Reviewing the 11-inch MacBook Air

Glenn Reynolds, who edits the Instapundit blog, gives his review of the MacBook Air.

So I cracked and bought the 11″ Macbook Air on Friday. I got the basic, bottom-end model since it’s mostly for web-surfing and column-writing. Conclusions so far:

(1) It’s really small and light. And thin.

(2) The keyboard doesn’t feel little at all.

(3) The screen’s excellent.

(4) Battery life is very good. I spent Sunday afternoon at the Lakeside Tavern writing a Popular Mechanics column on airport security. They don’t have wi-fi, so I was running the broadband EVDO card which uses a lot more power than wi-fi. I was there for a couple of hours, then came home and surfed with it on-and-off for a couple more hours, for a total of maybe 2.5 to 3 hours. Had 48% power left. Not bad at all.

(5) I do most of my column-writing, etc. — basically anything less than a law review article or book chapter — on Google Docs now, but I like having a word processing program. I thought from the reviews that the Mac App Store was already open, but it’s not. So I just downloaded OpenOffice for free instead of buying iWork. Did I mention it was free? Sorry, Apple . . . .

If I didn’t already have a 13″ Macbook Pro, I might have gone for the 13″ Air. It’s better than my Asus netbooks (which are good little computers), especially in terms of the keyboard. Helen hates the small keyboard on those. I don’t mind so much, which is odd, because my hands are size XL and hers are tiny. But this keyboard is like a fullsize Macbook, not like a netbook.

Should your next laptop be something else?

I always read Walter Mossberg's annual computer buying guide. He's the personal technology guru at The Wall Street Journal, and he writes in a way that even I can understand.

This year, he leads off with a curveball: maybe you need something less than a laptop.

If you're looking for a light-duty, highly portable computer, it's worth considering the iPad, which starts at $499, instead of a small laptop. This is especially true if you're in the market for a secondary computer, or one mainly for use on the go. Many owners of iPads, including me, are finding it handily replaces a laptop for numerous tasks, such as Web browsing, email, social-networking, photos, video and music.

It has superior battery life, lighter weight, and it starts instantly. I don't recommend it for people who are creating long documents, especially spreadsheets and presentations, even though it is capable of those tasks. And I don't recommend it for users who require, or prefer, a physical keyboard.

If you don't like the iPad, there will soon be alternatives, Mossberg writes.

For instance, Samsung's Galaxy Tab, which has a 7-inch screen versus the iPad's 10-inch display, and runs Google's Android operating system, will be available this month from major wireless carriers. Sprint, for example, will offer it at $400 with a two-year contract. But some tablet buyers may want to wait till the first half of next year, when many more models will be available, and Apple will likely roll out the second-generation iPad.

And, as for notebooks:

These low-cost, low-powered little Windows computers are losing popularity, but are still available, typically for about $350 to $500. They are being hurt by the rise of tablets and by light but larger laptops. Some buyers also find the screens and keyboards are too cramped. But these are evolving.

Some now have bigger screens and roomier keyboards. And Dell will soon introduce a sort of hybrid netbook-tablet. Called the Inspiron Duo, this model, starting at $499, has both a regular keyboard and a touch screen that flips around when the lid is closed to act like a tablet.

It will be interesting to see how many people find an iPad under the Christmas tree this year.

Reviewing the new MacBook Air

I don't have an iPad, although I can see the day coming. I have a MacBook Pro, which I love and which is too new to replace. When that time comes, it may be that I can have both in the same machine.

Walt Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal's technology guru, has reviewed the new MacBook Air and found:

Some of the nicest, if little discussed, benefits of using an Apple iPad tablet are that it starts instantly, resumes where you left off, and has a long enough battery life that you aren't constantly fretting about running out of juice or looking for a place to plug it in. And it can do a lot of things for which people use laptops.

What if somebody designed an actual laptop that worked this way—you know, a computer with a real keyboard and a larger screen that could run traditional computer software and store more files than an iPad? And what if it was almost as light and portable as an iPad? Well, somebody has, and that somebody is Apple itself.

The new Air, he writes, comes to life almost instantly and yet has tremendous battery life.

In my harsh battery tests, I found the two new Air models almost matched Apple's battery claims, even with all power-saving features turned off, Wi-Fi kept on, the screen on maximum brightness and a continuous loop of music playing. The 11-inch model lasted four hours and 43 minutes, versus Apple's claim of up to five hours. The 13-inch model lasted six hours and 13 minutes, versus Apple's claim of up to seven hours.

It has less storage to make room for its better battery, he notes, a problem for someone needed to store big amounts of video, for example. And other things, like a DVD drive, have to be purchased separately.

"Overall," Mossberg writes, "Apple has done a nice job in making these new MacBook Airs feel more like iPads and iPhones without sacrificing their ability to work like regular computers."