One of the thinnest, sexiest ultraportables ever makes its return in grand style. The updated Apple MacBook Air may keep the same svelte appearance and sturdy aluminum unibody build as its predecessor, but under the hood lies a faster processor, a powerful new Nvidia GeForce 9400 discrete graphics card, and a 128GB solid state drive. Priced at a hefty $2,499 as configured (and starting at $1,799), the MacBook Air may be worth the investment for those on the hunt for a premium ultraportable, but only if they can live with short battery life and the same design trade-offs of the first model.
Design
The MacBook Air maintains one of the sveltest profiles in mobile computing. When closed, its profile is unbelievably thin, measuring just 0.7 inches at its meatiest point. As with the previous MacBook Air, the new model keeps the same minimalist look by housing the lone USB port, headphone, and Mini-DisplayPort connections behind a small door built into the right, rear corner of the chassis. On the opposite side of the notebook you’ll find the MagSafe power jack, which represents the only other port on the entire system.
Still, you get a full-size keyboard with Chiclet-styled keys that are the staple of Apple notebooks. The individual keys delivered good tactile feedback as we keyed in URLs and crafted e-mails. The backlight-ready keyboard project a cool, white illumination in low-light situations (you can adjust brightness with the F5 and F6 keys). The multitouch trackpad allowed us to scroll through Web pages in Safari effortlessly by swiping three fingers across its surface, and zoom in and out of photos using pinch gestures.
The 13.3-inch (1280 x 800-pixel resolution) LED display remains one of the best in the ultraportable space. Colors were brilliant and blacks were rich when we viewed downloaded Flickr images and movie trailers at Apple.com. The high-gloss screen kicks back reflections (especially when viewing a Web page with a dark color scheme), but viewing angles were quite good.
The Trade-Offs Continue
If you thought the previous MacBook Air demanded users to accept too many sacrifices to own a razor-thin machine, you’ll feel the same about this iteration. There’s still no ExpressCard slot, memory card slot, Ethernet port, or optical drive. If you want to install software from a disc or watch a DVD, the Remote Disc feature leverages the 802.11n connection to tap into the CD or DVD drives of nearby Macs (that are running OS X 10.5.2 or higher) and PCs (that have the Remote Disc software installed). If you prefer a more traditional external optical drive option, the SuperDrive can be purchased from the Apple Store for $99. The battery is still not user-replaceable; you’ll have to bring your machine to Apple for $129.
Our biggest beef with the MacBook Air is the lone USB 2.0 port, which doesn’t properly accommodate all peripherals due to the flip-down panel. We had no problems connecting external storage drives, but an AT&T mobile broadband modem fit awkwardly into the system. A mini-USB hub is a must if you frequently plug gear into your notebook.
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