苹果MacBook Air（2010）评测  图片集

 

 

（一）原文：

pple MacBook Air (2010) review

 

Thin end of the wedge?

 
Reviewer           Stuart Miles

Review Date        25 October 2010

Manufacturer       Apple

Price as reviewed  ￡1349

Latest price       compare

Full Review

It's beautiful, it's stunning, it's thin, it's like a supermodel. That is probably the best way to describe the MacBook Air to anyone asking. But should you be buying the thinnest MacBook on the planet? We've been living with the new model to find out.

Cast from aluminium, the MacBook Air is "cake cutting" thin with a design that tapers from 17mm at the back to just 3mm at the front, although you've got to also take into account the feet and general sitting on the desk form factor. If you're wondering how that stacks up against a MacBook Pro - that 17mm is roughly the same height as the side of the bigger more powerful laptop, while the thin end when on a desk is the height of a CD jewel case.

With such a thin design the laptop isn't that heavy, and that means a total weight of just over 1.32kg for the 13.3-inch model we've got on test. Against the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro it's almost half the weight (2.56kg), and not surprisingly in the hand it really does feel it. The reason for that massive weight saving is that you've lost not only a large chunk of metal, but a couple of bits of tech as well. There is no optical drive and no regular hard drive either, with the MacBook Air only coming with flash storage options - 128GB or 256GB.

You'll also lose port options as well. There is no Ethernet and no FireWire. You get two USB sockets (one on either side so you can use a mobile broadband dongle or USB drive without taking both ports out at the same time), a Mini DisplayPort socket, SD card reader and a headphone/mic-in socket.

Not only is the design thin, but it's also minimalist. There is no external battery indicator for example, the mic has shifted to the side rather than on the top as in the MacBook Pro range, and the power button is now a physical key within the keyboard rather than a separate one within the casing.

The new laptop might be thin, however the keyboard is still the full size keyboard with 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted "T" arrangement). It's Apple's standard keyboard found in all its MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards, with no more keys than usual. If you're wondering, therefore, where the extra Power key has managed to be slipped in, it's because the eject button has moved one to the left - it's now to be found on the F12 key.

Another loss is Apple's backlit keyboard. If you're used it and you like it, you'll be disappointed that it's not here. Beneath the keyboard, which is both comfortable and easy to use, is a large multitouch clickable trackpad. As with other trackpads in the MacBook and MacBook Pro range it supports inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag capabilities.

Up to the screen and it is crisp, thanks to a maximum 1440 x 900 resolution, and bright thanks to LED backlighting. Above that is a standard Apple webcam - now branded FaceTime Camera. Seemingly hidden beneath the exterior next to the camera is a green LED status that lights up when it's on so you know someone is watching.

Inside there are a range of specs to contend with, however the off the shelf top of the range configuration before customisation sees you getting a 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, 256GB of flash storage, and an Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics card. Like the 13-inch MacBook Pro there is no switchable graphics option.

If you are happy to order your new MacBook Air rather than just walk into a shop and pick one up then you can expand those options with a faster processor - 2.18GHz, and more memory - 4GB. You can't make changes after you've bought the Air, so make sure you get it right when you buy. For the purpose of this review we've been testing the 1.86GHz version with 2GB of RAM.

Turn it on and it's just like a regular Mac of course, and that means all the joys of and annoyances of Mac OS X Snow Leopard. This review relates to the MacBook Air hardware. If you want to see more about Snow Leopard, please read our Snow Leopard review.

So what about the MacBook Air's performance? After hearing the announcementfrom Apple and before we got our hands on the device one of our main concerns was Apple's choice of older, less powerful, processors in the MacBook Air. The processors are the Intel Core 2 Duo not the new Core i models remember. Apple says the choice has been made because the older chips are better at power management, and in reality those fears where unfounded. Mostly we suspect down to the sheer speed of the flash storage.

It's amazing how much of a difference this really makes. To test the new MacBook Air, we transferred an entire desktop, files, and applications from a MacBook Pro almost filling the 256GB of storage space up in the process.

We've then been using it to do regular Pocket-lint work, editing images, writing this review, watching videos, playing games and editing video. As part of the transfer we had to rebuild our Microsoft Entourage database (60,000 emails and counting). This task was around four times quicker than on our 2.53GHz 4GB late 2009 MacBook Pro.

