Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple MacBook Air 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo/2GB/80GB

The MacBook Air has a full-size screen and a full-size keyboard. So ignore the fact that it is an ultraportable, most of the time when you're actually using it you'll forget how thin it is and simply focus on whatever you need it to do. The MacBook Air's 1.6 Ghz chip may not be quite as fast as the latest Core 2 Duo processors, but it is no slouch either.

While this Apple is a stunning piece of industrial design, it is not until you use it that you truly realise what a great achievement it is. The LED screen is amazingly bright and visible. The aluminium body is beautifully crafted, has magnetic latches and feels solid and strong. In short, iit is a full-size laptop in an ultra thin package. You know this already, so let me give you a user's perspective on the criticisms levelled at it:
1. Lack of removeable battery - Have you honestly ever replaced the battery on a laptop? In 15 years of using laptops I haven't. I really think this is a non-issue.

2. Lack of ports - An extra USB port would have been useful, but the lack of two USB ports and an Ethernet port should not be seen as a disaster. If you need to an Ethernet connection, simply use the specially designed USB dongle. If you need to print, simply attach a local printer directly via the USB port. If you need wireless connection because you have no Ethernet or WiFi network to connect to, simply attach a USB 3G data card. The point is you will only ever need one of these items at any one time and almost never will you need all three at the same time. (Admittedly you may need to print and use a 3G data card, but it is likely to be the exception rather than the norm.)

3. Lack of DVD drive - When we all start renting movies via iTunes, we'll forget this was ever an issue. In the meantime, you can buy a DVD drive which attaches very easily via the USB port. Apart from loading software - which is a good reason to have it - you'll seldom ever use it.

4. Small hard drive capacity. The 80 Gb capacity on the 1.6 Ghz model is not enough by contemporary standards and the 64 Gb capacity of the SSD (Solid State Drive) equipped model is pathetic. THIS IS THE ONLY REAL DOWNSIDE to the MacBook Air. By September, however, new larger-capacity 128 Gb SSDs with no moving parts will arrive, and so capacity should no longer be an issue. Be in no doubt, however, SSD is the future - very quiet, very robust and very fast access times make these drives a natural choice for laptops. If you buy either version of the MacBook Air, swapping the existing drive a larger drive in September should be relatively easy.

Apple's new Time Capsule, which is essentially a WiFi enabled hard-drive, is the perfect companion for the MacBook Air, not only because it provides a fast connection speed that gets round the problem of Ethernet and 3G cards usage and a single USB port, but also because it provides back-up via Time Machine, the back-up facility which is a part of Mac OSX (10.5.2).

Can you use the MBA as your only laptop? In my opinion the answer is for most of the time "yes", notwithstanding the trade-offs discussed, it all depends on what you use your computer for. I would certainly say that for 99% of home computing consumers screen size, keyboard layout and battery life are all optimised in this Apple machine.

Add Apple's almost perfect operating system, OSX Leopard, and the roadwarrior has everything she or he could possibly need. In other words, I have no hesitation in recommending this machine. I think it is sensational. You won't be disappopinted.

Have been building and using Windows PCs from the early 90's and used quite a few laptops, Compaq through Toshiba and Dell. A bit like driving Trabants they sort of work but break down frequently. You just accepted that you were going to have to wipe the discs and re-install Windows 3, 95, NT, 2000 or XP every 6 months or so. As for viruses on the kids computers...

Then in 2005 bought a Mac Mini as an experiment, and haven't looked back since. I still use a Windows computer every day, but prefer a Mac Mini every time. The original is now being used by one of my kids, we've never had to re-install anything, no blue screens of death and an absolutely silent operator, unlike the Win PCs whining away in the background.

Wanted a laptop, but purely for travel, nothing looked to be suitable and lugging the works Windows slugs had to suffice. Saw the specs for the MacBook Air and realised that although this was a first model, would undoubtedly get better, bigger drive, longer lasting battery etc, now was the time to lash out with the cash.

