Review: Apple MacBook Air (13” model) Reviewed by:Bas Jansen Provided by: Apple NL Model: MC504LL/A
Apple NL was kind enough to send us one of their latest laptops for review; the MacBook Air MC504LL/A . The new MacBook Air has been introduced in two editions: you can choose from a 11- or 13-inch model. The 11-inch model of the MacBook Air can almost be seen as a netbook. However, pricing will prove you wrong: with prices starting at (USD/EUR) 999,- a netbook is much cheaper. Still, the specifications of the Apple MacBook Air suggest it’s capable of competing with many full sized laptops.
Apple company information
I’m sure most MyCE members will be familiar with the Apple brand name. Apple’s been around long enough, and their Macbooks seem to be gaining in popularity over the past few years (although I wasn't able to find solid evidence for this). Apple and Microsoft are sure fighting over market share, in a public debate on which we reported last August.
If you would like to find out more about Apple, you can visit the Apple website.
MacBook Air: Background
Looking at the MacBook Air (MBA) we have to go back to 2008 for the first edition. The second edition added a Mini Display Port, and with the 3rd generation we saw a price drop. So it was up to Apple's Jonathan Ive to come up with even a better design. Apple already has a lot of experience with the Unibody design, and for the 4th generation MacBook Air Apple even included the screen frame in the design. The Unibody design also provides strength to the MBA: it does not matter which corner or angle you hold the MBA, it always feels strong and sturdy.
Packaging and inside the box
Now it’s time to take a look at the MacBook Air itself and what the MacBook came shipped with. Apple is known for its minimalistic packaging and the MBA is no exception. When opening the box you will find: MacBook Air; MagSafe power adapter; AC wall plug and power lead; printed and electronic documentation manual and a USB Software Reinstall stick.
Besides the hardware the MBA comes preloaded with Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife ‘11.
Specifications
Processor: 1.86Ghz Intel Core Duo processor, 6MB L2 cache
Screen: 13.3inch diagonal high-res backlit LED (Glossy)
Resolution: 1440x900
Video out: Mini DisplayPort (with separate sold adapters support for DVI output, VGA Output, Dual-link DVI, HDMI output)
Camera: Facetime camera
Keyboard: Full-size 78 (US), 79 (ISO) keys
Trackpad: Multi-Touch with gestures support
Wifi: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth: 2.1 +EDR
Connections: 2x USB, Headphone mini-jack
Battery: 50 watt-hours Li Polymer battery
Standby: up to 30 days
Usage time: up to 7 hours (wirelesss connected)
Size: 0.3-1.7cm (0.11-0.68 inches) x 32.5cm (12.8 inches) x 22,7cm (8.94 inches)
Weight: 1.32Kg (2.9 pounds)
Battery: 50 watt-hours Li Polymer battery
If we look more closely at both the 11” and 13” versions, there are some clear differences besides the size of the display. If you choose for smaller 11” model, the resolution will be lower (1366 x 768 instead of 1440 x 900), but this is to be expected. However, the smaller model will also offer you less processor power (1.4GHz 800Mhz frontside bus with 1.6Ghz optional) and less storage (64GB, with 128GB optional). Also, you lose on battery life – but this is directly related to the fact that the 11-inch version only weights 1,06 kg (vs 1,32 kg for the 13-inch model).
For this review, we considered ourselves lucky because we got to play with the 13-inch version. The extra size gives you some extra weight to carry around and you will be doing some 1.32Kg weight lifting instead of 1.06Kg. For this, you gain battery life for increased wireless working (Apple reports “up to 5 hours” for the 11-inch, and “up to 7 hours” for the 13-inch). If you are a fan of SD cards then the 13-inch model will be your choice, as this is the only model that comes equipped with a built-in SD slot. There is no internal optical drive, but if you really need to have a CD or DVD player you can wireless borrow the optical drive of a nearby Mac or PC (more on this later).
Now let’s head to the next page where we will look at our the judgement from a frequent Apple user
First Impression
When we unpacked the box we were not surprised to find a USB stick with the Leopard OS as there is no DVD drive presence. With a height of 1.7cm there was absolutely no room for an optical drive – which is something which you probably won't use when you choose for ultra portable. As a MacBook Pro user I tried to boot up the MBA but quickly discovered that the power button was somewhere else: it’s part of the keyboard. The keyboard is a full QWERTY keyboard and exactly the same as on the whole MacBook range from Apple. Typing is very easy and fast and without any hiccups. After finding the power button there is a pleasant surprise, because Flash Storage is fast and has no moving parts so booting is done in 15 seconds. If you put your MacBook Air to sleep it is just 2 second before you can start working again.
