There heralds a period when carrying a laptop no longer befits one’s lifestyle. It becomes a bit more misfit when one comes across the advertisement of some device that is thinner, lightweight and more attractive. MacBook Air has been a temptation for many for years. The unibody ultraportable 2010 version has kept buyers in dilemma. The look was stunning on one hand but the ULV processor on the other, made the system slow. But with the latest refresh 2011 version, Apple addresses all the problems, It incorporates intel’s up to the minute Core i5 and i7 processors. A backlit keyboard is also assimilated.
Hardware :
It is very difficult to distinguish the outer fascia of the new version from that of its predecessor. there are two USB ports on the 13 inch model – on the left and the other on the right. But there is a Thunderbold connector included in the fresh version. The 13.3 version of the Macbook has SD card reader. Both the 11 and 13.3 models have WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth version 4.0. There are stereo speakers and the microphone given is bidirectional. the video quality of the webcam is not enhanced and is of VGA resolution.
Keyboard
The Keyboard also underwent changes. The previous generation keyboard had been loose and flappy. The fresh design has keys that are springier. Hence the response is also enhanced. The keys have backlit properties. They lighten up and adjust their illumination in accordance with the ambient light present. The Multitouch track pad is still in its broad avatar.
Display:
The 13.3 inch display has the resolution of 1440 x 900. The larger number of pixels may call for a larger chasis an inch wider and an inch deeper. Contrasts, brightness, viewing angles are impressive on the 13 incher. It also enables coach class viewing for two persons. Be it while browsing or working on a word document, the resolution is pleasing and welcoming, the panel is bright and there is a crispness to its design.
Battery :
MacBook Air has runtime of 5 hours for the 11 inches and upto 7 hours for 13 inches models. This is when one user opens documents; uses mixed browsing, as well as watches some videos with the battery can give a longer runtime.
Thunderbolt :
The new technology incorporated in the MacBook version 2011 is that of the Thunderbolt. It uses intel’s “Light Peak” technology. The bi directional data rate is found to be around 10 Gbps. Apart from mini Display port, it can also configure external drives, RAID arrays as well as other peripheral devices. It can be used as FireWire 800 or Ethernet port, provided one uses the correct cable for the action.
Software and Performance :
OS X Lion is there in it. Lion mixes the concepts of iOS of the iPad and new multitouch gestures with the old fast standby abilities and Resume, which reopens the applications as they were left while closing Dashboard, Expose and spaces are now blended into one entity. The Launchpad exhibits a grid arrangement. The concept of AirDrop is unique. It searches the nearby Lion X user and enables inter lion transfer by dragging and dropping.
The processor is standard Core i5.1.7 GHz processor and 4 GB of RAM. MacBook Air scored a whooping score on the synthetic processor test in comparison to other 11.6 inch Core 2 Duo Model. Multitasking is easy and processing images and videos is faster.
Verdict :
Backlit Keyboard, faster processors, incorporation of Thunderbolt, can give the MacBook the ability to replace a desktop. Integration of 3G/4G WWAN is absent. MacBook Air has both portability and performance in its stride. It is strongly build and the speed is appreciable. The volume it occupies decreased and the lightweight quality helps it an easy carry.