Apple MacBook Air - 2nd Generation

I recently bought a MacBook Air. I'd told the PC World Salesman what I wanted it for: mainly replaying and reviewing movie files shot during a driving lesson straight back to the pupil while still in the car. It has an SD card slot plus two USB slots.

Now I wonder why I waited so long to own a Mac! Maybe price was something to do with it. It's quick to start up, intuitive and has useful extras like a good pre-loaded movie editor. It also looks and feel superb - the impression I wanted to convey in my driving tuition. (See my videos at YouTube SafedriverN)

It's got a solid state hard drive which increases my confidence re possible rough handling, so not much storage on board. But yesterday I added a Seagate 1 TB drive to store photos etc, and have discovered that my old Seagate 250 Gb portable drive can be reformatted to use as a continuous backup 'time machine' device. Some issues in getting it all to work together initially - but now all OK. Drive manufacturers could still do more to make their products 'plug and play' on Macs.

What's not to like?

Well, I suppose you have to learn a whole new way of thinking and operating when it comes to using the touch pad. But if I'm having a bad day I can always plug in a mouse again ....

Also I had to buy an additional lead to connect a TV/monitor: £25 a throw!

I have had my MBA for just over 2 weeks and it is lightning quick.

I had a black macbook before which was fast but this leaves it standing. Every job it takes on it copes with without a single lag, name me a pc that does that?

I also had a dell pc with windows on and it took 5 - 10 minutes to boot, this take 5 - 10 seconds!!

So inclosing, it is worth the money people, get one today.

It's probly been said a million times but i LOVE using macs. They are so much better than PCs. But when i upgraded to a macbook air i really wasn't expecting the battery life to be so short. I've done everything i should like leaving it to run out and everything, but it really is quite bad. I went to the apple shop and exchanged the battery but the new one is the same within a month.

I want to stick with macs for defs, but they need to sort it i think.

Ive had my MacBook Air for a few months now and I absolutely love it, my best purchase I have ever made and I recommend it to anyone! Everything is perfect on this well designed masterpiece and the best bit for me is the size.

An excellent laptop that fits neatly in the niche between a netbook and a notebook. Nice LED backlit screen, adequate battery life, friendly and powerful operating system. A little expensive.

I have owned a Revision C Air for a couple of months now. The reason for this review is to update a few points , that make the Air a more attractive prospect...

- Since launch, the Macbook Air has had its specifications upgraded (faster CPU, bigger disks) and has attracted a price drop at the same time. It is still not exactly fabulous value for money, but isn't meant to be bought with an eye on economy.

- Earlier models suffered from overheating issues, due to poorly applied internal thermal compound. This has largely been fixed in latest models.

- There are now a number of tweaks, plugins and free bits of software around that can make your Air run better, cooler, and help things like battery life.

And some points I note after extended use:

The Air feels solid, as it is made from aluminium and not plastic.

Battery life is usually between 3 and 4 hours. It can be helped by lowering the screen brightness.

Backlit keyboard is awesome.

The "features" of automatically varying the screen and keyboard brightness according to the ambient room brightness are really irritating.

Speed-wise, its perfectly capable for regular tasks, but its not a gaming machine.

The form factor, thinness and lightness are just great. It really is super-portable.

It comes with a USB<>Ethernet adapter if you have no WIFI. Because of this, if you want an external mouse then a Bluetooth one is more convenient.

And finally...

Yes, the Air has only one USB port, one headphone sockt and one port for connecting an external display. Plus, it has no optical drive.

This is by design - if you don't like these omissions then don't buy one - simple!

I'm reviewing this laptop, not as an owner but as a validation of the Macbook Air as an work of art and a fashion accessory. A friend was rooting through a bag, similar to a laptop bag, but full or books and files, or so I thought, until out slide a Macbook Air that was nestled between a folder and book. My first impressions, wow!! The reason for it's introduction to the evening, was too look at a few video's and photo's, and it looked very classy while he was doing it! Lovely images, very quick and reasonable sound.The Air, doesn't have an immense spec., it gets the job done, like all mac's do, the difference with this is it's a work of art, a triumph of design, for anyone that buys electronic products, a) because they love design, or b) because they want to "look cool," this is the laptop for them.

Battery life is a little poorer than expected for me however as far as I am concerned this is the only bad point to mention about the Apple Mac book air.

Stylish and powerful enough to run some rather large programmes, often 2 to 3 open programmes at the same time however well recommend this apple laptop.

With Apple you get the best of everything, however in this case I think they have compromised by not having a DVD player which is a bad point in my opinion.

Still a great laptop, Light and powerful. Well recommend Apple MacBook Air.

This is an exceptionally expensive fashion statement but judging from the success of Apple's other over-priced fashion statements (iPhone and iPods) this may be a success.

It has a weak processor (1.6 in the cheaper model 1.8 in the top model) at the heart of it's inferior components. The screen isn't x-black or HD giving inferior picture quality to other laptops that are far cheaper. There is no internal disc drive so you have to carry an external drive with you to read media.

With the better model costing over £2000 and not achieving the level of say an £800 Sony Vaio there should be no reason to buy this notebook but I would almost guarantee people will flock to do so.