Apple MacBook Air MB003LL/A 13.3 Inch Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive) Reviews

• I own a MacBook Air... (update)

  
  By A1OFGHUVBID9NW on 2008-02-17
  I just came back from a 3-day trip - my first travel experience with the MacBook Air. I do own a first generation MacBook Pro and was honestly tempted at first to bring it along in case I need "it". "It" mainly referred to the DVD drive, built-in ethernet and perhaps superior hard-drive speed/access time. I decided to go with the MacBook Air alone (and the USB ethernet adapter) - and see what happens.
  
  It went great. First of all, the bag on my shoulder felt almost unreasonably light. Battery life was more than sufficient to support my three-hour flight with about 25% of capacity left at the end. Connecting to the internet at the airport (via wi-fi) and in the hotel (USB-ethernet adapter) was a breeze (note, however, that I did need the $29 USB-ethernet adapter).
  
  At the conference, laptop-envy abounded... quite amazing, actually. The reaction of someone who has never seen it to its size, sturdiness, and form factor is quite impressive.
  
  I ichatted with my family without problems with good quality video; the systems overall felt a bit more responsive than my 2-year old MacBook Pro with the first-generation Core Duo chip.
  
  If you want a light, thin, sturdy laptop with full-size keyboard, a gorgeous screen, MacOS X (10.5), and you don't necessarily need a CD/DVD drive (you can buy an external one, but somehow lugging this extra piece around somehow defies the purpose of the MBA), and can put up with not "optimal" hard-drive performance, then the MBA is exactly what you want!
  I would buy the USB-ethernet adapter, though.
  
  If you need high-speed performance, FireWire, a high-end graphics card, a built-in DVD/CD drive etc, then the MBA is not for you - but I guess then you would not be looking at this page...;)
  
  Honestly, I could not be happier with my purchase. My MB Pro will be up on eBay soon...
  
  
  Update:
  
  I have been using my MacBook Air now for 4 weeks and have taken it on several trips. This now allows me to update some of the comments made before.
  
  - Battery life: I am quite happy with the battery life which easily allows 3-4 hours of text processing, PowerPoint slide generation, and EndNote work. For me this mainly happens on flights which allows to lower the brightness of the LED screen to save power. I have not pushed my MBA to play videos. In fact, I have no digital entertainment files on it since these files can fill up the (limited) space on the drive quite fast.
  
  - Ports: One USB port is not enough! For instance, if you have to connect to the internet via USB adapter (again, still indispensable!), you block the one and only USB port - unless you carry a USB hub along (Belkin has a nice 4-port one with a swivel design, but quite pricey). Thus, I have added a small USB hub to my travel utensils.
  
  - Design: The MBA still turns heads and sparks comments. In fact, on one of my flights the captain himself left the cockpit to take a look after one of the flight attendants had told him about the MBA on my lap...
  
  - Heat: The MBA is MUCH cooler than my MacBook Pro. You can easily keep it on your lap without feeling uncomfortable.
  
  My wish list for future MBA generations:
  
  - At least 2 USB ports. Should be easy to do.
  - Reconsider built-in ethernet - the USB adapter works fine, but blocks the one USB port at this point.
  - As soon as larger 1.8'' drives (HD or SSD) are available, they will surely find its way into the MBA to overcome some space limitations.
  
  - It might surprise some, but I honestly do not see a great need for a swapable battery. I would leave it as is in order to keep the amazing form factor.
  
  

• love it now, but afraid i won't as much after the newness wears off

  
  By A1UZUQTDFG385R on 2008-03-11
  The good: I thought it wouldn't be as sturdy as it is, but it is! The screen is great. very thin and truly ultraportable, though not quite as light as you might think. overall, a truly beautiful laptop. i also think the price is excellent--a very fair price for such a nice ultraportable computer. most any serious computer user can afford this beauty. the power chord is great.
  
  the bad: no optical drive, means no dvds, not cd installs, unless using another computer, by which it can use file sharing to transfer the data over wireless, which is FAR from ideal. this is a big downer, as everyone will want to watch a dvd sometime, expecially on the plane or on a trip... you should definitely buy a usb thumb drive or two, a usb hub, a usb ethernet device, and a nice case to go along with the purchase. u can buy an external cd/dvd player/burner, but lugging that along kills the form factor and portability of the unit. battery life is about 3-4 hours, for me, per charge, which is OK, not great considering i'm just surfing and using imail 3/4 of the time. throwing in a neoprene case or something should have been included for an 1800 dollar laptop. i have no problem buying one seperately, but throwing in a 5-10 dollar case would have been considerate, and other high-end laptop mfgrs throw this in.
  
  the ugly: video capabilities are weak, just sufficient enough to get by. i can't edit movies with imovie nearly as well as i can with my macbook pro (1.8 ghz). and i'm afraid as more programs become more graphics intensive, this may be a big problem after a few years. harddrive speed is noticably inferior--the read access time and write performance are palpably slower than my other notebooks. harddrive space is limited as well, and considering there's no dvd/cd player, it magnifies the problem.
  
  I could easily give this 4 stars, but will give it a 3 because it simply can't serve all my needs, no way. it's terrific as a primary laptop used for email and other light tasks, but if you're a serious computer user, it alone is nowhere near enough. it's probably worthy of 4 stars for it's overwhelming pro's, and 5 stars as a secondary/special use laptop, but the con's i mentioned earlier are legitimate and wonder how it's going to to fare with the next generation OS and programs, considering it's pathetic integrated video card. whereas, i know my macbook pro will be ready for whatever i throw at it for 5 more years.
  
  on a side note, i also own a Dell M1330, and it's just 1.5 lbs heavier, but gives me alot more (cpu, hd, ram, and video!) power for almost half the price. also a sleek, pretty machine, but definitely not on my MBA's level aestheticly, and is not quite "ultraportable." still, if you're a pc user, i'd recc'd it. i have goen through a dozen notebooks over the past 6 years, handing them down to friends and family, and i now down to three (macbook pro, air, m1330, plus a desktop imac, and 1 desktop pc). don't get me wrong though, i currently adore my macbook air, it serves it's purpose very well. that said, my dell m1330 and my macbook pro are more indispensable and "important" to me.
  
