Introduction
The last (and first) time I purchased an Apple product was in May 2010, an iPod Touch 8GB, to take the trip to Rome with. Listening to music, World Cup scores monitor, surfing etc. € 150, the time bought me a huge amount for a person who is subject to six hours a week working at the supermarket. Have fun with it had there (now owned by my sister), but a new Apple product in the house was no other way. Too high a price in my eyes. Now three years later, I would venture to me a new Apple product. The X230 which has served me well is now owned by another Tweaker, and I wanted to Mac OS X a try. I had always wanted to know why other users / were so highly critical of the notebooks (and other products) from Apple. Business Administration As a student, I have no need or quad-core processor, a powerful graphics card for playing games. For me, the device must be able to multitask (Word, PDF, Safari, SPSS, Excel), but most have a long battery life good. There are plenty of workplaces, but too few outlets. If I were in a group of four work, I have two friends who necessarily need an outlet, otherwise it falls off again after one minute. Battery life is priority number one. The X230 could achieve the 7 hours on its 6-cell battery, which I almost never have to take the charger along. WWDC Apple on June 10, 2013 was therefore very interesting to follow. It was certain that the MacBook Air would get together with the MacBook Pro. A refresh A Retina display would get the MacBook Air. And of course the new Haswell processors. But they were disappointed, and the MacBook Air was only a few innovations. But the most eye-catching of the topic on the MacBook Air was still the battery life. The 13 "would be a whopping 12 hours of work. On one battery charge Unlike some manufacturers, Apple is often accurate with their prediction. But even 12 hours for me was a bit unbelievable. , the choice was quickly made, and the MacBook Air 13 "(from now on referred to as MBA) was the chosen one. The configuration of my MBA is the same as the basic model for one thing: an i5 processor, 128GB SSD and 8GB of RAM. 8GB RAM may seem superfluous for my tasks, but despite that gaming is not on my list, I still like to play Football Manager, more RAM, and also could not hurt.
Ordering, delivery and unboxing
Ordered on July 2 through the Apple Store, I had to transfer the money. The amount was too bad, since I had a student discount and promo code. This brought the amount of € 904.13. I also could use the Back-to-School Action, which gave me a coupon of € 80 to spend in the App Store. On July 8, I received a shipping confirmation, and after half a world from Shanghai, Incheon, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Cologne came on July 11 via UPS to me. 9 days the trial lasted, and if you got a standard, it would still be / should be faster. The sad thing is that Apple, unfortunately, does not use iDeal, making it even faster would be in, but I was not really in a hurry, so it did not matter. 's MBA came in a simple, bare cardboard box. From the outside you would not know it was going to an expensive notebook, and that's a good thing. Once the box opens, you see a white box with the famous Apple logo. Inside the box is not much. The MBA, a 45W MagSafe 2 charger, extension and three booklets. That's it. No more, no less. When I saw the box, I thought there'd be a lot in, but it went really well (and a bit disappointing ...).
Appearance and gates
an Apple notebook is very easily recognizable. The silver and aluminum? Does it have a glowing Apple logo? Congratulations, you have found an Apple notebook. Similarly mine. Silver with a white Apple logo that lights up when the MBA is turned on. On the left we find a MagSafe 2 connector, a USB 3.0 port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and two microphones. The only change compared to all previous MBAs is the addition of a second microphone. On the right we find a Thunderbolt port, another USB 3.0 port and an SD card reader. The MBA opened, we find a US-International keyboard ( rectangular Enter button, and long left shift key) keyboard with lighting and a large touchpad. Especially the touchpad is a relief, but later it.
Build quality
, as in the previous section, the MBA made of aluminum. The X230 was made of carbon fiber, a type of plastic. The Thinkpads are known for their build quality. The housing is flexible, allowing it to absorb the blows. Easier The MBA is the rigid aluminum housing. Some users say that stiffness is not tantamount to build quality. Whether this is true time will tell, but no thanks. It would be extremely shame to just toss to see who is right. So expensive laptop on the floor What I worry about is the surface of the MBA. Aluminium scratch faster (see the iPhone 5), and that I would only too gladly avoid. I'm sparing with my stuff, but accidents do happen. Again, time will tell, as the real "intensive" use and dragging again only about to begin in September.
