I have tried a lot of laptops from many major brand, and I am in the position to keep close watch on what is available out there. For that reason, friends, family, officemates, and regular readers ask me to recommend them a laptop when they are looking for one.
Operating systems aside and taking the price tag for consideration (so the new MacBook will never comes to mind), the MacBook Air often beats the competition in my primary hardware category and preference. When mobility is the primary concern, there is nothing on the market that beats the Air for the package. Let me explain why:
Portability
The MacBook Air is still one of the thinnest and lightest laptop on the market for the price tag. The 11-inch variant weighs about 2.38 pounds and that’s as portable as you can get. It is unbelievably thin for a laptop (0.3 inches at its thinnest point), so it will fit in even the smallest bag for those who want to go around as light as possible.
I’m taking the new MacBook out of the list because of the crazy price tag it comes with. You can also consider the Acer Aspire S7, but it can get a little too pricey. There are some Windows hybrid systems that get close, but those either cost too much or have slow Atom processors. They don’t come close to competing with the processor used in the entry-level Air for anywhere near the price.
Battery life is also the highlight of the MacBook Air that makes it snatch the throne. The ability to run for more than 10 hours on a single charge adds to the portability features of the laptop. Almost all of the competing notebook computers don’t even come close as they only run for about 4 to 6 hours.
Software
OSX now has everything that most people need for both working and playing games. The dark age of requiring Windows to get the work done are long gone. Odds are, there is a Mac equivalent that can do task performed on a Windows operating system.
There’s also the ability for Windows to run on the MacBook. The major virtual machine apps on Mac – like Paralells or Bootcamp – make it a breeze in installing Windows on the laptop. Once installed, you can run Windows 8.1 on the MacBook Air similar on any Windows Laptop.
Price
The cheapest MacBook Air you can get is priced at around Php 38,000, and that price is more competitive than many people think. As mentioned earlier, the Aspire S7 is priced around Php 50,000. There’s also the Asus UX305 which wins at the category because it is priced at 35,000.
You can look around laptop shops online and chances are many of the models that approach the size and weight of the MacBook Air will be a lot more expensive.
One of the best portables in its class
Just because I wrote this article doesn’t mean that I am recommending the MacBook Air over the competition. I am merely explaining how it stacks up against similarly priced laptops in the portability section. Those who wants ultrabooks with good performance and that has the ability to run virtually any software, will have a hard time to find another similar laptop at the same price range.
Apple recently released the new MacBook, but with given price range this is still the best. It sacrificed so many specs (ports, keyboard, etc) just to get the name of the “most thinnest and lightest” laptop of the world.
I really don’t expect many of the readers to agree with my thoughts on the MacBook Air. There may be another laptop or two that meet your needs and expectations. If so, leave your choice in the comments section below and share why you prefer that. We may learn a thing or two.
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