| | |  | Books | Home » » Apple MacBook Air MC234LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop | | | | | | | Description: | | MacBook Air continues to redefine what’s possible. Just 0.16 inch at its thinnest point, 0.76 inch at its thickest point, and a mere 3.0 pounds, it’s still ultrathin and ultraportable. And now, pushing the performance limits of ultraportable notebooks, it features a faster 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 1066MHz frontside bus, 2GB of DDR3 memory, and 6MB of L2 cache, so you can be as productive on the road as in the office. Offering ample storage, MacBook Air comes with either a 128GB solid-state drive that uses less power and provides enhanced durability. Its advanced NVIDIA processor brings you amazing, high-speed graphics, delivering a graphics performance boost up to 6x that of the original model. Unlike other ultraportables, MacBook Air doesn’t compromise on features users care most about: the display and the keyboard. It includes a bright, 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size backlit keyboard, a spacious Multi-Touch trackpad, and a built-in iSight camera. Engineered for the wireless world, MacBook Air also comes with 802.11n Wi-Fi,4 Bluetooth 2.1, and Remote Disc to deliver unparalleled wireless versatility. | | | Features: | |
• Ships in Certified Frustration-Free Packaging
• 2.13 GHz Core 2 Duo Processor
• 128 GB Solid State Drive, 2 GB DDR3 SDRAM
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M Integrated Graphics, 13.3 inch LED Display
• Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard Operating System
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Width:
| 12.8 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.7 inches | | Product Weight:
| 8.0 pounds | | Package Length:
| 16.8 inches | | Package Width:
| 13.5 inches | | Package Height:
| 5.2 inches | | Package Weight:
| 6.6 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 19 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 Mac AirFeb 14, 2010
There have been plenty of reviews panning the Mac Air due to limitations. I'm not a techie so for me it is a perfect fit. I own a desktop mac and can do on it what I can't on the Air. The Air is great for travel or just to carry around the house when I don't want to be pinned down to my desk. It is super light weight. Yes, it meant shelling out some serious change for what is basically a Netbook on steroids but unlike a Netbook, it is substantial. Full keyboard, GREAT screen, etc., etc., etc. Then again, the new IPad may fill those needs for others. Your choice. K
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Macbook AirJan 28, 2010
It is a pretty cool Macbook.
It really prevents wonderful how thin it is.
I would recommend.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Was pleasantly surprisedJan 22, 2010
First of all this will not be comparison between PC and MAC. I use both as well as a few different flavors of Unix (Linux, Ubuntu, BSD) and I also own a current generation 21.5 inch iMAC that is maxed on it's hardware and 15" MacBook Pro that is also maxed out on it's hardware.
So why did I buy this and why did I buy it from Amazon. That's easy, I'm lucky enough to have a large Apple store 20 miles from my house so I have been "playing" with the Air ever since it's release but until now I could not justify owning one but secretly always wanted one. I will admit that I have not played too much with this particular setup until now. I bought this from Amazon because I received lots of Amazon gift cards for Christmas and needed to use them and now with the 90+ dollars off Amazon was offering, let's just say my cost out of my pocket was down in the $800.
The reason I bought this was the ability to travel lite. My 15 inch is not that much heavier but I found that I just do not use all of it's features when I travel. I very rarely need more than one USB port and if I do with the Air, I'll have a small USB hub in the case. The lack of a DVD player is also not an issue for me. I can count on one hand how many times I used the one in the 15 model and that was only to install some software. I use the one in the iMAC a lot as I create video and DVD's for myself and others.
I thought the smaller screen and lack of ability to add memory would be an issue but so far I have not even worried about more memory. I went into buying this Air knowing exactly what it could do and what I expected from it, but like I mentioned the ability to add more memory would be nice.
Would I recommend it to someone, yes I would, but only after that person understands what it can and cannot do. If all you are going to do is run the occasional program like Office, or any of the iLife or iWork products then you will be in good shape. Start adding in most Adobe products like Photoshop CS4 and the like and you will see a performance hit as the machine is not built to do that kind of work. It will work, but it will be a bit slow. I read another review were the person says the Air is in-between a Netbook and a full fledged laptop and I'd agree with that to a point. While much more powerful than any Netbook I looked at, it is still a full fledged laptop, just toned down.
As far as the price, with the 91 dollars off right now and the gift cards I got a steal and them some. I suspect that the normal price reduction is based on what Apple is suppose to release on Jan 27, 2010. This actually made me wonder if I should wait to see if a new generation Air was coming, but the price was just to hard to pass up. I doubt seriously if they do announce a different Air I would be disappointed, I like mine way too much
What will I do with the 15 inch, I'm going to place it in the spare bedroom for my overnight guests to use and only allow it access to the internet and not the rest of my network, they will have access to the other software on it but I'll do what the Apple stores do and make it so that a reboot literally restores the machine to a just installed setup. I've seen how they do this and it's not that much different than using the Kickstart program that comes with just about every version of Unix nowadays, this way my guests can configure it any way they would like and a full restore is jsut a reboot away
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Great for traveling!Jan 11, 2010
Super light, very user friendly... overall good price for what you get.
Love MAC OS X, it is all about the ease of use and seamless software and hardware integration.
