Gadget Finder

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

MacBook Air, I'm in looove

I've been thinking about getting a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air over the past few days. My Acer Ferrari's been with me for about 6 years now and it's time to retire it. The Ferrari was the most highly specced laptop in the world at the time and is actually still very nice to use. I have no complaints even after 6 long years. I really loved the Ferrari coz it just looks so special and they're also my favorite team in Formula 1. Here's how my old Ferrari laptop looks like.
Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos


The problem is, parts were slowly failing. The 1st thing to fail many years ago was the Super DVD drive. I got around that by using an external DVD drive. Then the 4 USB ports died and I got around it by using a PCMCIA USB card. Next to fail was the Multi card reader, battery and recently the bluetooth module. The bluetooth module was the last straw as I use it for tethering to my iPhone 3Gs so I can connect to the internet. I thought of just adding a USB bluetooth dongle but it's not gonna be very stable as the PCMCIA USB card doesn't handle multiple things very well. Anyway, the Ferrari still works very well with Wifi so I guess I'll just use it for serving up online recipes in the kitchen.

After spending a few days thinking about it, I decided on a MacBook Pro 13". I wanted something small and compact for mobility as I spend a lot of time in coffee shops. It has to be reasonably powerful so I can do photo editing while I'm out enjoying my coffee. So................off I went shopping for a 13" MacBook Pro. I knew there were strong rumors about the new revision MacBook Pros coming out on 13th April but they also mentioned that the 13" model wouldn't be revised. I'm happy with the current specifications and it's not like any new revision is gonna make my web surfing more enjoyable or even make my photo editing faster by light years. I'm too high on caffeine while at the coffee shop to be doing any high speed editing anyway. Haha. However............... the MacBook Pro 13" was completely out of stock at the Mac shops around my place. They all had the higher spec 2.53ghz model but the price was already at the MacBook Air level. By then I was all set to take a new laptop home, I wasn't gonna go home empty handed. I couldn't handle the thought of using the old Ferrari for another day. Hehe.

So........... I decided to take a looooooooovely, sexy MacBook Air home with me. I only needed a few minutes to decide after holding them both up. The Air felt so much nicer and lighter. I love the thin construction. It's absolutely beautiful. Here's my sexy new laptop at home. Hehehe.
Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos

Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos







It's so sexy, I just had to keep her looking good at all times with a wee bit of protection. Here's the speck SeeThru case I bought. I chose the translucent 1 so it doesn't alter the nice aluminum look of the MacBook Air.
Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos

Photobucket






Here's how it looks like with the speck case.
Photobucket





I've spent the past 2 days learning my way around Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iPhoto 09. My Mac experience started with the original iPhone a few years back. I loved it so much, I got myself a G5 PowerMac for my desktop. I never really got down to using the G5 seriously as it's kinda underpowered and I never learned how to use iPhoto on it. After spending the past 2 days digging around and trying it out, I absolutely love it. It's just perfect, the way a computer should be. I'm in looooooooooooove.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I have also been looking longingly at the Air especially as Apple didn't come up with a netbook (idiots, they really lost out on a market there) and instead came out with a flaky iPad that doesn't run a full OS, doesn't have any usb slots, no SD slots to increase memory, hang on that's almost the problem with the Air isn't it?
The 13" MB pro is too heavy to lug around if you are going to be travelling a lot, so the Air might just do if they brought the price down a bit. Anyway, what decided you to go for the Air when there is just a vague possibility that it will be upgraded at some point as yet to be fathomed??? Just tired of waiting for a MAc netbook like me?

Sir Cake said...

You're going to love it, except when it can't keep up with you (which is not often, but frustrating nonetheless). You can always get it Ferrarified if you want to ... http://tinyurl.com/y6tbnw9

I don't know that I'd keep the Speck case. It adds an awful lot of weight to some fairly delicate hinges.

Ian Ho said...

abriwin, I chose the Air coz it's nice n light. The thin design is just sooooooooo sexy. I'm ok with the connectivity as I have an external DVD drive and all I need is that 1 USB port for my multi card reader.

I have a monster desktop PC so the Air is only for me to use when I'm out and about. My PC spec is- Water cooled Quad core, 8gb ram, 3 way SLI and 30" Apple Cinema Display. So I have very realistic expectations when it comes to laptops. I dont expect them to be like my desktop. Most people are disappointed only coz of their own overblown expectations.

SIr Cake, I'm very happy with it. Just hafta keep our expectations in check. If I were to compare everything to my desktop PC, there's no laptop in this world that'll suit me. Hehe. I know about the Colorware company but I really dont like paint on my Mac stuff. I love the bare aluminum, it's just soooooo sexy. I'm ok with the speck case. In fact I love it. Nice clean look while providing protection from scratches n dents.

Sherry said...

I can't afford mac

Ian Ho said...

Sherry, it's actually pretty affordable nowadays. Just look at the price of the latest MacBook Pros. The 13" model starts from a lowly rm3899. That's a fantastic price for a fantastic laptop.

If ur a college student, u get a really big discount too.