Key Features:
- 1.6 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
- 0.76″-0.12″ thick chassis
- 3lb weight
- 5 hours of battery life
- 13.3″ LED display
- 2GB memory
- 80GB 4200-rpm PATA hard drive
- Built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- No optical drive
- iSight camera included
Theres also an option to replace the 80GB hard drive with a 64GB Solid State Drive (flash memory) for $1300 (!).
My initial take:
- Shit, this thing is thin
- Price fits squarely between Macbook and Macbook Pro lines – would have liked to see $1500 price point, but still very competitive with high end ultraportables (e.g. Sony TZ series)
- Lack of optical drive not a big deal, we usually don’t use discs as much as we think we do
- Software to use any computer’s optical drive wirelessly with the Air as a “virtual optical drive” – very cool
- Disappointed the external optical drive is not included ($99 option)
- How the hell did they fit a 1.6 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor in there – that is an amazing engineering feat
- No ethernet jack? come on, that could have fit
- 1 USB port is going to be REALLY annoying – you attach a mouse and you can’t put anything else on (iPod, iPhone, optical drive, etc.)
- Full-size keyboard is awesome for an ultraportable
- Lol @ $1300 option for solid state – I guess we’re a few years away from this replacing real hard drives on notebooks
All this said, I may be picking one of these up. I’ve never owned a Mac before and this may be the right product for me as I own an iPhone and have a screamingly powerful PC desktop already. It may be one of those things where seeing it in person puts you over the edge, but as of now it’s merely a modestly compelling product on its own. Not as mindblowing as the iPhone was last year, but something that makes sense to add to your gadget fleet if you are a tech geek or really need the ultraportability. I couldn’t see this as my primary computer, though. It just lacks the features and power for my needs as a content creator or gamer.