  

• Wow!

  
  By A27USF03AW95YF on 2008-02-15
  Was one of the first to order this as it was just what I was looking for...it's stunning! Beautiful!
  
  I noticed that I never used my dvd/cd drives so this laptop works perfect for me as I travel a lot and with
  everything else I carry around, I don't need a big clunky laptop in a big clunky case to carry around too.
  This laptop fits in my existing briefcase easily with my other inter-office envelopes!
  
  Like the iphone, its solidly built but not heavy. I have no fear that it will break in my briefcase.
  
  I have been pondering for years to buy a 10" vaio from Sony. This is many times better with the large screen, full size keyboard, and of course Mac OS operating system means I don't have to have an anti-virus software that slows my computer down to a crawl and screws up my computer every time it is upgraded. Its cheaper than the vaio I was going to buy also.
  
  This is perfect for me. I have a few year old powerbook I keep at home, just in case, but I think I'm going to have to turn that on every once in awhile to keep the battery going as I'm using the MBA all the time.
  
  

• Superb machine in most ways!

  
  By A2KORVUIQMIXHV on 2008-02-20
  Superb quality, beautiful super-bright screen with good viewing angles, doesn't get hot like most notebooks, fantastic design that slips in between documents and you don't even notice it, good battery life given the power (I average 3 1/2 hours with regular use and wireless on), light weight, fast wifi connections, tiny power adapter and great feeling full-size keyboard that is backlit for work in low lighting. This is as close to the perfect travel computer that I've ever used!
  
  Now the not-so-greats:
  
  - there really should have been more than one usb port. It can be handled if you need more through a small usb hub, but that's not ideal. One more port should have been included.
  
  - Wired ethernet. Would have been nice to have that built in too, but the dongle works well and is really almost never needed for me at least. I bring a small wireless router with me anyway so I never really need to use wired ethernet. Still, it's a convenience.
  
  - built in battery that require unscrewing many screws to replace. This is a design decision and I'm not sure I agree with it. If the battery holds up reasonably well for a year or so and it's easy to get replacement batteries, I think it's not a bad decision, but if these batteries are not good quality and don';t last it'll piss me off. I'd like the option to bring an extra battery, but I've never done it before so even if I had the option I probably wouldn't use it. If you need to work for many hours on the plane, this is not good. On the other hand, it's just a matter of time before all airlines start having plugs for laptops in all cabins. Mixed feelings about this decision, but I love the design so much (and it would be different with a removable battery) that it feels like it outweighs this issue....not rational, but that's the way I feel.
  
  
  That's it. This is the nicest laptop I've used, despite it's minor inconveniences. As long as you're aware of how you work and what you need and compare that with the macbook air's capabilities, you'll simply LOVE this machine.
  
  

• Macbook Air, despite issues, if you buy it you will love it!

  
  By A1T1354I619NDJ on 2008-03-01
  I purchased a 1.6Ghz 80GB HDD based MacBook Air about 2 weeks ago. Honestly I was not sure that I would keep the device but I had to review it for myself based on some not so positive reviews and the fact that I own a large amount of Apple stock and have been concerned about the recent drop in the stock price.
  
  My business is to help companies make better products with better overall strategic plans and I have learned from past experience that many "professional" reviewers really don't get it. Often they write great reviews for terrible products and while not as often they also write terrible reviews for great products. In a past life I directly managed the widely successful Iomega Zip drive so I speak from a level of experience on this issue. In short it was easily worth a 10% restocking fee to me to find out what I thought the real truth is.
  
  In my acuitize consulting business we have found that after extensive direct in person customer interviews working with a wide variety of companies with an even wider variety of products that customers really care about only a few key items for each of the products or services they buy. We call these items the "defining parameters" of any true 10X product or service. While there are lots of items that must be accomplished well for a true 10X product we find that there are only 3-5 things that must be done to perfection to achieve 10x success.
  
  So what do I now believe?
  
  The quickest answer is that within an hour of my first use there was no way that I was taking the system back. Words cannot do justice to the sheer brilliance of the industrial design of this product. It simply "feels" great when you use it and it is so thin and light you become worried that you forgot it on a business trip. The screen is simply brilliant and far better that any screen I have ever seen on any other laptop I have used or seen to date. The keyboard, while I am probably the world's worst typist, also "feels" great when you use it. I have found myself using the system all over my house at all times of day due to the wonderful backlight keyboard & display (& size). I'd rather go without paying my heat bill than taking back the air!
  
  The Good
  
  - The industrial design and size/weight.
  - The screen
  - The keyboard
  - The overall feeling of a supremely engineered product
  - It's a Mac and it comes with Leopard and iLife 08
  - The tradeoffs they made to fit the size/weight requirements are fine with me and largely non-issues (& my issues can be fixed)
  - If you buy it you will love it (ps - I am not connected with Apple in any way)
  
  Interestingly while I have a number of issues with the product I think they could all be easily fixed into the future making the "Air" a true 10x product. By the way I think you will find my "issues" are largely different from what most reviewers write as the issues.
  
  My issues;
  
  #1 - The price is simply way too high for wild market acceptance
  
  While I would love to do the research to determine the real price points required can you imagine the sales of this product if it were a $499 product ramping up to a $999 product as opposed to the $2K-$3K product it is today? High volumes will lower manufacturing costs that should allow Apple to do this in the future (an inherently this system should be cheaper to build anyway). By the way for me the dramatically increased price and lower storage capacity make the solid-state storage option a non-factor for me (I continue to be amazed at what appears to be close to a 50/50 sales mix of the solid-state option to the HDD based option). Give me a 128GB solid sate drive at a $500 or lower cost and then I will be interested. Up until then, and speaking as a shareholder rather than a user, I love the mix of sales of the higher end system.
  
