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The 2011 MacBook Air addresses nearly every concern anyone could lob at its predecessor. It's still light on ports, the missing SD slot on the 11-inch model is a drag, and no, it isn't cheap, but this machine is fast, efficient, and not to be underestimated.

When you combine a sleek ultraportable design with a great display and touchpad then nearly double the performance--without sacrificing battery life--you're left with a winner. You also get an improved backlit keyboard, Thunderbolt support, and the more powerful and versatle Mac OS X Lion.

With just the right combination of portability and power, it is hands-down the best computer I’ve ever owned.

You get a nice chassis with excellent build quality, decent displays that trump every budget laptop we've looked at, and reasonable battery life. If you like thin and light ultraportables, the MacBook Air continues to be one of the best options around.

Apple has built the MacBook Air for what it believes is the sweet spot of the laptop market: people who are over the optical disc, who don't need any more processing power than an Intel Core i5 processor can provide, and who don't need massive amounts of disk space.

The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Thunderbolt) is a formidable player in the ultraportable space, thanks to a Core i5 processor, backlit keyboard, and Thunderbolt port.

In short, that ... decision between prioritizing portability and performance has ... been made for you: the MacBook Air grants you both. Build-quality is reassuringly strong, speed and performance are sufficient for most users, and the ability to drop the Air into a bag ... is a huge advantage.