Video editing with iMovie 11 has also been noticeably faster, while loading applications, even though we are almost at capacity for the storage, was also quicker too. As promised by Apple this is a quick and zippy machine, certainly capable of coping with daily tasks like video editing and photo editing as well as watching video and playing games. While we wouldn't recommend it for someone who does video editing on a daily basis, it's good enough for most people.

But it's not just the ability to load applications faster that the SSD helps you with, but battery life as well. Apple promises around 7 hours of use on a single charge and up to 30 days on stand-by.

We have to admit we haven't yet been able to test the 30 days claim, but the 7 hours is about right. Of course it depends on what you do, whether you've got Wi-Fi turned on, but without a mechanical hard drive running in the background you get a longer battery for work, play, or whatever it is you do.

Verdict

On the surface the MacBook Air looks like an expensive option compared to Apple's MacBook Pro that you get off the shelf. In fact, at a quick glance the difference is over ￡500, but to be fair, the off the shelf MacBook Pro doesn't come with the flash storage; an optional upgrade that adds ￡640 to the price tag.

Factor that in and the MacBook Pro's pricing starts to become more realistic considering the lack of optical drive and ports like the Ethernet and FireWire. So what you are actually getting is a fair deal, an expensive one agreed, but it's that move to SSD that is the expensive element here, not necessarily Apple just ripping you off.

When we reviewed the first MacBook Air in February 2008 we slammed it. Why? Because it was overly expensive and it was too ahead of its time when it came to losing the Ethernet socket; all of that, combined with an average battery life, meant we felt it was a model that was never destined to leave the house.

Almost 3 years on and a lot has changed. Wi-Fi is certainly more prevalent (although we still take some issue with the lack of Ethernet socket), the battery life has been drastically improved thanks to software and hardware improvements. Factor that in with a seismic shift to offering music, movies, software and everything else for download online and you can see why the Apple MacBook Air starts to make sense for most people.

So the big question, should you buy or upgrade?

If you want the top of the range, and don't mind losing the optical drive (the OS now comes on a USB drive if you need to reinstall the OS) then you might as well enjoy that extra thinness. Go on, treat yourself. You can always buy an external DVD drive for a couple of quid on eBay when you need it, and it will be worth your time buying the Ethernet adapter if you travel a lot - most hotels still aren't 100 per cent Wi-Fi friendly in our experience.

If you've already got a MacBook Pro and are merely tempted by the lure of the new options and speed, it might be worth just upgrading your hard drive to an SSDdrive instead. It's not the exciting option that you probably want to hear, but a 256GB SSD from Crucial that fits the MacBook Pro costs just under ￡450, and while that's expensive, it's not ￡1500.

The final choice is down to you and what you need, but the overriding good news is that unlike the first MacBook Air outing, this is one to consider rather than just being written off from the start.

（二)中文：

 

国外媒体近日放出了苹果MacBook Air新笔记本的单项测试，结果显示，13.3英寸新MacBook Air笔记本得分和13.3英寸MacBook Pro本想差不多。相比之下，11.6英寸新MacBook Air本得分则要差很多，把它归类为较快的大尺寸iPad更为合适。

　　Geekbench测试软件开发商Primate Labs测试了所有标准配置版的MacBook Air笔记本，包括新款和2008年的老款，并把iPad和13.3英寸MacBook Pro笔记本也加入测试进行对比。

　　Geekbench是一款综合性测试工具，最大的特点是是支持Linux、Mac OS X、Windows 3种平台，是苹果平台上最常用的测试软件。

苹果新款MacBook Air笔记本

 

　　新款13.3英寸MacBook Air笔记本采用的是1.86GHz主频 酷睿2处理器，测试得分显示可以达到13.3英寸MacBook Pro笔记本性能的80%，或者搭配的是2.4GHz和2.66GHz主频处理器。 

　　新款11.6英寸MacBook Air笔记本采用的是1.4GHz主频 酷睿2处理器，性能可以达到13.3英寸2.4GHz主频MacBook Pro笔记本的60%。也就是说，11.6英寸MacBook Air笔记本的性能只是主流本的一半多点，这也验证了11.6英寸MacBook Air只能当作第二台笔记本使用的观点，类似上网本。

