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Unboxed: MacBook Air compared to iPad, MacBook Pro

How does the late-2010 MacBook Air stack up?

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A box, fresh from Shanghai. It’s slender, brown and covered in Apple stickers. Could it be… a new MacBook Air?

Our B2B Editor in chief Nathan Cochrane ordered this six days ago, to custom specifications, and it shipped in super-rapid time.

Unlike previous Apple laptops, the Air takes a more iPad approach to box design. Gone is the handle and unlatching carry-case style that’s predominated. Instead, the box is a snug-fitting lid and base combination. It’s one we’ve seen from other high-end laptop ranges, such as the HP Envy and Asus Seashell.

As with all Apple designs, however, the inside is neatly packaged. Note how cleanly everything is hidden away…

…and within the packaging, it all fits into its own uniquely shaped slot. Nowhere is that more evident than in the next couple of photos.

Pull out the MacBook Air, and underneath is a neat little package of paperwork and powerbrick. You feel like you’ve received an object of value. Although, we almost wish there was more velvet.

Inside the paperwork booklet, the documents greet you with a friendly "Hello." You get the usual pair of Apple stickers, Software end User License Agreement (EULA), basic manual and a very stylish little USB key that contains the software – a departure from the usual DVD, for obvious reasons (The MacBook Air lacks an optical drive)

How many people do you think actually read the End User License Agreement (EULA) before ripping off the plastic wrap?

From above, you can’t tell exactly how svelte the new MacBook Air is. But the lack of curvaceous corners is a subtle hint.

Similarly, from the rear, you get only a hint as to the slenderness of the chassis. But the hinge is another giveaway: it’s a good centimetre longer than the hinge for the MacBook Pro of the same size (as you'll see later in our gallery). This helps to ensure that the chassis stays rigid, preventing excessive flex in the screen.

Even on a chassis this slim Apple managed to fit a decently recessed trackpad. The multitouch trackpad is now an iconic part of the Apple unibody design.

From the side, the thin wedge-like shape of the MacBook Air becomes clear. Flash storage and a specially designed processor package help to keep the dimensions tiny.

Of course, the trade-off for tiny is the lack of features - particularly ports. One side of the MacBook Air features SD card reader, USB and display adapter (for which you need additional cables).

The other side features just the MagSafe connector for the AC adapter, another USB port (yes, you get just two in total) and headphone jack.

The magnetic latch holds things tightly closed, but with flash storage and Apple's usual fast-waking MacBooks, a single finger's featherlight touch will bring the MacBook Air awake in a second. note the milled edge of the unibody aluminium chassis, here, too.

And there itis, in all its glory. Apple has departed from its usual design look with a silver bezel around the screen, rather than the familiar black glossy bezel to the edge of the chassis.

The scrabble-tile keyboard has slightly less key-depth than the same-sized MacBook Pro.

The base features small bump-legs, to hold the Air above the surface it is resting on, and allow a modicum of airflow beneath.

The hinge is strong enough to hold the MacBook Air rigid regardless of what position you put it in...

Next to the iPad, the MacBook air looks whiter, brighter and - dare we say it - more modern.

From the rear edge, the iPad is king of slim.

But from the front, the MacBook Air defeats the iPad in the skinny stakes.

Next to the MacBook Pro 13, which shares the length and width dimensions of the MacBook Air 13, the Air looks considerably tinier.

Stack them up, and the difference becomes even more clear - though it's worth remembering that the Air's wedge shape means that only the front shows this much difference.

The screen bezel shows the dramatic difference in design between the two laptops, despite their size similarities. The silver surround of the MacBook Air harks back to older MacBook models: which do you prefer? Note that even the hinge and keyboard colour is less dark on the Air, too.

Three Apples, up on top (with apologies to Dr Seuss). The iPad is on top, with the front side of the MacBook Air beneath, and the MacBook Pro beneath both.The Macbook looks more rounded, and in some ways slightly less elegant.

From the rear, you can see the difference in hinge sizem but also note now close in height the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are.

A sideview of both laptops shows the wedge shaped difference very clearly.

A box, fresh from Shanghai. It’s slender, brown and covered in Apple stickers. Could it be… a new MacBook Air?

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Unboxed: MacBook Air compared to iPad, MacBook Pro

How does the late-2010 MacBook Air stack up?

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