The screen
where they used was flooded with 1366x768 screens 13 "and above, manufacturers begin to understand it. getting better and better Some may even exaggerate a little to spend on small formats (Apple, Samsung, Toshiba). Extremely high resolution screens on the market Of course, can of course be scaled so that it is some workable, but the increase in sharpness in exchange for lesser battery life it worth? The MBA has, as in the first model, a 1440x900 resolution. Coming from a 1366x768 resolution on a 12.5 "screen, it was still getting used to. While I certainly do not have bad eyes, is working at 100% in Word a bit small. The entire Office package is much smaller for my feelings, and that's getting used to. Yet this is a step higher on the ladder resolution, and more is often better. However, I do agree that Apple for the MBA had to choose at this price. Higher resolution Competitors today have at least 1600x900 screens on their Ultrabooks, a large part even 1920x1080. Apple also had to opt for something but they probably will in the next generation switch on Retina displays. The screen is a TN panel, which usually does not provide good viewing angles. To be honest, this point is not an issue for me. Also, I'm not a graphic designer, do not work with Photoshop and other photo editing programs, so do not worry about me too precise color accuracy. Of course, of course, no blue green on the screen, but high demand in this area, I do not. Suggest It is also a glossy screen, so you can look back. Yourself sometimes on the MBA The X230 had a matte screen, and there it was a bit dull screen (perhaps it also has to do with the quality of screen). On the MBA, the colors look a bit brighter out, which makes it more beautiful. Or under fluorescent light glossy screen is vomiting, irritation later I can only conclude, as it is currently holiday. In September / October, there will most likely be an update occur. Updated September 11, 2013 As I said, the exact color fastness me not of great importance. But of course more is always good. Many users claim to have a custom color setting screen. Benefit This mainly applies to screens made by LG. After the instructions from this site had succeeded, I notice that the colors just look a little better. Previously, no problems, and now I do not even feel that it brings something extra. But for other users this can be useful.
Keyboard and touchpad
on the world there are countless types of keyboard layouts, making it difficult to import some. For example, you have Azerty, Qwerty, Qwertz etc., and if you buy the wrong you've got a little problem. Upon ordering the MBA's keyboard was set to "Backlit Keyboard Dutch. Most users are probably used to "Backlit Keyboard U.S.. The differences are shown below. Dutch Keyboard: U.S. Keyboard: The keyboard is nice and spacious. Blind typing is fine, and pressing keys is not a problem. Well there are some things differently, thanks to the OS. So called the 'Alt' 'Option' and the start button disappeared / replace the 'Command' key, which also acts as a 'Control' key. Also, there are no dedicated Home / End / PgUp / PgDown buttons, but I have not actually really missed, and are also accessible. Using the FN key Furthermore, the 'Backspace' button is replaced by a "Delete" key, but the function is the same. This means that there is no "Delete" function. Backlit keyboard is now ingrained standard, and has sixteen positions. It's nice to have, but actually never needed. When it is dark, I usually have a desk lamp that provides me with enough light. TouchPad is huge. The X230 had a small touchpad, but that problem could be solved using the trackpoint and trackpad buttons. The touchpad has a glass layer, what gestures to make smoother. Snapping the touchpad works fine, but to my ears a bit loud. It had softer liked, but it does not bother. I often use the "Tap to click" function, so it makes less noise.
Performance
As I wrote in my other two reviews, I am not one of the benchmarks. For benchmarking data, I also refer to other review sites like Anandtech and Notebookcheck.
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CPU
The CPU chosen for my MBA is a 1.3 GHz Intel Core i5-4250U. It is a dual-core processor ULT, which has a low TDP of 15W. It is a CPU from Haswell series, Intel's latest processor generation. Strikingly, the i5-4250U clocked lower compared to the i5 (1.8 GHz) in the Ivy Bridge generation that sat in the MBA in 2012. This processor had a TDP of 17W. From various reviews the main reason for the lower clock seems to be. A boost in battery life Anandtech has the CPUs tested and in some cases performing the MBA 2013 is equal to or better than the MBA in 2012, while the MBA 2013 match for MBA 2012. Narrowly in other situations, for an additional cost of € 150 may be chosen a 1.7 GHz Core i7. I do not need the power and the € 150 I can do better somewhere else to spend. For those readers who have doubts about the added value of an i7 over an i5, the impact on battery life and other tidbits I recommend this review read AnandTech .