  #2 - Migration and Syncing is a disaster
  
  This one amazes me and one I think is a huge disappointment especially from a company like Apple that seems to think this stuff out ahead of time. It is based on the premise that the vast majority of MacBook air buyers (especially at the current prices) already will own another "main" Mac. Migration assistant needs to be greatly modified to enable simply and easily dealing with moving only your critical stuff to the air to fit in the limited space available (now it's an all or nothing approach). Migrating your stuff from another Mac is an enormous pain and waste of time. Interestingly I think they completely solved a parallel issue to this in the removal of the optical disk drive by enabling remote drive access. I did buy a $99 superdrive but after 2 weeks it's still in the plastic wrapped box and I doubt I will ever use it.
  
  On a similar issue an what presents a much larger ongoing problem is synching between the air and your "main" Mac. It is simply a pain to try and keep my Air and iMac synched with the same critical stuff. From the examples that Apple already set with the iPod and AppleTV with "great" synching capabilities it amazes me they dropped the ball on this feature for the Air. Apple representatives have told me to use .Mac but I find this an unacceptable answer. My #1 software priority would be a great wireless simple software synching functionality as per AppleTV and the iPod.
  
  Interesting what was my largest pre-purchase factor was the smallish 80GB hard drive (I really wished it was 120 or 160GB at least). Now I have found that after a painful couple of days of moving my critical stuff that 80GB is in fact fine for me - just make it easy for me to move my stuff on and off of it.
  
  
  #3 - I hate the dongle for video presentations (I am afraid I will lose it or leave it behind)
  
  I assume that a lot of traveling professionals are like me and need from time to time to connect the air to an external projector. While to Apple's credit they do provide the cable as standard I hat the dongle idea. I think this could be solved by simply shipping the air with a neat internal and inexpensive protective case-in-a-case that can go in your laptop bag that has a standard place for the power adapter and dongles. On a similar not the low cost remote should have also been included primarily for remote presentations if not for watching movies (at $2K or $3K leaving a $2 cost remote out was a extremely poor strategic decision.).
  
  My bottom line is that, even with these shortcomings, if you can afford it buy the "Air" you will love it!
  
  
• Compromises? Not In My View.
  By A27RT2ZHURERAU on 2008-03-18
  I did a fair amount of soul-searching before pulling the trigger on this purchase, in large part because of all the "compromises" apparently required to make as thin as this one is. For me, the MBA replaced a ThinkPad T-40, which has been as sturdy, consistent, and feature-laden as it is unattractive. My worry was that, though I was sure I would like the size and appearance of the MBA, maybe I would miss the T-40's feature set. Worse, I might miss a particular feature while traveling. So, I almost didn't buy the MBA.
  
  I needn't have worried -- the MBA is simply incredible. As others have mentioned, the case is quite sturdy. Apple's engineers ingeniously relied on some of the internal components themselves as part of the skeleton for the case. This sounds scary, except that they were designed to serve both functions. The keyboard is crisp and comfortable (and keep in mind that I'm coming from a very well-regarded keyboard in the ThinkPad). The trackpad gestures more than make up for all of the extra keys the ThinkPad has. Although it takes some getting used to, the three-finger swipe, the two finger "right-click", pinching/expanding, etc., are all intuitive, comfortable, and fairly addictive. I've even started missing them on my desktop. The screen is really impressive -- a *big* improvement from my previous laptop. And battery life has been just fine -- definitely not the advertised five hours, but consistently well over three.
  
  What do I miss? Honestly, not much. I've started using downloaded movies when I travel, including iTunes rentals. They all look just as good as a DVD did (on a laptop, at least) and are better for battery life. When I use an external mouse, I use a Bluetooth wireless model, so it doesn't take up the USB port. I was never a battery-swapper anyway, so that's not an issue. (I'll probably gripe about the built-in battery every couple of years when I replace it, then forget it the rest of the time.) And I can't save everything I have on the hard drive, though it holds everything that I would ever need on-the-go. I don't even miss the Ethernet port, as I travel with an Airport Express, and have for years. For me, the only real downside is the speed of opening applications. Opening most apps is noticeably and annoyingly slower than with my desktop (or, presumably, than all of the other Apple notebooks). However, once open, they do just fine. I now leave them open, which Apple says is fine, and speed is more than adequate.
  
  As a disclaimer, I should mention that I'm a lawyer, so my usage doesn't involve heavy graphic or media work. I tend to run the Microsoft Office suite, Safari, iTunes, iPhoto, watch movies, and use the internet. For those types of things, the MBA comfortably meets my needs. I've even added VM Ware's Fusion program (running Windows XP) and, once loaded, it does the job as well. A speed demon this computer isn't, but if you use general productivity software and Apple's consumer applications, you'll probably be very happy.
  
  
  
  
• I am a owner:)
  By A3EKPJZT9STBUD on 2008-02-20
  Wow! is what comes to mind When I opened the box for the first time, its so shiny and it really is a piece of Art more then a simple laptop.
  
  I found it more beautiful in person then I did on the ads, the black keyboard looks great, and again on the ad thought silver would have been better but no longer think that.Being the 1.6/80 model everyone was saying the speed will be slow...Not True! Just sold my 2.2 Macbook with 4G of ram, and this is almost the same.
  
  The screen, it is very bright more so then the current macbook, and to me seems much clearer.
  Fans run at 2400 RPMs, no noise or heat...48-57 degrees surfing and mail open.
  Charges to full in 3.5 Hours.
  The think that impresses me most is the built quality, I have had 6 Apple laptops this year including the Macbook Pro and lots of Macbooks, this is the best built by far.
  
  The track pad is so precise, and much better then my macbook.
  The thinness will amaze you.
  