I don't regret it for one second. It works beautifully. The screen is gorgeous, the back lit keyboard ideal for working in the dark of a lecture theatre and it is a joy to type on. It's as fast as my MacMini and a lot faster than any of the other PCs in our household. Multi-tasking really does work, editing documents and presentations while listening to music, sorting images with the internet in the background didn't phase it one bit. Sure it doesn't have a DVD drive, but the remote drive worked really well, loaded up Office for Mac easily.

Downsides? Very pee'd off that I couldn't rip CDs onto it from the remote drive, or watch DVDs. That was very unreasonable and almost lost a star. The portable superdrive is also light and worked fine for watching movies on a recent journey. As for the shortage of ports, it was never an issue, Yes an ethernet port would have been good, but the wireless connection works flawlessly, and is just as fast if you have a new class n router. I only need one set of headphones, USB hubs are very cheap, though in practice I've never needed to use one. The Video connectors work and have driven an HD screen with no bother. The tinny little speaker? Sorry but does anybody listen to the laptop speakers when travelling? You're likely to get a glass of water over you and your laptop from fellow travellers! No replaceable battery? I used to carry one but never needed it, just more weight. Prefer to travel by train, they have plugs for a charger. In any case 4 hours is about all I would want to take at a laptop in one sitting.

It really is so light and easy to carry. Battery life is OK although it takes too long to recharge. Closing the lid is instant sleep but what is so great is that it wakes up INSTANTLY you open the lid again. I keep it upstairs in the bedroom and if I want to read emails, surf the BBC news site etc it works like a dream. It is so darned convenient, so much more convenient than any other laptop I have ever used in the past 20 years, it is used more often than any other portable I've owned. OK so it won't play the latest gorefest games, but for somebody who just wants a portable, full screen laptop you can touch type on, it has to be the best thing on the market.

Just one last thing. There are a lot of Mac haters out there, could it be the little green jealousy demon? The Mac Book Air is by far and away the most gorgeous looking laptop there is, beats the new Lenovo on every count except a built in DVD drive, and its even cheaper! If something is good, just accept it with grace.

I bought one of these from the Apple store on Regent Street on the day they became available.

There is no question it is a niche product. It is not for everyone, or even for most people, and I don't think I could seriously use it as my only computer. However, it is sensational for travelling with. It has a high quality, full-size keyboard, and a big, gorgeous screen. It is very comfortable to work with, and quick enough for writing, browsing and email. The battery life (closer to 3.5 than 5 hours in practice) also compares favourably to most laptops I have used.

The killer, though, is the size and weight. Seeing and holding really is believing, and carrying it is a blessing. There is just no comparison between carrying this and a conventional laptop through airports and on and off planes constantly. It is a life-changer.

So, like most Apple products, it does what it sets out to do very well indeed. It doesn't do everything a fullsize laptop can do (no DVD drive, no addon batteries). But to me, the trade-off in terms of size is totally worth it.

Now that I have my new Air I can't help fondling it, opening and closing the lid, turning it over-and-over, just to feel it between my fingers; the Air is simply gorgeous to behold.

This is my second Apple laptop. Prior to the Air I had an iBook G4. The iBook is still a fairly sleek, good-looking laptop but along side the Air it looks positively tubby and that's before one has picked it up. The weight difference is extremely noticeable, with the Air feeling exactly like an ultra-portable laptop.

My Air was charged when it came out of the box and booted up Leopard pretty quickly. I didn't use the new wireless version of Migration Assistant as I did't feel like cluttering up the Air with lots of stuff I might never use. I did do a sync via .Mac to set up my email accounts, iCal calendars, Safari bookmarks, Keychain items and Address Book contacts.

This has been my first encounter with Apple's MagSafe charger. I thought it might become disconnected when the Air was placed on an uneven surface (e.g. a bed) but it doesn't seem to; it hangs on pretty tightly! I haven't had the Air for that long but so far I think it will need charging more than my iBook. This may be because I have been using the Air in bed so the backlighting of the keyboard is on a lot. The intensity of the backlit keyboard can be dimmed by a key on the uppermost row of keys. I imagine this would preserve the battery.