GPU
Core i5-4250U comes with an Intel HD5000 graphics card. This falls in the GT3 category, the 'high-end' series from Intel. However, this does not have a dedicated RAM for the graphics card (Intel HD5200 has that) and has a lower clock speed compared to the HD5100 and HD5200. gaming and OS X usually do not go together, partly because of the compatibility (. exe), on the other because the ports are often not good. Still, I have two games just to test. The first game is Guild Wars 2. On the Intel HD4000 the X230 I could barely pick up the 20-25FPS, and the MBA I get the OS X client 30FPS when I'm in a quiet area. In a busier environment this drops to 25FPS, which yet again is better than the HD4000. Maybe it works even smoother in the Windows version, but I'm not going to test. I also Guild Wars 2 is not able to test long because playing through the touchpad is not fine. A mouse is surely a must. Another game is Football Manager 2013, which is more CPU intensive than GPU. Loading a next day takes a while, perhaps it is because the database I selected (Dutch Football Pyramid database for the experts). Watching the matches in 3D is very smooth, and I had not the X230 on the HD4000.
SSD
The SSD is a 128GB PCI-E SSD made by Samsung. Which SSD you get is seemingly in the 11 'a lottery (SanDisk vs Samsung), but at 13' I heard this moment only Samsung's. You have a Samsung SSD if SM state and SanDisk SD if there is. The difference is that the Samsung SSDs perform slightly better than the SanDisk SSDs. The Samsung seems to be something. Reliable Nowadays I can not live without SSD. HDD makes noise, less efficient, and especially less. Booting the MBA is also done within 10 seconds. Blazing so. Windows 8 could also boot in 10 seconds using a Samsung 830 SSD, so very special is it not. It is of course nice to be able to launch programs quickly. This was a very difficult choice: opt for the 128GB version for € 200 or more a 256GB SSD. On my X230, I had a 256GB SSD which was half full. 128GB would be very tight, and the 256GB so I would have more leeway. But the additional cost of € 200 was too much for me. A 2.5 "256GB SSD is not € 200, but well, there must be a profit. Finally opted for the 128GB, which I just very good to deal with the space available. Currently I have the Office 2011 suite, SPSS, Windows 7 x64 VM, Football Manager 2013 installed and 2GB of documents on Dropbox. In total I now have 56GB free of 120GB, so it is not that bad. Music I have now via Spotify and Google Music, and movies I have an external hard drive. Altogether been provisionally a wise choice. Below is an image with the benchmark of the SSD. Tweakers.net received read and write speeds of 613.78 MB / s and 599.94 MB / s respectively. I come to read and write speeds of 722.6 MB / s and 442.7 MB / s, respectively. With my own test using Blackmagic Disk Speed Test A higher reading speed, but a lower write speed. The performances are comparable, and in practice you nothing of the difference. The system feels very fast. Opening Safari and Finder goes right, but opening Word documents take a little longer, while that happened on my X230 instant.
RAM
This was the only upgrade I've done through Apple. Namely RAM soldered to the motherboard and it is not user-upgradeable. Would you have 8GB RAM, then you should indicate this in advance. Although I've never gone over the 4GB ram 8GB anyway I found some 'safer'. The two 4GB sticks LDDR3 soldered to the motherboard, running at 1600MHz. The MBA uses efficient DDR3 RAM, especially now that the Haswell processors supporting better.
