 | Exactly what I needed, but not for everyone
rating: 5
I considered my options for a long time before deciding to purchase the MacBook Air, and have not regretted it. Purchasing this older model after waiting for the new one shaved a couple of hundred bucks off the price. It's not the machine for everyone, but it was for me for these reasons:
- weight matters. The (obvious) primary and only reason to buy this machine. The latest MacBook weighs just 1 1/2 lbs more, but it still makes a difference on my old back and in the volume it takes up in my bags. This is a laptop I finally use on my lap (heat generated notwithstanding)
- have another Mac. That serves for the optical drive for installs and backups. If necessary, I always have the option of buying the external superdrive.
- don't really use optical drives much to begin with. The only thing I miss is not being able to watch a DVD on the laptop, but not often enough.
- no heavy duty computing needed - it's an alternate machine, not the primary. Mostly Internet and writing, although I could run Photoshop, etc... if I wanted to (if I can on an old MacMini, I can here). VMware runs fine, and have no heavy disk storage requirements.
- can get by with the limited port configuration (1 USB port, no Firewire, no Ethernet).
If weight doesn't matter to you, and the other factors are too limiting, then you'd be much better off with the Macbook or the MacBook Pro which meet all your needs and can serve as your primary computer at a better price/value ratio. Or you don't care much for Apple, and have minimal computing needs, one of those tiny PC/Linux laptops would do the job for a lot less.
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poor wireless capability
rating: 2
I have my MBA for six month right now. Overall I am almost happy, but.... Wireless antenna is not as powerful as I need. My MB pro can "see" 15 networks near my home, MBA only 6!!!!
Sometimes It takes more than 30 minute to have internet access at airports and other places.
Each time I arrive home it says "there is not preferred networks in range" !!! and it is my Home network!.
This beauty travels really easy, everybody looks at it and it is sturdy. The lack of connectivity, the insufficient USB ports, and the underperformance make me think that I have something nice but close to useless.
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Follows in the footprints of the iMac
rating: 5
I remember when my dad bought an iMac. a 333Mhz Graphite DV. The thing it was missing was unbelievable! How could you possibly function without a floppy drive! This computer will never make it. Fast forward 9 years. The MBA comes out with no optical drive. Sure, not the first laptop, but neither was the iMac without a floppy. Now we see, no laptop or desktop comes with a floppy of any kind. I do believe the MBA will do the same with the optical drive. It is really the one thing limiting designs of computers. Sure, you can be thin, but have to be at least six inches wide, to hold an optical drive. Flash should fix this problem. I can fit twice as much on a thumb drive as a DL DVD at a tenth the space. so on to the MBA. Any software or movie I want, I download over the internet. I have rarely needed the optical drive with this computer.
(+) I went from a Blackbook to this. All I do on my computer is surf the internet, check email, listen to music, watch movies/TV shows. This does it all. This thing is holding 15 gigs of music, 10 gigs of pictures, Spore, and I have 29.29 gigs free. Did I mention Spore? This thing runs Spore quite well. Someone said this thing is underpowered, have they actually tried doing anything on it, or are they just looking at the specs? Weight. This thing is light, but unlike an x300 or Sony TT/TZ, looks good doing it. Backlight. Beautiful screen, very clear and bright. Keyboard. Didn't think they could improve from the iBook keyboard, but they did with the Macbook, put it in the air and added backlighting. Perfect. Case. Sturdy, easy to clean, doesn't pick up fingerprints, though like the MBP, hurts Wifi. I can hook it up to my 1080p LCD, this thing will output 1920x1080 while watching Hulu, couldn't ask for more.
(-) No optical drive, one usb port, no ethernet, no firewire, non-replaceable battery, small HDD, poor graphics. If you put these under negative, than you are missing the point. Apple makes it pretty clear before you drop your hard-earned cheddar that it has none of these things. It is like saying you bought a new convertible, but you are disappointed it won't haul your dining room table. You know it is 4" off the ground and 2WD but still make a point that it can't go off-road. No sht. On to the real negatives. I cannot install boot camp without a Superdrive. I tried using an LG usb powered DVD burner that I bought with my EEE. Work great for everything on the air except Boot camp. Probably no firmware in the BIOS to run it. Hinge. Seems delicate, I have seen many a cracked in half MBA because people think this thing can lay flat. Ambient sensor. Too sensitive. In low light conditions, it constantly adjusts the brightness of the screen and keyboard. I realize I can turn it off, but it does work well in light and dark situations.
Other than that, excellent machine. I would recommend it to anyone who understands its capabilities as well as its limitations.
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my mac book
rating: 5
I bought the mac book air for my son who started college this September . He is excited and very pleased with it . The only concern he has is that there is no internal CD/dvd drive so he had to buy an external one . That is perhaps due to the thinness of the machine.
The thing I like best about the machine is the weight ,esay to carry around and very thin . I will be buying one for myself very soon. To any one who carries a laptop this is the one for you and in the night or dark areas ,perfect with the lighted keyboard .
I cannot comment on its performance but based on looks and what my son says , this is the laptop to get .
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Thin and amazing
rating: 5
I bought this laptop shortly after it was launched. I'm a college student and this was my first mac. I've always used windows since elementary. Let my start by saying that this laptop is amazingly portable. For years, I've waited for apple to release an ultraportable laptop. I was so eager to leave windows because of the crappy operating system and I always find myself waiting impatiently for my old sony vaio sz to boot because of all the antivirus programs that open before I can do anything further. However I've held back in buying a mac because the smallest laptop at that time is macbook which is an inch thick 5 lb notebook and that is not portable enough for me. After hearing the release of MBA, Immediately bought it. After 6 months of owning this laptop, I would say that it is the best computer I've ever owned.
Although the specs is not that impressive. I find my laptop fast enough to handle my needs. Also, its sexiness and thinness is always a plus. it's so light and thin that I don't notice much difference when I lug it around campus in my backpack. Also,the battery life is very good. I take notes with my laptop during school days and my friends are always amazed that my macbook air can last all day w/o me ever plugging it.
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