MacBook Air

MacBook Air: Lots of sizzle, little steak

The ultraportable MacBook Air was also updated earlier this year, but it still fails to impress most reviewers when compared to other Apple laptops. As Tony Hoffman at PCMag.com says, he wishes it had "a bit more steak to go with its undeniable sizzle." The 3-pound MacBook Air comes in two standard configurations -- the base model (*Est. $1,500) has a 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of memory and 120 GB SATA hard drive; the top-end MacBook Air (*Est. $1,800) has a 2.13 GHz processor with 2 GB of memory and a 128 GB solid-state drive. Both versions are updated with Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics, which reviewers say provides a noticeable improvement compared to previous generations.

The MacBook Air gets very high marks for looks and design -- Windows expert Preston Gralla writes at Computerworld that the MacBook Air is the "most beautiful piece of hardware you'll ever see." Performance and value, on the other hand, are different stories. Jason Snell at Macworld gives the MacBook Air an overall rating of 3.5 (out of five), calling it "an odd duck." In his tests, the updated 2.13 GHz MacBook Air is slower than its predecessor; in fact, Snell says the MacBook Air is the slowest computer in the Apple lineup. Still, he can't help but be impressed by the thin and light design. In PCMag.com's review of the redesigned MacBook Air, they find that it doesn't offer many huge improvements over the original, and they give it a three out of five rating. Like other reviewers, Jeffrey Wilson at Laptop Magazine is impressed with the design and stunning LED display, but he wishes the MacBook Air had more than one USB port and longer battery life.

All-in-all, the MacBook Air isn't a bad computer -- and everyone agrees it looks terrific -- it just has a hard time competing with the cheaper and faster MacBook or entry-level MacBook Pros in terms of performance. Reviews indicate that that MacBook Air is a good choice for those who value portability and lightness over everything else -- including performance. For less money, you can get a faster MacBook or entry-level MacBook Pro with a larger hard drive, but these laptops are not as thin and light. Still, fans of the MacBook Air say the recent price drop makes this ultra-thin laptop more attractive than ever.