I've been a Windows user all my computing life. Starting from Windows 95 to the present Windows 7, I even bore the dreaded Windows ME. I was told I'd be getting a MacBook Air to review; on the one hand I was excited and on the other extremely excited.
You have to take one look at this "more than a netbook, not quite a notebook" computing device to know why. It really does bring a whole new meaning to portable computing. The light weight and thin-form factor make it a pleasure to carry it around.
There isn't a whole lot on and around the MacBook Air (Dh6,000 for 158GB); on one side is the connector for the charger and on the other is a flip panel that features the headphone port, mini display port and a USB port. I thought one USB wouldn't be enough but that was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
With a screen size of 13.3 inches, the piece makes no compromises on the keyboard. The MacBook Air I'm using has a backlit keyboard so I could type away in the dark too.
The trackpads of MacBooks is where they really stand apart and the Air is no exception. With its smooth surface and gestures — which have as much utility as gimmick — I found a distinct dislike developing for the trackpad of my Windows machine. You have to use a MacBook trackpad to believe how good it is.
The battery life is fantastic too. With Wi-Fi connected and screen on medium brightness, I got about 3.5 hours of real use time; the number jumped to about six hours with Wi-Fi off and brightness a little — but not uncomfortably — low.
The MacBook I'm using had a 2.13GHz and 2GB RAM so it was fairly loaded. It worked great for just about everything — even high-definition movies played well. However, the system did get very sluggish a few minutes into the videoconference. The internal fans shot up and the machine became very hot too.
The Mac OS made for a pleasant change. I did enjoy exploring and learning about the new OS but I couldn't help draw comparisons between that and Windows. I know there are many who will disagree with me here, but when I went back to Windows, I did feel more "efficient". Everything took slightly less time; and this is despite my figuring out all the keyboard shortcuts. But operating systems can be a very personal choice and I respect that.
If your needs are basic computing then it's a perfect machine. Don't look at it for heavy performance, though. Pound for pound (and there's not many of that), the MacBook Air is a solid machine that has more benefits than it has compromises.
- Bhavishya Kanjhan is a digital marketing professional and an early adopter of all things digital. Follow his tweets on @bhavishya