The Air's backlit LED screen is nice and bright. Brighter than my iBook. The automatic backlit keyboard is really nice and the keys have a satisfying feel to them. I have no issue with the white-on-black of the keys that some reviewers have commented on. The Air connected to my Airport network without me having to intervene at all.

Unlike an iBook, the Air has a single speaker which outports through a small 'slit' on the front of the keyboard. Listening to podcasts is okay. I ripped my copy of 'Atonement' with Handbrake on my iMac Intel 2 GHz. The rip itself took a few hours and the resulting file was 1.4GB. I turned on File Sharing (Preferences>Sharing) on the iMac and dropped the Atonement.mp4 file in to my Public Folder. From upstairs, I was then able to connect wirelessly with the iMac and transfer the movie over to the Air. The quality of the movie on the Air's screen was really nice with no blurring and natural colours and black-blacks. Playback started off okay but it did start to stutter slightly about 30 minutes in. More testing required but I anticipate movie-watching on the Air to be a very popular pastime for me.

I noticed the Air got pretty darn hot while I was watching the movie. It was charging at the same time so it could have had something to do with this.

The built-in iSight camera works flawlessly over a wireless connection to my Airport Extreme Base Station and my iChat Buddies say my broadcasted image is very crisp.

Don't get bogged down worrying about the lack of an optical drive. Apple knew what they were doing when they designed it out of the Air. To be honest, I have burned very few CD-Rs on my iMac, and I have already told you how I got to watch a movie on the Air easily. The UK iTunes Store should have movie rentals too soon. Should you need to install some software from a DVD, Apple has given you Remote Disk.

To sum up, I think the MacBook Air is a lovely piece of kit. It is quite expensive but when you consider the design work that has gone into getting the form factor this thin, and the superior materials and construction involved, you won't mind too much denting your plastic for an Air. You certainly will want to show off the Air to your friends.

Consumer goods tend to be either functional or have the aesthetic wow factor, Apple are one of the few manufacturers who manage to achieve both.

Some people seem to focus on the fact that this has no optical drive, or just the one USB port, but this is a machine designed for someone who needs (or wants) an ultra-slim accompaniment to an existing set up. To be honest, with most data/software these days being transferred/downloaded over the net, and with the plethora of wireless options (well, WiFi and Bluetooth anyway!) transfer between machines can easily bypass the need for an optical drive. A card reader and a few memory cards are easier and quicker than CR-ROMs/DVDs any day! Also, instead of using third party software or complex virtual drive mapping, Leopard has "Back to My Mac" a simple remote desktop application built in so that if you're on a train (for example) - you can still access your home/office Mac. Yet another reason to not worry about the lack of optical drive, and speaking of Leopard...

Leopard is the best Operating System around, I'm a Tiger (OSX 10.4.x) user myself, and Leopard on this feels very much like an upgrade but retains the familiarity of the OSX range of OS's. This results in what was an already intuitive range of computers becoming even more user friendly.

The large multi-touch trackpad means that you'll get by without a mouse quite easily. Once you get used to the way you can use two fingers to zoom in and out and navigate in ways never dreamt of before using just a touchpad, you'll be comfortable leaving the mouse at home.

This is a fantastic computer, well designed and perfectly engineered - but unless an ultra-slim laptop is what you absolutely need, you'd probably be better off spending less on a MacBook, or even a MacBook Pro. That way you get more machine for your money, and although they aren't quite as slim - they are still incredibly thin machines and very nice looking.

In a nutshell - this is a nice machine, although you can get more for less money, if you specifically want a slimline laptop then this is probably the first thin laptop which is a solid performer. Normally ultra-thin laptops have poor specs, which is a shame as often such laptops are used on the move for work related activities - and a poor processor shows the strain when several applications are open at once, but you won't get that with the Mac Book Air. This is tiny but mighty. Leopard and it's components mean that you'll be good to go from day one. Macs are a joy to use, and this is no exception.