Keepin' it real fake, part CCXLIII: faux MacBook Air review (video)

Our good friends at Shanzai.com have recently got their hands on what they believe to be the king of all MacBook Air KIRFs, and put it through the ringer. Expecting a laugh riot? Not so fast -- what we have here is a pretty decent netbook, apparently. Features include an Intel Atom N280, 13-inch display, good build quality, a form factor similar in size and weight to Apple's original, a real chicklet keyboard, a remote control, and I/O options rivaling the original (including an Ethernet port, two USB ports, and HDMI). Not bad for $260. But don't take our word for it -- peep the video after the break for the whole sordid tale.

See more video at our hub!

[MFfan310 Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:03PM]

I see a Windows key... They can't even copy the keys correctly!

[kingofwale Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:04PM]

Lol, it looks good, until you open the back and see it is all duct-tapped together

[NAME Posted Nov 25th 2009 5:01PM]

@(Unverified)
STFU, he got me at $265, then 2usb, and then again at HDMI

[Don G Posted Nov 25th 2009 8:57PM]

@(Unverified) removable battery??

[DirkDickbutt Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:04PM]

>13"
>Netbook
Engadget, I am disappoint.

[kojo87 Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:24PM]

@(Unverified) its not >13" is is 13" and who made you lord of netbook sizing

[Wallyum Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:47PM]

@(Unverified) It is a netbook because it contains an Intel Atom processor.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:06PM]

just proves how bad apple are

[yulebellow Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:07PM]

@(Unverified)

*is

[alphacrumb Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:43PM]

*isn't

[iLuvvGoogleAndroidz Posted Nov 26th 2009 9:39PM]

@alphacrumb is*

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:06PM]

Peel off all those obnoxious stickers that PC makers love so much and it looks like a decent machine. Not a fan of small netbooks. 13" is perfect for screen size & keyboard/trackpad size.

[Mike Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:27PM]

@(Unverified)

Where can I get one? It looks miles better than the $299 Acer Aspire Ones BB and FS are hawking.

[joe23521 Posted Nov 25th 2009 5:36PM]

@(Unverified)

Might also want to peel off that fake apple sticker on the outside.

[Gas Posted Nov 26th 2009 1:43AM]

@joe23521
I'd also peel off that fake MacBook Pro on the inside.

[yulebellow Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:06PM]

:-( I thought this was a legitimate product maybe coming to mainstream American shelves. That went away when I saw the faux Apple logo.

[CJ100570 Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:12PM]

@(Unverified) You can't be serious! The title tells you all that you need to know. Which part of "Keepin' it real fake, part CCXLIII: faux MacBook Air review (video)" didn't you understand?

[drkmstr104 Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:08PM]

Presenting the Apparu sMacBook Heir!

[Gad Get Posted Nov 25th 2009 7:14PM]

@drkmstr104

LOL! Somewhat contrived, but funny anyway.

[Lorenzo Camargo Jr Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:11PM]

So can this be hacked to run OS X? If so i'll take two!!

[telepheedian Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:21PM]

That's probably the single best KIRF I've seen on this site. Remove the Apple branding and sell it in the States!

[MikeZ Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:30PM]

Same here.
Drop the useless logo and make it available in Europe as well.
Definitely seems like a sweet netbook.

[vicsvenge Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:24PM]

They never include model numbers. I'd very much like to get something like this off ebay.

[poematik14 Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:24PM]

I wonder how it feels to be responsible for making a line of products so appealing and well designed that other companies are jumping over each other trying to imitate it.

[camroncake Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:27PM]

Good luck putting 10.6.2 on there, damn atom processor

[sorryIdontLIKEfruit Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:29PM]

can you smell the fanboy frustration? here we have a computer with fruit on the logo (GOOD!) but it runs XP (BAD!) but its thin, light, and sexy (GOOD!) but its priced so cheap that ALMOST ANYONE could afford one (BAD!). i think poematic14's head just exploded.

[poematik14 Posted Nov 25th 2009 5:07PM]

@sorryIdontLIKEfruit
I never said XP was bad..it is an excellent, stable, basic OS for simple machines and typical office work. And if something is thin, light and sexy means that it succeeds in fulfilling the main design maxims, and is, thus, a superior product.

