The MacBook Air makes history by becoming the first thinnest laptop released in the market. But it isn’t exactly the first lightest portable computer. However, weight, size and form are important facets to someone looking to carry around a gadget like this; which is why when Apple announced the features of the MacBook Air, a lot of people were no doubt impressed by its beautiful make-up.

The problem with thin and light laptops or ultra portables like this, though, is that certain features may have to be sacrificed such as durability, screen and keyboard size, performance and battery life. How does the MacBook Air gauge when it comes to this?

In many ways, the MacBook Air is basically just a thinner MacBook. Both have identical screens and not a lot of its features have been altered for its thinnest, more stunning cousin.  Basically no thicker than about .76 inch with solid aluminum casing, the 13.3” notebook just weighs less than three pounds.  Despite its thinness, this one is actually of durable construction and should survive a lot of abuse from daily usage.

With its 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7500 processor, its performance is reasonable and adequate.  But then, the MacBook Air is the slowest computer in the current Mac lineup.  You can opt to increase this for a faster processor but it will set you back $3100. Apparently, this is the sacrifice Apple has made in order to bring this ultra-thin device to its consumers.  

The 80GB hard drive provides good storage space, when you’re travelling but it isn’t good enough to store your collection of music, TV shows and movies from iTunes. 

The 13.3” glossy screen offers sharp colors and contrast; it even comes with a very helpful backlight. Compared to some laptops of virtually the same size, there is no graininess to this laptop. But then again this isn’t also ideal for HD video viewing.

Its keyboard pad provide excellent cushion and this area has always been perfected by Apple. There are some missing dedicated keys for the MacBook air, though, but the backlit feature is a nice touch.

Audio to this ultra thin device is actually bearable but if you’re not a fan of monospeakers then you will not find this satisfactory. The audio output, on the other hand, delivers no static and listening to sounds via a headphone or an earphone is more enjoyable.

MacBook Air carries a 37-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery, sealed into its body. It’s supposed to provide “5 hours of wireless productivity” as Apple says, but that isn’t quite accurate.

In conclusion, the MacBook air is definitely very impressive in design and features but the innovation has severely limited its capability. It’s a sexy, stunning gadget alright, but it’s not the most powerful one around.