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Laptops Mart - Apple MacBook Air MB003LL/A 13.3 Inch Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive)
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List Price: $1,799.00
Our Price: $1,739.99
Your Save: $ 59.01 ( 3% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Apple Computer
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Personal Computers
Brand: Apple
CPU Manufacturer: Intel
CPU Speed: 1.6
CPU Type: Intel Core Duo
Display Size: 13.3
EAN: 0885909166312
Feature: 1.6 Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4 MB shared L2 cache; Intel GMA X3100 video processor with 144 MB shared memory
Floppy Disk Drive Description: None
Hard Disk Size: 80
Is Autographed: 0
Is Memorabilia: 0
Label: Apple Computer
Manufacturer: Apple Computer
Model: MB003LL/A
Modem Description: None
Native Resolution: 13.3
Processor Count: 1
Publisher: Apple Computer
Size: 80 GB ATA Hard Drive
Studio: Apple Computer
System Bus Speed: 800
System Memory Size: 2000
System Memory Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Warranty: 1 year warranty
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Features
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1.6 Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4 MB shared L2 cache; Intel GMA X3100 video processor with 144 MB shared memory
Thinnest, lightest MacBook ever includes multi-touch trackpad, built-in iSight webcam, and up to 5-hour battery life
One USB 2.0, built-in Wi-Fi (802.11n draft plus 802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, Micro-DVI video output with adapters
Preloaded with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system and iLife '08 suite of applications
13.3-inch glossy LED-backlit screen; 80 GB hard disk drive; 2 GB of RAM (maximum capacity)
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Editorial Reviews:
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MacBook Air is ultrathin, ultraportable, and ultra unlike anything else. But you don't lose inches and pounds overnight. It's the result of rethinking conventions. Of multiple wireless innovations. And of breakthrough design. With MacBook Air, mobile computing suddenly has a new standard.MacBook Air is nearly as thin as your index finger. Practically every detail that could be streamlined has been. Yet it still has a 13.3-inch widescreen LED display, full-size keyboard, and large multi-touch trackpad. It's incomparably portable without the usual ultraportable screen and keyboard compromises.The incredible thinness of MacBook Air is the result of numerous size- and weight-shaving innovations. From a slimmer hard drive to strategically hidden I/O ports to a lower-profile battery, everything has been considered and reconsidered with thinness in mind.MacBook Air performance is as impressive as its form, thanks to its Intel Core 2 Duo processor. This chip was custom-built to fit within the compact dimensions of MacBook Air.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great until you need to restore from Time Machine
Comment: I have been the informal tech guy for two Airs. One for 8 months, one for 6 months. I have also traveled with them. They are generally wonderful, especially if the weight is a big factor. All other laptops seem heavy and inelegant. But ...
(1) If you ever want to use an ethernet connection to the internet (as opposed to wireless), then you have to bring the dongle that converts the one USB port to ethernet. For example, to check your office email at a Kinko's. Definitely buy it.
(2) To do a full restore from Time Machine, you need BOTH an OSX disc (either Disc 1 that comes with the Air or an off-the-shelf OSX disc). But you only have one USB port and no firewire ports. The SuperDrive will not share that port on a USB hub (nor will it work on any computer but an Air). It is easy to back up with Time Machine to a small external drive. (We used an WD Passport.) But don't. Use an external hard drive that has its own power supply. Not elegant, but if you ever need to do a full restore (and you might because your Air will lead a hard life, especially if it is a student's life), it is much easier with a powered external hard drive. The SuperDrive that you can buy for the Air (and you should buy it) does not work from a USB hub. A powered DVD drive from another manufacturer (ours is from Toshiba) works on a powered USB hub. The WD Passport will not connect to the Air via a powered USB hub (at least through the one I use). But a powered WD MyBook external hard drive does connect to the Air via the powered hub. So use a powered external hard drive for your Time Machine backups, and if you need to do a full restore, get a powered USB hub and a powered external DVD drive with a USB output. The Apple Genius Bar might not have these. Note: See (11) below for a possible alternate method using the DVD drive on a nearby computer.
(3) The Genius Bar geniuses know a lot more about the MacBook than the Air because the Air is still relatively new.
(4) If you ever do a full "restore and erase" from the two discs that come with the Air, you need to know this: At the end of first disc, about 1.5 hours into the process, it flashes "Get ready to insert Disc 2." Then it reboots and eventually says "Installing. Calculating time remaining" and ejects the disc. It does NOT say "Insert Disc 2". If maybe you were not watching it for the entire first 1.5 hours, you would not have seen the message at the end of Disc 1 before the reboot. What it wants when it ejects Disc 1 is for you to insert Disc 2. Not very brilliant programming. Every two-disc Windows program and game says "Insert Disc 2 and press Enter." Not these install discs. I found out when I went to the Genius bar and the Genius restarted the install process. He went to lunch and I watched the computer for two hours (this is what I want you to avoid), so I happened to see the message at the end of disc one. It was a special moment in my life.
(5) Be careful where you put the Air and the SuperDrive. I heard of someone throwing out their Air with the Sunday paper. Might be an urban legend, but I lost my SuperDrive, possibly the same way.
