, MBA (short for MacBook Air from now on), is a beauty! There’s no doubt, Apple’s designs are always years ahead of the competitors. Lately, everything that comes from Apple is either drop-dead gorgeous (like the new iMac aluminum I am writing this article on), or incredibly fast (and pretty), like the new updated Mac Pro machines with 8 CPU cores as a standard!
While I watched the MacWorld 2008 keynote today, the beauty of MBA really stunned me for a moment, but after that initial shock, here’s the real deal.
The good:
- It’s super slick, beautiful, small, hot, sexy, you name it - it is!
- I personally like the black keyboard on the white design. Very nice retro touch.
- Backlit keyboard - a huge plus! I love my Mac Book Pro for this very reason too! Also it’s full size so it helps my bigger fingers
- 2GB RAM as standard configuration (very nice, the "standard" part)
- Multi-touch touchpad is finally here. It can come in handy!
- LED Screen ("finally" is all I can say! I had the very same display on my Sony Vaio SZ for over a year now!)
- Ability to fit it in a vanilla envelope = huge plus for Apple and You!
- It cuts down on the cost of the wrapping paper for that special someone as well and it ads a huge sense of originality as well as surprise - 5 hour battery life - I like it! No, wait, I love it!
- 64GB Solid State Drive (SSD) as an option: AWESOME! For all of those who think that $999 is too high for this add-on, do not forget this is a 1.8" SSD drive we are talking about, NOT 2.5"! The upgrade price IS competitive actually.
- I personally like NO CD/DVD Drive and I love the look of the external drive offered with it.
- The Price: starting @ $1799 and comparing it with others in the same category - makes it affordable!
The bad (maybe I am too picky, but here’s something you should know/consider):
- The Resolution: @ 1280×800 it’s just like any other out there. For me as a web developer, this is not an optimal resolution to work in. I expected more, something in the line of Mac Book Pro’s, at least 1440 x 900 pixels.
- 1 USB port, NO FIREWIRE, NO ETHERNET PORT? C’mon! At least FireWire would be really welcome!
Sure most of us have Wireless networks now-days so I can live without an Ethernet Port, but FIREWIRE? Wireless 802.11N standard cannot compare to the external FireWire hard-drives where most of my media is. With a slow hard drive (more on which I will mention later) it would be quite helpful being able to connect MacBook Air to an external faster FireWire drive!- If they just included a PCMCIA or, more standard now, ExpressCard - they would’ve solved a lot of issues. Where am I going to plug in my AT&T ExpressCard 3G modem? You could use the ExpressCard to expand this computer with some of the missing features, more USB ports, FireWire, Wireless 3G Modems, eSATA connetors, etc. This is probably the BIGGEST mistake Apple had made with MacBook Air! Again, NOT thinking about business people. Thought they’d learn from iPhone…
- Buying it with an 80GB (4200 rpm) 1.8" Hard Drive guarantees NO speed records. We all know that the biggest bottleneck of any computer is the Hard Drive.
This makes the 64GB Solid State drive a Must-Have option for a serious computing. For day-to-day activities of most people, this won’t be necessary, but if you want to get things done - and follow the technology - SSD is the right option and the hottest thing today. - Intel GMA X3100 Graphics Card. No speed records with this either. I understand, this is the "portable" laptop and to get the 5 hour battery life, and the small volume it occupies, it can’t really have any better graphics - but it’s something you should consider if you’re expecting to edit movies with this baby. Just a tinny bit higher-end graphics is something I’d like to see in it.
- As far as I know, you can only have 2GB of RAM. No more. Bummer!
- AND THE BIGGEST PROBLEM OF ALL FOR ME: Intel Core 2 Duo; the main reason why I will NOT get the MacBook Air (unless I am so completely swept off my feet with it’s beauty when I go to the Apple Store in 2 weeks, and I forget about all I just wrote above).
Why is Core 2 Duo a deal breaker? It is a speedy CPU, has 4MB of cache, it’s in my iMac and in my Sony Vaio SZ370, it performs well… Simply - It’s yesterday’s (or even Yester-Year’s) Technology! All of the manufacturers are starting to push out the new Penryn based CPU’s (also made by Intel) into their machines. Why did Apple have to include Core 2 Duo instead of Penryn? We are most likely to see most of their notebook lineup (MacBook Pro’s and iMacs) upgraded to Penryn CPU’s later on, couldn’t they just put it in MacBook Air right off the bat? If they upgrade this later on to Penryn I might be getting one.
