Apple MacBook Air MB940LL/A 13.3 Inch Laptop (1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 128 GB Solid State Drive)

I have owned many laptops, mostly Dell's and Thinkpads (from both IBM and Lenovo). This laptop is without a doubt the best one I have ever had. The solid state hard drive makes it so snappy that you start using your computer in a new way. Instead of opening one program at a time, you simply click them all and get immediate action.

As for the laptop itself it is exactly what I wanted; it is smart, light weight and OS X just works. No more Windows hell and you still have the full power of a UNIX operating system at your fingertips. Also I have found it surprisingly easy to live without a optical drive, as most software is accessible over the internet; I do however keep a Macbook Air SuperDrive at home for the rare occasion where I use CDs (usually when ripping music or installing operating systems).

So how fast is it ?. It is quick enough for me and that should be good enough for most people, since I use some hefty software. I usually fire of Oracle (running in Vista inside VMWare fusion), IntelliJ IDEA, Firefox and ITunes - all at once - and the computer still feels fast, responsive and it doesn't overheat.

In short a great little, fast and expensive wonder from Apple.

I've been traveling the past two years and it was only a few months ago when I decided to get a Macbook Air. With my older non-ultra portable laptop, my backpack was always heavy. In fact, it made up for 80% of my handcarry's weight. You have to consider that many laptop companies do not include the weight of the removable battery and the power adapter in their laptop's specs. I've heard of Macbook Air before but I had been hesitant to buy one because it didn't look that sturdy in the store compared to the Macbook Pro and I thought that its processing power was extremely lowered to unbearable levels.

When I bought the Macbook Air, I knew what I was getting. First, it's going to have less disk space and less processing power, just one USB drive and no CD/DVD drive. So I'm not going to complain about those things knowing that this is not supposed to replace my desktop computer. And it was supposed to be a computer I can bring along while traveling for writing e-mails and surfing the net. I occasionally play games and I don't do video editing or use CAD.

PROCESSING POWER
But to my surprise, it was more powerful and faster than I expected. It's faster than my iMac. When you click on the Dashboard icon on the dock, all your widgets will load instantly and not even take longer than 2 seconds. Opening multiple programs at the same time did not slow down the computer at all.

I used to play World of Warcraft before I bought this laptop and plan to be playing again next year. I was thinking that I wouldn't be able to play WoW with a decent frame rate on this machine but I've been reading forums and they said WoW performs really well in MBA's with SSD drives.

KEYBOARD AND SCREEN
Another nice touch is the screen and keyboard size. Ultraportable used to mean small ultra light weight BUT ultra small screen and almost impossible to use keyboards. Macbook Air didn't sacrifice screen size and keyboard keys size. One thing I noticed was that the backspace button was renamed Delete and the real delete button was missing. But it really didn't become an issue with me later on. I'm one of those few people who like to crank up the brightness to its max level. I'm so happy with the level of brightness and crispness MBA has to offer. And the brightness is easy and fast to adjust, thanks to the keyboard shortcuts.

TRACKPAD
With the other laptops that I used before, I wouldn't survive a day without using a USB mouse. But MBA's trackpad is completely functional without straining the joints of my thumb. I don't do the new gestures at all. But being able to move the cursor when I want it to go without making my scalp sweat is such a blessing.

OPTICAL DRIVE
I bought the external DVD drive from Apple and it's funny how I've only used it to burn a couple of movies and install MS Office. I found myself not using the drive much because I don't: a) install applications from CDs/DVDs on a daily or even weekly basis, b) listen to CDs using my computer or c) burn data on DVD-Rs.

ONE USB PORT
My complaint about MBA is that it only has 1 USB drive. But take note that the port for the external monitor is separate from the USB drive. I thought that if I plugged my MBA to my monitor, I'd lose the valuable USB slot but I was wrong.

FORM FACTOR
Well what can I say? Great design! I was hesitant at first to take it out of my bag in a coffee shop when I realized that MBAs are more common than I thought. MBAs don't scream anymore, "Look at me wasting money!" like before. And people are used to seeing MBAs these days so you can take your laptop out and do your thing without grabbing attention.

When you get this laptop and give it a whirl for a few days, you will be surprised that it offers more functionality over form. If you want a powerful laptop that you can carry around without breaking your back and has a nice display and keyboard, this one's for you.

I was looking at the new Sony Vaio ultraportable which promises almost double specs at half the price of MBA plus support for Blu-Ray. But if you play around with the specs in their website and max it out to double the specs of MBA, it'll cost more than $4,000.

