Apple MacBook Air - Expert Reviews

Review summary: Apple has released what has to be the thinnest notebook ever -- the MacBook Air.

Pros: Incredibly thin yet surprisingly sturdy ; New trackpad gesture controls are very useful ; Remote optical drive makes living without a built-in drive much easier

Cons: Very limited connectivity ; Slower than other MacBooks ; SSD hard-drive option is ridiculously expensive and standard hard drive is small ; Battery is not user replaceable

Verdict: We're still not fans of Apple's nearly obligatory extended warranty upsell (so much so that we've simply copied this complaint from our last MacBook review). The default warranty for the MacBook is one year of coverage for parts and labour, but toll ...

Review summary: The design is revolutionary, but Apple's MacBook Air will appeal to a smaller, more specialised audience than the standard MacBook, thanks to a stripped-down set of connections and features.

Pros: Incredibly thin yet surprisingly sturdy, New touchpad gesture controls are very useful, Remote optical drive makes living without a built-in drive much easier

Cons: Very limited connectivity, Slower than other MacBooks, SSD hard-drive option is ridiculously expensive and standard hard drive is small, Battery is not replaceable

Review summary: It's light, it's slim. But is it sexy enough for us to ignore the stripped-down feature set and high price tag?

Pros: Incredibly thin yet surprisingly sturdy ; new touchpad gesture controls are very useful ; remote optical drive makes living without a built-in drive much easier

Cons: Very limited connectivity ; slower than other MacBooks ; SSD hard-drive option is ridiculously expensive and standard hard drive is small ; battery is not replaceable

Pros: Incredibly thin yet surprisingly sturdy ; new trackpad gesture controls are very useful ; remote optical drive makes living without a built-in drive much easier

Cons: Very limited connectivity ; slower than other MacBooks ; SSD hard-drive option is ridiculously expensive and standard hard drive is small ; battery is not user replaceable

Verdict: The design is revolutionary, but Apple's MacBook Air will appeal to a smaller, more specialized audience than the standard MacBook, thanks to a stripped-down set of connections and features.

Review summary: The MacBook Air is driving me insane. I want it like no other hardware. It's thin, yea, ok, we know this. And many power users have been bitching for more: 3G, bigger storage, more USB ports, and an internal drive. If you feel that way, this computer ...