  I am hooked :)
  
  
  UPDATE:
  I was given a 1.8/64 as a gift and wrote a review, that might interest people trying to decide if the SSD drive or HHD drive is right for you
  
  http://thinkmacbookair.com/index.php/topic,70.0.html
  
  
• Wow, Just WOW!
  By A2H8S7A1S5JQJ7 on 2008-02-24
  I bought my Airbook at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue this evening and upon opening this beauty my first thought was: "MacBook Nano"
  
  My first thought on turning on: super screen! I am a bright screen junkie and this screen is so much brighter than my old MacBook.
  
  I have been a computer user for 13 years and a Mac User for about 8 or 9 and there is just something about buying a Mac that makes me giddy in a way buying a PC never did. Apple products truly are elegant and beautiful and make work seem less so . . .
  
  I'm glad to see that the reviews here on amazon seem to be from actual AirBook owners as opposed to those reviews I've found elsewhere that are heavily weighed down by people who don't even own it.
  
  The biggest complaints seem to be price and lack of optical drive.
  
  In regards to price I don't really see the issue highly portable laptops are ALWAYS priced at a premium and the similar offering on the PC side (The Sony Vaio VZ that appears to have ripped off the MacBook's keyboard design) starts @ $2,199 for a 1.2GHz processor with a Hard Drive that is only 20GB bigger. Do I wish the AirBook was cheaper? Sure, but I'm one of those people who will pay to shave 2 lbs. off my travel weight.
  
  In regards to the lack of optical drive - WAHOO! For me it was a reason to buy this AirBook. I rarely use an optical drive these days.
  
  I don't burn CD's anymore I use an iPod.
  
  I don't watch DVDs anymore, I rip them in Handbrake and watch them from the hard drive. So I can rip the movie on my iMac and transfer it via a memory card or a USB Drive. Easy-Peasy.
  
  99% of the software I use can be downloaded from the net so no installation CD needed. The one program I did need was MS Office 2008 and the installation using my iMac's drive was flawless and straightforward.
  
  As many around the 'net have stated I can't imagine this being anyone's primary computer but as a travel companion and for web-surfing, e-mail and documents Mac fans need not hesitate.
  
  I haven't used any processor intensive programs such as Photoshop or VMWare but I don't have to: that's why I have my iMac. I'm currently using my AB with a few Firefox windows open with several tabs, MS Excel, MS Entourage and Filemaker and all is running quite smooth.
  
  Do I wish Mac's Ultra-portable had a 11.1 or 12.1" screen instead of 13.3" making it even lighter with a smaller footprint? YES but I'm reviewing what IS not what I wish would be.
  
  I actually find myself looking forward to my first business trip with this puppy because I know that will make me love this bad boy even more.
  
  UPDATE: Since the MBA doesn't seem as slow as I feared it might be I installed Photoshop C3 and it works like a charm. Tried to install VMWare but no dice - you need the external drive for that as VMWare doesn't recognize Remote Disc. Another observation not only does the MBA run very quiet it runs VERY COOL - I can't remember the last time a laptop didn't burn the cr*p out of my lap!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Worth every penny - and the wait
  By A1B29AAROKKQOE on 2008-02-27
  ***UPDATE***
  I originally purchased the MBA for home - however, due to it's weight and portability - it quickly replaced my work laptop - which was a Dell.
  
  I have Office 2008 for Mac installed, use a Cisco VPN, and Firefox 3 (for .tiff files and some others that Safari didn't work with) When mobile, I am using a Sprint broadband wireless USB card when I am not using WiFi - and the MBA screams when it comes to running Oracle 11i.
  
  So far, I haven't found anything that makes me miss my Dell.
  
  -----------------------------------------------------------
  
  I purchased a custom configured MBA - I ordered it with the 1.8 Ghz processor and the 80 GB HDD.
  
  So far, I have to say I love this machine!
  
  As some have mentioned - I thought I would miss certain devices - like an Optical drive (CD / DVD) or an Ethernet port - but so far I haven't missed either one!
  
  I get about 3.5 hours to 5 hours out of each charge - and I have the power settings on 'performance' - which is as high as it gets - I imagine if I dialed it back to 'energy saving' I could get more. My Dell only lasted about 2.5 hours - so I know where all the outlets are in airports / airplanes / lounges when I am on the road. It is nice to only have to charge half as much!!
  
  I am using my MBA in conjunction with a wireless network at my house. The remote disk feature worked seamlessly when I installed software from the SuperDrive on my Mac Mini via WiFi to my MBA. In addition, I installed the remote disk software on my Dell, just to see if I could watch a movie - and I could! (Remote disk allows a user to watch movies the user has created, and install software remotely - however, it doesn't allow a user to watch a commercial DVD remotely)
  
  I thought the MBA would be fairly slow with larger programs such as PhotoShop - surprisingly enough it works just fine!
  
  I am keeping all of the bookmarks, preferences, address books, mail accounts, etc synced between my Mac Mini, MBA, and iPod Touch using my .Mac account.
  
  Any files I want to use between the devices, I use via 'Sharing Files' under preferences in Leopard.
  
  If you haven't used Leopard before - you are in for a treat!
  
  I have Expose set up so every time I move my mouse to the upper left corner of my screen 'All Windows' come to the forefront. I also have it set so if I move my mouse to the lower left portion of my screen, it launches Spaces.
  
  Spaces is a program that works as if you have 'virtual desktops'. I set mine up to have 12 'screens' - two rows, six columns. This means I can be running up to twelve programs - or have up to 12 windows open at a time - move my cursor to the lower left of the screen, enter Spaces and switch between any of the twelve applications / screens - with literally one movement and a click.
  
  Speaking of clicks - I don't use the track pad buttons like I used to - which was odd at first - but, once I got used to using the functions of the new track pad - one finger (tap=left click), two fingers (tap=right click), or three fingers (swipe=next page/screen), two finger pinch= small font/small pic, two finger spread=larger font/larger pic - I can't imagine ever going back.
  
