Weekend Catchup

Wow, I stepped away for a weekend getaway in Miami and comeback to a boat load of mobile updates:

* Palm Pre sales from first weekend is doin' alright!
* Apple iPhone 3GS announced (basically just a bit faster and bigger all around, nothing crazy)
* No more MacBooks, all Uni-body design are MacBook Pro. Prices for most are dropping (including Air)
* Nokia dropping the bomb on us, making the N97 available tomorrow (6/9/09)in NY and Chi town flagship store

Final thought: for those who didn't listen to me and bought those refurbished iPhone 3G units, you should have waited, these things are going for $99 brand new now for the 8GB model.

Review: MacBook Air (late 2008), Pinnacle of Design

Recently, I got to spend a good amount of time with a brand new MacBook Air (late 2008 updated model), since this blog is not a "computer review" site, I will focus more on the mobility and design of this gorgeous hardware in this entry.

The MacBook Air is a spectacular notebook weighing approximately 3lbs and it's so thin that it almost disappears into thin air if you turn to its side. The first impression when handling the MBA is that it is lightweight yet sturdy and it is the pinnacle of Apple's industrial design philosophy. This laptop is solid, with its entire lowe casing cut out of a solid piece of aluminum, there is no flex and give when handling this ultraportable laptop.

The MBA has packs a powerful punch under its hood. Despite that my review unit only has the lower end 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, it is far more powerful than the previous Sony TX/TZ series (around 1.2 to 1.3GHz) that I am so used to. With a 1066MHz frontside bus upgrade, 120GB 4200RPM HDD and 2GB of DDR3 memory, this little machine zips around OS X Leopard as if I were using my MacBook Pro. The webcam and mic felt even more clear and crisp compared to my MacBook White and MacBook Pro if thats even possible! 13.1" LED display with 1280x800 is very large for an ultraportable machine, however, from a mobile experience standpoint, I could not ask for a better machine with the same performance and feature set.

What I am most taken back by (aside from its amazing mobile form factor) is its design. The designers at Apple has put so much creativity into this laptop that being around it stimulates one's own creativity. Their attention to details like the mic input, the indention around the keyboard to allow a flush fitment and even the magsafe connector angle are a testament of how serious Apple has taken its laptop design. Finished off the MacBook Air with a multi-touch, extra large trackpad makes using this laptop an intuitive and rewarding experience (ie. 2-3-4 finger multi-touch commands).

Overall, the MacBook Air has lived up to its name in my book. I highly recommend anyone who can afford this laptop to go for it. If you want more performance but less money, the new 13" Aluminum MacBook is an excellent alternative (hint: it only weights 4.5lbs!)

MacBook Air Envelope Neoprene Envelope Sleeve

The folks at DesignerSleeves.com has a clever and cool looking neoprene case for MacBook Air owners. Driven by the popular Apple commercial, this is one of the most creative/good looking envelope case I've seen. At $39 (available at Amazon.com), its a bit steep, but nothing is better than pulling this "inter-office" envelope out and set it next to a "red" stapler.

Buy a Mac and Score a Free iPod Touch 8GB

Some of you lucky kids (or grown ups with a student ID) out there will be taking advantage of this sweet offer as yours truly have already exhausted his allowance last September on his slightly out-dated MacBook Pro 2.4GHz and have gotten a 2nd Gen iPod Nano which he has already sold on eBay to help him fund his slightly out-dated technology. So I digress...

Apple Education Store just launched its famous "Back to School" program. You can now get a rebate for a $299 iPod Touch if you buy a qualified iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air between June 3 to Sept 15, 2008. For the money, a White 2.4GHz MacBook is probably the sweetest laptop in its price range, throw in the iPod Touch 8GB just makes this deal that much sweeter. To think current MacBooks w/ 2.4GHz can run neck to neck with my MBP is just something that makes me both happy and sad at the same time.

