Apple MacBook Air MC966LL/A Price Review

Size: 256GB

219 of 232 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of five stars Comparison to the 2011 Macbook Pro 13″ and a Wifi Drop Problem (resolved), July 29, 2011
By Wayne N See all my reviews This review is from: Apple MacBook Air MC965LL/A 13.3 Inch Laptop (NEWEST VERSION) (Personal Computers) Update November 7, 2011:

There was a firmware update for the MBA that I applied after the 10.7.2 update and it seemed to fixed the wifi drops.
I’ve been testing it for two weeks and so far so good!

The 10.7.2 update resolved the wifi drops for many but others on the Apple forums still dont have luck.

Things I like:

+ Light weight; 2.9 lbs (1.3 kg). You may be able to easily hold it with one hand the MBP 13″ is observably heavier at 4.5 lbs.

+ hard build quality like the MBPs. Chassis is rock hard, no keyboard flex, screen housing is rigid, and the cover has minor flex.

+ Better ergonomics than the MBPs; the palm rest edges do not dig into your wrists like the edges on the MBPs do.

+ Same great multitouch trackpad and the backlit keyboard makes a return.

+ The screen is a pleasure to use with it is high resolution (1440 x 900) and semi gloss finish.
There’s no glass cover so there will be considerably less reflections in comparison to the screen of the MBPs

+ 18 second boot ups and three second shut downs. Resumes from sleep inside three seconds.

+ The two USB 2.0 ports are on reverse sides of the laptop (less clutter than MBP)

+ Speakers are amazingly loud; they can fill up a small room.

+ Runs very cool and it is so calm that you will wonder if the fan is running at all.
I can certainly feel heat 87 degrees F on the MPB 13′s bottom after six hours of use
Where as the MBA 13′s bottom stayed comparatively cool.

+ Runs Windows seven just as cool and silently. (I installed Windows seven via flash drive)

+ Performance is nearly same to the MBP 13″ 2011 on everyday tasks because the Core i5
CPU can turbo increase to 2.7 GHz and the SSD lets for instant application launching.

+ Gaming: it has the same Intel HD Graphics 3000 as the MBP 13″ 2011. I was able to run
Starcraft II smoothly at low settings on native resolution. Medium settings also ran nicely but
You get less FPS throughout big battles. League of Legends ran smoothly at medium settings
30 FPS flat) on native resolution.
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Things I do not like:

IMPORTANT Wifi drops constantly on my unit (skip to the bottom to read more)

The keyboard is shallower and has less travel than the MBP keyboards (you’ll get used to it
Inside some days)

The screen has less color gamut than the MBP 13′s screen. This screen covers only 46 of
SRGB color spectrum where as the MBP 13′s screen covers 77. For image editing,
I could use an external monitor.

The vertical looking at angles are not so great. One minute tilt of the screen causes colors to shift
Considerably (for example: a purple color may change from lavender to light blue as you tilt
The screen rearward or forward). Again, I could use an external monitor for tasks in
Which correct colors are mission important. For everyday use it is not obvious and is
Really easier on the eyes than the glare prone screens of the MBPs.

Not all models come with the same SSD. There are two variations; a Samsung SSD and a
Toshiba SSD. The Samsung SSD considerably outperforms the Toshiba SSD in
Benchmarks (check the AnandTech review)
To check what SSD you have, click on the Apple logo > About this Mac >
More info/system report > Then look on the left hand side and click on “Serial ATA”.
If your SSD’s serial number starts with “SM” it is a Samsung and a “TS” means it is a
Toshiba.

I personally get five hours of battery life max on a single charge while surfing with 10+ tabs open on safari; I got
7 hours doing the same tasks on the MPB 13 2011. My actions included watching
YouTube videos, looking at flash content on tech and news sites, reading/writing email,
And using AIM.

No FaceTime HD Camera (720p) as on the MPBs. The quality difference is, unfortunately,
Obvious.

The integrated microphone is on the side of the laptop instead of over the keyboard
As on the MBP. Throughout Skype calls, my buddies told me that my voice sounded muffled
When using the Air. Using a headset with a mic, I was able to enhance the sound quality.
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Conclusion: Which one should you get?
As a college student, I could recommend the Macbook Pro 13″. The Air is more than able of being a main machine because of it is superb performance and in general good screen. For everyday tasks, it should be snappy and a pleasure to use. But, students will get a $100 discount on the Pro while the Air only gives a $50 discount. That means that there’s a price difference of $150 (for students). The storage space on the Air is restricted (128GB or 256GB) while the Pro comes standard with 320GB. Plus, you may be able to generally add a SSD to the Pro afterward on. The Pro will be the better choice for creative students because it is screen has more color gamut than the Air’s. Lastly, you’re to get a full voltage processor which can make a difference in video encoding or another CPU intensive tasks.

