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Apple MacBook Air MB003LL/A 13.3 Inch Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive)
Rating:  - Great computer but faulty hingeI loved my MBA when I recieved it as a gift in July 2008. I was so pleased with it - great graphics, the "cool" factor, perfect for all I needed it for (as a writer and photographer, the storage was excellent and the application were perfect). However, after having it for only six months, I noticed the screen was wobbling back and forth alarmingly. I was more gentle with it than before - this computer needs a lot of TLC, the lid scratches easily and the screen must be cleaned regularly for fear of the dreaded "fingerprint" marks. In about December, the screen was now wobbling up and down AND side to side. I was very worried about it, but I needed the laptop for my work and studies. I didn't think it was really a problem though, as I had been assured the design was "robust". Then in April 2009 the right side hinge snapped. I was shuttin the screen as I usually do and I heard a loud "snap". I tried to open it once to see if the hardware still worked, and found that everything was in order. It appeared that the hinge had broken through the plastic inverter which joins the base to the lid. I took it into the Apple store here and they informed me that they wouldn't cover it unless I could find the receipt which showed I had paid the tax on the laptop. The next few months were spent trying to track the thing down, and yesterday, when I took it to two separate Apple stores who told me that, whether it was under warranty or not, Apple would not fix the hinge under it as they classed it as "user damage". I dare anyone to type in the words "Macbook Air hinge" into Google and see the problems with the hinge. There are so many people with the same problem that it can't be a coincidence. I live in South Africa, and the Apple stores here state that Apple itself have sent out a blanket statement to ALL Apple stores saying the hinge is classed as "user damage". That very action shows the amount of complaints they must have had regarding this problem. The MBA is a rare computer in South Africa, which adds to the controversy. Apparently, I have seen that the second version of this MBA (the Revolution B) has a different hinge contraption on it, showing that Apple must know about the fault. So, beware if you want to buy this laptop. The technical specs are great (baring the lack of DVD drive, FW and only one USB port - but if you wanted that, then why buy a "cool" computer) and the running speeds are brilliant. However, this issue is simply with Apple's customer service with something which is not the user's fault which I have issue with here. Make sure you buy the Revolution B laptop if you can. On a side note? It'll take R7000 to fix the hinge (the screen and hinge are joined), which I can't afford. That's half the price of the entire laptop. So I'm probably going to buy a different Macbook, one that isn't as powerful but is thicker, sturdier with a DVD RW incorperated. Rating:  - Lighter than Air, But Heavy in QualityI have owned 3 previous Macbooks, and the last one I owned before this one was the the 17in Macbook Pro which was an impressive machine, with an impressive weight. After owning it for a few months I noticed that I would get home and my back would be in agony from carrying so much weight around dally. I decided that was enough was enough, and I went down and I purchased my Macbook Air the day it came out. The Macbook Air is extremely light, thin and pretty sturdy. My back-pain at the end of the day is gone and in fact I constantly forget I have it on my back... one of the only problems I have had with its size is finding a backpack that doesn't weight more than the air itself (I ended up going with the Buzz by Tom Bihn). I have edited THOUSANDS of photos in photoshop, put together movies with iMovie and Final Cut Express, written short stories , watched movies with EyeTV and have done pretty much anything I did on my Macbook Pro. That being said, it is a less powerful machine so I will sometimes see freezes, most which occur in Safari (which I no longer use). I have dropped it, thrown it on my couch, and carried it to 3 countries and 7 states. I seriously cannot understand people who are breaking these.. as I havent treated my exactly well, but I do understand it is a portable computer which are all delicate pieces of machinery. People invariably ask me questions about it when they see my in public, one is "Dont you miss your DVD drive?" And my answer is always no. I have the USB drive to install programs requiring a DVD, which I have needed maybe 5 times total. People wonder how I can watch movies, and you know.. I no longer own any DVDs... I ONLY watch digital movies now.. whats the point of wasting space in my house with DVDs I may watch once or twice. The other question people ask is about the air only having one USB port. Yes, this has been a bit annoying a few times (Especially since the Air has a disabled USB port turned off inside of it), but I have gotten around this by carrying a tiny USB splitter, and have needed to use that