MacBook Airs Arrive, Unboxing Photos

[citi]

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.

IMHO, the test is slightly flawed because it presents an average of all the scores to come up with the final number. If you are doing graphic intesive work than your score almost triples. On my 1.6/80gb using the whole test, it gave me a 42. When I run it on without the graphics test, it throws it up to 103. Yes I know that the graphics card is better but I have never had a slowdown on watching streaming video or graphics processing.

I don't know what to take from it, but I can tell you for normal office work and occasional photoshop and music stuff, it's pretty fast.

 

[sflocal]

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.

Bootcamp or VMware Fusion will take care of your Windows needs just fine. Works great in fact!

 

[JW8725]

Ok its November now, then December will come and go and in early Jan at the convention I can see this being updated again with the new trackpad as per Macbook. 2 Months I give it.

 

[Shiner]

Bootcamp or VMware Fusion will take care of your Windows needs just fine. Works great in fact!

Classic he didn't even read the guys thread. Can I ask you how bootcamp or VMWARE will help him run MacOSX on his Sony Vaio?

 

[sflocal]

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.

The 4GB wish-list is only due to my running VMware/XP. It's because Windows itself needs at least 1GB just to run decently on a standalone PC, 2GB for WinXP would be preferable. I allocate 1GB to my XP VM and while it runs fine, because I use my MBA for software development and all my tools are Windows-only, having more memory would help out. I just make sure I don't have a bunch of apps running on the VM.

OSX is running fine with the 1GB allocated to it when I have VM running.

If it's just quickbooks or office like you're implying, I would not be needing it. But I actually use my MBA as a real workhorse mobile laptop. And the sturdy aluminum chassis and the very light weight is why I have no complaints paying the premium for it. When I throw it in my motorcycle bag every day, I know it will take a beating and not get flexed out of shape like my previous laptops.

 

[Slurpy2k8]

Maybe their engineers were busy enough with the redesign of their two hottest selling models so they put off the Air and 17" to later dates.

AFAIK, the Air is still unibody.

Thats a laughable justification. I somehow doibt replacing the trackpad would have requires significant resources. And they DIDNT put off the air. They updated it, meaning the next update won't be for quite a while. If they hadn't updated it, obviously this wouldnt be an issue. But the fact is that they did refresh it, and couldnt be bothered to include new trackpad, which is rather pathetic.

 

[HLdan]

Why swap it for the AIR? There is almost no reason to get the AIR anymore with the upgraded and now lighter MB. The foot print is almost the same too with the bezel being so large on the AIR.

The screen quality on the new MacBook became a dealbreaker for me. I just couldn't live with it. I love this notebook, it is definitely the successor to the 12" Powerbook and even more but the limited viewing angle made it all bad for me. It's a great machine for basic computing but screen quality is most important to me and I am business traveler and need thin and light.

 

[sflocal]

Classic he didn't even read the guys thread. Can I ask you how bootcamp or VMWARE will help him run MacOSX on his Sony Vaio?

I read his thread just fine Einstein. I was (politely) reminding him that if he hates to use windows that much, he can use Bootcamp or VMware to bring back those memories of why it sucks or if he has to use something that is windows only.

 

[icymountain]

One question about the new, shipping SSD MBAs...

The MBA gen 1 with SSD was reported to actually offer much less storage (iirc, users were reporting the whole drive showing 55Gb of real space).

What about the new 128Gb SSD ? Is it offering close to 128 Gb storage, or is the actual storage much less ?

Thx.

 

[daneoni]

One question about the new, shipping SSD MBAs...

The MBA gen 1 with SSD was reported to actually offer much less storage (iirc, users were reporting the whole drive showing 55Gb of real space).

What about the new 128Gb SSD ? Is it offering close to 128 Gb storage, or is the actual storage much less ?

Thx.

Formatted storage and actual storage will always differ. Expect the new Air to have around 118 ish GB or less after OS X has been installed

 

[slffl]

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.

Thinness, weight, cache, graphics, OSX vs Vista. Oh but they, the Sony still wins right? I'll take the Air ANYDAY!

 

[mathcolo]

Returned my Alu Macbook today and buying the new Air. Too bad it doesn't have the glass trackpad, I will miss that.

Why? Don't you like the Aluminum MB? It even costs less. The Air even now seems old.

 

[HLdan]

Why? Don't you like the Aluminum MB? It even costs less. The Air even now seems old.

I agree the Alu Macbook is an awesome machine spec-wise but I look at it like I am driving a car. I may be driving a Bentley but what fun would it be to drive it if the windshield is too difficult to look through? For me the windshield clarity comes first and performance comes second.
The new Macbook's screen is way too limited in vertical viewing angles for me to be happy with it. It may be good for some people but just not for me. The Air's screen is undisputedly better at any angle and crisper than the MBP IMO.

