My new 11.6-inch MacBook Air!

This took a lot of deliberation. At least I had decided on which model I would get. It would be the 11.6-inch baseline model with 2GB RAM and a 64GB Solid State Drive. But I simply couldn't make up my mind on how useful it would be to me since I already have an iPad and a fully functional (new keyboard) 13-inch Sony Vaio. I think what pushed my decision-making across the line was the fact that I had $200 in BestBuy gift cards that I could use to purchase it and the trip to Asia next month. My new Apple MacBook Air! I finally went out and bought it.

11.6-inch Apple MacBook Air

I'm posting this entry after plugging in the MacBook Air (MBA) to recharge for the first time. Since getting it yesterday I may have used it for 5 to 6 hours, on and off. My first impressions are WOW! This thing is really zippy, light, and eye candy! The screen resolution is very good for a screen that size. Everything looks clear and clean albeit a little small, some might say. But I like it that way. And, processing times are fast. Everything opens up fast and app switching is a breeze. It is just very very responsive. For a machine running only 2 gigs of RAM and an 'older' Core 2 Duo processor it is way zippier than comparable machines. And this speed is owed mainly to the Solid State Drive.

I had concerns about needing more disk space for my stuff but here's how I analyzed that. This isn't going to be my main computer (I still do most of my work on either the Mac Mini or my Vaio). For stuff I need on the go I will use portable storage and Dropbox, which is a cloud service. I mean, how hard is it to carry a small portable hard drive when you travel? All my music, movies, photos and documents are stuffed in there; all 200 gigs of those. So getting the basic 64 gig model was more sensible also since the 128 gig model would cost me $200 more. Then came the RAM. Most people said 2 gigs of RAM would be enough for the type of computing I do. And even for mid-level computing it is good enough.

The MagSafe power connector which comes with the MBA is very nice too. As opposed to the older model which had many complaints about the connectors breaking, etc. And of course the software reinstall thumb drive is very small and neat. I have seen drives like that on eBay and they are really small in size. I think that would be a neat way to carry data around too since the 11.6-inch MBA doesn't have an SD card reader. Another thing that's missing is a backlit keyboard which would come in handy while working in low light.

So my initial impressions are great. I am looking forward to using this on my trip to Asia next month. I will carry my data on the portable drive and in the cloud. Should be fine! Maybe I need a carrying case for the MBA and my iPad which could replace a bulkier carry-on bag. I'll browse around and hopefully find one that fits my needs. For now though, its all about getting to know my new 11.6-inch MacBook Air a little better.