- Ships in Certified Frustration-Free Packaging
- 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
- 2GB DDR3 RAM
- 64GB Solid-State Hard Drive
- 11.6-Inch Screen, GeForce
- Apple Mac OS
Apple MacBook Air Core 2 Duo 1.4GHz 11.6" Introducing the new MacBook Air, the most mobile Mac in every way, shape, and form. It features all-flash storage, a Multi-Touch trackpad, a long-lasting battery, a high-resolution display, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and NVIDIA graphics. All inside a unibody enclosure that's light, thin, and strong enough to handle all your everyday tasks and then some, whether you're on the couch, in a lecture hall, or at a conference. It's mobility mastered. The
List Price: $ 899.00
Price: $ 777.00
Entry Level Air – Great Extra Mac,
I have a somewhat interesting take on the 11.6-inch MacBook Air. I chose the 13-inch model for myself, but my father who is always on the go for business, chose this 11.6-inch model. He wanted the extra portability, and I wanted the extra performance of the larger machine.
Visually, the machines look different. My 13-inch model does not look significantly different from the front or rear compared to a full featured MacBook Pro. In other words, on the 13-inch model, which I love, the footprint of the device is basically the same as a 13-inch MacBook Pro. The difference is the slim side profile, and the two missing pounds.
This 11-inch model is not only light and thin, but has a smaller footprint too. It is striking to see. It looks small, and it’s gorgeous. I do have some envy for the portability of this model compared to my own, which is light, but yet takes up just as much space so to say as a MacBook Pro.
The drawbacks to this model and the reason I chose the 13-inch? The processor included in this 11-inch machine is a fair bit slower. Comparing some online benchmarks, this entry-level 11-inch model with the 1.4 GHZ Core 2 Duo brought in about 70 percent of the processing speed of the entry level 13-inch model. While other parts of the machine are equally as fast, such as the graphics processor, solid state storage, and memory, the processor performance difference is not insignificant. You do feel a slight performance difference between the 13 and 11.
The included storage on this model is 64 GB. This will be plenty to store text documents and a moderately sized photo library. However, you will not store much video on here. However, the storage is solid state and fast, which enables fast startups and allows the machine to still feel snappy despite the slower processor.
Apple specs the battery in this model at 5 hours, whereas the 13-inch model has a quoted 7 hours. Apple is using a new battery testing procedure, which is said to more accurately predict real world battery life. Nevertheless, the battery life edge does go to the 13-inch model.
The display is no slouch despite its 11.6-inch size. Indeed, its resolution is similar to the Mac Book Pro’s 13-inch display, so there is no question that the display is gorgeous.
iLife 11 is included and already installed on this device, so you will be able to take advantage of the latest iLife software right out of the box. Two USB ports and a mini display port allow for expandability and compatibility with external devices. Connect an external hard drive for expanded storage, or sync up your iPhone. No problem. Indeed, believe it or not, this small 11.6-inch MacBook Air can drive the 27-inch Cinema Display that Apple sells. That shows the impressive graphics performance this small machine offers.
I was able to spend another hour today with the 11.6-inch model. I am nearly beginning to question my decision to choose the 13-inch model. The 13-inch asks you to take fewer sacrifices in terms of performance and storage. However, this 11.6-inch is oh so portable. Honestly, it’s surprising when you see it in person. This 11.6-inch is probably destined to be the “cool,” choice.
Overall, it is clear to see there are several drawbacks to the 11-inch model. Less storage, shorter battery life, and slower processor. However, there are several benefits: a smaller footprint, lighter weight, and therefore easier portability. Plus, there a cool factor that makes jaws drop when you pull this 11-inch model out of your bag. Despite its diminutive size, it’s a quality product. Make no mistake about it, while it might be less powerful than other Mac notebooks, the 11-inch Air is no net-book. The quality and performance far outshines any net-book. This machine will serve your word processing, consumer photo editing, music listening, email writing, and web surfing needs without issue. I might caution its use as one’s sole computer only due to the limited onboard storage (64GB) and somewhat slower performance (1.4 GHZ Core 2 Duo Processor). Highly recommend product for the correct application/use.
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|Fantastic travel notebook,
I have a MacBook Pro 15 inch and love it for every day home use. But, I sometimes travel overseas and to lug the 15 inch all over due to size and weight is not ideal. Currently I have a Samsung NC10 Netbook with Windows XP, 2gb ram, 160gb hard drive and use that for travel. I like the netbook for travel as it is small and light and has built in camera for Skype when traveling. Overall, not a bad device except for one thing…..it is slow!!! Even after upgrading to 2gb ram on the netbook it is just plain slow and sometimes moving around is painful and frustrating. But, it was the best choice until now. I checked out the new MacBook Air and it is a thing of beauty, so I picked one up. I like the slightly larger screen size then the netbook, which at times seemed too small. I also like the larger keyboard on the Air compared to the netbook. But what I like most is the speed. With the core 2 dual core processor and flash storage, the Air is quick. I never feel frustrated. The Air is also lighter then the netbook which for the size screen and keyboard is amazing. So here are my pro’s and con’s.
