I was curious about how the 11″ MacBook Air compared with the 13″ Air and the iPad. Turns out, it’s an interesting fit right in the middle. See below and the Flickr gallery for some comparison shots.

A few additional thoughts:

• Using it feels like a MacBook, not the usable-but-cramped/can’t-wait-to-get-back-to-a-real-laptop experience I have with my Dell Mini 10 Hackintosh.
• I can do development on this but for longer trips, etc. I’ll probably pack the 13″ (if I don’t sell it) or the 17″.
• I doubt it’s an accident that the Air and the iPad are share nearly identical dimensions. The 11″ Air fits into the Waterfield Muzetto I got for my iPad like it was made for it.
• The 11″ Air is basically a super-netbook with all the capabilities of a MacBook. For now at least, it’s my “always with me” machine.
• My iPad usage has dropped to feed reading at breakfast and watching video on an airplane. I’m sure my daughter will enjoy it.
• The bezel around the monitor on the Air is huge.¹ I want the outer dimensions of my laptop defined solely by the screen size. It looks wrong. It looks like the kind of compromise Apple doesn’t (usually) make.

Overall, a pretty nice machine.

1. This was also my complaint about the original Air design. And the MacBook design. [back]