Some of the "elitist" owners of this machine would have you believe that it's intended for some sort of exclusive club that's willing to sacrifice functionality for style. The fact of the matter is that the new solid state Air is where Apple is headed with all of it laptops. Especially given the mixed consumer reviews of the new Macbooks and Macbook Pros, you may wish to give this one a longer look--or at least wait for the price of solid state circuitry to come down to a more attractive level before springing for a Mac notebook.

I tried a Net Book but ultimately found it too cramped to accomplish the serious work all of the included programs (esp. MS Word) implied it was capable of. Then Amazon came through with a serious price break on the "other" Macbook Air, the one with a conventional hard drive. It was a nice objet d'art but arrived DOA (admittedly, mine was no doubt an exceptional instance). The solid state Air has twice the memory as last year's model and at a slightly reduced price (too slight to put it within range of most of us, unfortunately). But Amazon's enticer of free two-year financing finally proved too compelling.

This machine must be awfully good if it can win me over after two major disappointments: first, Amazon's sending me a (much) less expensive model that arrived DOA; 2nd, Amazon (or, rather, its Store Card Bank, which appears to be run by G.E.) refusing to extend me the no-interest credit offer (maybe they're looking for customers who will be likely to default on their payments, in which case "no-interest" is no longer not in the customer's interest). In any case, the display shows beautifully (no Shinola, and no requirement that you be in exact alignment with its brightest part to be able to read it). Moreover, even though the weight specs suggest it's no lighter than a small Net book, it "feels" lighter because of better distribution of that weight. And it's so thin, you could use the edges for cutting your Danish each morning.

If you want a mean and lean writing machine, look no further (unless it's out into the future for better prices). If you want an entertainment center, complement this one with a desktop model or iMac. My experience has been that once I start using the laptop to burn CDs and DVDs, watch movies, record and mix live music, etc., it soon becomes cluttered with programs and files and hangs up on me, going berserk with kernel panics. I haven't had this one long enough to proclaim it crash-proof, but the absence of a CD drive along with gratuitous firewire and numerous other unneeded ports is encouraging and strangely liberating.

[One small caveat: I'm not sure what the claims are re: battery life, but it's looking to be no better than that of previous machines--a couple of hours. Beats me how Apple can get a 32 gb Touch to go forever while the laptop Air remains comparatively fuel-hungry.]

So - I bit the bullet and upgraded from a Rev A 1.6GHz 80GB HDD MBA - to a Rev B 1.86GHz 128GB SSD MBA. I wanted to post my observations on what it's like to upgrade - I know many Rev A owners have - or are thinking about - upgrading to Rev B.

In this review, I refer to "Rev A" and "Rev B". The Rev A is my older 1.6GHz 80GB HDD MBA. The Rev B is my new 1.86GHz 128GB SSD MBA

Caveat - Unlike some (but not all!) Rev A MBA owners, I love my Rev A MBA. I've had zero problems with it. It runs cool and I have not experienced any core shut downs. It would heat up when most laptops normally heat up and the fans would kick. It would cool down quickly when I moved on to something else. With video it never stuttered... Perhaps my Rev A has run so nicely because I don't ask a lot of it. It is a second Mac to my Mac Pro - I use it primarily for email, word processing, iTunes movies and web surfing - on the couch and on the road. It has REALLY been a great laptop and I have nothing bad to say about it.

So why did I update? I wanted more space. I have my Rev A setup to duel boot (Vista) for business uses from time to time when I travel. That kills a chunk of space. Also - with the Rev A, I compromised - by not having my music, photos and other large files with me. Not a bad tradeoff. But the Rev B's larger hard drive was enticing - additionally, the Rev A has been so great, I'm willing to make the investment to have the latest/greatest version of the Air because it is such a leap/improvement over the Rev A - both speed and graphics-wise. I won't spend time on the A's form factor - those of you that own one already get that - it's great...

So here are my observations - they are based on the things I can see and observe - not "Xbench scores" - real world use - and hopefully it will give you an idea of the differences between Rev A and Rev B. As I type this, I have my Rev A right next to me - side by side with the Rev B.

My observations:

1) Packaging - The Rev B's packaging was similar to the Rev A's in terms of layout, but the Rev A packaging materials were FAR nicer. The Rev B's packaging is more in-line with the other Apple notebooks - white briefcase with handle. I really liked the packaging of the Rev A - very solid and heavy duty in comparison - it set the original Air apart.

