Notebook Critic

I have been coveting a MacBook Air since they came out. I finally pulled the trigger on a new old stock sealed Rev B model at a local retailer for $1579 CDN including an in-store 4 year warranty, Canon MP480, Airport Express and Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.

What do I think of it?

• First generation MacBook Air’s came with nicer looking packaging. A little thing, but I was disappointed by my Air’s boring white box.
• Form factor is amazing. Thin, light but solid. It reminds me of the Toshiba Portege R100 I loved a few years ago.
• This is about as revolutionary as…. nothing. It is not revolutionary at all. Similar notebooks have existed for years.
• Despite being sculpted from aluminum there remains a plastic hinge that is less than confidence inspiring – this is especially true in light of many broken hinges that plagued the first generation MacBook Air. Mine developed a hairline crack after a week of light use (no travel).
• The keyboard is terrific, and the automatic backlighting works much better than that on the old MacBook Pros and PowerBooks. When this feature first came out I found it was a distraction, but now it is indispensible.
• Apple still provides a mouse button on the track pad. The Air lacks the new glass touchpad.
• It has a mono speaker. Seriously.
• Battery life was average never surpassing 4 hours with brightness at about 25%. When a $400 CULV based netbook with 4 GB of RAM and 250 GB HDD can get 8 hours on a charge, the MacBook looks like a poor value at $1500.
• Heat is an issue if you actually use the Air. Start watching video and the GPU heats up right away. Use it on a uneven surface and likewise the heat will build up quickly.
• Screen quality is exceptional, particularly when compared to the MacBook – there is a huge difference.
• But screen resolution is mediorce. Budget notebooks are coming out with 1366*768 LED panels in 11″ sizes. Apple can fit more pixels into their 13″ screen.
• Performance is good – but you would have a tough time using this as a primary PC. It is an expensive companion to a more powerful computer. This is not pokey slow like most netbooks.
• Lack of ports is an issue for some – but a week into using it I have not once missed having more ports.
• Most of my concerns are with value for the money.
• Pricing is silly. There is no way that this notebook is worth $1500 in its basic trim. Apple is stuck in 2004 with their pricing strategy – they may not have noticed how many ultraslim notebooks are available in 2009 for much less than the Air. A Lenovo X200 can be had with better specs for $800 CDN.
• Overall, I am not sure that I will be keeping my MacBook Air. I love everything about it except the value equation. At three times the cost of a CULV netbook,I am really struggling with whether or not it is worth it. Even for a big OS X fan like me.

Apple needs to adjust the price on this line. As a companion to a main Mac such as an iMac or MacBook Pro, the current pricing is simply too high. The 13″ MacBook Pro offers a much more practical mobile companion that can actually function very well as a primary computer.

Needless to say, mine is going back to the store.