Review of the Macbook Air

My old laptop (a Compaq) is dying. While technically still operable, it’s days are numbered. The trackpad doesn’t work anymore, the battery doesn’t last as long, and lately it takes forever to “think about things” when I’m shuffling between programs, despite valiant attempts to keep it optimized. I decided it was time for a new machine. I knew I wanted a Mac, but I debated over whether I should drop such a fat fistful of cash, when I could just go down to Walmart and get a dirt-cheap Dell.

The only reason I need Windows at all is to test on IE, so I decided I’d rather dual boot when I need to than waste my money on an OS I don’t want (Vista). I made a beeline for Denver on Saturday and bought a shiny new Macbook Air. My conversion to the Mac cult is now officially complete! I’m still opinionated though, ;) and here’s what I think about it so far…

It’s pretty AND environmentally conscious

This baby really is as compact, lightweight and beautiful as the commercial indicates. It’s almost unnoticeable sitting on your lap, and carrying it around is much less cumbersome than most portables. My old machine weighs in at 5lbs, while the Air is only 3lb. I didn’t think 2lbs would make that much of a difference, but it does! As for the display, it’s mercury and arsenic free but there is NO noticeable compromise in the performance. It’s bright, clear and fast - popping right up when you activate the machine after it’s gone into screen saver or sleep mode.

The downside: You can’t move the display back as far as I’d like to be able to. The design of the casing prevents it from extending past a 45 degree angle (approx). Not sure about the standard Macbooks, but I know my Compaq can be moved waaay back, almost to the point of being even with keyboard.

It’s intuitive

The Air has a trackpad that’s been revamped into something more user friendly, making your time working on it that much nicer. Employing the same technology as the iPhone, it has motion sensitive controls allowing you to “swipe” to navigate. Use two fingers to scroll up or down in any application. While browsing, use three fingers to move forward or back between web pages. If you’re skeptical (I was) believe me when I say it works well, responding to the lightest touch. No more precision clicking on the scrollbar (or arrows) anymore, or losing track with the paging keys. FYI, you can also customize the trackpad to enable “tap clicking” instead of using the built-in button. And if you don’t want to hit Cmd constantly to bring up secondary menus, it’s now now as easy as a two finger tap on the pad.

The downside: When browsing, the intelligent motions (swipe, pinch, etc.) only work RELIABLY with Safari. I’m a Firefox girl, so I was disappointed to discover that after I got it home and downloaded FF.

It’s simple

When it comes to hardware, Apple continues to impress me. Another sweet feature they included with the Air is the magnetic power cord. Yep, just like the iMac. Nothing new, but what’s cool is you can plug it in so the port connector faces front or back depending on the orientation of your machine or how you’re positioned while using it. Little details make big differences… with the Air you won’t have to worry that you’re pinching and bending the hell out of your power supply, OR bother with looping the cord around something just to keep it out of your way.

The downside: If you’re lazy (I am), you may notice it’s tough to “feel for the port” and connect when you want to plug in quick. If you don’t mind rotating the machine around or leaning way over to see it every time, forget I mentioned it. But I say again, it’s the little things. ;) The casing is aluminum so it’s supposed to be very durable, but I suspect most people will fumble to plug in, eventually scratching it up. Also the indicator light on the end (so you know it’s connected) is not very visible.

It’s seriously mobile

Finally we come to the optical drive, or lack thereof. I understand how this might make some of you nervous. We’re so used to having a separate volume for storage/media playback that it seems weird to go without. You don’t have to. Apple’s answer is Remote Disk (i.e. cd/dvd sharing). If you have an iMac, the Macbook Air is the perfect companion for it. The iMac can be your workhorse, while the Air unchains you. Install software remotely, and access drives on your other computer. By the way, it does NOT have to be a Mac.

The downside: If you require the ability to play/burn CDs or install software directly while on the road, not having an optical drive might be a deterrent. You can always pick up a Superdrive, but that’s just another thing to carry and sort of counteracts the whole “light as a feather, free as a bird with the Macbook Air” sales pitch. ;)

What it’s NOT

It’s not exactly cheap. The most basic model of the standard Macbook is about $700 less and even has a faster processor, running at 2GHz over Air’s 1.6GHz. It’s also more expandable, but it comes out of the box with only 1GB of RAM. The Air has double that. Hard drive space (80GB) and screen size were the same on both setups, so you might say the choice comes down to convenience vs speed. Honestly I could not see a difference between the two. There’s also a higher end model available with a 1.8GHz processor that has one of those new drives (with non-moving parts) but I did not feel the $3000 price tag was justifiable.

Is the Macbook Air worth the money?

If you’re a designer, gamer, or video/music editor and you already have a “power machine” in your home/office - definitely! But if you’re thinking about it as a primary workstation, I’d say rethink it. It’s designed to function more as a supplemental tool. The Macbook Air would also be an ideal solution if your profession keeps you on the move but doesn’t require the use of resource intensive software (stock trader, publicist, lawyer, etc.).

Tags: mac