Apple Computer Inc. http://www.apple.com
Browsing through Apple 's growing list of products, you'll find there's no shortage of lightweight yet still powerful laptops that rival, and to some extent surpass, many of their Windows counterparts. For instance, there are the MacBook Pro 17-inch and 15-inch laptops, arguably the lightest in their respective categories. But for quite some time now, Apple fanatics have been calling for something that can actually be classified as an ultraportable, something that breaks the 4-pound barrier. Finally, Apple has answered with the Apple MacBook Air ($1,799 direct).
Browsing through Apple 's growing list of products, you'll find there's no shortage of lightweight yet still powerful laptops that rival, and to some extent surpass, many of their Windows counterparts. For instance, there are the MacBook Pro 17-inch and 15-inch laptops, arguably the lightest in their respective categories. But for quite some time now, Apple fanatics have been calling for something that can actually be classified as an ultraportable, something that breaks the 4-pound barrier. Finally, Apple has answered with the Apple MacBook Air ($1,799 direct).
The MacBook Air is a new class of laptop, even though it has a design similar to its MacBook Pro brethren. What makes this ultraportable different from the MacBook Pros and everything else in the industry is its thickness, or rather, lack thereof. It measures 0.76 inches deep at the back, tapering down to 0.16 inches as you move toward the front bezel. That's simply unheard of for a 13-inch ultraportable. The MacBook Air weighs in at 3 pounds and includes features that the rumor sites had long been predicting, including a 13-inch LED screen and an optional SSD drive. It lacks an internal optical drive, and the (very) limited number of connectivity ports will raise eyebrows, but the $1,799 starting price, standard-voltage processing parts, and full-size keyboard make up for its few limitations.
Going with a 13-inch screen lets Apple easily integrate a full-size keyboard, which is nearly identical to the one found on the MacBook 13-inch. The only differences are that the Air keyboard is illuminated, a feature brought over from the MacBook Pros, and it's black. I'm a little skeptical about the color scheme. The black keyboard may not be a complete design faux pas, but a white keyboard would blend in better with the aluminum chassis. Perhaps Apple chose to accentuate the keyboard as an aid to the user, along with the backlighting, in dimmer surroundings, or maybe the company wanted to move away from the design of the MacBook 13-inch. In general, the raised keyboard is comfortable to type on. It's larger than the raised-keyboard of the Sony TZ150N, which is only 91 percent of full size. The Portégé R500 and ToughBook W4 have traditional-looking, full-size keyboards. Still, I think the best keyboard belongs to the Lenovo ThinkPad X61.
The aluminum casing is completely recyclable, similar to that of the MacBook Pros. You won't find a trace of arsenic and mercury on the display or on the display's glass screen. All of the Apple-designed circuit boards are also PVC- and BFR (Bromide)-free. Apple is also touting the fact that, in addition to being rid of all these hazardous materials, the MacBook Air is Energy Star 4.0–certified and EPEAT silver–compliant.
Apple MacBook Air
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