Video: MacBook Air hands-on

Now with real-live multitouch action! Check out the video after the break.

Gallery: Apple MacBook Air first hands-on

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[Brandon @ Jan 15th 2008 3:41PM]

I wonder if this is hardware specific, or if this can be implanted on other hardware. Such as my MBP...

[Imran @ Jan 15th 2008 3:43PM]

I was wondering the same thing, would be nice if it could...

[paperless @ Jan 15th 2008 3:53PM]

Yup ive got the same question here.

[paperless @ Jan 15th 2008 3:54PM]

Yup ive got the same question here.

[Liam @ Jan 15th 2008 4:20PM]

No reason why it couldn't, apart from 'oh but it has a special large trackpad'.

[Hardy @ Jan 15th 2008 4:22PM]

$20 for the software upgrade np

[Noah @ Jan 15th 2008 3:41PM]

Can anyone say useless?

[Towncivilian @ Jan 15th 2008 3:42PM]

Useless. There, I said it.

[Eric M. @ Jan 15th 2008 4:30PM]

I like how its being held in the picture, like its the Holy Grail or something..

[applefreak @ Jan 15th 2008 3:42PM]

what the heck is playing in the back ground?!?!!?!?!?

[Anthony @ Jan 15th 2008 3:50PM]

TRANSFORMERS!

[Jimmy C @ Jan 15th 2008 4:34PM]

Steve forgot to mention that the All Spark comes with 1.1.3...

[Hecktic @ Jan 15th 2008 3:42PM]

OMG you have to watch the MBA walkthru on apple.com, halfway thru the middle the guy say's "the macbook was build for wireless, so instead of watching a DVD thru the optical drive, you can rent it thur itunes"... wow what a selling pitch

[Jeff @ Jan 15th 2008 3:42PM]

No replaceable battery = paperweight

[Ellianth @ Jan 15th 2008 3:54PM]

I don't even think it can pull of being a paper weight.

[jalapeno @ Jan 15th 2008 3:42PM]

Gotta love the background noise, sounds like you guys were in the middle of a battle gingerly playing with your new toy.

[gareth Burleigh @ Jan 15th 2008 5:34PM]

I was listening to the latest Psychic TV album when I started watching the clip and had to check iTunes to see that I had paused it

[xiux @ Jan 15th 2008 3:44PM]

so, how hot is it?? i mean, temperature wise..

[adz12321 @ Jan 15th 2008 5:21PM]

ZOMG so hot it will esplode.....well the macbook had heating problems and im sure there is very little space for a fan in there so.......

[giantenemycrab @ Jan 15th 2008 3:45PM]

It's great looking yeah, but the price is just startling.. Even for Apple... :/

[Pep @ Jan 15th 2008 3:45PM]

I bet my ass the mouse only has one button. Because there's no one more stubborn than Jobs.

[SUPER DESU @ Jan 15th 2008 4:02PM]

You take two fingers and tap the trackpad. Apple solved the "OMG NO RIGHT CLICK BUTTON!!1!" problem a couple of years ago now.

[Pep @ Jan 15th 2008 4:13PM]

And you'd think I didn't know that. But I have to use Windows for work, so Boot Camp would come handy. But I heavily use the right button in Windows, and as I said, due to the stubbornness (or arrogance) of Apple, they refuse to put a second button in the trackpad. So I will keep refusing to buy Mac laptops. Simple as that.

[joey @ Jan 15th 2008 4:31PM]

Or you could buy a $5 usb mouse from walmart...

[awesomehobbes @ Jan 15th 2008 4:53PM]

You should read the comment above. It does do 2 buttons. Not traditionally, but once you get used to it, I think it's better because you can hit it anywhere and it does what you want it. And you know what's better, it installs the drivers to do that in windows through boot camp.

[Dave-o @ Jan 15th 2008 4:57PM]

Um, Pepin? The right mouse button problem is solved in Boot Camp as well. Same method SUPER DESU just described.

I use a Macbook as my primary development machine for both web apps (OS X) and .NET projects (XP). Just drop a second finger on that trackpad and clicky-wicky, context menus!

[Constable Odo @ Jan 15th 2008 5:28PM]

I use Windows XP in BootCamp and two-fingers and click work fine as a second button. Oh what's the point. If you want an effin Windows machine with two buttons then that's it. However, a two button mouse definitely works. Talk about stubborn.

If Apple came out with a two-button machine you wouldn't buy it anyway, since it would be too overpriced for you. Stick with your $699 Acer and live it up.

[nickfawwaz3 @ Jan 15th 2008 7:08PM]

Still, I think he has a point. I get the feeling Apple and microsoft just wants you to do it their way, even if it costs them Windows switchers. That sounds kind of stubborn to me.

[thetinguy @ Jan 16th 2008 12:19AM]

Or buy a mighty mouse. An apple mouse with 4 buttons.

[Zondajag @ Jan 15th 2008 3:45PM]

im pretty sure that thing playing in the background is the transformers movie...sounds about right.

[Giancarlo @ Jan 15th 2008 3:51PM]

Yeah, I was going to say the same.

I already have a MBP...but i Still find myself craving one of these little buggers..

[Esat @ Jan 15th 2008 3:47PM]

sounds like you were recording this in a kitchen of a busy restaurant!

[BASboy @ Jan 15th 2008 4:01PM]

Wow... I don't hear a lot of love for something so incredible. What, are you people jaded?

Battery isn't swappable. SO WHAT? It is 5.5 hours between charges (how long was your battery that is swapable?), instant on, Great Wi-Fi / Blue Tooth and the first of it's kind. So new technology will mean a higher price and be more of a nitch market at first. The prices will come down over time. Plus imagine the not having an actual moving hard drive if you go for the Electronic HD.