maybe 3 times total. I have to admit however that I also have a full MacPro, which I keep all of my files on and that the Macbook Air is my portable office. I move everything that I have on it over the desktop when I am home, and am not sure I would be able to survive with only an 80 GB drive, but as I have 2 terabytes of data, I am sure you would understand why. If you are interested in buying this machine I would suggest staying away from solid state drives for now, as they are more expensive for the size and the failure rate appears to be higher than normal hard drives. However, I LOVE my Air. If you are on the fence, I would suggest getting it! But as with any Apple, I would also get an extra year of Apple Care. Ive only needed it once in the last 10 or so years, but it saved my life (and about 30,000 photos). Rating: - I REGRET Buying it :(I gave it 2 stars just because its an apple product. Don't fool your self you WILL need a cd drive and you will end up buying an external one anyway. its hard drive memory so small, its hardly can enable you to store ANY THING! so I ended up buying the time capsule too. One USB port is never enough and although I knew all these facts before I bought it and I do have another macbook older version I just struggle with this machine constantly. buy the time I am writing this review and after saving all my files on my time capsule, I have only 23 GB left (mostly consumed by the OS and the updates) on my hard drive. the machine getting so slow now and the hard drive is cannot be upgraded. Rating:  - Hot AirLike a lot of people I'm a big fan of Apple products. Previously as a PC owner I appreciated the user friendliness, intuitiveness and reliability of Macs. Therefore it is with great reluctance and disappointment that I write this review of the Mac Book Air. However, let's start off with the positives. First, if you are at all familiar with Macs, I don't need to sell you on the operating system. It's awesome. `Nuff said. Another overwhelmingly positive feature is what most distinguishes the MBA from every other computer: Size. It's incredibly light, portable and surprisingly sturdy. There's no need to worry if you're wondering if this paper thin computer can handle getting tossed around in your backpack. Also, the back light for the keyboard, though superfluous, it definitely adds to that `cool' factor which is trademark of all Apple products. Now that I've gotten all the major positive elements out of the way here's the big reason why I would dissuade you from purchasing this product: Performance. When you first turn on the MBA, it performs at speeds you would expect. However, after about 30 - 45 minutes of use, it gets uncomfortably hot (if it's laying on your lap). If heat was the worst of its problems this would be a very different review, but unfortunately the problems only continue from here. With the heat the computer slows down considerably. Word processing isn't a noticeable problem, but loading software takes irritatingly more time. Internet surfing becomes a frustrating experience as pages take longer and longer to load, plus watching videos and playing on-line games becomes an excruciatingly stultifying experience. If you intend to do simple word processing work and write e-mail on a computer that's very portable then this may be the product for you, but given the price tag, there are plenty of low cost options that can deliver the same service. However, if you intend to do anything that requires more memory and speed, over time those activities become problematic on the MBA. Rating:  - My MacBook Air is great!Well It has been a couple months of constant use, and the hype is all gone over the MacBook Air, so what do I think of it now??? IT IS GREAT!!! Specs for the machine I have: CPU: 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo RAM: 2GB HDD: 80GB ok, ok, let me go through the Pros and Cons. Pros: - Extremely portable - Great battery life - Very light weight Cons: - Only 1 USB port What it is for: - Writing - Web surfing - Light business applications - Travel - Simple graphics editing What it is NOT for: - Video editing - Advanced photo editing - Virtual Machines When it is all said and done, this is a great machine FOR ITS INTENDED USE. A lot of reviews were negative because the reviewers were morons and somehow thought this machine would perform like a $5000 17 MacBook Pro. When you look at this machine for what it is, a super portable and lightweight laptop, it does a great job. I use the machine as my main laptop at work. It is so nice to be able to just pick it up and take it anywhere on campus with no trouble. It's a productivity booster if you figure you can have your laptop with you at all times. I really have not had any issues with this machine as my main machine, and that is saying a lot since I switched to this machine from a top of the line 17 MacBook Pro. I would say for being Apple's first contender in this space, it is a HUGE success, despite some of the asinine reviews I have seen. "no optical drive :(" my response to that is , it's 2008 get a clue. I still think it's amazing they were able to cram everything they did into this machine. |
