MacBook Air Long Term Hardware Review

IanFogg | June 09, 2008, 02:25 PM

I've been using a MacBook Air for three weeks as my main computer at work and at home (plus I've used a MBA on and off since it came out). So, I'm going to publish a few entries covering how well the Air has worked. First up, I'll cover the physical characteristics of the MBA.

Overall, I'm impressed, the MBA is the ideal computer size. It has a large screen and keyboard but is light and thin. I'd love to see Apple extend the Air range, with models sporting 11 inch and 15 inch screens, but remaining super thin and light.

The Good:
- The screen is outstanding. I've used other LED displays but none has been as bright and clear as the MBA. I suspect a large part of the high price of the MBA goes towards paying for this screen. It's worth it.
- The full size keyboard is a joy to type on (with one caveat below).
- The MBA is really light. 1.3Kg is well below the average for laptops. It may not be the lightest laptop, which is why Apple markets its slimness rather than its weight, but I suspect the MBA is the lightest laptop with a 13 inch screen.
- isight camera and microphone pick-ups work well for Skype calls.
- Power supply is really flexible and small. Apple are one of the few device makers that really seem to understand that the size/weight of needed accessories are as important as the device. The MBA PSU can be carried without part of the lead, leading to a really neat unit to put into a bag.
- Backlit keyboard. This sounds like a gimmick, but combined with the MBA's weight, makes the MBA ideal for use in bed (!). Plus, I've found that working at home in the evening it saves the distraction of being forced to stop, turn the light on to see the keyboard, and then realising the time. With the MBA, the keyboard light comes on, and I don't notice the hour. This is good for productivity, if not for sleep.

Irritating but can live with:
- Keyboard is a US layout, as have all Apple keyboards been for many years. It's easy to get used to, but swapping back and forth between this and a British keyboard leads to typing mistakes, mostly transposing @ and "
- No microphone socket, so skype calls can only be made with speaker. I hoped that the 3.5mm jack would work like an iPhone and deliver a combo mic+headset output, but it doesn't seem to.
- Only one USB port. I've taken to carrying a USB2 hub with me.
- No ethernet on-board, so need a USB dongle for that too.
- Non-standard monitor socket = another dongle to carry.
- Small and slow hard drive. I've realised that if I only carry around essential documents (no photos, no music, no videos) then everything does fit. And, for those, there are some really small external USB hard drives available cheaply. In Mac OS, the speed of the hard drive isn't noticeable in my experience.

Main issue:
- Sometimes in use, the MBA runs very very hot mainly when the processor is working at max. At other times the MBA is fine and one of the coolest laptops to touch that I've used. If the MBA is thought of as a highly portable laptop, rather than a desktop replacement, this won't be a problem. But Apple should update the CPU with a cooler Intel "Penryn"-based processor sooner rather than later.

Bottom line - this is a great machine. It's an ideal second computer, or an ideal first computer for those without big photo, music or video collections. In time, the hard drive size problem will disappear as storage is miniaturised further.