If you aren’t a student:
If you value the extra ports (Ethernet, Firewire, optical drive), a high gamut screen (although more reflective), and the capability to upgrade afterward down the line go for the Pro.
If you prioritize portability (light weight), higher screen resolution, fast boot ups/shut downs, and less reflections go for the Air.

In everyday performance the Air feels faster when booting up and launching applications because of its SSD. In CPU intensive tasks, the Pro will have a slight edge but not much. (the two CPUs are really pretty neck to neck on GeekBench benchmarks). They both have the same graphics chip but note that the Pro will get better battery life (1 2 hours more) than the Air because the Pro has a bigger capacity battery (63.5 watt hours and 50 watt hours)

Unfortunately, my unit is influenced with a wifi drop problem. I do not know if you’ll meet the same issue but if you purchase an Air from an Apple Store, be sure to test the wifi out by using it in many places and connecting to different networks. If you meet any erratic wifi drops inside the 1st 14 days demand a refund or an exchange.

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Update: August 2nd, 2011: After one week of use

I noticed that the laptop gets hot when playing flash content, mainly YouTube videos (720p and 1080p) It may be that Mac OS X Lion doesn’t get with Flash as this extreme heat also occurs on the MBP 13 2011 (running Lion). The fans start roaring pretty loudly and the aluminum panel above the keyboard gets toasty. I would not touch it.
After exiting YouTube, the fans calm down and temperatures drop. For informal use like emailing, web surfing or word processing the laptop runs very cool and calm. In Windows 7, the laptop periodically gets hot while just surfing the web (no YouTube videos) and the fan kicks in , then quiets down after some minutes. It gets hot when watching YouTube videos as on Lion.
Adobe has stated that there was many compatibility issues with Mac OS X Lion. So my assumption is the extreme heat when watching YouTube videos may be remedied when Apple releases updates to Lion (it’s still buggy).

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Update: August third, 2011: Wifi Drop Problem.

I noticed that the MBA can not maintain a stable wifi connection. The connection constantly drops around every 30 minutes of use. Throughout a lengthy 2GB download, the download stopped at least four times and I had to turn the wifi on and off to reconnect. This also occurs in daily handling while surfing the web and also occurs both in OS X Lion and Windows 7. This isn’t a router issue I used a D Link wireless N and a Netgear wireless N router). I have two Sony Vaios, a HP, and Ipad two connected to the same network and they work fine; no drops. The MBP 13 also works good. Switching between the two routers didn’t help. The Air still dropped wifi connections. When the wifi does work, it is fast.

I did a test today at a Starbucks shop and connected to their wifi using the MBA. It dropped the connection every 20 30 minutes. A fast Google search reveals that I’m not alone in this issue. There are many other MBA 2010 users that have the same problem. It could seem right that the new chipsets in the MBA 2011 models could fix it but they obviously haven’t. I tried many trouble shooting techniques as suggested by Apple; both routers are updated to the new firmware, OS X Lion is up to date, and I switched the router channels from six to 1. None of it worked. The laptop continues to drop signal just as usually. This is very disappointing.
I think I’ll keep testing for some more days and return this MBA before the 14 days return policy expires. This issue was recognized by MBA 2010 users and I dislike how Apple hasn’t officially acknowledged that there’s a wifi problem. I will not say that I do not recommend the Air. Purchase it at your risk and be sure to test out the wifi if you do purchase one. Read more ›

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65 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of five stars Great Looks, Speedy Laptop. Gets hot and deafening under average CPU load., August 15, 2011
By Alex Green “alx779″ (Toronto, Canada) See all my reviews This review is from: Apple MacBook Air MC966LL/A 13.3 Inch Laptop (NEWEST VERSION) (Personal Computers) I have been using my new 13″ Macbook Air, 256GB, Core i7 for just over a week and here are my impressions.

First, the good stuff.

The industrial design is totally gorgeous and rock solid. The laptop is thin, light and pleasure to look at.

