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MacBook Airs Arrive, Unboxing Photos

Ping Guo said:
Xbench score for the 1.8GHz 128 SSD model: 137.12 :eek:

For comparison:

MacBook 2008 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) 126.23
MacBook Air (1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) 50.76
Mac Mini (1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo)
94.58
MacBook (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) 95.89
MacBook Pro (2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) 106.05
PowerBook G3 Pismo (500MHz G3) 18.47

Beats the 2.0 Macbook, and completely smokes the Gen 1 MBA. The GeForce 9400M and SATA SSD apparently make a huge difference. Yes you could buy 2 base MacBooks for the same price, but nobody can call the MBA underpowered any more!
Click to expand...

Quite astounding that the old 1.6 only scores 3 times as much as a Pismo.

Oh and whoever said the Macbook Air would not be faster than a Macbook, read it and weep.
 
Ping Guo said:
Xbench score for the 1.8GHz 128 SSD model: 137.12 :eek:

For comparison:

MacBook 2008 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) 126.23
MacBook Air (1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) 50.76
Mac Mini (1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo)
94.58
MacBook (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) 95.89
MacBook Pro (2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) 106.05
PowerBook G3 Pismo (500MHz G3) 18.47

Beats the 2.0 Macbook, and completely smokes the Gen 1 MBA. The GeForce 9400M and SATA SSD apparently make a huge difference. Yes you could buy 2 base MacBooks for the same price, but nobody can call the MBA underpowered any more!
Click to expand...

Isnt the comparison between the Gen1 & Gen 2 MBA a little unfair you're comparing the high end model of the new rev to the low end model of the old rev why not compare Apples to Apples i.e. SSD model of Gen 1 to SSD model of Gen 2?
 
Ping Guo said:
Xbench score for the 1.8GHz 128 SSD model: 137.12 :eek:

For comparison:

MacBook 2008 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) 126.23
MacBook Air (1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) 50.76
Mac Mini (1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo)
94.58
MacBook (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) 95.89
MacBook Pro (2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) 106.05
PowerBook G3 Pismo (500MHz G3) 18.47

Beats the 2.0 Macbook, and completely smokes the Gen 1 MBA. The GeForce 9400M and SATA SSD apparently make a huge difference. Yes you could buy 2 base MacBooks for the same price, but nobody can call the MBA underpowered any more!
Click to expand...

Check out this page: http://www.macworld.com/article/136214/2008/10/macbookbenchmarks.html?lsrc=rss_main Shows a benchmark of 194 for the MB 2ghz and 212 for the 2.4 ghz.

Also on this page: http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/benchmarking/topic4490.html#d18oct2008 it shows a Alum MB with a 173.47 XBench rating.
 
schneb said:
What bothers me is there is huge choice for mobile fans, and no choice at all for those of us wanting headless Macs somewhere in-between the Mini and the Pro.
Click to expand...
You can bemoan this fact, but you might just lose the Mini too, if all the rumors come true and Apple pulls the plug on Mini.

For years, Apple heard about people wanting a Headless mac -- they finally created the Mini. You have to give them that. Those that have them (me too), love them, but most people want an iMac or a MacPro.

If the Mini had have been more popular, I'd bet that we would have a lot more options in this area you seek. Unfortunately, these decisions are determined by people opening their wallets. Not enough did, in my opinion.
 
pitchfork said:
LAME!!!! what a worthless Apple product. Why even make a big deal of this machine. Half the balls, twice the cost of a MacBook and the weight/thickness is not really that big of a difference.
Click to expand...

wow, most useless post i've seen.

hey if people want a smaller computer with a lil less power under the hood. why not give it to them. the less cpu power is to reduce power consumption and heat.

it's a pretty neat computer. why complain? sony Viao offers similar small and pricey computers.
 
JGowan said:
You can bemoan this fact, but you might just lose the Mini too, if all the rumors come true and Apple pulls the plug on Mini.

For years, Apple heard about people wanting a Headless mac -- they finally created the Mini. You have to give them that. Those that have them (me too), love them, but most people want an iMac or a MacPro.

If the Mini had have been more popular, I'd bet that we would have a lot more options in this area you seek. Unfortunately, these decisions are determined by people opening their wallets. Not enough did, in my opinion.
Click to expand...

It would be stupid to get rid of the mini, alot of data centers and businesses use them.

it is an excellent model for its cost effectiveness and versatility, unless you need anything relating to graphics.

as for a mid range tower, i have been wanting this for a hell of a long time. so sad to see apple continue to avoid this one.
 
Just picked one up...