  Overall, I am VERY pleased with the performance of this device. I used to 'make a decision' whether or not to 'lug' along my laptop, now I just grab the MBA.
  
  I recommend purchasing the Ethernet/USB adapter - we all have to use Ethernet at some point ;-)
  
  BTW - if you are looking for a carrying case - I purchased a bag from SFBags.com which is basically a sleeve, a flap, and a shoulder strap for under a hundred bucks - and it's VERY high quality. You will want to get a size 13-2 (MBA) and a suspension strap (it has a gripper pad on it).
  
  
• Super laptop, if you are looking for a true portable, not sole computer
  By AFRE9AU9UI39I on 2008-03-11
  Let me start with a simple disclaimer, first I worked for Apple (a long time ago) for 11 years, I also worked for Microsoft for 6 years and I'm pretty comfortable in both camps but I truly love Apple for it's design and combined hardware/software implementations. I go through laptops pretty frequently and have owned UMPC's and full heavyweight desktop replacements. Having said all that, I think the MacBook Air is a home run IF you fit the right profile. The profile is that you want a device that you can carry around easily every day from meeting to meeting, home to work, travel, etc. This is not the laptop for your sole machine, instead it's truly the best device I've every owned for taking notes, staying on top of email, doing some on the fly spreadsheet or database creation, watch ripped or downloaded movies, and generally working through a "normal" business day. If you're looking for a game machine, power photo processing or video processing laptop, or 1 PC to suit all your needs this isn't the right product. But for me, it's close to 100% perfect, the battery life is good enough to get me through more than a couple of meetings, I can watch a movie that I rented on iTunes or ripped on a flight, I can easily do all my email on a week long trip, and basically take the machine with me wherever I go without a big penalty in weight or size. The display is super, the keyboard is wonderful, and I'm personally fine with not having a user replaceable battery. Bottom line is that, if you are clear about what you need, and understand the trade off's, the MacBook Air is a winner of a portable device.
  
  
• Fantastic little laptop!!!
  By A3SO1OKCBUUNOR on 2008-03-04
  I have had this little miracle for a couple of weeks and I absolutely love it, in fact I take it with me anywhere I go. Alot fo people are negative about this product because of it's lack of a DVD drive and an ethernet port, I very very rarely use them so it fits me just fine. You should note that the Air was not intended as an all in one computing solution but as an extension of your system. An iMac and Macbook Air would fit perfectely together for around the price of the MacBook Pro.
  
  The fit and finish is spectacular, it feels light yet solid. Other laptops in this weight range feel flimsy, none of that here.
  
  Performance is much better than i had anticipated, the 2GB of ram really do make a diference. It does suffer with very very high resolution 1080P videos but other than that it's pretty snappy. Much more so than any other portable in its range.
  
  I would recomened you stick to this configuration, the higher processor is not worth the extra 300 USD and the SSD drive is definately not worth an extra 1K!!!
  
  
  What are you waiting for? add the damn thing to your cart already!!!
  
  
• Know Thyself
  By A3M4G07E2Y0RUZ on 2008-04-19
  There are so many opinions floating around about this latest Apple innovation, my simple reply is to think what works best for yourself. The *plus* in one's views may be the *minus* in another's. The Macbook Air is the perfect answer for my way of using a notebook computer. Study the forums, learn the features, and decide if it works. When you read the negative reviews, remember it could just be the Air does not fit the user's needs. Just as most all other notebooks do not fit my needs. The Air is for the simple, uncluttered life. When you KNOW yourself, this removes much of the confusion. Apple has heavy-duty alternatives, while the Air simply does exactly as it was designed to do... keeping your life simple, uncluttered AND productive.
  
  
• Fast, Superlight, Full Size Keyboard! Who needs a DVD drive anymore?
  By A366EO44M70VJG on 2008-02-20
  This is them most incredible computer ever made. It puts everything else to shame. Get one, you will love it and so will your back! Remote DVD drive works great, you will hardly notice it is not in your machine. Apple has the best engineering in the computer world. It is sleek but so functional and super light. I can lay in bed and have it on my stomach and hardly notice it is there. You can bring it anywhere, read internet news on the can for that matter. It is the first true portable computer. Everything else S&*Ks in comparison now. Also it is cheap for what you get. Get one and finally go trully mobile!
  
  
• The best Apple has yet to offer
  By A252KC3NYOUQ1W on 2008-02-27
  Is it a compromise? Well I guess for those who don't mind carrying around a 6 lb portable with all the bells and whistles or an ultraportable with slow processor, small keyboard but with more ports, I guess the MBA is.
  
  Where there is no compromise is in the speed, full sized keyboard, screen clarity and battery life. With the 64 Gig SSD and 1.8 GHZ 4MB cache processor the speed is the fastest in its class. While the X300 is the computer that everyone loves to bash the MBA with, I will take the speed of the MBA over the DVD on the X300 anytime. Plus, it can run both VISTA/XP and OSX. So it is a better Vista computer and ALSO a MAC. OH and one more thing compared to the X300-you can actually buy an MBA NOW, it has been available for close to a month, while the X300 just got posted on there site and there is a more than (TYPICAL of Lenovo) 4 week ship time-usually in Lenovo jargon that means wait a few months. It is amazing that Apple used to be the king of announce and wait has now become the company whose products are available (in most cases) on the day or within days of announcement.
  
  My only real complaint is length of time it takes to charge. Mine is taking about 4 hours. Hopefully there will be a firmware fix for that.
  
  The keyboard is the best in class, bar NONE, not even the X series by Lenovo. The screen is bright and crisp. Load times for Vista is the quickest I have seen (probably because of the SSD).
  