Remember when computers and laptops first came out...this was a standard price. If you look at the current Apple Laptops you are paying about $800 more for a brand new technology just out of the box that is thin, light and no compramise on keyboard or screen.
STOP BEING SO CYNICAL PEOPLE.

[Duncan @ Jan 15th 2008 4:12PM]

You are I thinking missing half the reason why everyones upset about the battery, I'll give you a sec to take the fanboy glasses off before continuing....

Done? Good. Batteries don't last as long as one would expect a laptop to last, hence, being able to replace the battery when you've used it to a point where it only lasts an hour would be an advantage. Paying Apple a small fortune to do it isn't quite so attractive and I'm sure it wouldnt be included in the $249 apple care. There isnt that much special technology in it, they've compromised on a lot of things to achieve the weight.

[James @ Jan 15th 2008 4:12PM]

Batteries go to shit after time, when this things battery starts to fade you basically have to get a new one or get apple to replace it... or pop it open yourself and start messing around with things

[Kizorblade @ Jan 15th 2008 4:15PM]

And also to add to your post, 5 hours is rated with wireless on. So it's more then that with wireless off.

[ericabiz @ Jan 15th 2008 4:34PM]

You've got to be kidding me. Thinkpad X61...look it up. I bought mine in May 2007. 3 pounds, 5 hours of battery life, REPLACEABLE battery, swivel screen with full Tablet PC capability, 7200RPM hard drive (no slow-ass 4200RPM crap), replaceable RAM, and Lenovo even managed to figure out how to fit an Ethernet port in there! Amazing! "So incredible!" :P

[Joseph @ Jan 15th 2008 4:55PM]

BASboy, if you live and breath Apple then you will think anyone questioning Steve's products are jaded. But we just open our eyes to all products available and compare the specs. That's realistic, not jaded.

Replaceable batteries are good for two reasons. One is replacing when the useful life deteriorates. Which is fast for laptops. The other reason is for extended batteries. When you need additional power you can install a larger battery. I reached a point where I leave my extended battery in my TZ so I get 11 hours instead of 5 hours.

The specs, other than size, aren't all that impressive for the price. The 64GB SSD adds $1300 to the price; that's a lot of $$$. I saw retrofits at CES that aren't much more & will be out soon. So most PC laptops will soon be able to have an SSD for the sub $1500 price.

One USB port. No firewire. No Ethernet (without a USB dongle adapter $). No optical burner (without an external USB device $$). Slow RPM 80GB HDD (smaller than current competition offerings). All of these features that one can buy in other laptops was left out just to get a thinner laptop. A couple centimeters thicker & the competition has this laptop beat on specs. That includes the new processor as other manufacturers will be using these Intel chips in their lineup in the next few months.

This laptop isn't that revolutionary. That's not jaded or cynical, its realistic.

[wickedpheonix @ Jan 15th 2008 4:58PM]

where's this instant-on feature you refer to?

[wake up! @ Jan 15th 2008 5:09PM]

BA Sboy, wake up!!! Apple is the king of proprietary. From locked down iTunes music to iPod approval for third party products and Apple only replaceable batteries (Airbook, iPod, iPhone).

Apple knows most users dont know how to crack open a device. And they dont want to risk voiding a warranty or breaking their expensive devices. So they send them to Apple to get all their batteries replaced.

100% of almost all customers battery replacements means more money for Apple. Compare that to the possible 50% of battery sales Apple would make if the batteries were easily replaceable. Apples high prices would drive many to buy from other manufacturers for their replacement battery needs. Apple knows this and protects their revenue streams under the guise of design.

Apple's success will continue as long as fanboys look past these restrictive practices.

[Edwin @ Jan 15th 2008 4:02PM]

They didn't release the update for the Macbook Pro because they wanted all the attention to this little air thing. Oh well, i guess we have to wait several months more.

[Mark @ Jan 15th 2008 4:07PM]

My Sony X505 is still the World's Thinnest notebook ever! It has user-replaceable battery, memory and hdd upgradeable, CARBON FIBER body, weighs just 1.73 lbs, 2 usb ports. Plus, it was made in 2003!

[Ethan Fahy @ Jan 15th 2008 4:12PM]

word

[Releaux @ Jan 15th 2008 4:18PM]

What kind of chip you got in there, a dorito?

;-)

[Bruce @ Jan 15th 2008 4:34PM]

CNET has the x505 listed at .8 inches, but other sites have it at .83 or .6 inches. What is the actual thickness?

[Justin Williams @ Jan 15th 2008 4:11PM]

Alot of people just like to complain because the rumors build things up way to much and then they are disappointed. I remember last year everyone yelled and screamed about the iphone not having a replaceable battery but they still sold over 4 million of them. I think this will sell once people get their hands on it. As far as not having a DVD drive, I think the market is going to move away from this, and it takes a product like this to push that forward even more. Dont be surprised when in 6-8 months other companies build devices without them as well. In the end, this wont be for everyone, but it gives apple another product to help build market share, and thats whats important to them in the end. Also, if this does take off it could end up making laptops cheaper because there are less parts involved. Just my thoughts.

[SteveMB @ Jan 15th 2008 5:07PM]

Also, the specs on tis are nothing to write home about. I think the price is a joke.

[mas123 @ Jan 15th 2008 4:12PM]

They should have called this the 'Macbook Lite' that would have reflected the size, weight and features.

[Amani576 @ Jan 15th 2008 4:24PM]

But not it's price
GR

[csjk789 @ Jan 15th 2008 4:13PM]

I'll stick w/ my 2.4 Ghz C2D MBP that can play COD4 and Crysis and have the entire CS3 master collection open at once.