Looks
Front
With the lid open you are presented the glossy 13.3" (diagonal) screen. This is not very large, but there is enough room to work on your documents, browse the web or edit some video. As I am a MacBook Pro user, I have to get used again to the screen as it now has a silver bezel which is part of the unibody design. To be honest, I like the black bezel better and it makes looking at the screen a little more relaxing in a way. The MacBook Air has a little bit different keyboard layout; it lacks the keyboard backlight control keys and a power on/off button is added.
Back
Just plane aluminum here, and changing batteries will require you to unscrew the back. Hence, bringing along a spare battery is of no use - but with 7 hours usage time it will last long time before you have to start looking for a power socket.
Front Side
Measuring only 1.7mm, it is really thin. At the front side you will find room to put your fingers behind the screen to open the MacBook. As the bottom of the MacBook Air is very light you might notice that while pushing back the screen the bottom part starts to levitate
Back Side
Nothing interesting here. Apple has done a good job hiding the air vents which are behind the black plastic hinge part.
Left Side
The MagSafe connector has safed my MacBook from many drops and of course it also present on the MacBook Air. The magnet is strong enough to make sure charging is not interrupted, but it will disconnect for sure if you trip over the wire. As there is not much room to add ports you will find only 1 USB port on this side and the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Right Side
Same story on this side: we have a second USB port here and the MiniDisplay connector for hooking up a second monitor or beamer. You will need to put some extra dollars/Euros on the table to buy this adapter, as it is no included in the box. For SD lovers, the 13inch MBA has a slot for this in order to make quickly copying photo's or content more easy.
Judgement: A close call
Taking screen size and pricing into account we see the Macbook, iPad and MacBook Air getting closer and closer. You could choose the Macbook which is also available in an 13-inch version and with the same pricing as the 11-inch version of the MacBook Air. If you choose an iPad with maxed out specs this one will set you back 829 USD. So it is up to your own needs and how portable you want to be. Knowing your needs and preferences, and comparing specs (Flash versus HD), design (plastic versus Unibody) and how to use the device (typing versus touch typing) will help you make the right choice.
Now let's head to the next page, to see the MacBook Air from the perspective of a Windows user
First Impression
First impression: how to get this thing opened? That’s rather hard to find with a minimalistic design. Once the MacBook Air is opened, there is another question: how to power on? But after this: fast booting, and what a screen! I’m used to a 13” HP Laptop (with Windows 7), but this 13-inch MacBook Air looks like a 15” laptop to me. This is of course, because of the relative high resolution of the MacBook Air.
Working with the MacBook Air
The trackpad is huge, but still leaves enough room for the keyboard. Apple said the trackpad is this large so you can make maximum use of gestures, but I don't know any yet . Still a lot to discover I guess. As a Windows user, I really miss the home/end/delete keys, as well as a print screen key? Probably a matter of getting used to, but I don’t like it. The keyboard is nice to work with, it has a nice feeling and it invites you to type.
Boot times for the MacBook Air are really fast, and the wake-up time is practically zero. Still - I always use the hibernate function with my laptop anyway, and there wake up from hibernation also costs very little time. Really amazing is the battery life - and the fact that there is very (really: very) little battery use when the MacBook Air hibernates. This means a huge "instant-on" standby time, very similar to the iPad.
The weight of the MacBook Air is really really low. I brought it home with me, whilst on the road I had to check my bag because I was afraid I left the MacBook at the office. You can easy lift up the MacBook Air with one hand.
MacOS vs Windows 7
For the tasks that the MacBook Air is aimed at performing, what are the main differences between Windows and MacOS? Well, as a Windows user you’re immediately looking for the right-mouse button. Another question that quickly comes to mind: why can’t I make the screens the size that I want? Where is the ‘maximize screen’ button? How can I make a screenshot? Why is there no delete button? Most of these questions can be answered by going to the Apple website, using your favorite search engine.
Having said this, the tasks that you will use the MacBook Air the most for, like web browsing and emailing, all are performed quite simple and fine on the MacBook Air. In order to scroll down a (web)page, you don’t need to go to the right side of the touchpad – you just use two fingers. This was something I got used to so extremely fast, I now use it at my HP all the time (lucky for me, my HP also features a multi-touch touchpad.
iLife Suite
The MacBook Air comes equipped with the iLife suite, consisting of Photo, Audio and Video editing software. I have played around a bit with the iPhoto and iMovie software, using my own holiday pictures. I used iPhoto to create a photo book – much like several online websites allow you to do. The difference? iPhoto automatically offers you an intelligent proposal of a photobook, based on the design of each photo. So wide landscape shots get placed on the whole page – whereas portraits are grouped together nicely in a frame - you get the idea probably. The big advantage of this, is that you only have to make some changes to the proposal instead of building your own complete photo book.