The ugly (we had god and the bad right ):
- Well, sorry to disappoint, there is no ugly when it comes to MacBook Air. Only good, bad, and beautiful.
CONCLUSION:
Don’t get me wrong, MacBook Air is one helluva machine. As mentioned, it’s super beautiful and meant to turn heads where ever you go with it, but that’s not all one should look for in a computer.
It will be great:
- If you use it as a secondary machine (not as main computer)
- If you need a laptop for meetings, in-flight entertainment, browsing the net in your couch, Starbucks, Panera Bread, watching movies (especially those rented from iTunes since you don’t have a DVD drive integrated)…
- If you do not plan to edit movies too often. It will be usable for this too, but with the latest iMovie which makes a great use of your graphics card for processing the video - this one will not fly too high. Trust me, I have a 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme iMac with 4GB of RAM and the poopy graphics are killing me in iMovie.
- And it will be the best if you are looking for a new laptop, a head turner, a very light notebook.
It won’t be great:
- If you plan to use it a lot for editing movies (as mentioned it can do it, but don’t expect speed records)
- If you plan to transfer huge amounts of data to and from it (802.11N is not THAT fast)
- If you use more than one of your USB-based peripherals at a time [without the use of USB hub that is]
- If you have a FireWire based device (say, your Digital Camera or external Hard Drive) forget about bringing it too your vacation and offloading those movies to empty your camera.
- If you love the purple backlight on your MacBook Pro Keyboard (MBAir has a Blue light, yuck!)
- If you like to have the ability to exchange your Hard Drive for a different one without voiding the warranty!
- If you ever need to change the battery (though your Apple Care plan should nicely take care of this!)
While Steve compared it to Sony Vaio TZ, I think this is not a valid machine to compare it to. It should’ve been compared to the Sony Vaio SZ laptops, a little bit bigger, with integrated CD/DVD, and everything else pretty much the same, and MORE!
My Sony Vaio SZ370 has a 120GB Hard Drive, DVD RW, exchangeable battery, full size keyboard, Carbon Fiber body (even nicer than the Aluminum), thinner LED display, and to add to boot:
- Integrated Cingular (AT&T) 3G Modem
- Memory Stick Duo and 3-in-1 Memory Card Reader (Memory Stick, MS Duo, and SD) via ExpressCard
- Ability for me to upgrade both Hard Drive and CPU with taking out just a couple of screws
RECOMMENDATION:
- If you have to have it, well - you will get it regardless of what I says here
- If you have money to spend - get it … get me one too if you really want to. I’d love to have it!
- If you do NOT have to have it NOW, wait a little bit. Maybe, hopefully, at least the CPU get’s bumped to the Penryn (though who knows)
- If you really need something like this, but you do not know what’s better: Mac Book, Mac Book Pro, or Mac Book Air… The answer is simple:
- Mac Book Pro is HEAVY, but one of the Best machines you will ever own.
- MacBook is VERY comparable to the MacBook Air. Given that you can buy, very stylish, Black MacBook starting at $1499 with 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM and 250GB Hard Drive, integrated SuperDrive, and have same graphics, longer battery life and ability to upgrade both battery and RAM - I’d go for the best MacBook out there instead of MacBook Air.
- Consider the PC’s too. Sony VAIO has GREAT computers, especially the SZ series which compare to both of these. Surely, you do not get the Leopard Operating System - but if you need a Windows Machine - this is a way to go. I switched all my major operations to Mac last year and I’m loving it, but I kept my Sony Vaio since it is simply amazing machine!
I hope this helps some of you. As always, this is something you NeedToKnow, on your NeedToKnowBlog.com
P.S. I am personally waiting/hoping for a revamp of the Apple’s notebook line. Either a bit lighter MacBook Pro’s, Penryn CPU’s in them, OR, even better, a "Take 2" on the Mac Book Air by Apple! I am sure that one will rock our worlds. It will most likely be as stylish, heck no changes needed in that department, but adding more options to it as mentioned above (faster and newer CPU’s, FireWire ports, ExpressCard, or some kind of integrated 3G modem and just a tiny bit higher resolution will hit a jackpot).