In anycase, please ignore my jealousy and click through, my academia friends; you are fully within your rights to buy a nice computer for your "education" and a free iPod Touch to boot ain't bad either. Sweet.

Battle of the Ultraportalbe Laptops

Being a “mobile” fanatic, I am always on the lookout for cool portable laptops (albeit I have never actually bought one, and have always said I would). However, I have strictest requirements for my ultraportable standards. It has to 1). look good, 2). have good power (ULV processors just don’t cut the cheese), and 3). Must be under 4lbs.

Based on all the contenders out there, I have three ultraportable laptops on my radar. All three of these machines must have the basic requirements for me:
1. Extremely lightweight, beautifully designed, with razor thin LED-based LCD screen that is also very energy efficient.
2. Real Intel Core2Duo processors
3. Offers solid state drives to save even more battery juice.
4. Built-in Webcam and Mic

Please find my quick comparison below to help you choose the best one for you.

1. MacBook Air - $1,799 (1.6GHz, 80GB HDD) or $3,098 (1.8GHz, 64GB SSD)
Pros: Thinnest laptop ever!
Pros: Georgous design
Pros: Runs OS X and Windows via Bootcamp (its like having 2 machines in one)
Pros: Did I mention it being absolutely goregous?
Pros: Weights in at 3lbs. Lightest 13.3” ultraportable on the market today.
Cons: Weakest CPU of the three. 1.6 and 1.8 is a bit weak
Cons: Weak HDD options (80GB HDD and 64GB SSD)
Cons: Integrated everything: Battery is non-removable (atleast not easily by user), integrated RAM (2GB max), 1.8” HDD (very expensive to upgrade)
Cons: Lack of expansion options (no SD/Memory Card reader), USB drive is known to be too narrow to allow 3G modems to be connected (via Engadget), lack of ethernet
Cons: Lack of a CD/DVD drive built in. So the weight savings is kind of cheated.
Cons: Priced at $1800 and $3100

Bottom line: This newest laptop to date is a statement for the ultra-cool guys or gals (or atleast you can pretend to be).

2. Sony SZ-791 $2,499 ($200 Price Drop already... Did MacBook Air caused it?) Winter 2008 Model
Pros: This beast has the 2.5GHz CPU with 6MB of L2 Cache (that is faster than my MacBook Pro w/ 2.4GHz and 4MB L2 Cache which was the fastest out there). This could be the first laptop to finally able to man-handle Windows Vista.
Pros: Simple minimalist design using carbon fiber with a good business look to it
Pros: Sony always managed to squeeze in so much technology to their design
Cons: Sony’s insane amount of bloat ware
Cons: Priced at $2700

Bottom line: The most powerful laptop on the market today comes with a hefty price tag. I’d take this over MacBook Air, however!


3. Dell XPS M1330 - Price Starting $999 (Well-Equipped at $1,600)
Pros: Sleek design, slot loading DVD drive, very thin and light weight
Pros: Great entry price, starting at $999. Well equipped at around $1600
Pros: Decent CPU power. Up to Core2Duo 2.2GHz
Cons: Must buy 6 cell battery adds more weights (approx 4.5lb) if you upgrade video card.
Cons: Dell quality can be questionable, especially from first batch users
Cons: No option for blue-ray or HD DVD drive

Bottom line: While the best CPU it offers is no longer king of the hill, I would consider this to be the best value/performance/design in this class. I’d take this one if I hadn’t already bought a MB Pro. It would not surprise me to see Dell up the CPU to 2.5/2.6GHz in the next month or two. Winner!

Noteworthy :
Asus EeePC – is a $300-$400 range ultra-compact machine. Running on Linux on a 7” screen with built-in Webcam and Mic, making this the cheapest ultraportable solution bar none. If your objective is just to use a machine to surf the web and check emails on the go and would like to stay below 2.8lbs., this would be it. Again, for its price, it easily blows the Sony UX and Samsung UMPC’s out the water.