[sorryIdontLIKEfruit Posted Nov 25th 2009 10:53PM]

@poematik14
thanks for clearing up your non-fanboyism. oh, did you notice your comment got downranked into oblivion?

[DBG Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:29PM]

Most any laptop can run a hacked version of OSX, but that doesn't mean it will run it well. I know Apple makes cash out of their OS by keeping it attached to their proprietary hardware, but man, I would love to see it x86-generic-OSX. It would raise the cost of their user support, but hell they could sell the OS for whatever they wanted to and people would buy it.

[htd Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:31PM]

just brand it 'Hackingtosh Air' and it can sell a million.

[Peytral Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:33PM]

$260? I would buy this if it was debranded!!

[Scripty Posted Nov 27th 2009 9:35AM]

@Peytral a sticker should do the work :)

[cgdavilab Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:36PM]

How gay is that guy's gasp on minute 1:29 on the Youtube video?

[pastrychef Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:45PM]

Too bad it uses GMA500. if it had GMA950 or Ion, it would be a great client for hackintoshing.

[sorryIdontLIKEfruit Posted Nov 26th 2009 1:17AM]

@pastrychef
i think its actually GMA945

[Langdon Alger Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:53PM]

It's got "chicklets" for keys? THAT's got to be awkward.

- Come here you rascally "S"-key!
- *chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp!*

[hahajose Posted Nov 25th 2009 5:00PM]

I already seen one of this on the internet running OS X, there is also a black version

[Wes Steele Posted Nov 25th 2009 5:01PM]

This looks tight. I might buy it and cover up any Apple logos. That would be a great little netbook.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 25th 2009 5:06PM]

i want one any one know where to get one??????

[FuturePastNow Posted Nov 25th 2009 5:08PM]

Is that an MSI X-Slim I see?

[poematik14 Posted Nov 25th 2009 5:12PM]

Actually a chrome Apple logo on top of glossy white/glossy black plastic, like the iPhones, would be a cool look for their lower end white MacBook.

[defensa24 Posted Nov 25th 2009 5:24PM]

No one seems to know where to get one of these...
And I want one really really bad.
(please...someone tell me!)
((I'll give you a dollar))

[max1001 Posted Nov 25th 2009 10:23PM]

@defensa24
http://www.dhgate.com/netbook-pc-mac-air-book-13-3-inch-intel-atom/p-ff808081250bd0d9012516252d892df3.html

[Dr Spaceman Posted Nov 25th 2009 5:41PM]

Why is the screen flickering?

[Langdon Alger Posted Nov 25th 2009 6:31PM]

@Dr Spaceman : Are they based in Asia? Either way, they may be using 25/50Hz PAL/SECAM recording equipment (instead of the 30/60Hz NTSC that we have here). LCD screens produce more or less universally 60Hz output so the recording equipment is a little out of phase with the screen. They're probably using "wacky Asian" camcorders! :P
P.S. I loved you in 30 Rock!

[ran Posted Nov 29th 2009 6:44PM]

@Dr Spaceman CCFL flickers at thousands of time per second which to the naked eyes is not recognizable; however on film (or video nowadays) it can be captured and hence it looks like the screen is flickering on video. LED backlighting does not flicker.

[mike86 Posted Nov 25th 2009 5:57PM]

I'm not sure the guys who reviewed this thing know what they're talking about.

* They called the trackpad a 'mouse pad'
* They were impressed that the 'mouse pad' performed as expected
* The review says the real Macbook Air uses NVIDIA Ion - it doesn't.
* They say "The clone has a nifty pull down cover that reveals HDMI, audio and that extra USB port" ... you mean like this? http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/mac/macbookair/review/ports.jpg

[sorryIdontLIKEfruit Posted Nov 25th 2009 11:00PM]

@mike86
1) no
2) thats not HDMI on the Macbook air
3) see: 1

[mike86 Posted Nov 26th 2009 4:40AM]

@sorryIdontLIKEfruit
I didn't say the MBA had HDMI. They suggested the MBA use the drop-down flap design, which it does.

[Hex Posted Nov 26th 2009 10:33AM]

@mike86

Actually, the new Macbook Airs DO use Nvidia Ion.

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/specs.html