 

[Shiner]

Thinness, weight, cache, graphics, OSX vs Vista. Oh but they, the Sony still wins right? I'll take the Air ANYDAY!

First off I love my macs. It seems all I do is rag on them here in the forum but people lets not fudge the numbers.

Thinness-yep the macbook air wins hands down-huge 0.57 inch difference.
MBA 0.16-0.76 inches
Sony vaio 0.99-1.33 inches

Weight-yep macbook air wins-1.14 pounds
MBA 3 pounds
Sony 4.14 pounds

Cache-exactly the same 6MB L2 cache

Graphics- Well they say the macbook air is 5X times faster but that is the old integrated chip. The new chip from intel is about 2.5 times slower than Nvidia. After all it is still integrated and no one will honestly expect huge graphics from either laptop. NOTE-You can add a ATI HD 3470 to the sony laptop. Then it overcomes the integrated chip for the MBA.

Processor-Sony wins hands down no doubt
especially up to 2.8 Ghz processor but for speed it wins across the board

OS-Well this is a personal decision-I say MacOSX but others might feel differently.

So sum up the differences.

If you want a computer that is 0.57 inches thinner, 1 pound lighter, 2.5 times better graphics, slower processor, OS is personal decision. I think actually a hard decision to make depending on what OS you prefer and how much you want to spend.

 

[jackfrost123]

Returned my Alu Macbook today and buying the new Air. Too bad it doesn't have the glass trackpad, I will miss that.

Why did you return it?

Wow, LOOK!

That box is made of a single piece of extruded cardboard!!
I bet that's a unibody cardboard box!!!!

Ha,ha,ha, you made my day man, and a lot of other people's too, great f. comment!!!

Well I doubt anyone here is a mechanical engineer for Apple, so you will only get answers based on speculation.

With that said, I would assume that the differences needed are significant enough that they would need to do a minor case update, and decided against it.

I would wager on that too.



What about the interface of the new hd/ssd is it the same as the previous version, a pata one, or have they gone full sata and hence at least the ssd can be upgreadable?

 

[macbook123]

HDD better than SDD?

I seem to recall that the SSD version benchmarked comparably or even worse than the HDD version of the gen. 1 Air, EVEN for reading and writing. I can't find those tests anymore but do people agree, and do we expect the same with the new one?

 

[macshill]

I bought that Airport Extreme off eBay with all the complete packaging. Some days I dream about putting it all back in the wrapping and box like factory-new just to reopen it and pretend Steve has given me another gift from iHeaven.

Bwa haha!

That, and the fact that the new cardboard box is bigger.

 

[digitalbiker]

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.

I'm not sure you can install an SSD in a MB. I don't exactly know what obstacles you might face but there is no reference of SSD being supported in the MB anywhere.

You definitely can use SSD with a MBP but not MB as far as I can tell.

 

[HLdan]

I'm not sure you can install an SSD in a MB. I don't exactly know what obstacles you might face but there is no reference of SSD being supported in the MB anywhere.

You definitely can use SSD with a MBP but not MB as far as I can tell.

The new Macbook has an SSD BTO option.

 

[MacLadybug]

Yes you can...

I'm not sure you can install an SSD in a MB. I don't exactly know what obstacles you might face but there is no reference of SSD being supported in the MB anywhere.

You definitely can use SSD with a MBP but not MB as far as I can tell.

It's a $600 upgrade for the 128GB SSD on the 2.4 ghz Macbook. Instead I paid the extra $100 for the 320 GB HD.

 

[macaron1]

It sucks it doesn't have the glass trackpad. But it's kinda nice that it doesn't come with the black display bezel.

 

[Yr Blues]

It sucks it doesn't have the glass trackpad. But it's kinda nice that it doesn't come with the black display bezel.

If it had silver chicklets it would be ace! I'm sure the next rev will be just like the Al MacBooks.

 

[weezer160]

I don't think that XBench can call this the "MBAir v2.0". A graphics card was added, a larger standard HD and a display out, but no major redesign. You could call this v1.1.

 

[digitalbiker]

I don't think that XBench can call this the "MBAir v2.0". A graphics card was added, a larger standard HD and a display out, but no major redesign. You could call this v1.1.

What about the updated chipset and CPU. Those are pretty major changes. Core duo to Core2duo. 800 MHZ FSB to 1067 FSB, Faster Ram, etc. Sounds like a version 2 release to me.

 

[sflocal]

I don't think that XBench can call this the "MBAir v2.0". A graphics card was added, a larger standard HD and a display out, but no major redesign. You could call this v1.1.

It may look identical on the outside to the older MBA but it is essentially an entirely new motherboard based on the NVidia chipset and a totally different graphics subsystem. With the faster bus speed, I would certainly qualify this as a v2.0 system!

How's about we put an "NVidia Inisde" sticker on it for ya?