Apple MacBook Air 13.3 inch Laptop 1.8 GHz

Apple MacBook Air 13.3" Laptop (1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 64 GB Solid-State Drive)

Macbook Air defines "laptop"
Let's start with the negatives.

This laptop is not for everyone.

Obligatory Disclaimer to the savvy consumer: this laptop is a don't buy. First of all, it's a first generation product. NEVER buy a first generation product. The only people who should buy this laptop are the people who can shrug if they lose the thing.

* There are limited ports. In fact, there's only one.
* The battery is not replaceable.
* There is no integrated Wi-Max.
* The battery life is on par with current generation Apple laptops.
* It's "underpowered" in this generation of overpowered desktop-replacements.
Apple Notebook

Consumers who worry about the above, but still want to run a variation of OS X may purchase this: Apple MacBook MB063LL/B 13.3" Laptop (2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 8x Super Drive) Black Or this:Apple MacBook Pro MA896LL/A 15" Laptop (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive).

Or simply get the Thinkpad X300 and run it on a last generation OS.

But I gave this 5 stars, why?

* It's beautiful.
* The build is solid.
* I can carry it in one hand with no effort.

And here's the thing about the lack of ports.

* Peripherals will eventually all be wireless.

Bluetooth peripherals are already in the marketplace (obviously where Apple hedges its bets on). Products like Eye-Fi Card, Wireless 2 GB SD Memory Card will become the norm. Laser Printers can be run on wireless networks.

And why pay $1000 more for a lower memory Drive?

If you can't afford it, then don't! But consider this in two years:

* SSD will be the standard for all future laptops.

This price will definitely go down in future renditions of the laptop and will no doubt be the standard in 2 - 3 years. Not only will the price fall, but the speed and quality will undoubtedly increase too.

I've had every laptop hard drive fail on me throughout the past 5 years. No more. The reason why the military invests in SSD is in their stability. I "needed" stability in my laptop HDs, and I "wanted" it now.

This laptop is ahead of its time. People shouldn't kid themselves. It's the equivalent of having the option to own either a Ferrari or a Toyota pickup (Apple apparently recommends both i.e. wireless CD access). They accomplish the same thing, but the former's capacity is limited by legal speed limits. Not only that, the former is vastly expensive to maintain and has limited applicability.

Both is better, but if you had to choose?

This laptop is the same thing. And I love it.

A thing of beauty... for those who can use it.
The MacBook Air is an amazing piece of technology to be sure. It can do most everything that it's big brothers, MacBook and MacBook Pro, can do. All in a thin, three pound package.

But this machine is not for everybody. It's for someone who already has Mac tech somewhere else in their life and want a pricey, portable addition to that tech.

If you're using this at home and the office, you'll need at least one Airport Extreme to get your WiFi going. You'll also need to have a sharable Mac, or an external hard drive or external SuperDrive. One of your WiFi devices should probably be the new Time Capsule so you can quickly back-up the system since 80gb probably won't last long these days.

Apple usually stays a step or two ahead of the industry. This time, they may have taken a giant step too far.

Tags : Apple Laptop , Laptop , Notebook