While I doubt the MacBook Air will render her secrets very willingly, you can, with a little effort, upgrade your SSD modules using Toshiba’s 2.2mm mSATA chips. The chips, called the Blade X-gale, will come in 64, 128, and 256GB sizes . No pricing just yet but expect them to be well within the $300-500 range. → Read More
Short Version: There will be no pleasing either side of the Apple fanboy divide with this review so I’ll say it up front: If you’re looking for an alternative to a heavier Apple laptop – a MacBook Pro, say, or an Apple Powerbook 170 – and you travel, the MacBook Air is an excellent choice. If you rarely travel and/or are not a Mac fan, you will probably be better served by a cheaper netbook. → Read More
During the Back to the Mac event, Steve Jobs made a particularly witty remark that made the audience giddy with laughter:
“We asked ourselves, what would happen if a MacBook and an iPad hooked up? Well, this is the result, we think it’s the future of notebooks.”
There is always a deep strategic intent with the things that Apple does, especially when it comes from Steve Jobs. The first phase in “hooking up” that took place between the MacBook Air and iPad foretells a deeply converged future on many levels. → Read More
Zagg wants to protect your new fancy MacBook Air. The solution is the same transparent film they sell for the iPhone and other mobiles. This version was specifically cut for the new Air so all you’ll need to do is peal and stick. The result is a MacBook Air covered a layer of film developed in the military to help items like helicopter rotors resist scratching, therefore extending their life. Just the thing you need for you new sexy Mac. There are skins for both the 11- and 13-inch flavors with the 11-inch costing $54.99. [via technabob] → Read More
You know, it’s one thing to use subjective and entirely unscientific terms like “feels” or “seems” when it comes to reviewing computers, but there’s something to be said about actually running benchmarks and comparing the numbers to other comparable computers. Numbers don’t lie. So kudos to MacWorld for actually taking the time to see just how impressive, or not, the new MacBook Air is. → Read More
Apple raised the bar on ultra-portable computers with the latest MacBook Air. There’s no questioning that. Steve Jobs & Co. took the already-thin MacBook Air and shrunk down both its physical size and price tag. Win win, right?
Well, yeah, but the MacBook Air isn’t for everyone. Good thing the PC world has been doing the ultra-portable thing just as long as Apple and offers some quality alternatives. Sure, there really isn’t one model that soundly beats the new MacBook Air in every category, but the same can be said about the Air versus the five computers listed after the jump. → Read More
Last Wednesday, I got my hands on one of the new MacBook Airs. I haven’t touched my MacBook Pro since. It’s six months old. RIP.
I know that sounds outrageous. Or like hyperbole. But it’s not. When I wrote up my initial thoughts, it was after only a few hours of usage. I hadn’t even used it outside the house yet. But now I have. I’ve used it almost everywhere I’ve been for just about a week now. There’s no question in my mind that this has replaced my MacBook Pro as my go-to machine. → Read More
Last Wednesday, I got my hands on one of the new MacBook Airs. I haven’t touched my MacBook Pro since. It’s six months old. RIP.
I know that sounds outrageous. Or like hyperbole. But it’s not. When I wrote up my initial thoughts, it was after only a few hours of usage. I hadn’t even used it outside the house yet. But now I have. I’ve used it almost everywhere I’ve been for just about a week now. There’s no question in my mind that this has replaced my MacBook Pro as my go-to machine. → Read More
We had a special guest for this week’s episode of OMG/JK, the show I host alongside fellow writer Jason Kincaid: the new MacBook Air. If you’ve been waiting to see two guys endlessly fawn over something, watch above.
And once we wiped the drool off of our faces, we also discussed Kleiner Perkins’ new sFund, the $250 million fund to back new social applications. And we talk a bit about the Google TV, its awful remotes, and the quickly heating up connected television space. → Read More
Liking the new MacBook Air? Yeah, apparently you’re not alone. Chinese-language Commercial Times cites vice president of Concord Securities research department, Mingchi Kuo, in saying Apple will move 700k of the updated MacBook Air Notebooks in $Q10, accounting for 17% of Mac shipments. The 11-inch model is predicted to be the most popular model and will make up 60% of its marketshare. Sounds ’bout right to us. These things are going to sell like Devin’s pancakes. → Read More
In classic iFixit fashion, the latest Apple laptop has been torn to pieces a mere day after its release event. How exciting! Now we get to find out how Apple managed to cram so much of 2007′s technology into that gorgeous case.
Unsurprisingly, Apple has made the new MacBook Air nigh-impossible to service on your own. Not only is the interior secured by five-sided Torx T5 screws, but most of the parts are so customized (not to say obscure) that you’d be unable to find them in even the most extensive part store. → Read More
Apple’s consumer strategy has always been centered around clear, concise choices. The new, less expensive MacBook Air seems to change that. The line between consumer and pro, between entry level and top-tier is gone and it means that something is going to change in the Apple line-up sooner than later.