2) Sounds - The first thing I noticed when starting it up: The Rev B (SSD) is, due to form, noiseless. The Rev A's subtle hum and hard drive noises are (obviously) completely gone. The click and general noises of the Rev A's hard drive was never something I really noticed - until it was gone... The Rev B is eerily quiet! Upgraders from the Rev A HDD will notice the difference.

3) Trackpad button - The Rev A's track pad button is comparatively mushy - it takes more travel to make a click. The Rev B's is very tight - less play. The Rev A's button never bothered me - interesting that the Rev B's is tighter - a purposeful improvement?

4) Keyboard - This was a surprise - and I had to double check this. The Rev B keyboard has been improved in a similar way to the trackpad button - the keys are quieter and seem to be more tightly secured. It's hard to explain, but the improvement has resulted in a typing experience that is quieter - less "rattley". To see what I mean, run your fingers back/forth lightly over a Rev A keyboard and the keys have more play and make more noise due to the looser keys. The Rev B is tighter when you do this - less play and less noise.

5) Screen - Many complain that the Rev B's screen has faint lines. I've seen them on the Apple store floor models, and they do exist. It was a concerned when buying my Rev B, but I have yet to read about someone who was denied a refund by Apple if they had lines on the MBA screen. Bottom line - Apple stands behind their products - I was not afraid to risk having to make a return.

I've looked really hard at my Rev B and, if I get my head in just the right place and the screen tilted just right, I can see some lines - but they're REALLY hard to find and they are not as bad as what I've seen in the Apple store display Rev B airs. Looking at my Rev A, doing the same contortions, I can actually make out similar - albeit even fainter lines. My Rev B is a keeper - I really can't see the lines during normal use. Side by side, the Rev A and Rev B screens look identical to me. Same brightness, color saturation, etc, etc. I have both setup using the same display profile - the default "Color LCD" profile. I've played the same movie and frozen clips on the same frame - the screens look absolutely identical.

6) Display output - the Rev B has the newer Mini DisplayPort display - which replaces the Rev A's Micro DVI port. Unlike the Rev A, the Rev B does not include the VGA and DVI adapters. They're yours to purchase separately for an extra $29 each. Typical of Apple to remove extras in the Rev B edition... I never used the Rev A adapters and chose not to buy them for the Rev B until I need them.

7) 4 Finger gestures - I REALLY like these. I was surprised at how well they work and how much I use them. Four fingers up - see the desktop. Four down - Expose (awesome). Four to the right or left - switch applications. Good stuff. I like it.

8) Graphics - The Nvidia Graphics chip is a huge leap over the earlier Intel chip. I've run several games on my Rev B that could not run on the Rev A Air and they are actually very playable! I like this - I play games from time to time when I travel - while I fly... This is a great improvement and I like the ability to use applications that require mid-level graphics abilities.

9) Performance - I saved the best for last. This is the area where I'm really pleasantly surprised. The Rev B's performance is NOTICEABLY faster. Surprisingly so. In some respects it is faster than my Mac Pro (But not at the heavy lifting - not by a long shot!)

Here are some observations (note that applications start times are after a restart of OSX - I know that applications can be cached and load much more quickly the second time around).

Some of these differences may seem small, but they are huge - look at your watch and tick off 14 seconds... That's what it takes in additional time for Word to load on my Rev A. You start to really appreciate the SSD drive...


Start from complete shut down - Rev A: 56 Seconds; Rev B: 28 Seconds
Restart - Rev A: 58 Seconds; Rev B: 31 Seconds
Shut Down - Rev A: 3 Seconds; Rev B: 2 Seconds
Start Safari and load page (boston.com) - Rev A: 18 Seconds; Rev B: 7 Seconds
Start Entourage - Rev A: 24 Seconds; Rev B: 8 Seconds
Start iTunes - Rev A: 9 Seconds; Rev B: 4 Seconds
Open MS Word - Rev A: 17 Seconds; Rev B: 3 Seconds

If you're thinking about upgrading - it's a nice improvement.

After hearing so much about Mac's reliability I took the plunge with the MBA.

It is a beautiful piece of equipment with moderate power. I would recommend getting the Superdrive since the remote access does not play well with Windows machines. The wireless did link well with wireless internet at variable speed, but I could not help to notice that one of the first updates it downloaded was for the remote access.

The hard drive comes with 95Gig of available space due to the pre-installed Apple software. You can custom install a smaller version of the OS with a gain of seven Gig (remove languages, printer drivers and Alex's voice, etc.). It starts up and shuts down quickly. Battery life is not five hours, but expect at least three hours of use per charge.

If you use Windows, there are far faster laptops as a much lower price that exceed the processing speed of this system...but they ain't as light, pretty, and do not run Mac.