Apple MacBook Air review

Apple MacBook Air Review

Reviewed by: Dan Ackerman

Reviewed on: 29 January 2008

Performance
We are pleased to see that the MacBook Air comes standard with 2GB of RAM, but with a processor that runs at a much slower clockspeed than the standard MacBook (2.0GHz or 2.2GHz), plus a 4,200rpm 1.8-inch hard drive (as opposed to the standard 5,400rpm), it's not surprising that the MacBook Air is not as fast a performer as the £949 MacBook. Do note that the baseline £699 MacBook features a slower processor and half the memory of our MacBook review unit.

And as we often point out, any modern dual-core CPU is going to be more than adequate for Web surfing, multimedia playback and productivity tasks, and we were able to surf the Web, play videos and work on a document at the same time with absolutely no slowdown or stuttering.

One of the biggest drawbacks of the MacBook Air is the lack of a replaceable battery. While most laptops will be obsolete before their batteries wear out, we are sensitive to the desire to occasionally carry an extra battery for extended field use. In everyday testing, the Air lasted for nearly 4 hours of mixed use, including video playback, software installation, Web surfing and productivity tasks. That's reasonably close to Apple's 5-hour claims, but may not be enough for a full day of off-site use.

We're still not fans of Apple's nearly obligatory extended warranty upgrade. The default warranty for the MacBook is one year of coverage for parts and labour, but free telephone support is limited to a mere 90 days -- well short of what you'd typically find on a PC -- unless you purchase the £199 AppleCare Protection Plan, which extends phone support and repair coverage to three years.

System configurations:
Apple MacBook Air 1.6GHz
OS X 10.5.1 Leopard; Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 144MB Intel GMA X3100; 80GB Samsung 4,200rpm

Sony Vaio TZ150
Windows Vista Business Edition; 1.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage U7500; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 64MB Mobile Intel 945GM Express; 100GB Toshiba 4,200rpm

Toshiba Portege R500
Windows Vista Business Edition; 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage U7600; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel 945GM Express; 120GB Toshiba 5,400rpm

Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz/13.3-inch
OS X 10.5.1 Leopard; Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 144MB Intel GMA X3100; 160GB Fujitsu 5,400rpm

Edited by Matthew Elliott
Additional editing by Nick Hide