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Hands On Review: MacBook Air
Posted under Personal Experiences by OutstandingOIt’s finally here! A hands on review of the Mac Book Air. There is only one word to describe this laptop: SEXY! From first look, it’s hard to dispute that there was a lot of time and attention placed into not only the aesthetics of this laptop, but how Apple was able to fit what it did in such a small package. Everyone has seen the Apple ads. Some pasty Steve Jobs look a-like, sliding that slivery piece of goodness out of a manila envelope. The jaws of nerds around America could be heard dropping simultaneously. The Air is one of the thinnest in creation, but still seems to find a way to pack vibrant color into its 13 inch display.
It comes with an Intel Core Duo processor and an 80gb HDD. Couple that with an aluminum casing to capture it all and a sturdy back-lit full length keyboard and you’ll be the envy of any nerd and set to impress. Now, even with all the sexiness stuffed into this laptop, the Air is lacking in some things. First and foremost, there is no optical drive. This (based on some reports) is because Apple is really pushing on the concept of downloadable media vs. solid media. You can however purchase a SuperDrive that plays and burns both CD’s and DVD’s, but must be willing to pay $99 for this addition. Also, it doesn’t come with an Ethernet jack. Even though you can buy a separate USB Ethernet adapter ($29), it’s still somewhat painful given that the on board 802.11 N connection is not as solid or consistent as some would hope. Now take into consideration that there is only one USB port, a head phone jack that doesn’t support all headphones, and the fact that you’ll pay $3099 for the 64GB SSD (Solid State Drive) version, all that sexiness may start looking like Ugly Betty after the beer goggles begin to wear off.
Granted, the Air is sexy, and granted Apple once again is setting another bench mark for other manufacturers to follow. They are also once again asking consumers to shell out a pretty penny for the opportunity to be chic and hip. So, is the Giselle Bundchen of laptops sexy enough for the price tag Apple is asking… I’ll leave that up to you.
Good Article.
Personally, I think that the MB Air is more of a status symbol than a useful computing device. Its a laptop that you would see people in coffee shops using. Those people want you to say “HEY! Is that a Macbook Air??!” But really doesn’t have any useful features to it.. “Hey man, wanna listen to a CD?” “Well….. I Can’t…… it didn’t come with a cd/dvd player.” Wanna connect to an ethernet cable? Gotta go buy a 30$ attachment. Want to use both at the same? Well ya can’t do that because it only has 1 USB slot. So you’re stuck with a very sexy laptop, that can’t play CD’s, and cannot connect to a wired network with out extra stuff. Is having a sexy laptop a good enough trade off for no basic features?
I agree. I believe that Apple has created a truly beautiful product that has just enough new aged mojo to get people to buy into it. You also have to take into consideration that Apple has made it their “bread and butter” to market to this type of consumer. You can see it in the iPod. There are other mp3 players and media devices that rival the iPod but Apple has become the King when it comes to marketing the “cool”.
Definitely sexy, but for $1800 they’ve got to be kidding. Since when does that much not good enough to get you a full featured notebook?
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