Apple MacBook Air review
in Laptops
Verdict
Eye-catching, but the meagre specification and lack of features harm the Air's prospects.
Review Date: 17 Sep 2008
Reviewed By: Mike Jennings
Price when reviewed: £1,020 (£1,173 inc VAT)
Overall Rating
Features & Design
Value for Money
Performance
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Part Code | MB003B/A |
| Review Date | 17 Sep 2008 |
| Price ex VAT | £1,020 |
| Price inc VAT | £1,173 |
| Overall rating |
|
| Features & Design |
|
| Value for Money |
|
| Performance |
|
| Warranty | |
|---|---|
| Warranty | 1 yr return to base |
| Physical specifications | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 315 x 226 x 21mm (WDH) |
| Weight | 1.400kg |
| Travelling weight | 1.9kg |
| Processor and memory | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 |
| Motherboard chipset | Intel GM965 |
| RAM capacity | 2.00GB |
| SODIMM sockets free | 0 |
| SODIMM sockets total | 0 |
| Screen and video | |
|---|---|
| Screen size | 13.3in |
| Resolution screen horizontal | 1,280 |
| Resolution screen vertical | 800 |
| Resolution | 1280 x 800 |
| Graphics chipset | Intel GMA X3100 |
| Graphics card RAM | 144MB |
| VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 0 |
| HDMI outputs | 0 |
| S-Video outputs | 0 |
| DVI-I outputs | 1 |
| DVI-D outputs | 0 |
| DisplayPort outputs | 0 |
| Drives | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 80GB |
| Hard disk usable capacity | 74GB |
| Spindle speed | 4,200RPM |
| Internal disk interface | Parallel ATA |
| Hard disk | Samsung HS082HB |
| Optical disc technology | None |
| Optical drive | None |
| Battery capacity | 5,200mAh |
| Networking | |
|---|---|
| Wired adapter speed | N/A |
| 802.11a support |
|
| 802.11b support |
|
| 802.11g support |
|
| 802.11 draft-n support |
|
| Other Features | |
|---|---|
| Wireless hardware on/off switch |
|
| Wireless key-combination switch |
|
| Modem |
|
| USB ports (downstream) | 1 |
| PS/2 mouse port |
|
| 9-pin serial ports | 0 |
| Parallel ports | 0 |
| Optical S/PDIF audio output ports | 0 |
| Electrical S/PDIF audio ports | 0 |
| 3.5mm audio jacks | 1 |
| SD card reader |
|
| Memory Stick reader |
|
| MMC (multimedia card) reader |
|
| Smart Media reader |
|
| Compact Flash reader |
|
| xD-card reader |
|
| Pointing device type | Touchpad |
| Audio chipset | Realtek HD Audio |
| Speaker location | Base |
| Hardware volume control? |
|
| Integrated microphone? |
|
| Integrated webcam? |
|
| Operating system and software | |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Mac OS X 10.5 |
| OS family | Mac OS X |
| Recovery method | Recovery disc |
| Software supplied | Time Machine, Safari, iLife 08, Dashboard, iChat, GarageBand, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD |
| Battery and performance tests | |
|---|---|
| Battery life, light use | 4hr 41min |
| Battery life, heavy use | 1hr 41min |
| Overall application benchmark score | 0.60 |
| 3D performance (crysis) low settings | Fail |
| 3D performance setting | Fail |
From around the web
Latest Laptops Reviews
Compare reviews: Laptops
advertisement
Most Commented Reviews
More From PC Pro
Latest News Stories 
- LinkedIn revenue doubles as membership soars
- Kodak kills off cameras
- UK broadband project spending £1m on legal fees
- Microsoft: Windows on ARM won't be sold separately
- Intel pays five hours of profits to settle antitrust case
- Windows 8 on ARM to run desktop apps... but only Office
- Ofcom dithers over plans to tackle broadband slamming
- Data boost bolsters Vodafone revenue
- Google working on cloud storage system
- Lenovo's profit leaps 54% on market gains
Latest Blog Posts
- Chrome's shine getting lost in translation
- BytePac: the cardboard hard disk enclosure
- How tech loosens our grip on reality
- Hokum watch: Safer Internet Day
- Why I'm deleting Adobe from my PC
- Prepare to be patronised: it's Safer Internet Day
- Dear Sony, Samsung and every other tech company in the world: stop trying to be Apple
- Will Apple's Final Cut Pro X update placate the pros?
- Smartr Contacts for iPhone review
- Switching to Office 365's Outlook Web App
Latest Features
- The ultimate guide to passwords
- How Apple lulls Mac owners into a false sense of security
- Privacy - outdated luxury or public necessity?
- Building the bionic man
- The making of open-source software
- Top 10 stupid security stories of 2011
- 10 techs to watch in 2012
- PC Pro's favourite tech products of 2011
- 10 most read articles on PC Pro in 2011
- 50 ways to make your PC better
Latest Real World Computing
- Why virtualisation hasn't slowed the growth of data
- How to make Google AdWords work for your business
- The curse of sloppily written software
- Paying for your crimes with Bitcoin
- Behind the scenes: tech support for Formula 1
- The security risk of fat fingers
- Why Windows Phone 7 isn't quite ready for business
- When will Microsoft stop fiddling with Windows 8?
- Flash down the pan?
- Metro Style apps vs desktop applications
advertisement
Sponsored Links
Printed from www.pcpro.co.uk