Let’s look at the pricing. The new MacBook Air starts out at just $999. That’s the same entry level price as the white MacBook, ostensibly Apple’s “cheap” computer. Sure, the specs are slightly different with the MacBook blowing away nearly all of the base-level MacBook Air’s specs. But it’s a mere $300 jump up to the least expensive 13-inch MacBook Air and things level out a bit more. The MacBook still beats it in raw processing power and storage space, but Apple has never been about hardware specs anyway. It’s about the entire experience and the MacBook Air will quickly overtake the MacBook in this department. → Read More
I’ve done it. I’ve worn the battery completely down on one of the new MacBook Airs. As such, I thought I’d post some initial thoughts about the machine. This isn’t a huge all-encompassing review — I haven’t even used it outside of my apartment yet — but rather my initial thoughts for those of you thinking about rushing out to buy one.
All day, I’ve been testing out the 13.3-inch model. After playing around with the 11.6-inch model in the demo area after Apple’s event today, I decided that while it is freakishly, insanely small, I’d rather carry the extra .5 pounds and get the extra 2 hours of battery life that the slightly larger model offers. And I think that was the right choice, I’ve been using it all day and the battery just wore out.
The iPad has spoiled me. I often look at my 5.6 pound MacBook Pro with dread now. It’s simply too bulky. And considering I have never used the optical drive on the thing, I can’t figure out why I need some of that bulk. This new MacBook Air eliminates it.
Bottom line: so far, I love this thing. → Read More
Stop. Take a deep breath. Before my headline gets you all worked up, consider what I’m saying here. The CD and other optical discs, like DVDs and Blu-rays, are obviously going to live on for a while as a way to transport media. But make no mistake that today, with two unveilings, Apple has effectively sealed the fate of the optical disc in the computer industry. Soon, it will go the way of the floppy disk.
Last week, I wrote a post laying out what I hoped Apple would bring with a revamped MacBook Air. I came to the realization that I had never once used the optical drive in my current MacBook Pro, and it was simply taking up a lot of space and was making my computer unnecessarily bulky. I wanted to replace it with a MacBook Air. And now I can. And I’m not going to be the only one that does. → Read More
Today, following Apple’s Back to the Mac event, we got some hands on time with the new products unveiled. Of those, the biggest announcement was the new MacBook Air. Pretty much, it’s almost exactly what I said I was looking for a few days ago.
Check out the pictures of it in action below. → Read More
Today, following Apple’s Back to the Mac event, we got some hands on time with the new products unveiled. Of those, the biggest announcement was the new MacBook Air. Pretty much, it’s almost exactly what I said I was looking for a few days ago.
Check out the pictures of it in action below. → Read More
With nary a peep on the possibility of Apple baking a seeable-in-sunlight transflective display into the rumored 11.6” MacBook Air that’s expected to come floating up from the Pulpit of Jobs at Apple’s “Back to the Mac” tomorrow, I’d like to make a pretty safe prediction (read: offer unasked-for advice): An Apple-anything with such a display would make mobile-warriors’ and tree-huggers’ hearts flutter, and competitors’ hearts shudder.
Seeing the light on this one’s a no-brainer: Outfit the rumored MacBook Air—as well as all MacBooks, but especially iPads and iPhones and iPod touch models—with sunlight-friendly displays. Suddenly, Apple’s the night-and-day winner when it comes to choosing and comfortably using your mobile devices in naturally-lit settings like outdoors on a picnic table or indoors in a brightly-lit room, while saving that not-always-handy resource known as power (the greatest percentage of which gets gobbled up lighting the screens of the above-mentioned products). → Read More
When we heard that the MacBook Air was in short supply, our thoughts immediately went to rumors of an 11.6″ version we heard some months back. New information seemed promising — and then over the weekend, leaked pics surfaced that seemed to show Air hardware similar in size to the existing model. Hopes! Dashed!
But even newer information suggests that yes, in fact, the original rumors were true. Or maybe that there’s one that’s even smaller. Or are they all true? → Read More
There’s this weird slit in the side of my MacBook Pro. It almost seems like a credit card swipe, or a receipt dispenser, or an air vent, or something. Oh wait. That’s an optical drive. You’ll forgive me if I wasn’t sure. You see, I’ve never used the thing.
This dawned on me the other day. I’ve owned this computer for months now and I have never had the need to insert a compact disc or DVD into this computer to do something. Not once. And going forward, I can’t imagine a time where I ever will. Okay, maybe if my computer dies. But even then, I would probably just take it into an Apple Store and let them deal with it.
So this drive is a huge waste of space. Without it, this great machine could certainly be much more svelte. What I want, of course, is a MacBook Air. But Apple seems to have been neglecting those recently. If the latest rumors are true, come Wednesday, that could change. → Read More
A little more than a week ago, it was reported that MacBook Air retail supplies were dwindling. This has historically indicated a new product or refresh, and now there is chatter suggesting that the new version will indeed be the 11.6″ version we heard about back in July.
A source credited with “pinpoint accuracy” in the past by Apple Insider claims that the new 11.6″ laptops have been in manufacture for about a week. But will it simply be a smaller version of the existing laptop, or something new? I’m going to go with new. → Read More
