Apple MacBook Air - Expert Reviews

Review summary: Apple's second stab at the Air adds a better GPU but keeps the same shape--and the problems that come with it.

Pros: Light and sleek ; Greatly improved graphics power over original Air

Cons: Unswappable battery ; Single USB port

Verdict: Today, though, the MacBook is a better buy for all but the most extreme devotees of thinness and lightness. It's not that the MacBook Air is a bad laptop. It's just that Apple has made a faster, cheaper, and almost equally attractive model that costs ...

Review summary: We've spent a bit of quality time with the new MacBook Air, and while there's little on the surface to denote a change, Apple did quite a bit under the hood to turn this into a serious laptop -- of sorts. Full disclosure: we (meaning a certain Paul ...

Review summary: Apple MacBook Air is an ultra light laptop manufactured and designed by Apple Inc. The laptop weighs 1.36 kg, and measures 0.4-194 cm height, 32.5 cm width, and 22.7 cm depth. Making use of Intel's Core 2 Duo processor with 4 MB on-chip, the speed of ...

Pros: At 19mm thick, the MacBook Air is so skinny that if it could walk it'd have to throw down a coat before going over drains. But it's not all tiny. Apple has packed in a full-size keyboard and 13-inch screen that are better than most. Using the full ...

Cons: With no optical drive, removable battery, or Ethernet, and only a single USB port, it's fair to say Apple's made a heap of concessions to get it down to size zero. Also, what's that coming over the hill? Is it a monster price-tag? Yes it is. And with ...

Verdict: The MacBook Air's entirely fit for purpose, and the ultimate convenience for style savvy travellers. The real bad news is that convenience comes at a cost, in terms of fewer features and a high price tag.

Review summary: This 3-pound sliver of a computer is truly breathtaking to look at. But here a good processor and 2 gigs of RAM don't translate to speedy performance, and aside from WiFi and Bluetooth, the only connections are a single USB port, a headphone jack and ...

Pros: True next-gen design. Incredible keyboard and screen. Good battery life - more than three hours. Competitive price.

Cons: Lack of connectors a real problem. Some devices hard to wedge into the flip-down USB port. Disappointing performance. Pokey hard drive.

Review summary: Without a doubt, the MacBook Air is one of the niftiest-looking laptops we've ever tested. But he smallest notebook we've ever tested comes with sacrifices - the MacBook Air makes serious compromises to maintain its petite profile.

Pros: Amazingly small ; killer design ; 802.11n support. Decently-powered

Cons: Only one USB port ; no mic, no PC Card, no modem, no Ethernet, no optical drive

Verdict: Unfortunately, the optical drive isn't the Air's biggest omission. We're even more put off by this portable's dearth of external ports-it includes just a single USB port, a multi-format video-out, and a headphone jack. No mic, no PC Card, no modem, no ...