dot.life

MacBook Air - Light and Heavy

• Rory Cellan-Jones
• 18 Feb 08, 11:53 GMT

It started so badly. My first few hours with the MacBook Air were full of frustration as I struggled - and failed - to import data and settings from my old computer. To make this ultra-slim laptop fit into its aluminium casing Apple has had to chuck a lot overboard - including a firewire port - so that means you are completely dependent on wireless technology to import your data or install new software. And for me - and plenty of others as far as I can see from online discussions - Apple's new migration assistant did not work.

But from then on life with the Air just got better and better. I took the laptop with me to Barcelona and used it as my prime tool for all my reporting from Mobile World Congress. Its sheer portability was a joy - when you're racing around a crowded congress site, a 1.4 kg load feels an awful lot better on your back than the 2.4 kg machine I normally carry.

The 13" screen is very bright and clear, there is a fully featured keyboard, and the Air coped with just about everything I threw at it - from checking the web, to editing audio and video, to uploading video via FTP. I had thought that I might miss a few more ports, a DVD-drive, and a removable battery. In fact, only the lack of a spare battery was a worry but every three or four hours I found somewhere to plug in.

The MacBook Air comes with Apple's latest operating system, Leopard, which features some decent - if not dramatic - new features. I also downloaded and installed three applications - iMovie 6 (Apple appears to recognise that iMovie 8 is a backwards step, so makes the later version available as a free download), a free audio editing programme Audacity, and Open Office, the open source productivity programme.

Which brings me to one complaint, common to all Apple computers. Where is the word processor or the spreadsheet? Many years ago Apple's Claris Works software came free with a new computer - now you have to choose to pay £55 for iWork or between £100 and £350 for Microsoft Office.

The MacBook Air certainly wins the battle with the Asus rival when it comes to looks. I was besieged in Barcelona whenever I got the notebook out and started working. As a design object it is a worthy successor to the iMac and iPod which have made Jonathan Ive, Apple's chief designer, such a huge influence on the look and feel of the modern gadget.

It's also a pleasure to use - but at a price. I was trying the version with a Solid State Drive, which costs a ludicrous £829 extra, but even the standard machine with an 80gb hard drive costs £1200. For that money you can get an awful lot of laptop - albeit something rather heavier than the Air - or you can buy half a dozen Asus eee's.

But if money is no object, then the Air lives up to the hype. Just as the iPod was not the first MP3 player and the iPhone was not the first touchscreen phone, the MacBook Air is not the first ultra-slim laptop. But yet again, Apple has succeeded in setting a standard which others will have to try very hard to surpass.