High-quality photos and notes on Apple's new MacBook Air
Apple at the Macworld Expo on Tuesday had several dozen of its new MacBook Air notebooks laid out on a sprawling matte black showroom table for show-goers to test drive, in addition several non-functional units suspended in mid-air for photographers.
Some initial notes
The MacBook Air is so thin that it's difficult for our digital SLR to auto focus on the side profile of the unit.Apple staffers on the show floor appear to be somewhat clueless about which specific Intel Core 2 Duo chip the MacBook Air employs, but we're still working on nailing this down. Apple lists the specs as Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB on-chip shared L2 cache running at full processor speed.Like Apple's other MacBooks, the system bus speed is 800MHz.It runs on Mac OS X 10.5.1 build 9B2324Weight is exactly 3.0 pounds (1.36 kg).Height is 0.16-0.76 inch (0.4-1.94 cm).Width is 12.8 inches (32.5 cm).Depth is 8.94 inches (22.7 cm).The 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM is soldered to the motherboard. So no memory upgrades available.The multi-touch trackpad works with ease and better than you would expect, at least in the applications Apple is using for demos.The battery is a integrated, non-replacable 37-watt-hour lithium-polymer.Model identifier is MacBook Air1,1Boot ROM Version is MBA11.00BB.B00SMC Version is 1.23f7A Sudden Motion Sensor is enabled.In addition to the $99 MacBook Air external SuperDrive, Apple is also offering a $29 USB Ethernet Adapter, $49 MagSafe Airline Adapter, and $19 Apple Micro-DVI to Video Adapter.
For more photos, continue on to page 2 of this report.
Some initial notes
The MacBook Air is so thin that it's difficult for our digital SLR to auto focus on the side profile of the unit.Apple staffers on the show floor appear to be somewhat clueless about which specific Intel Core 2 Duo chip the MacBook Air employs, but we're still working on nailing this down. Apple lists the specs as Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB on-chip shared L2 cache running at full processor speed.Like Apple's other MacBooks, the system bus speed is 800MHz.It runs on Mac OS X 10.5.1 build 9B2324Weight is exactly 3.0 pounds (1.36 kg).Height is 0.16-0.76 inch (0.4-1.94 cm).Width is 12.8 inches (32.5 cm).Depth is 8.94 inches (22.7 cm).The 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM is soldered to the motherboard. So no memory upgrades available.The multi-touch trackpad works with ease and better than you would expect, at least in the applications Apple is using for demos.The battery is a integrated, non-replacable 37-watt-hour lithium-polymer.Model identifier is MacBook Air1,1Boot ROM Version is MBA11.00BB.B00SMC Version is 1.23f7A Sudden Motion Sensor is enabled.In addition to the $99 MacBook Air external SuperDrive, Apple is also offering a $29 USB Ethernet Adapter, $49 MagSafe Airline Adapter, and $19 Apple Micro-DVI to Video Adapter.
For more photos, continue on to page 2 of this report.
Comments
No removable/replaceable battery?
Not surprising at this thickness, also no replaceable hard drive or memory (user replaceable).
Seriously, they have dealt with thinness and not upgradability, and for this kind of laptop, that is the right thing to do.
I am sure the hdd and the battery can be replaced, but not without taking the thing apart. Just like with iPods.
No removable/replaceable battery?
Sorry no removable battery. I suspect this is mainly because of size constraints, the battery looked like it took up half of the interior space and everything was right up against it.
I suppose apple will have some program for battery replacement or you can attempt it yourself.
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2. For focusing on the side of the Air...two words...MANUAL focus.
Looks like Apple has taken the durability problems with the current magsafe to heart. Bet the next iteration of the MacBook Pro will feature a variation on this design.
Looks pretty nice. It would also be nice if the photographer can ease up a bit on the depth of field there. Maybe it's a bit much to ask if it's really as dark in there as those pictures make it look.
The monkey who is taking those photos needs a few lessons on photography. I've noticed the exact same crap being thrown at the AI readers on every article featuring "up-close" photos. You can see fine details in a narrow area and everything else is blurred. Amateur.
Since it lacks a removable battery does that mean we'll have problems bringing it on an airplane?
No, because most notebook batteries aren't big enough to cause problems under the new regulations. The battery here is 25% lower Wh capacity than the MBP.
How constructionally sound is that little drop down door for the headphone jack, usb port, etc., I would hate to hear of that getting "bent" or snap off or what ever, like some people had done with there iPod shuffle clips attached to their belt and then went to sit down bending it out of shape.
Other than those observations, nicely done Apple. Can't wait to see it in person at the Apple Store for closer inspection.
In order for this laptop to be adopted by a broad base of business users, the form factor should be about 1" smaller in both length and width. (A true sub laptop should be not much larger than a stack of 8 1/2 x 11 paper.) Should that mean shrinking the screen by half an inch, so be it, although I note that there is plenty of metal framing both the screen and the keyboard that looks wasted to me.
I don't get it: Apple was apparently happy to sacrifice all sorts of arguably important features (a real Ethernet receptacle, for instance, for those benighted countries and small towns in the world which do not have wireless broadband for the taking; i.e., most of them) in order to squeeze in a full size screen and a video camera. What is this supposed to be, a functional computer for traveling, or a really, really light, underpowered desktop replacement?
Seriously, folks, notwithstanding the nifty bells and whistles on this computer, it would simply hog too much space in my briefcase for me to replace my trusty old 12" PowerBook. The form factor is important enough to me that I will continue to lug my old brick around until Apple figures out that not all of its customers willing to pay top dollar are tech geeks, filmmakers, or design professionals.
New, larger touchpad with gestures.
New keyboard to update with all other products.
New video card?
45nm processors?
Larger hard drives with SSD option?
Maybe even the option to ditch the optical drive for a 2nd HD? (Remote disk really proves we don't use DVD drives often anyway)
Blu-ray drives?
I can't sell my current 2nd gen MBP until they announce something new, so I'm itching for new MBPs!!!
*note: what I've said is a wishlist of what a new MBP would have, not a rumor or inklings of what is too come. Don't get your hopes up too high!*