MacBook Air 11.6in and 13.3in
After nearly two years since its introduction, Apple has unveiled its new generation of MacBook Air notebooks.
The new MacBook Air, available in 11in and 13in models, sports the same ultraslim design as its predecessor, measuring just 0.11in at its thinnest point and weighs as little as 1.04kg.
Both models will use glossy LED-backlit screens with a native resolution of 1,366 x 768-pixels for the 11.6in model and 1,440 x 900-pixels for the 13.3in model.
The MacBook Air will come powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processors and equipped with nVidia GeForce 320M graphics.
For storage the MacBook Air will use solid state drives (up to 128GB is possible) that Apple claims is twice as fast as a normal hard drive. Such a move to standardize the SSD technology would allow Apple to get the flash memory cheaper than normal and would ultimately allow it drive down the price of the Air. It could allow for faster boot times and the ability to quickly wake up from sleep mode — perhaps almost as quickly as iPads and iPhones. It would also help Apple achieve a thinner design than previous models.
Like the previous version, the new MacBook Air does not come with an optical drive.
In terms of connectivity, the notebook will feature 802.11n WiFi networking and Bluetooth 2.1 to connect to wireless peripherals.
Apple claims the battery performance of the notebook has been improved, allowing it to last up to five hours of use or 30 days of standby time.
Though small, the MacBook Air features a full-sized keyboard as well as the same glass multi-touch trackpad used on the MacBook Pro.
It also has built-in FaceTime integration with built-in camera, microphone and stereo speakers for making video calls to other Macs as well as iPhone 4 and iPod touch.
The MacBook Air also now has two USB ports and an SD card slot for easier transfer of media files.
The new MacBook Air versions are now available through the local online Apple Store online with prices starting from RM3,299 for the 11.6in base model.
