I had the chance of using a MacBook Air (the latest and fastest model - 2.13 ghz and 128 GB SSD) for the past two weeks, and generally, I love it! I've been running Windows 7 as well as mainly office applications, and the speed was good - didn't feel slow and sluggish at all. Here is my quick review:
It's super light!
Spending most of my time in Tokyo for the past few years, I commute and bring my MacBook (the white one) to meetings. And especially in the summer where it's humid and hot, it's even more difficult to bare. And after carrying an Air, for the past two years when I had my MacBook, I wished I had one of these. If you live in a city where you travel by foot, buses, and trains, I think the Air will delight you.
The full size keyboard is great!
The Air is thin, but its sports nearly the same size as a MacBook, which means you get a full size keyboard. It stills take up quite the same amount of space on your desk as a MacBook would. It also means that the computing experience is not compromised; it feels just like working on my MacBook.
The Air cannot be compared to netbooks for I think their purposes are different. Netbooks have a compromise - small size and less computing power. The Air does not have these compromises. I'd like to think of it as a MacBook that's very light for traveling. The important thing is - the Air is mobile, but not PORTABLE. Netbooks are portable, and if it's a portable machine you want, you should look into netbooks. But if you want to edit your PowerPoint slides or type a long blog entry, and be able to carry it in your backpack without a burden on your shoulders, the Air might be for you.
Other things I like:
- screen is bright compared to my white MacBook
- big trackpad is good
- able to use 4 finger gestures to show desktop and expose is very convenient (In fact, when I'm working on my MacBook I find myself using those gestures. Of course, it doesn't work, and I have to resort to my hot corners work around for showing the desktop and expose)
The bad news: only one USB port
Having only one USB port hurts.
My exact experience:
- Used wired mouse to do some stuff
- Had to use the ethernet adapter to connect to Internet (didn't have wi-fi at that time). Meant I had to disconnect my mouse.
- Oh yeah, the other time, to sync my iPhone, I have to unplug my mouse again...
I can easily imagine other scenarios. For example, needing to use a USB thumb drive and a mouse at the same time. The only solution is to get a USB port. In a sense, this machine is ahead of its time. The wireless working environments have yet to truly catch up. (At least, the place where I worked).
Final words
I don't think the Air can suffice as a primary machine, which makes the price of it is not very justifiable. However, if you live in a city like Tokyo and your job demands you to travel a lot, the Air could be your best friend, and the price may just be justifiable.
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