Review by Alan Chang

MacBook Air (Starting at $999 at MacMall) is ultrathin, ultraportable, and ultra unlike anything else. But you dont lose inches and pounds overnight. Its the result of rethinking conventions. Of multiple wireless innovations. And of breakthrough design. With MacBook Air, mobile computing suddenly has a new standard.

What’s So Great About the Macbook Air?

Hold your potato-chip grabbin’ hand out in front of your face.  Now, gaze thoughtfully at your digits and marvel at the fact that the MacBook Air is nearly as thin as that greasy index finger you just had up your nose. Yet it has a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display, a full-size keyboard, and a large Multi-Touch trackpad. The Macbook Air is crazy portable — but without the ultraportable screen and keyboard compromises that most of today’s netbooks make.

In a nut-shell, the Macbook Air is what Netbooks should be – powerful, lightweight, long battery life, full-size keyboard, and an AMAZING, no holds barred, LED display.

–> Wanna get this for as low as $999, brand-new with full warranty? Click here.

Slick Features

CPU:

The MacBook Air’s performance is no slouch.   Most ultra-portables today (netbooks, etc.) come equipped with underwhelming Intel Atom processors.  Not this bad-boy.  The Macbook Air’s blistering performance is as impressive as its form, thanks to its 1.6GHz or 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. This chip was custom built to fit within the compact dimensions of MacBook Air. And now it’s faster than ever. The latest Macbook Air models feature a new 1066MHz frontside bus, additional L2 cache (6MB total), and 2GB of faster DDR3 RAM to provide plenty of speed and memory for working with your favorite applications.

That’s nerd-speak for "It’s freakin’ fast."

LED DISPLAY:

The dazzling LED-backlit display provides instant full screen in-your-face, slap upside the head brightness the moment you open MacBook Air. This latest LED technology also makes the display less power hungry than traditional screens, which correlates to long-ass battery life (4.5 hours, so says Apple). And since this display is mercury-free with arsenic-free glass, it’s as easy on the environment as it is on your peepers.

MULTI-TOUCH TRACKPAD:

MacBook Air includes an oversize trackpad with multi-touch technology. Did Apple super-size the trackpad to accomodate the less chic, fast-food nation demographic?  Who cares!  It’s pretty incredible, and way more user friendly than trackpads of yesteryear.  You can pinch, swipe, or rotate to zoom in on text, advance through a photo album, or adjust an image. This gesture-based input so successful on iPhone and iPod touch now comes to MacBook Air.

BIG FAT HARD DRIVE & SOLID STATE OPTION:

The latest MacBook Air hard drive is now bigger and meaner at 120GB. So there’s plenty of storage for work, play, and whatever happens in between (like picking up babes on Match.com?). Or choose a 128GB solid-state drive, which has no moving parts, for enhanced durability, longer battery life, and less heat on your junk.

SO, WHAT’S IT MISSIN’?

Dude, there is no flippin’ built-in DVD drive.  And for that, I gotta knock it down to a four out of five rating.

Coolness Factor

Let’s be honest guys, you’re researching the Macbook Air right now because the thing is plain ol’ silly-cool, and not because it’s chock full of the latest whirly gizmos and tera-blips (whirly gizmos and ter-blips copyright Alan Chang 2009 ).  Face it, when you slide this thing out of your attache case, and place it on your table at your favorite local coffee shop, you’re going to get looks.  Lots of looks – many from the gentler of the sexes.  The ladies LOVE the Macbook Air.  It’s undeniable that it is the sexiest computer on the market today.  If there was ever a time in human history that owning a computer could help a guy get some tail, it is now, with the Macbook Air.

Value

The Macbook Air ain’t cheap, my friends.  The basic no-frills version starts at $1800 plus tax and shipping on Apple’s website.  The better-equipped version costs a whopping $2500.  It’s pricey, but it looks the part.  Everyone (think ladies, here) knows it costs a small fortune.  I think there is some sort of mathmatic formula here though, dudes… it’s something like this:

VALUE = [price of thing / probability of getting laid] x [number of new partners]

At $1800 – $2500 I’d say that this thing still represents a pretty decent value.  But, right now over at MacMall, you can get your grubby paws on these for as low as $999.  How?  Shush, don’t question the awesomeness.

Overall

This thing is pretty awesome.  The one drawback that stands out is the lack of a built-in DVD drive.  This kind of matters if you like installing software, watching movies, archiving your data, etc.  There are work-arounds, of course, as well as an external drive capability, so overall, it’s a 4.5 out of 5.

Is VUDU a TiVo Killer?

VUDU’s self-titled set-top-box has certainly made quite the name for itself since it’s debut on the market.

Whether or not that name is positive one, however, is most certainly up for debate.

Review by Joshua Fienberg

Prices Start at $149… Time to Kiss Cable Goodbye?

To discover the convenience and excitement of VUDU’s movie on-demand service, all you need is a fast Internet connection and a VUDU Player.  There are no monthly subscription costs, no recurring fees, no restrictive user agreements, etc.

Click Here for In-Depth Information on the VUDU products at VUDU.com

FEATURES OVERVIEW

Movies On-Demand
Access over 16,000 movies and TV titles from all Hollywood studios and leading independent distributors directly from your HDTV.

New Movies Weekly
Watch newly released movies the same day the DVD becomes available. No worrying about it being in-stock at the video store, or having to queue it up online. Even watch the trailer before you decide to rent or buy.

HDX™ Movies
Only VUDU gives you the freedom to choose between an instant-start HD movie and a higher quality HDX download, both offered at the same price.
Learn more

World’s Largest HD Library
With over 2000+ titles in native 1080p VUDU has the largest collection available anywhere, physical media included. Rent HD movies in native 1080p or SD movies can be up-scaled to 1080i/p resolution and get the best viewing experience on your HDTV.

VUDU Labs
Access millions of free videos and photos from popular Internet sites like YouTube, Flickr and Picasa, free On-demand television and games, plus free Internet radio from Pandora.
Learn more

Instant Convenience
Having VUDU means that you don’t need to plan anymore. With a large catalog of new releases and library titles available instantly you will never need to drive or wait for the mail again.

No Monthly Fee
Rent standard definition movies from 99¢ to $3.99, high definition and HDX movies from $3.99 to $5.99. Purchase TV episodes for $1.99. Purchase standard definition movies from $4.99 to $19.99, select high definition movies from $13.99 to $23.99.* No monthly subscription or contract.

BOTTOM LINE

The Good
Set-top box that plays Internet-delivered video content at resolutions up to full 1080p HD; solid selection of movies and TV shows, as well as adult content, for sale and rental; no monthly fees; standard-definition and some HD selections start immediately; excellent onscreen interface and scroll-wheel remote; simple setup and configuration.

The Bad
Best-quality HD content requires download queuing before viewing; can’t stream media from networked PCs; can’t transfer movies to portable devices for on-the-go viewing; no built-in Wi-Fi; rentals limited to 24-hour viewing period; impressive selection of titles still pales in comparison with the tens of thousands available from Netflix and Blockbuster; compatibility with universal remotes requires add-on dongle; box is worthless if company ever goes under.

The Bottom Line
Vudu sets itself apart from similar Internet video-on-demand boxes such as Apple and Netflix by delivering movies at better quality–up to full 1080p HD resolution and 5.1 surround sound.

To Get the VUDU Directly from VUDU’s Website