 "Macworld 2008: Macbook Air... A Basic Preview")
Though Macworld’07 was hard to top with the introduction of the iPhone, Steve Jobs has done it again at Macworld’08 with the introduction of the Macbook Air – a new slim 13.3 inch laptop that barely weighs about 3 pounds, sports a thickness of 0.16-0.76 inches, is 12.8 inches wide and 8.95 inches deep. These figures make for a phenomenally thin laptop that comes with a native display resolution of 1280x800.
However that’s not where the fun ends. Like the existing Macbooks, it has a full size keyboard which is backlit and sports an ambient light sensor that can adjust brightness. In a move borrowed from its iPod and iPhone range, the new touchpad is capable of recognizing and using multi-touch. Another interesting option that the new Macbook Air offers is the option of using a 64 GB SSD as an option for storage. The standard HDD has been slimmed to a normal PATA 4200 RPM 1.8 inch laptop drive.
For its processing power the new Macbook Air utilizes an Intel C2D processing running at 1.6 GHz (with 1.8 GHz being offered as an option), 2 GB of DDR 2 667 RAM on an 800 MHz FSB. The Macbook Air also sports USB 2.0 jacks, Micro-DVI support for external display connectivity and full support for both 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. In terms of battery life Apple has said that with the SSD option, the laptop is capable of easily introducing 5 hrs of battery.
Now while this laptop seems to be beautifully designed in typical Apple fashion, on paper it seems to be bit of a mixed bag. Firstly it’s fairly watered down and does not offer much in the way of power. In comparison with other 13.3 inch laptops, its battery life seems to be a little better but it loses marks for offering such basic storage options. Another thing is its cost. Its base model retails at $1798 and for a full fledged machine climbs for over $3,200. In this space it’s directly competing with its own brothers which will of course leave it in the dust. Apple in its zealous effort to get the product out seems to have starved it of space and a few other essential options.
For further details on pricing and availability check out this link.