WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR
I had the itch for a new mobile computer. I value being abe to take my digital life with me from home to office and beyond. I'd had a series of machines my employer - a ThinkPad, then an HP netbook, then an iPad 3G. I also have a CR-48 Chromebook I received from Google and of course a Windows desktop PC.
The ThinkPad integrated fairly well with our corporate environment, but it was heavy and didn't have awesome battery life. I liked how much smaller and lighter the netbook was. I enjoy commuting by bicycle and I was much more likely to throw it into a pannier or a backpack for the 15 mile ride. The iPad 3G was and is a dream for most email and basic web surfing. The 10 hour battery and always connectedness of 3G is amazing. At one point I thought it was a laptop replacement. I was also becoming won over by the simplicity and intuitive nature of iOS.
I made a few week long business trips using the iPad as my only mobile computer. Again, email, web browsing and even some basic reporting was awesome but after a couple of these trips I began to find limitations.
First, we have several important pieces of corporate software that are hard or impossible to access from an iPad. I even tried a few RDP apps but never really found those satisfying. Even some fairly simple things like accessing shared corporate calendars was challenging without a laptop. While the CR-48 shared the iPads great battery life it also shared the iPads limited access to important software. Plus it was a boat anchor. So I decided to look at new options.
I wanted something light, something with great battery life and something that echoed the clean feel and function of the iPad. Enter the MacBook Air.
SPECS
I bought the base model machine - $999, 11" screen, 64GB Flash storage, 1.4Ghz Core 2 processor. After doing research online and making the sale to my wife I walked into the Apple Store ready to buy. I was pleasantly surprised to find an offer for a free (after rebate) wireless printer with purchase. The printer is still in the box but I'll set it up one of these days and whip up a review.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I'll begin by making a nod to what I won't be talking about in this review - the Mac OS. A long-time Windows user, Mac OS has taken me some time to get used to. There are things I love and things I miss from Windows, but all that is fodder for a future post.
Focusing on the hardware, several things standout as winners as well as a few personal disappointments.
Winners
The machine looks and feels well built. I love the unibody design, in part I think because it IS cool and in part because Apple did a good job of TELLING me that it is cool. The screen is nice and bright and the trackpad is fantastic - large (although I'm surprised at how I already want it to be larger) and responsive. The machine also starts up super fast, almost as fast as the CR-48. This really surprised me.
Another thing I was jazzed about was the after sale service I received when I did have a problem. After about 10 days the power cord was failing to establish a consistent connection with the device. I made an appointment for the Apple Store, walked in the next day and 5 minutes into my appointment was given a new power cable, no charge. It was the experience I would have designed for myself to have. I was even able to let my son play some educational games at a bank of iMacs while I spoke with the store employee.
Disappointments
My first and biggest disappointment is battery life. I can get 5+ hours as advertised but only with the screen at or below half brightness. To be fair this was in the fine print but I didn't realize how dim half brightness is. If this is important to you, make sure you play with the brightness settings in the store to get a feel for what it will mean. Also, I recognize I'm spoiled with the iPad and the CR-48 and that even 4 hours is a great battery time compared to other machines. All I can say is that once you've tasted 8-10 hour battery life it's hard to go back. I could have gone with the 13" version which promises an extra 2 hours of battery life but I was set on the smaller form factor.
Second, while the screen is nice and bright (when turned up) the lack of edge to edge glass as found on other Apple notebooks makes it feel more fragile and harder to clean. To be fair it doesn't pick up fingerprints.
Finally, I didn't know I would miss the lack of a backlit keyboard but I do. My ThinkPad had a work light next to the webcam that illuminated the keys making typing easier in low light conditions. I know having a backlit keyboard would mean even more of a strain on battery life but it would be great as an option you could turn on or off.
SUMMARY
Overall, the only big surprise for me was what I had to give up in screen brightness for a 5+ hour battery life. Unlike the iPad, which I actually prefer to use at a lower brightness setting much of the time, I almost always want to use the Air at 85% brightness.
Day to day I now use the Air more than my iPad since I do prefer a physical keyboard and the ability to RDP to my Windows machine without feeling like I'm compromising the experience. When I'm on the road I use the iPad extensively because of it's battery life, 3G access and simple UI. I pull the MacBook out for a couple hours each evening.
In the end I'm happy with the machine and feel it was money well spent.
Disclosure - I paid for this product with my own money and was not paid to write this review.
Disclosure - I paid for this product with my own money and was not paid to write this review.
