t e c h i e - t a l k s ::: technology at its best

Apple unveiled it’s next generation MacBook — the MacBook Air, at the Macworld Expo 2008. Rumours were going around that Apple will be coming out with a MacBook that will support not only WiFi but also WiMax (and probably HSDPA?) when a sign outside the Macworld Expo read “There’s something in the air.” So were the rumour mongers disappointed?

Well, probably not. Although the MacBook Air did was not equip with WiMax connections, it got a decent upgrade in terms of wireless connectivity. The MacBook Air supports the newest (although not yet reached its final version) WiFi standard, the IEEE 802.11n (aka Draft N). According to Apple, the 802.11n is five times faster than its wireless-g cousin. It also offers a larger coverage through the use of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna. Most consumers usually do not have access to more than 54Mbps (fastest you can go on a wireless-g network) and thus, isn’t it silly to include wireless-n into the MacBook Air (especially when 802.11n is not yet even finalized)?

In my opinion, probably not. Apple’s theme for this year is going wireless. Almost everything about their new products is going wireless. Wireless backups, wireless migrations and even wireless movie rentals. Thus, using wireless-n actually boosts transfer speeds up to 4 times the maximum speed a wireless-g connection can give. Furthermore, Apple foresees that wireless-n will be the next generation WiFi standard that will replace wireless-g (although it is backwards compatible).

Even if you aren’t happy with Apple’s decision to not include WiMax in their MacBook Air, you’ve got to be drooling when you saw the MacBook Air. The MacBook Air measures only 0.76 inch thick! That’s much thinner than your average 2.5″ HDD! On top of that, the MacBook Air has seductive curves which make it a sleek piece of Art. And if you are still unconvinced, the MacBook Air lasts on batteries for a whooping 5 hours! Are you convinced now?

Despite the beauty of the machine (which I presume has already made headlines in many websites), the MacBook Air has one drawback. With 120GB-160GB being a norm HDD size in the notebook market these days, the MacBook Air is left behind in this aspect. I guess this was the trade-off that the people from Apple had to make as they when they chose the 1.8″ HDD to achieve the incredibly-thin notebook.

The MacBook Air will be a hit on the consumer markets. And with the inclusion of wireless-n into the MacBook Air, the doubts that lingered about wireless-n being able to live up to its standards, are slowly clearing and will eventually be accepted as the next generation WiFi standard.