There’s Something in the Air…Unboxing
Posted on 06 March 2008, at 12:36 am, by Mitchell Oke
I’ve been waiting on this for several weeks now, and at last it’s here! Click on the photos for larger versions.
As usual the Apple unboxing experience is very elegant.
As you can see my review unit has been opened before, likely to be sure they didn’t send a lemon 
I received the top-of-the-line model with the 1.8Ghz CPU and 64GB SSD. I was hoping to test the base model since that’s the one most will buy, but I guess I’ll muddle through 
I wasn’t too sure about the black keys, and to be honest I’m still not sure. It’s not ugly by any means, but I can help feeling it would look better with MacBook Pro-style metallic keys.
They are very well spaced and feel great!
Size-wise, it’s not an awful lot smaller than my MacBook Pro.
It’s when you move to this angle that you see the difference!
The display is fabulous, and puts my late-06 MBP screen to shame. Judie was worried about the glossy screen in sunlight, but if it is anything like the screen on the Air you have NOTHING to worry about!
Look back here in a week or two for the full review! I’ll be carrying the Air around as my main laptop for the review period, to give it a thorough test (to university, on the train, etc.). I’m already impressed that it can drive my 22″, 1680×1050 display, something my D400 (small, 12″ Dell) can’t do!
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Macbook Pro - Page 3 - The Australian Magna Club Says:
March 8th, 2008 at 4:35 pm[...] it’s target market needs (email, word, web browsing, that sort of thing) without any hassles. http://www.geardiary.com/2008/.....runboxing/ For your uses though go the MacBook Pro. The bigger screen and discrete graphics card will be of [...]
March 6th, 2008 at 12:39 am
Goodness, that was awesome! Gotta love new hardware!
March 6th, 2008 at 12:42 am
The only problem with reviewing it is I may not want to send it back!
March 6th, 2008 at 12:44 am
nah, you’ll just want a new Pro by the end of the time. You do too much “real work” on your MBP to give it up for the Air.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:45 am
Yeah your right, I REALLY want a new Pro with the better screen/graphics/CPU, and DECENT BATTERY LIFE!
March 6th, 2008 at 8:02 am
I really want one, but I’m not sure why. It’s too big to be a netbook and too underpowered to be a laptop, and yet I have to stop myself daily from ordering one.
March 6th, 2008 at 9:17 am
I’ll take a Asus Eee over this. As James Kendrick said over at jkontherun, small trumps thin.
http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jk.....ps-th.html
The thing about the MacBook Air is it’s STILL 13 inches. I want something that’s smaller and something I can slide in the laptop bag WITH the regular laptop. I COULD do that with the MacBook Air, but I could do that with the Asus Eee AND have more USB ports and more space for other things.
March 6th, 2008 at 9:25 am
all the hype behind this thing is that it`s a Mac…
Sony launched the X505 back in 2004 and it`s still smaller and lighter than this..
i agree that it looks very good.. i love the Mac look, even if i don`t have one yet.. but i think that it`s been advertised just too much.
March 6th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Great pics, Mitch!! I’m looking forward to the full review!
March 6th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
reidme: I’d have to disagree with you there. I’ve been using the Air for about a day now it is is definitely not slow! With the 1.8Ghz CPU and 2GB RAM it flies. I really with I had a 1.6Ghz model to test, since that’s the one I would buy if I were getting one, and the one I would recommend since the SSD model is insanely expensive.
Joel: The problem with devices like the Eee is they have such small screens, which makes it harder to get your work done. The Air may be “bigger”, but it has a great keyboard and screen, so you never feel cramped. With an Eee I’d always want to bring my full-sized laptop in case something came up it couldn’t handle.
n0iz3: Yeah I remember the X505, but it was flawed. Only released in Japan (if I recall correctly), strangled by a small amount of RAM and small HDD, and a hideous price tag on top of that. I have to agree with you the adverts for the Air are getting very annoying.
Chris: Thanks mate!
March 6th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Just added some cliche photos
March 6th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Is that a hot pink envelope lying on your desk?
The Air has never looked so purdy. 
March 6th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Haha, it is actually red but I think I had the cam on manual white balance, so it wan’t calibrated properly
It’s the perfect sleeve for it though!
March 6th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Mitchell, don’t tell me that! I had to fight clicking “Place Order” again today after looking at this unboxing! By underpowered I was thinking more of storage than speed; 80 gb just doesn’t seem enough for a laptop. My iPod has 160 gb for heavens sake. Now don’t convince me otherwise, because that’s all that’s standing between me and another big credit card bill!
March 6th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Last time I talked to someone (Judie) about a laptop, they hit that “Place Order” button, so it’s not looking good
I completely agree with you about the HDD, I have a 250GB drive in my MacBook Pro and I am almost out of space! It’s a shame they couldn’t shoehorn the 160GB iPod drive in.
Wait for my review, it will be up in a week
March 6th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Mark, You have to watch Mitchell. He has picked up my “Do it Do it Do it” mantra.
March 6th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
How about that bottle of Jack Daniels……
March 6th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
You’re making me think about it!!
March 6th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
…that his dad bought him, and he is being extremely judicious about drinking. Believe me – I have quizzed him on it previously.
It’s the mom in me.