The first reviews of Apple's skinny and sexy
MacBook Air are in. The laptop is less than two-tenths-of-an-inch thick, but such slimness comes at a price ($1800-$3000). Even that price, the Air's minimalist hardware will make the Air a
poor choice for no-compromise users, according to the first reviews posted today (the Air itself won't be in stores for another two weeks).
Edward C Baig from USA Today loves the size and weight of the thing, but has a number of complaints about the hardware shortcomings, including comparatively short non-replaceable battery's life, the missing internal DVD drive, and the lack of many common ports business users might need to hook their machines up to external displays or devices.
Newsweek's Steven Levy echoes many of the same complaints as Baig, but praises the Air's low temperatures when running and indicates that it's so small and light you'll never wonder whether you should take it with you because there's really no reason not to.
Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal says much the same thing, indicating he loves the design but spends plenty of paragraphs describing its shortcomings -- the non-removable battery, the paltry one USB port, and the missing DVD drive that makes this impractical for those who like to pack a few discs for a long flight. Still, usual-Apple-lover Mossberg says "the result is a beautiful, amazingly thin computer, but one whose unusual trade-offs may turn off some frequent travelers."
So, is the $1,799 (and up) MacBook Air for you? Well, are you planning on using it as your only computer or will it be a second (or third) one just for trips and mobile computing? It seems it's just not quite up to the task of being your sole, go-to computing device. If you plan to get one, you should probably make it your second computer.
The Air is sexy, but just like those impractical roadsters a lot of people own but keep in the garage except on sunny afternoons, it's not really meant to be your only means of getting about.
From Engadget,
USA Today,
Newsweek, and
Wall Street JournalRelated Links:
