Everyone knows it’s small and light. But the two features that have surprised me the most about the MacBook Air are:
- Best – The SSD drive makes certain things ridiculously fast. Launching applications, rebooting, waking from sleep – all of these take a fraction of the time they take on my MacBook Pro or PowerMac G5 Quad.
- Worst – The length of time that the battery takes to charge is absurd. This is particularly painful for me since I’m treating it as my travel/portable machine. When I have a layover, I like to find an outlet and recharge. With the MacBook Air, the benefits of this seem to be slight.
I also miss the little battery indicator on the outside of the case – probably because I’m constantly wondering how close the thing is to being charged up. 🙂
I’ve also been checking out possible “everyday” bags for the Air – no need to carry my big ol’ 17″ sized Timbuk2. I ordered a small Coder which fits it nicely, but doesn’t leave much room for anything else and doesn’t have the extra cargo room I’d hoped for1. I’m likely to return it.
I think a vertical configuration might work well for the Air. The Waterfield SleeveCase (vertical) is an interesting option, as is the Booq Boa slimcase M. Brian is checking out this one, which looks very nice but isn’t vertical.
Any other Air users out there have bag suggestions?
UPDATE: this Tom Bihn bag looks like a possibility as well.
- The photos were not very clear on the interior of the bag. [back]
Tekkeon claims they offer a magsafe connector for their MyPowerAll, but the pictures show two of the old barrel adapters.
http://www.tekkeon.c[...]powerall.php
I heard somewhere, maybe MacBreak Weekly, that the charge times for the MacBook Air are ridiculously long but only for the first several times. Apparently they were suggesting that your charge times will come down into acceptable-land after the battery wears in a bit.
I’ve been using the Oakley Vertical 2.0 Computer bag that I picked up @ the Apple store a few months back: http://oakley.com/pd/3110
with the Air. While designed for the 15 or 13 macbook, it holds a power charger, power cable, etc.. It’s extrememly rugged and has been holding up to daily commutes and travel.
Looks like the 2.0 has been discontinued, and has been replaced with: http://oakley.com/pd/5477
I bought a WaterField RacerX for my Air and it’s perfect for me. Not too big, not too small. It stays upright do to a weighted/solid rectangular bottom, which is really nice – it makes it a little heavier but it’s worth knowing it’s not going to tip over. The Air is in a zippered pocket and is padded by a piece of material that is velcroed to either side of the pocket it is in. The other zippered pocket is big enough to hold the charger, my cradlepoint PHS, a usb hub, a medium sized ora book, a tiny usb HD (for time machine) and some other misc stuff. It’s small enough that I have to think about what I want to keep in it, but not small enough that I have to leave anything important behind.
I bought the black version with leather handles.
The charge time on my Air has gotten better (I’ve had it for a month now). I use it away from power daily, but I don’t travel much, so the long charge times haven’t bothered me. My first trip with the Air is coming up soon, so I guess I’ll find out.
One thing that I don’t see much in reviews is the small AC adapter. It really matters when considering the size and weight of your notebook and the Air’s is definitely smaller/lighter than the Macbook’s.
I can’t believe I spelled ‘due’ as ‘do’.
One of the best notebooks I have ever seen, maybe they will replace the battery with a newer version that charges longer in the future but other than that I love it!!