Advertise here and be seen!
18 Responses to “MacBook Air: Yesterday’s computer in Tomorrow’s Body!”
By nic on Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
i enjoyed this review, you understand unlike some other blogs that i’ve read that the mba isn’t meant to be a mbp, if anything like the name suggests, it’s simply a macbook that’s lighter than air. the one thing that i kept running into while reading however, was your mentioning of the penryn processor by intel. from what i’ve read, i was under the impression that penryn was the chip used by the intel xeon processor. i could be wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time.
By peconi on Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
Hi Nic,
Glad you liked the review
That’s exactly what the MBA is - A Mac Book 
As for Penryn, as far as I am aware, it is a new transistor design for the 45-nanometer generation of Intel processors for desktop, notebook and server chips based on Intel’s Core microarchitecture. That’s quoting a bits from here and there on what they say it is. I’ve also heard of a number of notebooks coming with new Penryn CPUs which are smaller than the current Core 2 Duo’s and eat up far less energy too thanks to their 45-nanometer design.
This makes me wonder even more, why in the world would Intel (and Apple) go into making the Core 2 Duo 60% smaller in order to fit into the MacBook Air, when the Penryn CPUs themselves are already smaller, much faster, AND, better on battery…
Strange
By Xeno on Jan 16, 2008 | Reply
I don’t see any good things about this product. Integrated battery?!? Huge footprint just for the sake of bieng an extra mm thinner. Get a Sony or a Dell m1330. Both are better in every way.
By peconi on Jan 16, 2008 | Reply
Xeno, you just stated the fact: huge footprint for the sake of being thinner. That is the main reason why I mentioned that Steve should’ve compared it to Sony SZ Series rather than TZ which is way smaller than MacBook Air
I just wish it was a bit better
By Alfonso on Jan 20, 2008 | Reply
Hey, I have been saving up to buy a MBP for a while now, but I am considering waiting a little longer for the MBP refresh. Does anyone have any idea when the MBP refresh will happen, and what will be included in it?
By peconi on Jan 20, 2008 | Reply
I bet you wont see a refresh until next January, so if you are fine with the specs, you might as well get it now
By Michael on Jan 25, 2008 | Reply
I really enjoyed your review because you have a good mix of objective and subjective argumentation. The fact that you tell what the mba is good for and what it’s not good for is very valuable for me. I can say “yes” to most of your statements of why to buy it and “no” to most of the statements why not to buy it.
I need it to sit at the coutch and browse the internet, check mails and chat on msn. Also I want a laptop I can use for years to come and here i don’t think of performance specs. In 5 years the mba will still be able to go on the internet, check mails and chat on msn. What is much more worth to me is that the screen is crisp, the navigational features as the track pad and back lit keyboard. Also a nice design will help me not to think of it as an ancient looking laptop even in 5 years.
I was considering doing what you recommend - buying a normal black macbook which also looks nice. The main pros for doing this (according to my needs) are that it has a replacable battery and a build in DVD drive. Also if it holds power noticably better on the battery than the mba it would be a big advantage too.
The cons however are that it has no back lit LED display, no new multi track pad, no back lit keyboard and the fact that it weighs much more is a turn off (to me that matters a lot). I have heard that the display on the macbook is not that good so that is really the main issue for me where I do not wish to compromise.
All in all I think the mba will be a good laptop for me, but I am still thinking about the normal macbook i must say.
By peconi on Jan 25, 2008 | Reply
Michael, you are right on one thing: MacBooks do not have LED screens, but also, their screens are not as crisp as I would like a screen to be.
I got a MacBook for my girlfriend’s 14 year old sister - and she’s happy with it, but I sincerely could never be. It’s a great machine, especially when dressed in nice black color, but the screen is the main turn-off.
I’d suggest MacBook Pro, - the screen is a lot better; or, MacBook Air
Mostly for what you need, MBA wold be a good choice!
As for the battery - sure, after 5 years it will loose some strength, but when ever that is to happen, you will be able to take it to Apple and for ~$100 bucks get a brand new one installed by them… It’ll be some time before such is needed anyways!
Thanks for your comment!