Not recommended for desktop replacement!!
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
One of Apple's Best EverJan 10, 2010
I'll say it straight away: I love the MacBook Air (MBA). I am a PowerBook collector, and have been using Apple's portables for many years, so I have some solid background in relation to their portable computers.
You may not know this, but in 1997 Apple had what, at the time, could be considered as a MBA. It was the PowerBook 2400c. What a machine it was. Small (10.4" screen) and light (4.4 lbs.). It came sans floppy drive: floppies were built into many laptops around the time the 2400c hit the streets, although they were on there way out. It also had reduced ports, but still included 2 PC Card slots. Strangely, it has a sort of unibody case, a landmark in design at the time. Underneath, you will find no interruptions in the case: it's all one, and the case wraps up and around smoothly. Released only in Japan, with just a handful of the units making it to the US, it is a rare machine indeed.
I think the reason Apple confined it to the Asian market was because the keyboard is 87% the size of a full-sized keyboard: it's a netbook size keyboard. People are larger in other parts of the world, so they may have thought that users wouldn't take to it in those areas. Overall, the 2400c could be considered as a netbook: Apple's first and only netbook to-date.
But what about the MBA you say. Isn't that a netbook? The MBA is a ultra-portable laptop, rather than a netbook. It's a full featured laptop. Apple never meant it to be a netbook. It makes hardly any of the compromises that netbooks make. You get a full-sized, backlit keyboard. A 2.13 Ghz Core 2 Duo, with an Nvidia 9400M, 256 MB graphics card, the same one found in Apple's MacBook and entry MacBook Pros. Some compromises are lack of a firewire port; 1 USB port; no ethernet port; no DVD-drive...
But with things like Remote Disc, etc. I don't need any of these things that are missing on the MBA, especially since this is a companion computer to my Mac Mini and MacBook Pro.
This model is much improved over the first generation MBA: better graphics chip, faster processor, and cheaper. Combining these specifications with such a thin, light design is impressive. What about its performance? It performs very well, I am happy to report, after 5 months of use. iWork, HD playback, web surfing... It's the SSD that really helps things along. Shutdown times, application launches, everything is speedy because of the SSD. It's actually faster for many tasks than pretty much any MacBook/Pro that is running a standard platter hard drive.
But things like converting audio and video... the MacBook Pros will outperform the MBA because of their faster processors and ability to use more RAM. This leads to the following question: Can the MBA be used as a sole machine? My answer to this is yes, depending on your needs. It is capable of being a sole machine. But if you are someone working with video, audio, and the like, you would be wise to go with a MacBook Pro (i.e. 15"). But still, this machine is capable enough that you can throw pro apps at it and it will work for you.
Here is the caveat with the MBA though. Don't have too many applications open at once, because it only has 2 GB of RAM. There are a few service providers out there who will unsolder the RAM from the MBA's motherboard, and solder back on 4 GB of RAM. If I were using this a a sole machine I would probably go for that service. But you can still get by using it as a sole machine with 2 GB of RAM.
Here is one piece of advice: get click-to-flash. It shuts down flash in Safari, or whatever browser you are using, and makes internet surfing more manageable on the MBA. It's not that flash makes browsing on the MBA impossible, it's just that it frees up resources and speeds things up. With flash heavy sites like YouTube, playing flash videos, for instance, can cause this model to heat up some, and then, by default, the video will become a bit choppy. This will only really happen if you are obstructing the air vents on the MBA. So if you are not using click-to-flash, make sure your MBA's vents are clear and free of any obstructions when web surfing.
But, mind you, flash in Safari causes even the MacBook Pros to heat up...
Let's now get back to what really sets this unit apart from anything on the market: it's super light and super thin. I did an in depth comparison to the Dell Adamo, and determined that the MBA is actually much thinner overall than the Adamo, even though the MBA is thicker than the Adamo at its thickest point. It's just that more of the MBA is significantly thinner than the Adamo, so overall it's much thinner, and it shows. Not only this, but the MBA is much more powerful: better processor and better graphics.
It is a joy to use and carry such a small, thin and light device, especially in comparison to lugging around the MacBook Pro 15.4". And for those of you who are switching from the venerable PowerBook G4 12.1", you won't be sorry. This machine makes it look antiquated, and its speed leaves it in the dust.
Other things I like about the MBA specifically: the screen is great. The best screen Apple has ever done. Somehow it is less reflective than my 15.4" MacBook Pro. The trackpad is nice and large, too. The retractable ports are really cool, and battery life is decent as well.
For those contemplating a netbook, I was too. I finally decided that netbooks just made far too many compromises and opted for the MBA. I guess my logic went exactly along the same lines as Apple, since Steve said during the MBA Keynote that netbooks make too many compromises and aren't worth the trouble. But if you want something diminutive for very light computer use, netbooks might be your ticket item. For me though, I couldn't live with the paltry processing power, small keyboards and trackpads, and tiny screens.
Lastly, one thing to keep in mind is that this machine, because it is so thin and light, is a tad fragile. It's still rugged, but you have to be more careful with it than, say, a MacBook. I wish the screen would open up more, but other than this, and the heat issue as described above, it's pretty much a perfect product.
Apple, well done.
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