We got some hands-on time with the new 13.3" and 11.6" MacBook Airs following Apple's "Back to the Mac" event. Both devices are incredibly thin and light, but the 11.6" version stole the show. The machine is practically netbook-sized (but don't tell Steve Jobs or Tim Cook we said that, as they seem to have a seething hatred for netbooks), but has a full-sized keyboard and almost-full-sized trackpad. The 13.3" model seemed like a monster by comparison, though as a previous MacBook Air owner, I really like the new design.
I was mistaken in my comment during the liveblog—the new MacBook Airs have ports on both the right and left sides. On the right, there's the mini-DisplayPort (which can output to a 27" monitor) as well as one USB port, and on the left, there's a MagSafe port, USB, and audio ports.
For scale, here's a blurry pic that someone else took of me holding the 11.6" MacBook Air:
The two machines next to each other:
And on top of each other:
Some (but not all) questions from our readers were answered by the Apple PR people standing by. Yes, both Air models come with glossy screens, and you can get them both with either 2GB or 4GB of RAM built in. You cannot upgrade the RAM though—you must order it at the capacity you want it, or else you're out of luck.
The "instant on" capabilities that Steve Jobs touted during the event are indeed sweet, but the feature only works from standby—it's not quite so instant if you power the machine off. The rep we spoke to wasn't sure of the resolution of the FaceTime cameras that come built-in, but the FaceTime app does appear to work with the e-mail address protocol:
Bonus photo of Jonathan Ive hanging around in the media briefing area:
What other questions do you have about the new MacBook Airs? We have an 11.6" version in hand already for review, and will have a 13.3" version soon. Let us know what you want us to investigate during our time with the machines.
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