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The MacBook Air: What you need to know

We answer your questions about Apple's lightweight laptop

by Peter Cohen, Dan Frakes, Jonathan Seff, Dan Miller and Jason Snell, Macworld.com

How does the MacBook Air stack up against other Apple laptops? The chart below compares the tech specs of the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air.

Apple's Laptops Compared

	MacBook Air	MacBook	MacBook Pro (15-inch)	MacBook Pro (17-inch)
Price (base)	$1,799	$1,099	$1,999	$2,799
Height (in.)	0.16-0.76	1.1	1.0	1.0
Width (in.)	12.8	12.8	14.1	15.4
Depth (in.)	8.9	8.9	9.6	10.4
Weight (pounds)	3.0	5.0	5.4	6.8
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz or 2.2GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz, 2.4GHz, or 2.6GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz or 2.6GHz
RAM (standard)	2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM	1GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM	2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM	2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
RAM (max.)	2GB	4GB	4GB	4GB
Storage (standard)	80GB 4200-rpm Parallel ATA	80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA	120GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA	160GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA
Storage (optional)	64GB solid-state drive	120GB, 160GB, or 250GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA	160 or 250GB 5400-rpm or 200GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA	250GB 5400-rpm or 200GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA
Optical	No (1)	24x slot-loading Combo drive or 8x slot-loading SuperDrive	8x slot-loading SuperDrive	8x slot-loading SuperDrive
Display (diagonal size)	13.3-inch	13.3-inch	15.4-inch	17-inch
Display technology	glossy widescreen TFT LED backlit	glossy widescreen TFT	widescreen TFT LED backlit (optional glossy)	widescreen TFT (optional glossy)
Resolution (native)	1280 by 800	1280 by 800	1440 by 900	1680 by 1050
Graphics processor	Intel GMA X3100 with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory	Intel GMA X3100 with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory	NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 128MB-256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM	NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM
Wi-Fi	Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n draft)	Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n draft)	Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n draft)	Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n draft)
Ethernet	No (2)	Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)	Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)	Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)	Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)	Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)	Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
Built-in speakers	mono	stereo	stereo	stereo
Audio out	analog	optical digital	optical digital	optical digital
USB 2.0 ports	1	2	2	3
FireWire 400 ports	0	1	1	1
FireWire 800 ports	0	0	1	1
Express/34 slots	0	0	1	1
DVI output	micro-DVI (3)	mini-DVI (5)	DVI	DVI
VGA output	Yes (4)	Yes (6)	Yes (7)	Yes (7)
Kensington cable lock slot	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Apple Remote included	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery	37-watt-hour lithium-polymer	55-watt-hour lithium-polymer	60-watt-hour lithium-polymer	68-watt-hour lithium-polymer
Battery life (hours, claimed)	5	6	6	5.75
Battery user-replaceable?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Power adapter	45W MagSafe with cable management system	60W MagSafe with cable management system	85W MagSafe with cable management system	85W MagSafe with cable management system

(1) External USB MacBook Air SuperDrive optional. (2) USB-Ethernet adapter optional. (3) Micro-DVI to DVI adapter included. (4) Micro-DVI to VGA adapter included. (5) Mini-DVI to DVI adapter sold separately. (6) Mini-DVI to VGA adapter sold separately. (7) DVI to VGA adapter included.—DAN MILLER

[Senior editors Peter Cohen and Dan Frakes, senior news editor Jonathan Seff, executive editor Dan Miller, and editorial director Jason Snell contributed to this story.]

This article was reposted on January 21, 2008 to correct information in the table on the 17-inch MacBook Pro's display.