  I have heard complaints that there is no built in 3G or EVDO, but in my opinion, that is a waste. Why would anyone want that built in unless that is their only computer?? As a person who has more than one laptop and computer, I much rather have a USB 3G or EVDO. The new Verizon 720 works with the MBA perfectly and has a MicroSDHC slot-for $68 I got the new SanDisk 8 GIG MicroSDHC which works great.
  
  
  
  
• Better to wait for 2nd generation. It must come out soon.
  By A2HW8E265889IZ on 2008-04-30
  2nd generation MBA with 45nm Penryn will solve current problems such as storage, interface connector, blackout problem, while most of the beauty of it will remain the same. I need to emphasize that I LOVE MBA design. First, 80GB is so small that you will see more than 1/2 of 80GB is required by OS, VM and major applications. Performance is getting even slower due to its storage bottleneck. At least two USBs and Ethernet are must. It is sacrificing flexibility so much to reduce its size and weight but I do not feel it does not have a fair balance for regular users. I still encounter occasional blackout and freeze problem when I leave it for a few hours, which has not been solved even through Apple's technical support.
  I definitely think next one will be much better and Apple knows how we feel about MBA. I believe they could respond to what we feel very soon.
  
  
  
• My perfect second computer
  By A183CYNCAEIH0Y on 2008-04-27
  This is my backup and travel computer at my MacPro would not really travel well.
  First things first, this is probably not he computer you should be using as a primary computer, but as a second computer is excels.
  I like the fact that I can fit it in my business folio and take it to work use it on my breaks and when I have some free time. It is also quite solid I had no fear of damaging it holding it on it's edges.
  The feature I like best is the screen. They use the new LED backlighting instead of fluorescent so it is more energy efficient and way brighter then any other of Apple's displays even ont he MacBook Pro.
  As for the 80gb vs solid state drive. I got the 80gb because while the solid state will read data faster and boot up and open applications faster then a MacBook Pro the 80gb drive writes data faster, and well I did not buy this computer for it's speed anyway.
  By the way if you are concerned about the size of the hard drive I'll let you know what I do and hope it helps. When I am away I leave my MacPro on and set up my .mac account with Back to my Mac. I have a AT&T 3G wireless card and with that combo I can access the 1TB drive and all the applications on my MacPro. It will not obviously run as fast but it is the closest you will get to a 1.08 TB laptop at this point.
  
  
• The best MacBook ever!
  By A4SWZL3M6IZWU on 2008-04-29
  I read a lot of reviews on the Web complaining about MacBook Air single USB port, lack of built-in Ethernet port, external SuperDrive, etc. as major issues... Come on! This is an ultra portable, thin and light notebook, without compromising screen and keyboard sizes, plus amazing screen and multitouch technologies... If you love breakthrough products, buy yours today! :D
  
  
• MBAir has changed the way I work
  By A1HGTEEH7329BQ on 2008-06-09
  I purchased the this laptop because I wanted a super-portable computer with full functionality. I used to leave my old laptop at home because I didn't want to carry its 6 pounds around with me all day just because I *might* use it. Now I take the MBA with me everywhere and work when and where I want. (I'm a graduate student and I walk a lot.) I'm super impressed with the intuitive interface and the overall beauty of the machine - but note this is my first apple. I am not concerned with what some people say are the limitations of this machine because I use it mainly for writing, reading documents and the internet. The processing speed and HD space are very satisfactory for my needs.
  
  Note: I applied the Zagg invisible shield to the top and bottom of the laptop, because the aluminum is quite sensitive to scratches.
  
  
• Completely Amazing!
  By A2YVYQ4CK97HUW on 2008-06-19
  I cannot begin to describe how much I love this laptop! I won't provide a technical review as I am sure other reviewers are much more competent to do so. I purchased this laptop for work and graduate school as soon as they came out. I first switched to Apple about 3 years ago, and since that time I have owned a PowerBook G4 12" which I traded up for the MacBook Pro 15" and decided it was too big (can you tell I want something small?). So, when the MacBook Air came out, I gave my husband my Pro and purchased this. I couldn't be more satisfied with it. It is fast, well-constructed and lightweight with a beautiful, clear screen, all of which are essentials for my computer happiness! The touchpad is awesome...I find myself wishing that my iMac mouse had a similar feature. I do not find the lack of an optical drive problematic; I purchased the $99 external drive and, as I said, also have an iMac, so program installation, CD uploading, etc., is not a problem for me. The external drive is also small enough that you can pack it up in your case and bring it with you if need be. The battery life is fantastic: I can take class notes for 3 hours straight and still have plenty of juice for another hour or two of use...if I had to estimate battery time, I'd say it consistently gives me 4 1/2 to 5 hours of use. I do not do a lot of video editing or gaming, etc., but I do use this for way more than email, including tons of writing, business uses, and web design. It isn't the task master that the Pro's are, but it's convenience makes up for any shortcomings. So, it basically comes down to what works for you, and because my primary computer is an iMac, the portability, speed, and ease of use of the MacBook Air is a great choice.
  
  
• Mac Airbook
  By A2DHU7HGCIG3P3 on 2008-06-13
  Airbook is the best for traveling
  across town or across the country!
  I highly recommend it!
  
  
• Best laptop ever
  By A1DYID4CJR5S01 on 2008-06-20
  Its actually better than the best laptop ever. This is one of the greatest pieces of electronics ever created.
  Wish there was more hard drive memory, but if you store files online you dont really need all that much hard drive space.
  I also wish the battery life was better.
  But other than those two things its a must have.
  
  Joel Simkhai
  
  
• Do not waste your time and money
  By A1ZWIOWUI8USN9 on 2008-07-12
  Good for checking emails, and very light word/excel processing work. Otherwise it is really more a gadget than a real computer. Hard drive is too small for using it as a standard computer as you cannot store much info/data. Processing power too slow and even airport does not pick up all signals. Nice gadget...that's all it is. I do not recommend it.
  
