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Criteria
Comments
Rating
- Speed and features Speed is fine. Although I think it would have been nice if they hadn't deleted the SD card slot, which they have in the 13", there seems to be room for it.
- Design and form factor The design & form factor is top-notch. I especially love the full-sized illuminated keyboard.
- Battery life Not spectacular but for it's size, I'd say more than adequate for the the intended use, but keep the adapter in the car at least when needed.
- Display Excellent display. They could have made the bevel smaller, to add almost another diagonal inch, but this is nit picking.
- Durability No personal experience, but there are reports from both friends & online about how easy it is to damage the LCD, even without breaking the glass itself.
- Expandability None whatsoever. What comes out of the gate is it!
- Noise So far it is the quietest computer I've owned. Using an SSD removes a significant cause of noise I guess.
- Portability (size / weight) It is slightly bigger (but thinner) than a windows netbook, but having a full sized keyboard is a good trade-off for me.
Detailed review
The MacBook Air 11" delivers what you expect in the size & form factor it comes in. It isn't a spectacular performer and lacks a LOT of ports that power users come to expect, but this isn't what it was designed for. The MBA 11" is designed PRIMARILY for portability and it does that job very well. It's weight & size makes it extremely portable... imagine, it's only 1.5x the weight of an iPad 3G 1st Gen.
The MBA 11" makes the case for owning a Macbook Pro 15 or 17" instead of a 13", and having the former as your travel machine.
Many (average users) complain that there is no CD/DVD drive. Personally, I use my optical drive maybe once every 1 to 2 months. USBs & the Cloud seem to be the norm these days.
One thing I am worried about with this machine is it's possible "delicateness". I'm not sure how flimsy it really is, but I'm not taking any chances, and neither should you either. There is one report where he accidentally dropped his power adapter on the keyboard near the power button from a height of 7" and it caused lines and a whole area of dead pixels just opposite to the site of trauma. No damage to the case or the glass or denting, yet it screwed up the LCD bad.
For many power users, the 256Gb SSD is hardly enough. Since it is hard wired into the logic board, there's really no way to upgrade it. Thus, an external hard drive is the obvious way to go. I just wish they come out with the Thunderbolt-ready hard drives. This will make your MBA a powerful machine, without taking up a USB port.
One unexpected problem with the MBA 11" is it is in a bit awkward size for the usual computer bags that are available. It's too large for the standard netbook bags, and it's too small for the 13" devices.
All in all, this machine is a typical Apple product, able to accomplish what it was designed to do, and a little bit more with a killer design and form factor, but sometimes sacrificing some durability for aesthetics.
The MBA 11" makes the case for owning a Macbook Pro 15 or 17" instead of a 13", and having the former as your travel machine.
Many (average users) complain that there is no CD/DVD drive. Personally, I use my optical drive maybe once every 1 to 2 months. USBs & the Cloud seem to be the norm these days.
One thing I am worried about with this machine is it's possible "delicateness". I'm not sure how flimsy it really is, but I'm not taking any chances, and neither should you either. There is one report where he accidentally dropped his power adapter on the keyboard near the power button from a height of 7" and it caused lines and a whole area of dead pixels just opposite to the site of trauma. No damage to the case or the glass or denting, yet it screwed up the LCD bad.
For many power users, the 256Gb SSD is hardly enough. Since it is hard wired into the logic board, there's really no way to upgrade it. Thus, an external hard drive is the obvious way to go. I just wish they come out with the Thunderbolt-ready hard drives. This will make your MBA a powerful machine, without taking up a USB port.
One unexpected problem with the MBA 11" is it is in a bit awkward size for the usual computer bags that are available. It's too large for the standard netbook bags, and it's too small for the 13" devices.
All in all, this machine is a typical Apple product, able to accomplish what it was designed to do, and a little bit more with a killer design and form factor, but sometimes sacrificing some durability for aesthetics.
good review!
1 person found this review helpful
review history
- 2011-09-07
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Updated detailed review