Mac Air 13' Reviews!! Please ?

Forums › Mac OS › Mac Air 13' Reviews!! Please ?

allblur

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Master Geek
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#80487 31-Mar-2011 22:18

Hi everyone!! I've been thinking about the need for a laptop that would be good for carrying around and light enough to not be noticed.
I know there are other brands out there but since this is the Mac forum I might as well talk only about the Air.
So for anyone that has used an air, Preferably the second version, What do you think of the performance? I'm thinking of the 13", would there be any difference between 1.86ghz or the 2.13ghz? I mean its only 300mhz if you think about it, and i have tried overclocking some cpu's and it doesn't seem like that much a difference.

There is also the battery life, it states 10 hours on normal usage, i know it says "up to" but, on average how long does it last for? Say if i turned it on 85% and used it to listen to music, surf the web and do some gaming, will it last at least 5 hours?

Another thing is the portability, do you notice it in the bag? or do most of you mac users buy a special case for it?

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions!!

nakedmolerat

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#453974 31-Mar-2011 22:45

i have mac air 11 inch, 1.6ghz, 128 flash drive and 4GB memory (max all spec for 11inch). i found it snappy enough for my usage and the size is just perfect. in term of performance, i believe the 13 inch is better than the 11 inch model plus you have the extra sd card slot.

for me, the battery lasted between 4-5 hours with wifi on at all time. screen is set at 70% brightness.

i put my air in one of the kathmandu 13 inch sleeve and throw it into my kathmandu backpack when travelling. i dont have any special case for it and will never spend money on expensive cases - its not worth it.

allblur

101 posts

Master Geek
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#453975 31-Mar-2011 22:53

haha Glad to hear, and yes i agree on the fact that the 13" had that extra sd slot, which is quite useful at times!!

Oh so kathmandu cases aren't expensive?

corksta

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#453994 31-Mar-2011 23:54

As shown in my signature, my wife has the 11" model and she loves it, and I think it's great too. She just has the base model, but even so it is pretty snappy and handles general use (email, browsing, etc) with absolute ease.

It's so light and easy to use while lying in bed or on the couch. The higher resolution screen is good too.

nakedmolerat

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#453995 1-Apr-2011 00:02

i bought the stock clearance laptop sleeve. i think i pay less than the current advertised sale price ($10 or $15 at the local kathmandu shop). most mac users will 'invest' and buy case, sleeve, screen protector, apple insurance (applecare) and etc in order to 'protect' their toys. i found them unnecessary. how much you love and care for your gadgets, in 2-3 years it will be outdated and you better off sell and upgrade them.

allblur

101 posts

Master Geek
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#453996 1-Apr-2011 00:04

Thanks for the tips! I realised that after my ipod haha, thought it would be the same for macs

gjm

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Ultimate Geek
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#454009 1-Apr-2011 07:26

just got a 13" mac air yesterday so still playing with it but so far Im liking it. Everything feels very snappy and the startup time from sleeping is awsome, just open the lid and its ready to go. I got the standard processor but upgraded the RAM to 4 gig.

Unfortunately you just missed the apple promo where you could get an 8 gig touch and then get a rebate for $387 for it. I bought one then sold it on trademe for $300 in 1/2 hour so thats $687 towards the cost of it.

If you have any specific queries about it let me know and I can test it out for you.

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allblur

101 posts

Master Geek
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#454031 1-Apr-2011 08:52

Aw, Thanks gim, that really was a good chance. Though I wouldn't have gotten the laptop now anyways!

About the Laptop, are you able to test the temperature? See how hot it gets, also will it be usable under bright sunlight?

And also is it hard to hold in one hand and use it with the other?

Cheers !!

gjm

810 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#454032 1-Apr-2011 08:56

yup, will test those things over the weekend and let you know what I find. Can tell you now though that holding in one hand while typing with the other isnt gonna work, its light but its not that light.

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allblur

101 posts

Master Geek
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#454132 1-Apr-2011 11:33

Haha thought so, i tried lifting it up to check its physical weight at the mac stores eh

gjm

810 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#454719 3-Apr-2011 09:09

hey mate, just to let you know, Ive been playing with my Mac all weekend and in answer to your question it has yet to get hot at all. Watching a movie with it on my lap and it only ever felt warmish. The fan hardly even comes on at all to cool it down....benefit of ssd I guess.

Using in bright light (sunshine) is doable but not fantastic. Inside is fine and the screen is great.

Most amazing thing about this is how fast it feels. Sure it doesnt have the latest processor in it but it still feels fast as, even with lots of apps open at same time. Im not into video editing or anything that would really tax it so not sure how it would perform under those conditions but for what I do, it feels super fast.

Hope that helps you a bit

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allblur

101 posts

Master Geek
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#454740 3-Apr-2011 10:16

Hmmm, Thanks so much for testing it out, does make me feel more confident about buying one now haha. Well in that case it is decently fast!! I've worked with SSD's and i do know the speed of it.

Just one last thing, whats the worst battery life you've encountered with the 13" ? Hopefully you understand that, umm how long does the battery last, at least?

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gjm

810 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#455049 4-Apr-2011 11:34

was playing with Mac yesterday while not plugged into mains and I think it was on for about 7 hours before I had to plug it in. That was with web browsing, wifi, some music on in the background etc. Was thoroughly impressed. Could prob do more if you turned screen brightness down a bit or didnt have to use wifi.

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allblur

101 posts

Master Geek
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#455372 5-Apr-2011 00:27

Oh really? that's impressive! Does lift my hopes up because i have heard some cons about it :(