  
• Awesome Macbook Air
  By A3TS1MCJFVLAYF on 2008-07-14
  It was a gift to me so I can finish writing a book. It's so lightweight that I carry it around with ease. I am able to write in bed, too. It's really a blessing since I'm on the go so much. This laptop also performs wonderfully. I love it. I highly recommend it.
  
  
• Great Laptop
  By A9HVYH0WIP8XI on 2008-07-17
  I have been very pleased with my Mac book Air. It has worked perfect since I first turned it on. Migrated from my old Mac Book without a hitch. Booted the Mac Book Air and everything was there even parallels and windows with all my windows programs intact. I love it.
  
  
• A deathbed conversion
  By A2WRWWD93KLIP6 on 2008-07-19
  As a hardcore PC user I could not have been more amazed at the beauty and simplicity of a the MacBook Air. It is a jewel. Completely satisfied.
  
  
• Another Great Product.
  By A2O4EXFFAF8X34 on 2008-07-24
  I bought the Macbook Air for my daughter who is a 'die hard' Mac person. She uses her Mac Pro everyday for her work. She has told me three times how much she loves this new laptop. That makes the purchase a 10.
  
  
• Great so far
  By A28JYUGWO5791P on 2008-07-28
  i just purchased this computer a week ago so i suppose things could change but at this point the computer has been great. The portability was a huge factor for me as it should be for anybody contemplating the purchase of this laptop. As a student i don't really need this computer for much more than word documents, internet, email, itunes, and the occasional movie/youtube video. Speed has not been an issue - something i wasn't sure about as i almost purchased the SSD option. Fortunately i didn't and this has been fine. I ordered the superdrive just in case though i havn't used it yet. For installing microsoft office i used the remote disc drive and that worked absolutely fine. So far the fan/overheating problem that other people were talking about hasn't been an issue and the temp does get warm, but not hot enough to get laggy or be uncomfortable. So far my two nitpicks are that the battery isn't great - 4+ hours of internet/itunes if the screen brightness is down all the way... but i like to keep the brightness at at least 50%. The other thing is that the screen hinge design doesn't allow the screen to go very far back. As far as the port limitations go the only thing i use is audio jack, usb, and ethernet at school but there's wifi too. I did order the ethernet dongle just in case. An ethernet cable and maybe one more usb (tho that too isn't too big of a deal for me) would be nice, but still, i'm totally happy with my purchase :)
  
  
• Spectacular
  By AJKGTRPT58YIG on 2008-08-06
  I am using this as a replacement for my iMac which I moved to the office. This computer is the best laptop I have ever owned (the first Mac), and I am in love with the operating system. I dont have to worry about viruses or other nonsense like that like I use to have to deal with all the time with my old Dell laptop. Plus its so light I can take it anywhere!
  
  The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't have a firewire port. However, all in all I am very happy and could not have imagined a more perfect computer.
  
  
• Excellent machine with interesting compromises
  By A1U75DBAUXQKE3 on 2008-08-10
  After being used to traveling with a MacBook Pro I wondered if the MacBook Air would have enough performance and capacity to satisfy my needs.
  
  This is a beautiful machine. Extremely thin but very sturdy feeling. Wonderfully light even with required accessories. A terrific screen and keyboard that are a pleasure during all day use. Good battery life (about 4 hours in my case). Good processor and graphics power for mainstream business applications. Adequate disk space but limited disk performance. Barest minumum of ports requires dongles and a usb hub.
  
  While its slower than my Macbook pro, the only times I really notice a difference are:
  - Booting the machine takes longer (but I usually only do that a couple times a week)
  - Starting some applications takes longer (but once started I can still run a LOT of apps in 2gb even including Parallels)
  - True multitasking is limited to one intensive disk or cpu operation at a time (don't try and use the machine for anything significant while doing a backup, or while ripping a DVD).
  
  So under normal use I was very pleasantly surprised how useable the AIR felt after being used to a PRO. For me the size and weight reduction is definitely worth the performance reduction.
  
  Yes I would like a bigger, faster hard drive, but next year 120gb 5400rpm single platter units should be available. Yes I would like a built in ethernet port, but I'm not willing to pay a big form factor price to avoid the $29 dongle. Yes I would like 2-3 USB ports, but Targus makes some really tiny 4 port hubs for now.
  
  I'm honestly not sure I would make any different design choices, and technology progress will take care of the only thing I've found to be occasionally very limiting (disk size and performance).
  
  
• Great until you need to restore from Time Machine
  By AUWS4WEQ3GS53 on 2008-08-28
  I have been the informal tech guy for two Airs. One for 8 months, one for 6 months. I have also traveled with them. They are generally wonderful, especially if the weight is a big factor. All other laptops seem heavy and inelegant. But ...
  
  (1) If you ever want to use an ethernet connection to the internet (as opposed to wireless), then you have to bring the dongle that converts the one USB port to ethernet. For example, to check your office email at a Kinko's. Definitely buy it. You will want to travel with this and an ethernet cable, in case your hotel room has an ethernet connection and no (or poor) wireless reception.
  
  (2) To do a quick full restore from Time Machine, you need BOTH an OSX disc (either Disc 1 that comes with the Air or an off-the-shelf OSX disc) and the back-up hard drive. But you only have one USB port and no firewire ports. The SuperDrive will not share that port on a USB hub (nor will it work on any computer but an Air). It is easy to back up with Time Machine to a small external drive. (We used a Western Digital Passport.) But consider using a Time Capsule or an external hard drive that has its own power supply. The powered external drive is not elegant, but if you ever need to do a full restore (and you might because your Air will lead a hard life, especially if it is a student's life), it will save you a couple of hours if you use a powered external hard drive. The SuperDrive that you can buy for the Air (and you should buy it, it is small and light) does not work from a USB hub. A powered DVD drive from another manufacturer (ours is from Toshiba) works on a powered USB hub. The WD Passport would not connect to the Air via a powered USB hub (at least through the hub I used, and that hub has had problems). But a powered WD MyBook external hard drive did connect to the Air via the powered hub. So use a powered external hard drive for your Time Machine backups, and if you need to do a full restore, get a powered USB hub and a powered external DVD drive with a USB output. The Apple Genius Bar might not have these. Note: See (11) and (12) below for alternate methods for a full restore, in one of which the WD Passport worked fine.
  