　　Geekbench的作者John Poole这样评价到：“你可以从两个角度看11.6英寸MacBook Air本。第一，你可以把它看成是小尺寸、性能更低版本MacBook Pro。第二，你可以把它看成是速度更快、大尺寸的iPad。如果让我选的话，我外出携带会选11.6英寸MacBook Air本，而不是iPad，因为11.6英寸已经足够小。但我担心的是作为主要笔记本电脑使用的话，11.6英寸MacBook Air是否能够足够快。”

硬件设计

 

两位新款的 MacBook Air（11.6 寸以及 13.3 寸）在外观上并没有太惊人的改变，受惠于一体成型铝壳的制造过程，让 MBA 在整体组装上相当扎实，也让他们的耐操程度，比先前的版本要好上一截；身材方面，13.3 寸的 MBA 的三围现在是 33.5 x 22.7 x 0.3-1.7 cm，重量为 1.32 公斤，11.6 寸的 MBA 则为 29.95 x 19.2 x 0.3-1.7 cm，重量为 1.06 公斤。

 

外观上面，13.3" MBA 跟前代相比，大小差没多少，厚度也略薄一点点，不过稍微方正的周身加上切蛋糕更好用的边缘设计，都让他给人一种比前代来的更小的错觉，另一个改变就是将触控板也换成了大玻璃多点触控板；不过也有些组件在新版的 MBA 上面消失，包括屏幕的光感应组件以及键盘的背光，前者问题不大，毕竟使用者或许更能够掌握自己需要的屏幕亮度，后者就有点麻烦了，一旦在低光源、黑压压的环境中使用 MBA，就很难去辨识哪颗按键是哪颗（练盲打吧！）

 

如果说 11.6 寸的版本因为内部空间实在不多，而必须将键盘背光拿掉，那还说的过去，可是连 13.3 寸的 MBA 也没有，就让人感到有点不（能谅）解，毕竟前一代都做到的东西，相当多组件也都是缩小小的新版 13.3" MBA，没能纳入键盘背光着实是让人感到相当失望；除了少了背光、屏幕光感应之外（当然还有厚度、I/O 等等），新版 MBA 跟其它也是以一体成型铝壳打造的 MBs 们并没有啥太大的差异，简单说可以看出来是减肥太成功的纸片人兄弟，键盘跟触控板的使用感觉上也跟其它人没啥差别。

 

硬件规格 / 屏幕

 

很显然，各位想要找游戏笔电的朋友，可以先出门上班了，这里的两台纸片人，不是给你 Online 用的！13.3 寸方面，基本款的规格为频率 1.86GHz 的 Core 2 Duo 处理器、NVIDIA GeForce 320M 整合式 GPU、2GB of RAM 、128GB SSD，最高可以冲到 2.13GHz CPU、4GB RAM、256GB SSD；11.6 寸版本则是 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo 处理器、同样是 GeForce 320M、2GB RAM 以及 64GB SSD，要往上配则可以配到 1.6GHz C2D 处理器、4GB of RAM、128GB，另外要注意的部份，是说 SSD 并没有以一般硬盘装载的方式来处理，反而是跟 iPhone / iPad 上面的快闪储存装置比较接近，同时采用的是 mini-SATA 接口；主站拿来测试的两台 MBA，分别内装 1.4GHz CPU、2GB RAM 以及 128GB SSD 的 11.6 寸版本，13.3 寸为 1.83GHz CPU、2GB RAM、128GB SSD。

I/O 方面，13.3 寸多了 SD 卡槽，而其它部份都差不多，包括两个 USB 埠（同时是放在两边，不会让两个 USB 装置卡在一起）、MagSafe、Mini DisPlayPort 等，网络的部份，受限于以太网络孔的缺乏、不想花钱买 USB 转接头等因素，透过 WiFi 上网大概是最好的办法了；内部的一些重要组件，从电池、内存（RAM）到 SSD，都不是能够让使用者能够轻易自行更换的东西，RAM 更是焊死在逻辑板上，SSD 也有特殊的连接接口。

屏幕方面，13.3 寸的分辨率为 1440 x 900（跟目前 15" 的 MacBook Pro 一样），镜面外加 LED 背光，11.6 寸则为 1366 x 768，一样是闪闪动人的镜面加上 LED 背光；而在 11.6 寸 MBA 上头用了 1366 x 768 这样的分辨率，则会让屏幕上面显示的东西略小，不过除非真的有视力上的问题，否则也不难去适应；至于屏幕本身来说，两台的视角都不错广，同时色彩的重现也都是相当出色，另一个比较让人惊讶的点，是说苹果似乎有在新版 MBA 上面用了新的镜面涂料，让屏幕跟 MBP 相比时，看起来比较没有那么闪，看上去的感觉跟旧版 MBs、MBA 比较接近，色调上也偏紫一点；另外输出显示的部份，以 Mini DisplayPort 输出，最高可以支持到 2560 x 1600。