(6) Backups to Time Machine are more likely to happen if you use a Time Capsule as a wireless router + external hard drive. You can also print through Time Capsule, instead of plugging the printer into the Air when you need to print. Be sure to have the printer plugged into the Time Capsule and turned on before you install the Time Capsule. Otherwise, you will probably need to call AppleCare to walk you through the re-install with the printer. Don't get off the phone until the printer works and Time Machine works, not just the wireless internet. For a student whose life is on the Air, I would definitely consider the Time Capsule an essential accessory to the Air. For someone who uses the Air as an occasional computer for travel and has her life on an iMac, the Time Capsule is nice but not necessary.
(7) Get a neoprene sleeve for the Air. Then when it is thrown into a backpack or briefcase, it will be safer. Also, in its sleeve on a desk it is less of an object of desire for thieves (in my humble opinion). After all these months, the Air is still eye candy (as you well know if you got this far in this review).
(8) I understand that the wireless antenna is in the hinge that attaches the screen to the body of the Air. So it is somewhat directional. Try sliding it around to get better reception.
(9) Wireless reception does not seem to be a strength of the two Airs that I use. The 4 MacBooks that preceded the two Airs in our lives seemed to get more consistently good wireless reception. This is a shame, because the Air depends more on its wireless than the MacBooks, which have real ports. I hope that in future generations of the Air Apple finds a way to get the best possible wireless reception for the Air.
(10) The hard drive is not big enough for a student's life if the student likes to store music and videos on it. An outboard hard drive is a distant second-best solution. (I like the WD Passport for this, since it does not need external power and it is small and reliable. USB power is enough for this drive since you will not be doing a full Time Machine restore from this drive. To backup the stuff on this drive, you will need another solution, which might be Time Machine on the Time Capsule.)
(11) I have not tried to connect the Air to another computer to use the other computer's CD or DVD drive. I have heard of people using this as a way to access the OSX DVD when they do a full restore from Time Machine to the Air, but I have not tried it.
Given all that, all of the Air owners whom I know would buy another one if they lost theirs. None would go back to a MacBook. (I do know people for whom the weight is not a big issue and who want more horsepower and ports and sometimes screen size, especially for games. They are happy with their MacBooks as their main computers.) Except for the wireless reception, the problems of the Air are problems for the tech person, not so much for the day-to-day user. Which is a good design choice.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent machine with interesting compromises
Comment: After being used to traveling with a MacBook Pro I wondered if the MacBook Air would have enough performance and capacity to satisfy my needs.
This is a beautiful machine. Extremely thin but very sturdy feeling. Wonderfully light even with required accessories. A terrific screen and keyboard that are a pleasure during all day use. Good battery life (about 4 hours in my case). Good processor and graphics power for mainstream business applications. Adequate disk space but limited disk performance. Barest minumum of ports requires dongles and a usb hub.
While its slower than my Macbook pro, the only times I really notice a difference are:
- Booting the machine takes longer (but I usually only do that a couple times a week)
- Starting some applications takes longer (but once started I can still run a LOT of apps in 2gb even including Parallels)
- True multitasking is limited to one intensive disk or cpu operation at a time (don't try and use the machine for anything significant while doing a backup, or while ripping a DVD).
So under normal use I was very pleasantly surprised how useable the AIR felt after being used to a PRO. For me the size and weight reduction is definitely worth the performance reduction.
Yes I would like a bigger, faster hard drive, but next year 120gb 5400rpm single platter units should be available. Yes I would like a built in ethernet port, but I'm not willing to pay a big form factor price to avoid the $29 dongle. Yes I would like 2-3 USB ports, but Targus makes some really tiny 4 port hubs for now.
I'm honestly not sure I would make any different design choices, and technology progress will take care of the only thing I've found to be occasionally very limiting (disk size and performance).
Customer Rating:
Summary: Spectacular
Comment: I am using this as a replacement for my iMac which I moved to the office. This computer is the best laptop I have ever owned (the first Mac), and I am in love with the operating system. I dont have to worry about viruses or other nonsense like that like I use to have to deal with all the time with my old Dell laptop. Plus its so light I can take it anywhere!
The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't have a firewire port. However, all in all I am very happy and could not have imagined a more perfect computer.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great so far
Comment: i just purchased this computer a week ago so i suppose things could change but at this point the computer has been great. The portability was a huge factor for me as it should be for anybody contemplating the purchase of this laptop. As a student i don't really need this computer for much more than word documents, internet, email, itunes, and the occasional movie/youtube video. Speed has not been an issue - something i wasn't sure about as i almost purchased the SSD option. Fortunately i didn't and this has been fine. I ordered the superdrive just in case though i havn't used it yet. For installing microsoft office i used the remote disc drive and that worked absolutely fine. So far the fan/overheating problem that other people were talking about hasn't been an issue and the temp does get warm, but not hot enough to get laggy or be uncomfortable. So far my two nitpicks are that the battery isn't great - 4+ hours of internet/itunes if the screen brightness is down all the way... but i like to keep the brightness at at least 50%. The other thing is that the screen hinge design doesn't allow the screen to go very far back. As far as the port limitations go the only thing i use is audio jack, usb, and ethernet at school but there's wifi too. I did order the ethernet dongle just in case. An ethernet cable and maybe one more usb (tho that too isn't too big of a deal for me) would be nice, but still, i'm totally happy with my purchase :)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Another Great Product.
Comment: I bought the Macbook Air for my daughter who is a 'die hard' Mac person. She uses her Mac Pro everyday for her work. She has told me three times how much she loves this new laptop. That makes the purchase a 10.
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