[Macworld]

Post your comments for 11- and 13-inch MacBook Air (Late 2010) here

[icerabbit]

Excellent review.

If the cabling from the Cinema Display barely reaches to the mini-DP & MagSafe connectors on opposite sides, wouldn't daily use likely damage those wires over time? (akin similar fraying with notebook adapter cords) Small connectors, thin wires, not much boot strain relief ... it sure sounds delicate.

[John]

The term "rigid aluminum" is a bit of a contradiction in terms. Place a MacBook Pro in a soft briefcase along with a couple of large books and it won't take long before it warps. The thinness of the Air makes it much more prone to warping and it is something that users have to live with.

[JKennedy]

Nice review, Jason. I only wish you had addressed two more items: 1) the quality of the display, such as viewing angles horizontally and vertically (i.e. is this a TN display or IPS), color gamut and glare and 2) some sense of how much of an improvement the 2.13 GHz processor might bring, especially for Photoshop use. I'm considering purchase of a tricked out 13-inch MacBook Air for use in the field as a nature & travel photographer. Perhaps you could add an addendum. Thaks!

[Jason Snell]

JKennedy, on 26 October 2010 - 08:46 AM, said:

Nice review, Jason. I only wish you had addressed two more items: 1) the quality of the display, such as viewing angles horizontally and vertically (i.e. is this a TN display or IPS), color gamut and glare and 2) some sense of how much of an improvement the 2.13 GHz processor might bring, especially for Photoshop use. I'm considering purchase of a tricked out 13-inch MacBook Air for use in the field as a nature & travel photographer. Perhaps you could add an addendum. Thaks!

It's basically the same display as the other MacBook models. Not IPS.

The upgraded processor models are in our lab being tested now -- that will be a follow-on story. This review covers the official "stock" models.

As for color gamut, I might have to recruit someone for that one, as color is not my best subject.

[StevenFisher]

"smallest and lightest Apple laptop of all time" -- have they really beat the PowerBook Duo's size? I'd guess the MacBook Air would still be a little wider than the Duo, although certainly thinner and lighter.

And, of course, a MacBook Air would be infinitely more useful in 2011.

[Dan]

Really excellent argument for the 11" base system.
I guess this would mean having to either eliminate or severely limit the Photo and Music Libraries in the user accounts though... mine total 91 GB for 2 accounts.
I know it's possible to move the user account(s) to another attached hard drive but is it possible to do this wirelessly? Or at least be able to move the Photo and Music Libraries of the user accounts to a server and access them wirelessly?

[Macalways]

Since I got my iPad, I am finding that I can survive quite well without pulling out my MacBook Pro 15" (MBP) on the road.

There are times though, particularly if the MBP had instant on, that I feel it it wouldn't be so ignored. As such, I am seriously considering the new MacBook Air (max upgrade, i.e., 4 GB RAM/1.6GHz Processor). Then, the iPad can be given back to it's rightful owner, i.e., my wife.

I must add, I am now anxious to see what the next MBP looks like; another serious consideration that could sway me between and iMac and Mac Pro.

[TeaEarleGreyHot]

I'm so glad to hear that the pokey processors don't actually slow down use of the new MBAs. Thanks for addressing that big concern, Jason!

Quote

Apple does offer a $29 USB Ethernet Adapter if you need to get on a wired network.

I believe that many household cable modems offer internet via USB, and I think recent Macs can use this, so perhaps in many instances people already have what they need, and might have just forgotten about it.

[outdo13]

I think someone should review this as an iPad Pro. I am primarily a creator of content, so the current iPad isn't really of interest to me. The 11" system seems o be addressed for me as a "true" mac, with some of the benefits of the iPad. It's pricing also fits that view.

[Macnutjohn]

I could see myself with a base model 13" MBA. I currently use an older 13" white Macbook (2Ghz Core 2 Duo), and I think the 13" base model air would do pretty much everything I now use my Macbook for, but be a lot more portable. Just a shame it's not in the budget........

[kabj06]

TeaEarleGreyHot, on 26 October 2010 - 09:06 AM, said:

I believe that many household cable modems offer internet via USB, and I think recent Macs can use this, so perhaps in many instances people already have what they need, and might have just forgotten about it.

But gigabit ethernet is sooooooooooo much faster than USB.

[mac2009]

I realize it's an old pre-OS X system, but you're acting like the PowerBook 2400 never existed. For it's time, I'd argue it was as sweet as the 11" MBA. With it's Japanese-market origins and construction by IBM-Japan, the 2400 had a precision jewel-like feel to it, much like the 11" MBA. I don't know, seems like not making an analogy with the 2400 is a lost literary opportunity! The 12" PB was OK, but not much more than a 12" iBook with Aluminum skins, and certainly not the marvel that the 2400 was.

[leejoramo]

Does an SD card sit in the slot flush with the case? Or does it protrude enough to make carrying the MacBook Air with a card installed inconvenient? 64GB SD cards could be a good way to supplement the internal SSD capacity. One for music, one for VMware drive images.