Apple MacBook Air Released

Apple today unveiled the MacBook Air ultraportable, the world’s thinnest notebook, at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco.

“The MacBook Air measures an unprecedented 0.16-inches at its thinnest point, while its maximum height of 0.76-inches is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks,”� the company’s press release says.

Along with a “spacious trackpad with multi-touch gesture support so users can pinch, rotate and swipe”�, the Apple’s ultraportable has a 13.3-inch (1280×800) LED-backlit widescreen glossy display, a full-size backlit keyboard, an aluminum enclosure, and a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing. The MacBook Air is powered by a 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and includes as standard features 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive or an optional 64GB solid state drive, 802.11n wireless network support, Bluetooth 2.1 technology, the Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics, a micro-DVI port, and a single USB port. Ethernet LAN port and modem connection are provided via external USB adapters.

The MacBook Air, which weighs 3 pounds, has no built-in optical drive. Instead, users can buy an external DVD burner, called the MacBook Air SuperDrive, for $99. The SuperDrive is powered by MacBook Air’s USB port, eliminating the need to carry a separate power adapter.

According to product specifications, the notebook’s battery provides up to 5 hours of run time with Wi-Fi turned on. Update: The Macbook Air’s battery is not user replaceable. If the battery’s ability to hold an electrical charge has diminished, it can be repaired (replaced) “out-of-warranty” by Apple for $129. The repair process normally takes 5 business days.

The new MacBook comes with Mac OS X Leopard operating system and will be shipping in two weeks through the Apple Store, Apple retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $1,799.

The MacBook Air $1,799 configuration includes:

- 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with 1280×800 resolution;
- 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache;
- 800 MHz front-side bus;
- 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM;
- 80GB hard disk drive with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100;
- Micro-DVI port (includes Micro-DVI to VGA and Micro-DVI to DVI Adapters);
- built-in iSight video camera;
- built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- one USB 2.0 port;
- one headphone port;
- multi-touch TrackPad with support for advanced multi-touch gestures including tap, scroll, pinch, rotate and swipe; and
- 45 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

Build-to-order options and accessories include the ability to upgrade to a 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor; 64GB solid state drive, MacBook Air SuperDrive, Apple USB Ethernet Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter, Apple Remote and the AppleCare Protection Plan. Additional build-to-order options also include pre-installed copies of iWork ‘08, Logic Express 8, Final Cut Express 4 and Aperture 1.5.

Apple Store

[…] The miniaturized Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile processor, developed specially for Apple’s MacBook Air ultraportable laptop, will soon be used in notebooks by other computer vendors, PC Advisor reports. […]

[…] This laptop, advertised as “the world’s thinnest notebookâ€� features a 13.3-inch LED backlight display, a modified Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a spacious trackpad with multi-touch gesture support, 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive or an optional 64GB solid state drive, 802.11n wireless connection, Bluetooth 2.1 technology, the Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics, a micro-DVI port, and only one USB port. Ethernet LAN port and modem are provided via external USB adapters. The Macbook Air has no built-in optical drive. The system weighs three pounds and starts at $1,799. […]

[…] Apple this month cut the price of the MacBook Air version with a solid state drive by $500, AppleInsider reports. […]