Well I have been patiently waiting for some hard facts about the SSD and they seem positive. I went to the apple store in Louisville, KY and came home with my new air 1.86 and 128Gb HD.

I have only had about 15 minutes with it so far. But it only takes 30 to book and seems very responsive. No beach balls. :) But its probably a little too early to tell about all that.

I wasnt sure if everyone knew, but the new air supports the new three and four finger gestures on the trackpad.

I cant tell what model the 128SSD is. It just says APPLE SSD SM128. Hmmmm. Apple makes harddrives now. :rolleyes:
 
MacLadybug said:
Check out this page: http://www.macworld.com/article/136214/2008/10/macbookbenchmarks.html?lsrc=rss_main Shows a benchmark of 194 for the MB 2ghz and 212 for the 2.4 ghz.

Also on this page: http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/benchmarking/topic4490.html#d18oct2008 it shows a Alum MB with a 173.47 XBench rating.
Click to expand...

Weird. Seems like the benchmarks are all over the place...

I'd like to hear more details about real-world usage, especially heat and battery life.;)
 
With all these posts, I am a little confused. :confused: Am I reading right that the new Rev B 1.8 Air beats the early 2008 MB 2.0 in performance? Of course I have an early 2008 2.4 MB. This would be cool and with an 168 SSD, that would be sweet. Other than the CD drive being built in, why get a MB. It is not like ports really matter anymore. FW is gone. so the advantage is one extra USB, mic, and ethernet (from what people are saying on these posts).

Also, I do not understnd why the whole trackpad is not clickable and have the new trackpad. All I can think of is space. the clickbar is raised a few mm and click down flush, where as the trackpad is recessed a little and would click down a little further . Sounds to me like there may have not been enough room in the taper design to push the trackpad down a few mm for clicking. ???
 
mdntcallr said:
wow, most useless post i've seen.

hey if people want a smaller computer with a lil less power under the hood. why not give it to them. the less cpu power is to reduce power consumption and heat.

it's a pretty neat computer. why complain? sony Viao offers similar small and pricey computers.
Click to expand...

No, I think pitchfork's post makes a strong point about how there's quite a bit lacking on this model, except for the screen size (minimal difference) yet, it costs so much more. I know this is a "Breakthrough" in technology as far as the thinnest ever, but that still doesn't make a valid reason for a price hike, due to the fact that it's basically a wireless word processor. email, doing the books and....................................well, that pretty much covers it.
 
Ping Guo said:
Weird. Seems like the benchmarks are all over the place...

I'd like to hear more details about real-world usage, especially heat and battery life.;)
Click to expand...
Ran XBench on mine and got 126.54... must admit that the SSD must really zoom! My 6 month old BlackBook, same processor speed and ram as my Alum got a little over 76. Interesting.
 
potatochips said:
No, I think pitchfork's post makes a strong point about how there's quite a bit lacking on this model, except for the screen size (minimal difference) yet, it costs so much more. I know this is a "Breakthrough" in technology as far as the thinnest ever, but that still doesn't make a valid reason for a price hike, due to the fact that it's basically a wireless word processor. email, doing the books and....................................well, that pretty much covers it.
Click to expand...

Nonsense. Pitchfork was being rude and from his post, was obviously ranting/whining and did not do his homework. The SSD option is still a more pricey option compared to a HD base model. SSD still commands a premium even though the prices are falling down more now. So the new MBA looks the same as the old model. Who cares? It's still in my opinion one of the best-looking and well-made notebooks out there. Get over yourself people. In this context, it's what's inside that counts and the graphics upgrade alone will make a huge improvement with the performance.

I wouldn't be surprised if the MBA is offered next year as an SSD-only model.

This is a well-made evolution of the previous MBA. Certain people expect some type of radical re-invention of Apple's products every cycle and that mentality is just downright naive.

If you believe the MBA to be a wireless word processor, then this machine obviously is not for you. Until the new iMacs or MacPro comes out, this is pretty much my full-time machine running VMWare/XP with all my software developing tools. This machine does more than my old Sony Vaio laptop did with room to breathe. Sure, it will not handle full OpenGL video games but that is not the intent of the MBA. The new models with the NVidia chip though should bring make it more of a contender.

I love my four-month-old MBA. Will probably upgrade on the next revision on the hope maybe they double the onboard RAM to 4GB.
 
gkarris said:
Wow, the hostility in this thread.

I love the Air, wish I can afford one. The new graphics chip will make the thing run really well.

And for those that complain about price, check out these Sony light-notes:

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...Id=8198552921644570897&parentCategoryId=16154

Not really much a savings there... :eek:
Click to expand...

