MacBook Air Reviews From WSJ, Newsweek, USA Today

Some of the first reviews of the brand new MacBook Air have begun to appear in the mainstream press.

Wall Street Journal (Walt Mossberg):

• beautiful, amazingly thin computer, but one whose unusual trade-offs may turn off some frequent travelers.
• It’s impossible to convey in words just how pleasing and surprising this computer feels in the hand. It’s so svelte when closed that it’s a real shock to discover the big screen and keyboard inside.
• while the MacBook Air will be a perfect choice for some travelers, I can’t recommend it for all.
• In my standard battery test, where I disable all power-saving features, set the screen brightness at maximum, turn on the Wi-Fi and play an endless loop of music, the MacBook Air’s battery lasted 3 hours, 24 minutes. That means you could likely get 4.5 hours in a normal work pattern, almost the five hours Apple claims.
• But the MacBook Air has another downside: its screen height. Because of the larger screen, the lid stands higher when opened than on most other subnotebooks. So it isn’t as usable as some competitors when the seat in front of you in coach on a plane is reclined.
• If you value thinness, and a large screen and keyboard in a subnotebook, and don’t watch DVDs on planes or require spare batteries, the MacBook Air might be just the ticket.

Newsweek (Steven Levy):

• The Air is a lithe sheath of aluminum so slim that it can slide under my office door.
• Did I mention that it’s really skinny? When I slip it in the sleeve of my backpack where my six-pound MacBook Pro usually travels, the pocket still looks empty.
• The Air shines most, of course, when it’s out in the open–on an airplane seatback tray, on a conference table, beside your latte in a Starbucks and on your lap when you’re sprawled on the sofa.
• Bonus: the Air doesn’t run as hot as Apple’s other laptops–it’s actually possible to work for an hour with the device on your lap without the feeling that your fertility is at stake.
• These omissions are troubling–especially to someone in a down-turning economy deciding whether to spend a premium sum for a computer with subpremium storage. Still, simply using the MacBook Air, as I’m doing right now in writing this review, is rather copasetic.
• The things that Apple left on were the ingredients for a quality computer. And did I mention how thin it is?

USA Today (Ed Baig):

• The skinny â€" the word can’t be emphasized enough â€"
• But with too few ports, a sealed battery that you can’t replace on your own and no built-in CD/DVD drive, Air is not the ideal laptop for everyone.
• And while battery power is impressive, it pooped out in my tests well short of the best-case, five-hour scenario Apple has been touting.
• As with all new Macs, Air has the latest virus-resistant OS X Leopard operating system. (It puts Windows Vista to shame.)
• Air does not come with the built-in ability to connect to a speedy wireless data network run by various cellular carriers. Jobs told me last week that Apple considered it but that adding the capability would take up room and restrict consumers to a particular carrier.
• Air’s battery life is decent. I got about three hours and 40 minutes as I surfed the Web, used Remote Disc and wrote. The battery died an hour sooner when I watched The Cooler, but I made it through the movie. On a long flight, it would be nice to carry a spare, but unfortunately you can’t replace a battery yourself.