Apple MacBook Air Announced at MacWorld '08

[Andrew Baxter]

As the rumors suggested, Apple today announced the ultraportable MacBook Air notebook. The MacBook Air is being dubbed the "world's thinnest notebook", and at 0.16" to 0.76" they aren't kidding!

Image courtesy of Gizmodo (view large image)

The Apple MacBook Air has the following specs:

• 13.3" Widescreen LED Backlit (1280 x 800)
• Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz (4MB L2 cache, 800MHz frontside bus)
• 1.8" 80GB HD (same type in iPod) or 64GB SSD option
• Multi-touch trackpad
• 2GB RAM (667MHz DDR2 SDRAM)
• Intel X3100 graphics
• Magnetic latch
• 1 USB 2.0 port, Micro-DVI, Audio out (analog)
• 802.11n wireless
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• iSight camera built-in
• 37 watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
• No optical drive built-in, but SuperDrive accessory available for $99
• Dimensions: 12.8" wide, 8.94" deep, and 0.16" to 0.76" thin
• Weight: 3.0 lbs (1.36 kg)
• $1,799 price point

Apple MacBook Air image courtesy of MacRumors (view large image)

With only one USB port you're limited on what you can attach, but Apple obviously was space challenged with the notebook being so thin. At least you can use BlueTooth for wireless devices since that is built-in. The claimed battery life is 5 hours, no indication under what usage you get that though. The availability will be within the next couple of weeks, you can pre-order from Apple for $1,799 starting price.

More information can be found on the MacBook Air product page at Apple.com.

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[Paul]

Engadget is locked up! OH NOES!

[neonlazer]

lol i noticed that too paul...i want to see a drop durability test!

[justanormalguy]

sounds cool, shame it's way too far out of my price range

[Paul]

Wow... $1799 for the worlds thinnest ultraportable that gets 5 hours of battery life? I expected the price to be much higher. Surely the prices will skyrocket when you add the SSD though, and I would be concerned about the iPod hard drive's performance in this thing.

[darklich]

Now, will the Sony TZ price plunge to a compete?

[sly]

andrew mentioned two different widths. does this mean the new macbook is wedge shaped like the xps 1330`

[kenratboy]

I bet this would not be a good laptop to overclock and open the case to mod. I cannot fathom what the inside must look like (or lack of insides).

[mvisa]

Meh its ok, just not worth the ridiculous price tag.

[Vaiski]

Here's a closer look.