  (3) The Genius Bar geniuses know a lot more about the MacBook than the Air because the Air is still relatively new.
  
  (4) If you ever do a full "restore and erase" from the two discs that come with the Air, you need to know this: At the end of first disc, about 1.5 hours into the process, it flashes "Get ready to insert Disc 2." Then it reboots and eventually says "Installing. Calculating time remaining" and ejects the disc. It does NOT say "Insert Disc 2". If maybe you were not watching it for the entire first 1.5 hours, you would not have seen the message at the end of Disc 1 before the reboot. What it wants when it ejects Disc 1 is for you to insert Disc 2. Not very brilliant programming. Every two-disc Windows program and game says "Insert Disc 2 and press Enter." Not these install discs. I found out when I went to the Genius bar and the Genius restarted the install process. He went to lunch and I watched the computer for two hours (this is what I want you to avoid), so I happened to see the message at the end of disc one. It was a special moment in my life.
  
  (5) Be careful where you put the Air and the SuperDrive. I heard of someone throwing out their Air with the Sunday paper. Might be an urban legend, but we lost a SuperDrive, possibly the same way.
  
  (6) Backups to Time Machine are more likely to happen if you use a Time Capsule as a wireless router + external hard drive. You can also print through Time Capsule, instead of plugging the printer into the Air when you need to print. Be sure to have the printer plugged into the Time Capsule and turned on before you install the Time Capsule. Otherwise, you will probably need to call Apple Care to walk you through the re-install with the printer. Don't get off the phone until the printer works and Time Machine works, not just the wireless internet. For a student whose life is on the Air, I would definitely consider the Time Capsule an essential accessory to the Air. For someone who uses the Air as an occasional computer for travel and has her life on an iMac with an ethernet connection to the internet, the Time Capsule is nice but not necessary.
  
  (7) Get a neoprene sleeve for the Air. Then when it is thrown into a backpack or briefcase, it will be safer. Also, in its sleeve on a desk it is less of an object of desire for thieves (in my humble opinion). After all these months, the Air is still eye candy (as you well know if you got this far in this review). Consider a color other than black, which is harder to see and find.
  
  (8) I understand that the wireless antenna is in the hinge that attaches the screen to the body of the Air. So it is somewhat directional. Try sliding it around to get better reception. You can check the packet flow in the Activity Monitor in Utilities to see what works best.
  
  (9) Wireless reception does not seem to be a strength of the two Airs that I use. The 4 MacBooks that preceded the two Airs in our lives seemed to get more consistently good wireless reception. This is a shame, because the Air depends more on its wireless than the MacBooks, which have real ports. In future generations of the Air I hope that Apple finds a way to get the best possible wireless reception for the Air.
  
  (10) The 80 GB hard drive in the Air is not big enough for a student's life if the student likes to store music and videos on it. An outboard hard drive is a distant second-best solution. (I liked the WD Passport for this, since it does not need external power and it is small, reliable and travels well. Consider wrapping it in bubble wrap in your backpack or briefcase. USB power is enough for this drive since you will not be doing a full Time Machine restore from this drive. To backup the stuff on this drive, you will need another solution, which might be Time Machine on the Time Capsule. Update: I attach the WD Passport and the printer to the USB port on the Time Capsule with a USB mini hub (not a powered hub), store videos on the Passport and back up the Air and Passport with Time Machine to the Time Capsule's hard drive. I wish the backup was not in the same room as the backed-up drives, but it is a lot better than no backup.)
  
  (11) It is easy to connect the Air to another computer to use the other computer's CD or DVD drive. You need a good wireless connection for both computers. The Air asks the other computer for permission each time, and the other computer has to give permission each time. I connected to another Air and could use the SuperDrive on the second Air. I have heard of people using this as a way to access the OSX DVD when they do a quick full restore from Time Machine to the Air. I tried, could connect, but could not do a quick restore this way. The problem was that the both the OSX disc and the original Disc 1 that comes with the Air cause a reboot. After the reboot, the Air could not see the DVD drive in the other computer. End of quick restore process.
  
  (12) Update: To do a full restore from Time Machine to the Air: Do an Erase and Restore with the start up disc or an OSX disc. Two hours later, when this is DONE and you have a fresh computer, it asks if you want to restore from a hard drive using Time Machine. THEN you start the restore. (At that point the restore process is finished with the DVD and you can unplug the SuperDrive and plug in your external hard drive, whether powered or not. The WD Passport worked fine to restore at this point in the process.) The whole process (including the restore from Time Machine) takes many hours, but it works great and you do NOT need a powered external DVD drive; the SuperDrive works fine for this. This waste of two hours (for the erase and restore) is the cost of a small, light computer, I guess. Now you know, too. I hope this saves you from the frustration that
  I experienced.
  
  Given all that, every Air owner I know would buy another one if they lost theirs. None would go back to a MacBook. (I do know people for whom the weight is not a big issue and who want more horsepower and ports and sometimes screen size, especially for games. They are happy with their MacBooks as their main computers.) Except for the wireless reception, the problems of the Air are problems for the tech person, not so much for the day-to-day user. Which is a good design choice.
  
  

• Roxio Toast 9 Titanium
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 (Mac)
• Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition
• Nero 8 Ultra Edition
• Apple iLife '08

• Apple Macbook Air SuperDrive (MB397G/A)
• Apple USB Ethernet Adapter - Network adapter - Hi-Speed USB - EN, Fast EN - 10Base-T, 100Base-TX
• Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition
• Apple Mighty Mouse Wireless Kit
• AppleCare Protection Plan MA519LL/A for MacBook Air / MacBook