Pro’s
1. Quick- not a full speed notebook but for the size and weight this thing is great compared to netbooks.
2. Light- 2.3lbs for 11.6 inch Air is fantastic.
3. Keyboard- keyboard feels good.
4. Mac OS X- enough said. If you have never tried it compared to XP or Win 7 then you don’t know what you are missing.
5. Storage- fast flash storage. More dependable compared to hard drive on mobile device.
Con’s
1. Price- 1k for base 11.6 inch unit is not cheap by any means.
2. Storage- the storage is fast and more dependable but its expensive and limited. The 64gb works for me as this is for travel and not my main notebook so I keep a lot of “stuff” off of it and just do internet, email, word docs etc.
3. Upgrade- can’t upgrade RAM if needed after purchase.
Overall, I’m thrilled with my purchase. Yes its pricey but for the size, speed, quality and OS it is worth it in my mind. I probably wouldn’t buy it for my only notebook but its a great travel notebook while my MacBook pro stays at home. My netbook did well for what it is but time to sell it as for me it is just too slow and XP is getting old as an OS.
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|FANTASTIC!! Pushing the Envelope of Personal Computing,
I hesitated a lot to buy this thing, costing as much as it does.
I finally did, and LOVE it.
I have been using PCs for years. Have a PC at work, figured I’d just do the same at home.
Bought a netbook – price was great – but the screen was small and it just never was easy to use. Gave it to my neice.
Bought a 17″ laptop with Vista – I actually thought Vista was OK, and I loved being able to make the screen resolution larger – so it was very easy on my 52 year old eyes. But the thing was HEAVY. So big and bulky I would often leave it home when going on a trip. Also got real tired of having to run anti-virus software (and pay for it), and having glitches regularly with various types of software – adobe, the sync programs, etc. In addition, if I was in bed and wanted to check something real quick, it took 30 seconds or so to boot up, and then had a glitch where the screen wouldn’t turn on, so I’d have to put it to sleep and wake it up again.
I bought an iPad, and the instant on was great, but after using the iPhone4 I didn’t like the screen resolution. In addition, it was quite heavy for holding up to read, did not have a keyboard, and couldn’t play Flash videos. Sold it.
So finally bought this little guy, and it really fits the bill. I thought the 11″ screen would be too small, but for some reason it seems much bigger. I think it’s because it is so easy to scroll up and down, back and forth using the touch pad. (On the PC, the scroll never became “unconscious” – it often seemed to distract me just enough to find the proper place to push on the touchpad). Maybe it’s the resolution of the Air, maybe it’s the fact that it is so small I can position it right where I want it to be.
It jumps to life right away, I love that. Easy to look stuff up, or send that one email, or whatever I want to do. (I think I have a little ADHD, so when I turn on my computer and it takes 60 seconds to get ready, I often forget why I turned it on!).
It downloads web pages much faster than my PC laptop or my PC desktop, and handles pictures much faster too.
And the size makes it so I can just grab it and go, rather than having to make a conscious decision about “should I bring the laptop?” It easy fits in my hand next to my notepad/binder and I hardly notice carrying it.
IMHO, this is what a laptop was always supposed to be. I LOVE it, LOVE it, LOVE it. Thanks, Apple!! Now I have to decide if I’m going to move everything from my home PC to Mac platform – and if so, should I use only this little guy? (i.e. TurboTax, all those accumulated Word documents, etc)
Oh, BTW, I did hook it up to my 24″ HP monitor, and it works great. You can use two screens if you want (i.e. have the AIr open and the desktop monitor is an “additional” screen – or having them duplicates of each other, but the resolution is less than the desktop can handle. It doesn’t look quite as stunning as those iMac screens, but very close.
And the final thing – the “chicklet” keys – very worried about getting used to them, the spacing seems a bit different than my other computer keyboards. It did take a day or two, and I still make the occasional mistake, but overall I like them BETTER. I can type faster on them for some reason — ?less key travel? Anyways, that turned out not to be an issue for me at all.
I just think it’s amazing to have this little slab of metal that I can pick up and take anywhere in my house, or anywhere in town, and have full computer access and use within seconds. Right now I’m standing in the kitchen (it’s sunny in here but not in the office) typing away. I’m a happy camper! (And now I have to make my lunch – can’t afford to eat lunch out for a few months to pay for it, but it’s worth it!)
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