The MacBook Air

MacBook Air

The Mac Air is the thinnest laptop in the world. At 0.8" thick and just 3 pounds, it is the ultra portable laptop. With a full size keyboard that automatically lights up in low light conditions, and a display that is no less than the MacBook, it is perfect for airline travel.

macbook air lit keyboard

The Next Generation Mac Air

The newly designed MacBook Air (MBA) comes with a larger hard drive and 4x the graphics performance. You can take more of your files with you and delight in the display. The multi touch trackpad is now standard.

Environmentally friendly (free of arsenic and mercury), and constructed from one solid piece of recyclable aluminum, the new Mac Air also meets ENERGY Star requirements.

Port Hatch

Ports are cleverly hidden with a port hatch. It flips down to reveal the three most useful ports.

headphone jack
USB 2.0 port
Mini DisplayPort (for Apple LED Cinema Display)

The new Mini DisplayPort supports DVI (inlcuding dual-link) and VGA video output.

Mac Book Air Models

1.6GHz	1.86GHz
13.3" Screen	13.3" Screen
Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile	Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile
2GB Memory	2GB Memory
1280x800 pixel	1280x800 pixel
120GB SATA hard drive (4200 rpm)	128GB solid-state drive
1066MHz System Bus	1066MHz System Bus
DDR3 SDRAM	DDR3 SDRAM
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M	NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
1 USB Port	1 USB Port
3 lbs	3 lbs
$1,799.00	$2,499.00

Old Mac Air vs New Mac Air

So what are the differences between the old Mac Air and the next generation MBA?

The new Mac Air increased:

system bus from 800MHz to 1066MHz
cache memory from 4MB to 6MB
memory from PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM to DDR3 SDRAM
graphics performance 4x from Intel GMA X3100 to NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
video memory from 144MB to 256 MB
solid-state trackpad to multitouch trackpad

macbook air usb

While the MacBook Air is the thinnest laptop on the market, this portability comes at a cost. If an optical disk drive is important to you, you will want to supplement your Mac Air with the external Mac SuperDrive. Simply plug it into the USB port.

Like the laptop, it is light and portable (the size of a CD case) and allows you to easily install software, play and burn CDs and DVDs (including double-layer DVDs).

If light travel is not your top concern, consider the MacBook or MacBook Pro. A MacBook should suit most of your computing needs. If you plan to run multiple large programs simultaneously, opt for the MacBook Pro.

Return from MacBook Air back to Apple Mac Laptops

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