Screen is 13″ but the resolution is comparable to that of most 15″+ laptops. Perfectly usable for graphic/software development. While Macbook Air uses (supposedly) an inferior TN panel in comparison to Macbook Pro, I didn’t find a drastic difference between the two (I also own a 17″ Macbook Pro). The Air has somewhat smaller looking at angles and possibly not as good colour reproduction, but the differences are subtle. As well, there is many less glare on Air’s “glossy” display in comparison to glossy Macbook Pro.

Performance is great, in many cases it bests the Quad Core i7 17″ Macbook Pro, thanks to its SSD Drive. Startups/shutdowns are super fast and the applications open/close nearly instantly. Having said that, don’t expect to do any serious gaming on this little man. The fitted Intel graphics chip has hard time handling five year old games and is really slower than nVidia chip on the last generation Air.

Expect to get about 4 5 hours of mixed use out of “7 hour” battery. That is what I average while doing many Photoshop and web dev work, browsing, listening to music and looking at some video clips.

Now, the negatives.

Well, it is one negative really, but it’s something I find very annoying. The laptop gets hot when CPU handling approaches 50 and the fan kicks in full blast at 6,000+ RPM.

I 1st noticed the extreme sound when I transferred my data and applications from the time machine backup upon initial setup. The fan stayed on complete time, CPU temperature approached 90C while being only 30 utilized.

I continued to experience high heat/fan sound issues during the week. On occasion it was throughout routine web browsing where many of the websites contained Flash elements. Starting Windows XP in Parallels could now set the fan in motion, again, on occasion hitting 6,000+ rpm. Playing Civilization IV, a pretty old game, had fan going full blast complete time with CPU again reaching 90C. Apple’s own “Cosmos” screensaver brings the CPU temperature up to 80 85C and the fan up to 4500 5000rpm. The most annoying thing none of these tasks taxed the CPU at more than 50!

I did a just bit of research on this subject. There are many discussions on Apple, MacRumours and other forums about extreme heat and fan sound. As well, many report increased heat on their older Apple laptops after upgrading to Lion, so possibly (fingers crossed), there is a patch on the way that will improve thermal management somewhat.

The thought about returning the Air for refund did cross my mind, but I decided to keep it . I’m not a gamer and doing my work (web/mobile development) isn’t taxing on the CPU, but, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect comparatively calm operation on such premium laptop with only 50 CPU handling. I can only hope that Apple is listening and wanting to remedy the problem.

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69 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars Best Macbook to date, August 12, 2011
By iGlaswegian “Z.S” (Scotland) See all my reviews This review is from: Apple MacBook Air MC965LL/A 13.3 Inch Laptop (NEWEST VERSION) (Personal Computers) // var cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYRollOverImg = new Image(); cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYRollOverImg.Src = “ecx.Images amazon.Com/images/I/81yYR2T62ZS._SX320_PHcustomer video vignette_PIvideo reviews bottom,BottomLeft,0,43_OU01_PIcustomer video play active,BottomLeft,130, 12_CR0,0,0,0_.Png”; var cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYpreplay = document.GetElementById(‘cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYpreplayImageId’); if (cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYpreplay) { cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYpreplay.Onmouseover = function() { cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYpreplay.Src = “ecx.Images amazon.Com/images/I/81yYR2T62ZS._SX320_PHcustomer video vignette_PIvideo reviews bottom,BottomLeft,0,43_OU01_PIcustomer video play active,BottomLeft,130, 12_CR0,0,0,0_.Png”; } cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYpreplay.Onmouseout = function() { cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYpreplay.Src = “ecx.Images amazon.Com/images/I/81yYR2T62ZS._SX320_PHcustomer video vignette_PIvideo reviews bottom,BottomLeft,0,43_OU01_PIcustomer video play,BottomLeft,130, 12_CR0,0,0,0_.Png”; } var node = cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYpreplay.ParentNode; var cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYcurrentClick = node.Onclick; node.Onclick = function () { var head = document.GetElementsByTagName(“head”); if (head0) { var logTag = document.CreateElement(‘script’); logTag.Type = “text/javascript”; logTag.Src = “/gp/customer media/du/log.Html/ref=cm_ciu_vr_mo3FDXRV7326VFY?Ie=UTF8&s=CustomerVideoPlay&p=CustomerImage”; head0.AppendChild(logTag); } if (cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYcurrentClick) { return cv_mo3FDXRV7326VFYcurrentClick(); } } } Length:: 7:19 Mins

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