I agree that pitchforks original comment is worthless, however I also just check the link to the Sony Vaio and have to say that it seems superior in all specs compared to the Air, except thinness maybe. It can be configured with MUCH faster CPU, can be had with a super high resolution screen (higher than the Macbook Pro in fact!), can be had with super fast drives up to 7200 rpm, and with all those options is still cheaper than the air. If Windows wouldn't suck I would buy prefer this over the Air anytime. Given that Windows DOES suck, I will go for the Air.
 
well i dont f*cking get it i mean what is the difference? i dont see anything from here it's like we're comparing two macbooks with just a simple speed stuff update.. Funny huh...:confused:
 
MacLadybug said:
Ran XBench on mine and got 126.54... must admit that the SSD must really zoom! My 6 month old BlackBook, same processor speed and ram as my Alum got a little over 76. Interesting.
Click to expand...

Weird, my original Blackbook (Core Duo 2.0 GHz) with 2 GB RAM and a 160GB Seagate Momentus (5400rpm) gave me 91.53 in Xbench 1.3, running all the tests available.

And that's with a System re-installed half a year ago, running for 8 hours and 14 other apps open plus lots of stuff in the menu bar. Keep in mind this machine is more than 2 years old. Well ok, the guts and keyboar have been replaced a couple of times, but the hardware is still the same.
 
potatochips said:
No, I think pitchfork's post makes a strong point about how there's quite a bit lacking on this model, except for the screen size (minimal difference) yet, it costs so much more. I know this is a "Breakthrough" in technology as far as the thinnest ever, but that still doesn't make a valid reason for a price hike, due to the fact that it's basically a wireless word processor. email, doing the books and....................................well, that pretty much covers it.
Click to expand...

Eh, no. Did you bother reading the thread? The 1.8GHz model is benchmarking in MB/MBP territory.

From another user:

http://db.xbench.com/merge.xhtml?doc...49&doc2=316883

I did an xbench against the Macbook Air that was just uploaded and my Macbook Pro 2.6, 7200RPM, Nvidia 8600 GT system
Click to expand...

Compare other laptops in this weight range and see what you get:

Thinkpad X300: 1.3GHz, GMA X3100, starts around $2K

Voodoo Envy 133: 1.8GHz (older SP7700, not Penryn), 64GB SSD, 3.4lbs, $3300 this configuration

Samsung X360: 800Mhz Centrino2 ULV, X4500 graphics, starts around $2K and goes up from there.
 
MrCrowbar said:
Weird, my original Blackbook (Core Duo 2.0 GHz) with 2 GB RAM and a 160GB Seagate Momentus (5400rpm) gave me 91.53 in Xbench 1.3, running all the tests available.
Click to expand...

I passed the Blackbook to my husband... if he wouldn't have needed a notebook, I would have just kept it. It works beautifully, but I am loving the Alum as well. And I do love the weight difference. That's what's so enticing about the Air. But back to the XBench thing, I really don't know much about what it's testing, I need to read up on it to understand it better.
 
sflocal said:
Nonsense. Pitchfork was being rude and from his post, was obviously ranting/whining and did not do his homework. The SSD option is still a more pricey option compared to a HD base model. SSD still commands a premium even though the prices are falling down more now. So the new MBA looks the same as the old model. Who cares? It's still in my opinion one of the best-looking and well-made notebooks out there. Get over yourself people. In this context, it's what's inside that counts and the graphics upgrade alone will make a huge improvement with the performance.

I wouldn't be surprised if the MBA is offered next year as an SSD-only model.

This is a well-made evolution of the previous MBA. Certain people expect some type of radical re-invention of Apple's products every cycle and that mentality is just downright naive.

If you believe the MBA to be a wireless word processor, then this machine obviously is not for you. Until the new iMacs or MacPro comes out, this is pretty much my full-time machine running VMWare/XP with all my software developing tools. This machine does more than my old Sony Vaio laptop did with room to breathe. Sure, it will not handle full OpenGL video games but that is not the intent of the MBA. The new models with the NVidia chip though should bring make it more of a contender.

I love my four-month-old MBA. Will probably upgrade on the next revision on the hope maybe they double the onboard RAM to 4GB.
Click to expand...

No, I'm not looking at it as "needing to be a radical change". SSD is a nice feature. But, funtionality is more worthy because you can install an SSD in a MacBook or MacBook Pro as well. The MacBook Air is a good experimental unit. But, I don't feel it's a machine that needs to be on the market at the current price. And as far as hoping for 4GB RAM? why, so you can run your Microsoft Office/Quickbooks faster than ever? The price should match the Mini. It's a large iPod Touch that has a physical keyboard.
 
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