Review: How worth is the new 11-inch Apple MacBook Air

MacBook Air 11-inch, that received hardware and software upgrade on July 20, 2011, is one of the most unique notebooks we have ever. The 11-inch version of MacBook Air along with its 13-inch model was upgraded with a backlit keyboard, Intel Sandy Bridge processor and Thunderbolt port mid this year. The reworked MacBook Air is really a notebook that worth the money you invest in it.

Apple Macbook Air

What is it?

MacBook Air is Apple’s flagship notebook. It has two versions based on screen size; an 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch. Both machines have almost equal tech specs and features except the difference in screen sizes. Apple used to upgrade the devices every year with the most recent technologies and components then available. This year, Apple, as expected by analysts, slotted in Intel Sandy Bridge processors and high-speed Thunderbolt ports on the notebooks. They also got Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, the latest version of Apple’s PC operating system.

Key Features

Notable features of MacBook Air 11-inch are listed below. MacBook Air is definitely one of much-passionate notebooks the market has ever. Let us see what features make MacBook Air really a unique machine.

Intel Sandy Bridge processor: In the 2011 upgrade, Apple added Intel Sandy Bridge processors on its MacBook Airs. We have 1.6 GHz (i5-2467M) dual-core Intel Core i5 processor on MacBook Air 11-inch now. The new processor technology from Intel is meant for better and consistent performance.

Thunderbolt port: Thunderbolt port is a high-speed data transfer standard that Intel developed in association with Apple. The new port technology is meant to compete with USB 3.0 with high speed data transfer. Only few seconds are required to transfer a full HD movie from one Thunderbolt–enabled device to the other, Intel claims.

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: Apple’s latest PC operating system Mac OS X Lion is with more than 250 cutting edge features. Apple announced the software at its Developers Conference in June 2011. Mac OS X Lion offers incredible features like multitouch gestures, iCloud, enhanced web browser and much more.

Backlit keyboard: Apple retained the backlit keyboard on the 2011 upgrades of MacBook Air. The feature was earlier removed by Apple from the notebooks. But following the continuous requests from users, Apple has brought back backlit keyboards on MacBook Airs.

Better storage options: MacBook Air 11-inch has two storage options; 64GB and 128GB. If you wish, you can configure it with 256GB flash memory.

Built-in FaceTime camera: FaceTime is Apple’s official video chatting application. Introduced on iPhones, FaceTime has now reached on Mac computers too. The new MacBook Air is with an integrated FaceTime video camera for video calls.

What’s Innovative?

Apple has upgraded MacBook Air with the most sophisticated technologies this year. Intel Sandy Bridge processor, Thunderbolt port, backlit keyboard, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and FaceTime camera are the most innovative features the new MacBook Air has. It is now arguably the best notebook in the world. The machine is slighter and lighter with the dimensions of 0.3-1.7 x 30 cm 19.2 cm and weight of just 1.08 kg.

Price and Availability

MacBook Air 11-inch is priced at $999 and it is available for grabs at Apple Stores.

The up side

MacBook Air is the most glamorous notebook we have in shelves today. With its lightness and glossy body, the computer has really stolen the hearts of millions of tech geeks. Intel Sandy Bridge processors, Thunderbolt port and Mac OS X Lion make it a smart product.

The down side

MacBook Air is with no SD card slot, 3G and Ethernet port. One another shortfall is that the $999 entry level MacBook Air has the same RAM and internal storage of its 2010 upgrade. Users will have to configure the memory to make the device more dependable.

Our experience

MacBook Air is, certainly, reigning over the notebook market. Most of technology makers are now trying to build their alternatives to MacBook Air. It is enough to realize the influence Apple MacBook Air made on technology world.

The bottomline

MacBook Air has immense popularity in global markets. Thanks to its unrivaled perfection, performance speed and quality, MacBook Air betas all its competitors in a fray. The new upgrade has again increased the capability of MacBook Air making it a gigantic product with Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt port.