By Michael on Jan 27, 2008 | Reply
I ordered a macbook air now from a local retailer, so I still have the option of cancelling in the last minute. I still think I’ll get it tho but my main concern atm is the OS X. There are some features I will miss from windows as I am new to OS X. For instance the lack of the ability to maximize a window to the whole screen and no task bar where I can easily switch between programs and see which I have open currently. Also the safari browser gives me som trouble on certain websites where the textboxes are to small to fit the text that is supposed to be in them.
I have a friend that has a mac where I tried the OS X and these were the main problems i found so far but I am sure that more will come when i get the mba myself. I just hope I will be able to live with it in the long run.
By peconi on Jan 28, 2008 | Reply
Michael,
If those are your only concerns - than you’ll be even better than fine
I am a switcher myself. Last year I sold all of my PCs and got all new Macs. Trust me - OSX Leopard is Amazing! It’s a lot faster than Vista or XP, it’s easy to get used to, and while it does have some quirks (as the maximize a window issue you mentioned), you’ll fall in love with it within couple of days.
As for Safari - yea I do not like it either, but there’s always FireFox
Besides, you can always install Windows on it as well - either within OSX (via Parallels or VMWare) or natively on a separate partition via BootCamp.
If OSX is your worry - then don’t worry
By Michael on Jan 29, 2008 | Reply
peconi,
Thank you for your advice. I am 99% sure that I will get it because I also have a main computer which is an ordinary desktop. I use it to play games that are not made for mac and require a lot of graphical power so I always end up building my own system, so i can get exactly what i want for graphics card, memory and cpu.
This mba is gonna be a second computer that I can use for years to come to do small stuff as browsing the internet, listening to music and checking emails. Because of this the build quality, the display and the over all feeling of the notebook is essential to me over brutal processing power and other performance specs. Both speaking of the notebook itself and the OS it has to be something that I want to use because it feels right and is easy to take with me on the go and use everywhere.
Regarding the OS X i think it just needs to get used to. I miss the task bar in windows only because thats the way I am used to be working. I found out that the OS X has something called exposé that will solve my problems with keeping an overview of the running programs. Spaces make it even easier and that is a feature i don’t have in Vista. My point is that the OS X most likely have taken everything into account and I just have to get used to the new ways of doing different stuff.
Can I ask you which things you found most annoying when you first switched form windows to OS X? And which of these issues do you still have today after having used the OS X for a while?
Thank you very much for this highly usable and constructive debate.
By peconi on Jan 29, 2008 | Reply
You will love Leopard. Especially because of the Expose and newly introduced Spaces. It’s better than having a taskbar in Windows and also a lot easier to navigate through your open applications.
One thing I still can’t get used to on Mac are all those keyboard shortcuts. Even some simple tasks, like holding a shift button and moving the left or right arrow to select the text do not seem to work in every application (though they work for example now in Firefox while writing this comment).
Also, you’ll have to remember it’s not Control + C for copy, etc. but rather Command (that special Apple key next to the space bar
Those are pretty much my only annoyances. I do use my little Sony Vaio, so then when I get to Mac - I tend to forget for couple of minutes that I am not on a PC.
Also - I personally do not like how Dreamweaver performs and even looks like on Mac. For me as a web developer this is a bad thing since I use Dreamweaver for work - this is by far the only reason I still have Sony
I use Mac for Multimedia - photos, videos, music, and all the good stuff - PC (mostly Dreamweaver) for work, and I actually like a lot being able to separate the two. Makes it more fun
Let us know when you get your MBA and your thoughts about it
I would definitely like to see your opinions compared to what my article above states (even though I have never personally seen or touched the MBA) 
By Michael on Jan 29, 2008 | Reply
I have the link for this saved and I will try to remember to stop by when I get it to tell you a bit about my thoughts. The retailer tells me that it can be anything from 1-4 weeks before they have it so I’ll see when i finally get it.
Once again thank you for your advice.
By UltimateQuiz on Feb 3, 2008 | Reply
Congratulations for this excellent review! It covers all the aspects related to the new MacBook Air in a very simple and extensive way!
However, the MacBook Air doesn’t attract me simply because I need a powerful computer at the moment and not a secondary machine…
Even so, it really is impressive (and very, very, very thin :P).