I also used the iMovie software to make a small movie trailer based on short movies shot with a digital camera during holidays. The setup is really user friendly, but the more advanced user can change many features and options. It’s quite fun to make a movie this easily, without this software I probably wouldn’t have put the short movies to use.
Actually working with this software and my own data (photos and videos), showed that the MacBook Air is not always up to handling large amounts of data.
Summary: Judgement
The MacBook Air scores high on software support since it already has a Mail client, and Photo, Audio and Video editing software (iLife suite) pre-installed. However, when it comes to connectivity it scores quite low: for instance just two USB ports (one on each side). It gets worse when you realize there is no ethernet adapter: to connect the MacBook Air you have to buy a separate accessory, USB to ethernet adapter, hereby sacrificing one of the two precious USB ports. The 13" model does feature a flash card reader, the 11" has to do without one. Also, there is no VGA or HDMI/DVI port, you'll have to buy a separate adapter (Mini DisplayPort to VGA/DVI/HDMI) for this too. In order to save space, there is no optical drive. This can be borrowed from a nearby Mac or PC/laptop ( special software required). This is a nifty feature, but still is to no use while on the go.
Compared to HP 13” laptop, I don't think I would use the MacBook Air as a replacement of my main computer anytime soon. Main reason is the difference in functionality: I'm still not sure which programs that run on Windows will also run on the Mac. Of course, Windows can be installed on the MacBook Air too - but not out of the box.
This concludes our review. Click below to read our final thoughts and conclusion.
Positive:
Fast operating system start-up and shutdown times.
Quiet operation
Beautiful screen with a high resolution (1440 by 900)
Nice design: Compact but robust Unibody
Complete software package for multimedia editing
Good battery life and very high standby time
Multi-touch trackpad
Negative:
256GB Flash Storage is not much, neither is 2GB RAM
No backlit keyboard
Limited connectivity: no connectivity accessories supplied
No optical drive
No protective sleeve, which you would expect for a mobile device like this.
When opening the MBA and pushing the screen back results in lifting the bottom part because of the low weight. Using two hands solves the problem of course.
High costs
Cost
As you can see in the overview of positives and negatives, costs are sided with the negatives. A quick glance at the Apple Store shows that Apple currently uses the following prices (US Dollars equal Euros) for the latest MacBook Air generation:
11-inch MacBook Air: $999,- for 64GB flash; 1,4GHz; 2GB RAM
11-inch MacBook Air: $1199,- for 128GB flash; 1,4GHz; 2GB RAM
13-inch MacBook Air: $1299,- for 128GB flash; 1,86GHz; 2GB RAM
13-inch MacBook Air: $1599,- for 256GB flash; 1,86GHz; 2GB RAM
For both the 11-inch and the 13-inch model, you can upgrade the RAM to 4GB for $100/€90. Accessories costs around $29 each.
As a nice comparison, we’ve selected the maximum version of the MacBook Air 13-Inch. Specifications: 2,13GHz; 4GB RAM; 256GB Flash Storage. We want to compare this to a similar model of the MacBook Pro, so we included a USB Ethernet Adapter.
Conclusion:
We give the conclusion from both the Apple user and the Windows user’s perspective.
Apple User: MacBook Air – A Close Call
In my case I still think that MacBook Pro is the best option as your workhorse and I have combined it with the iPad for real mobile use and fun. However, the MacBook Air does offer some advantages for those users who don’t do as much video editing as I do, and hence can do with less processing power. Being mobile, I would prefer longer battery life and standby time, low weight and compact, robust design. The 13-inch MacBook Air offers all this, and hence is great for those who want the portability of a netbook combined with the looks of an Apple and the power of an average entry laptop. You only have to be willing and able to pay the Apple price tag.
Windows User: MacBook Air – Ideal next to your main desktop PC
As I’m currently not in the possession of a regular desktop PC, but a 13-inch ultraportable HP laptop, the MacBook Air would not be something that is logical for me to buy. Would I still have a desktop PC and looking for an ultraportable to enjoy the time spent traveling in public transport, the MacBook Air would be a serious option for me to consider.
The MacOS is something that definitely needs time to get used to, but for Internet browsing, email, photo management and for looking stylish, the MacBook Air is a great fit. If you’re looking for the best specs, don’t even bother to consider the MacBook Air: the only weapon it has is the SSD flash storage memory, and even this is not state of the art. From the MacBook Air family, I would probably prefer the 13-inch model because of its screen resolution, but I would go for the 128GB version because of the price.
To sum up, this is what we would say:
“The Apple MacBook Air shows again what Apple can accomplish in terms of design. The MacBook Air offers a stylish solution that combined with the power of SSD offers a great ultraportable that’s unfortunately available to a limited target audience because of the Apple price tag ”.
This is the current price for the Apple MacBook Air
