Tuesday, Jan 15th 2008 by Chris Davies


Worth Reading?


YesNo


+9 [13 votes]
Loading ...

The rumors were true: Apple has announced an ultraportable laptop, the MacBook Air, will be added to their range.  Measuring just .75-inches at its thickest point and an amazing .16-inches at its thinnest, the MacBook Air has an LED-backlit 13.3-inch display, full-sized keyboard with ambient light sensor and built-in iSight webcam, and storms the shelves as the World’s thinnest notebook.

 MacBook Air

MacBook Air 

Apple has given the Air a large trackpad which, like the iPhone’s screen, can respond to gestures.  You can pan, rotate, move entire windows and move between photos, all with simple gestures, and it will also recognise the pinching and spreading zoom in/out movements too. 

MacBook Air

Using a 1.8-inch drive has kept weight down, and will be offered in either 80GB traditional (as standard) or an optional solid-state 64GB SSD; the motherboard, even with all the necessary electronics, is only slightly longer than a pencil.  A 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of RAM is standard, with 1.8GHz an option.

MacBook Air motherboard

Connectivity includes WiFi 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, USB 2.0 and micro-DVI, and although there is no internal optical drive Apple will be offering a bus-powered accessory drive for $99.  Alternatively, you’ll be able to easily share the drive from another Mac.

MacBook Air accessory optical drive

Battery life is quoted as five hours full use and with all wireless features turned on.  Of particular interest to anyone who cares about the environment is the mercury-free screen and full aluminium construction, the bromide and PVC-free circuitboards and the fact that the packaging is 56-percent smaller. 

 MacBook Air compact packaging

MacBook Air

The new MacBook Air will ship in two weeks, and is available to pre-order now starting at $1799

MacBook Air specs

Subscribe via RSS or Email | Read 19 times


  1.  Dan Butterfield   View all comments by Dan Butterfield  -1  Add karma Subtract karma Quote

    Great MacWorld coverage guys! More rapid-fire updates and images than sites that shall not be named.

    http://idannyb.wordpress.com/

  2.  jeff   View all comments by jeff  Neutral  Add karma Subtract karma Quote

    RANDY ******* NEWMAN????? BAHAHAHAHAHAH

    I’LL NEVER BUY ANOTHER APPLE PRODUCT AGAIN.

  3.  MAAN D.   View all comments by MAAN D.  +1  Add karma Subtract karma Quote

    I THINK IT’S A LITTLE TOO MUCH FOR A SMALL RAM SIZE…

  4.  Vincent Nguyen   View all comments by Vincent Nguyen  Neutral  Add karma Subtract karma Quote

    Great MacWorld coverage guys! More rapid-fire updates and images than sites that shall not be named.

    http://idannyb.wordpress.com/

    You’re too kind to us Dan. thanks!

  5.  Jameson   View all comments by Jameson  +1  Add karma Subtract karma Quote

    Apple: Making already extremely expensive computers even easier to break. I’d be afraid I would lose it in between the ream of paper in my printer and end up printing out a beef stroganoff recipe on it. Seriously, I love small, thin, and light gagets, but only those I can afford to break if I look at it wrong.


Add your comments

Fill in the required fields below to leave a comment or login to your account. If you haven't signed up, you can do so free here. With SlashGear account, you will be able to participate on SlashGear Forums discussion.






Close [X]
E-mail It
About / Advertise / Contact / Archives / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use
Copyright © 2006-2008 SlashGear, All Rights Reserved.