Courtesy

Apple's new MacBook Air promises a wireless laptop experience in a sleek, silvery package. Too bad the world's thinnest notebook is also thin on some common laptop features. Here's a quick look at what's amazing about the Air and what just blows.
 

WHAT'S HOT

Light (and pretty much thick) as a feather. The Air weighs in at a mere 3 pounds and a wafer-thin 0.76 inches at its thickest point for breezy transport. Maybe Apple should have called it a MacPamphlet.

Multi-touch trackpad. Taking a cue from the iPhone, the Air's trackpad lets you pinch, swipe and more for a more “hands-on” approach to what's on the laptop screen. Nice touch, indeed.

A bright idea for the keyboard and screen. The Air has a built-in ambient light sensor so it automatically brightens the screen and backlit keyboard for the best view. Most handy for in-flight computing.

WHAT'S NOT

No Ethernet slot. The Air's all about Wi-Fi, hence no Ethernet port. If you must go wired for the Web, Apple offers a USB Ethernet adapter (available for $29 at store.apple.com).

No optical drive either. Want to play CDs or DVDs on your Air? Tough cheese — Apple would rather you get entertainment downloads with iTunes. You can still get the MacBook Air SuperDrive ($99 at store.apple.com) to handle discs.

The Airy price. The Air starts at $1,799 — $700 more than the cheapest MacBook. Oh, and that starter MacBook also has a 13.3-inch screen and 80GB of hard drive space, yet includes a CD/DVD combo drive the Air lacks.

René A. Guzman | 210SA Contributor