 

效能 / 续航力

 

CPU 的效能部份，以 Geekbench 和 Xbench 测试的结果，都没有特别出色，这点也没啥意外，但也不能说他们的效能不佳；1.4GHz 版本的 11.6" MBA 看起来确实是比较让人担心一点，虽然他在实际操作上，大部分的软件、日常使用都相当顺畅，Expose 的操作也没啥问题，不过在『内容丰富』的网站上，或是浏览大量图片的时候，似乎他都会不由自主的延迟一下，另外在播放 YouTube HD 影片的时候，也容易遇到卡卡的状况；然而在 13.3 寸的 MBA 上头，就比较没有那些问题，1080p Flash 影片播放也都很顺畅，连苹果官网的 1080p H.264 预告片也可以顺利解决。

事实上，部份数据来说，13.3 寸的 MBA 甚至可以紧紧跟在低阶的 13.3 寸 MBP（2.4GHz Core 2 Duo CPU + GeForce 320M GPU + 一般 HDD）；游戏方面，以 Portal 在 13.3 寸 MBA 上面测试，结果大概是在 30-60fps 跑，虽然跟其它人相比不怎样，但是已经算是超越了原先的预期，同时游戏才刚载入没多久，风扇就开始转了，虽然风扇的声音不是很大，但是跟日常使用相比，大概可以听到这家伙在哀鸣。

	CPU / GPU	GeekBench	XBench CPU	XBench Disk	XBench Quartz
11.6-inch MacBook Air (late 2010)	1.4GHz Core 2 Duo / GeForce 320m	2036	99.05	229.45	100.21
13.3-inch MacBook Air (late 2010)	1.83GHz Core 2 Duo / GeForce 320m	2717	132.54	231.87	143.04
15-inch MacBook Pro (mid 2009)	2.66GHz Core 2 Duo / GeForce 9600m GT	3735	188.93	39.07	202.69
Mac Mini (mid 2010)	2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, GeForce 320M	3385	/	/	/
15-inch MacBook Pro (mid 2010)	2.66GHz Core i7 / GeForce GT 330m	5395	218.96	/	/
15-inch MacBook Pro (mid 2009) (SSD)	3.06GHz Core 2 Duo / GeForce 9400m	4619	237.27	205.05	229.97
13-inch MacBook Pro (mid 2009) (SSD)	2.26GHz Core 2 Duo / GeForce 9400m	3234	159.97	211.41	176.37

如果使用者没打算用 MBA 来玩 HD 影片剪辑、最新版的 Quake，那目前看上去 MBA 应该还算能够符合需求，牺牲效能来延长使用时间，也算是能够被部份使用者所接受。

结论
整体来说，主站编辑还是认为这两款新版 MBA 可以算是相当好的产品，虽然在玩游戏的炮瓦、执行效能上面明显不太够，但是换来的则是扎实的组装跟更长的续航力；另外屏幕、SSD、OS X 也都会是他的卖点，只不过跟同等级的 Windows 笔电来说，确实要多贴不少钱。

但就 11.6 寸来说，目前看来很难把他当作主要工具机使用，他可以当作枕边玩物、配电视、短期旅行等来使用，不过却难以撼动其它主流笔电（Mac 的话就是 MBP）在个人日常生活中的地位；最后论是否需要 MBA 的话，如果对于品牌有一定的坚持，那当然就没得选，不过要是不坚持用水果，那市面上同等级（论 11 寸附近）还有一大票好用的笔电可选，一如 Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 11、Alienware M11x、Inspiron M101z.等。

所以说续航力的部份，实际上如何呢？11.6 寸的部份，在单一次完整充电、没有很操的状况下（WiFi 上网、看 Flash 影片、屏幕背光全开）大概是有到六个小时，如果又拿来进行一些比较耗电的工作，则大概可以撑到官方说法的五个小时（实际上是四个小时多）；13.3 寸方面，一般使用下为 7.5 小时，一旦操起来（狂放影片），大概是六个小时左右。