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Wifi
The early adopters of the MBA had complaints about the Wifi connection. Apple is known for it, in order to deliver new products. Wifi performance with moderate Of course, the complaints were also received at Apple and they would solve it with an update. My preliminary experiences with Wifi are positive. On the first day I had suffered from a slow connection, but I suspect this is due to the numerous downloads simultaneously (Dropbox sync, Office 2011 download). The next day was my connection back to normal and I get 1.2 MB / s with a Tele-2 to 20Mbit / s Internet service. 1x I only suffered from a drop-away connection. However, Tele-2 modem has more often suffer from Wi-Fi Woes (1x per month, for a period of 1 to 3 hours). A new modem does not see Tele2 as a solution. Below is a picture of some speed tests of the WiFi connection on my MBA. I'm at the time of testing in my room, which 5-7 meters away from the modem, as the crow flies. Between the modem and my room is still a room between, and thus two walls. Updated September 11, 2013 After testing nearly two months, I still pleased to report that I have encountered with Wifi no problems. Before the update I had no problems, and not after the update. Too Note that this may be different, since there are still a number of users have problems. Per person
Battery life
The selling point of the MBA 2013: "all day battery life. 12 hours without a power outlet nearby, no extra battery slices, no protruding battery cells. A dangerous claim, but Apple is in the area of battery life is usually not far off. At the time of writing, the summer, making it more difficult to mimic. the 'real-life' situation Still, I'm just trying to do what I always do: surfing the web, typing a document in Word (review in this case), there music (Spotify). Done browsing through the Safari web browser, installed AdBlock. I visit sites like 9GAG, Soccer Zone, Tweakers, GoT, Engadget, AnandTech, TheVerge, Nu.nl and Blackboard. Word as the Office 2011 version. Brightness is at 5 bars, since I do not like bright screens. Results: 09:30 to 10:30 Surfing, typing, listening to music. 13:30 to 15:00 and again worked just played Football Manager 2013. 16:15 - 18:00 surfing, typing, listening to music. 18:45 to 20:30 surfing, typing, listening to music. 08:45 -. 10:51 Yet about 26% battery * The periods in which no use is made of the MBA has it stood / closed, in standby mode, but not completely off. Total: 1 + 1:30 + 2:45 + 1:45 + 2:06 = 9 hours and 6 minutes. According to the battery indicator I can work 3 hours, which equates to 12 hours of battery life. Apple makes it so true, but there are caveats should obviously be placed. First of all, varies with the situation, per application and per person. So I'm using a fairly low brightness (5 bars), and here I have stable WiFi connection. I also use the Safari browser, which is optimized for OS X, unlike other browsers. Also I just played Football Manager, and simulating was not flawless, which has also affected the battery life impact. If I had not played FM13 I could certainly benefit from more than two hours (decrease of 15% in an hour of play, more on that later). I be able to add, hoping later more realistic test, but that, as of September really clear. Updated September 11, 2013 Now that I've used, the MBA longer again, I can also tell something about the battery life. First of all, watching a flash video online. I follow with pleasure the series 'Suits' and that I look through a website. Watching one episode suits (average length of 44 minutes) costs 10% on the battery indicator. Basically, you can be 10 episodes of 44 minutes Suits look before the MBA gives up the ghost. Most tablets often do better, but not much better. Basically this is not a problem. Moreover, the use of Google Chrome and Safari a difference. The power of Google Chrome is higher than Safari. Most likely this is due to the optimizations that are in the Safari browser. Exact figures unfortunately I can not give, but an indication. For example, if I missed any 9GAG posts between 00:00 and 9:00 back browse Safari, is only 1% off. I do this in Google Chrome, however this increases to 6%. Also, viewing websites in Google Chrome creates a noticeably shorter battery life. An hour or 8 is feasible, but 12 hours is far away. Idle MBA is very economical. If you have your programs open but nothing else does, then that has very little impact on battery life. I do not work non-stop to the MBA, as there may be consultation is needed between teammates. Then the MBA is not used, so that fortunately little influence. short battery life is good as long as you stay with the included Apple programs. The next update can be expected after the release of OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
Heat and noise of the fans
in a thin laptop it without visible ventilation outlets. Something makes you think. Where do all the heat out then? Then is done via the hinge at the rear. That's where the ventilation system, which should provide. A laptop cooler under normal use (surfing, Word, listening to music), where you do not put the CPU to work, do not hear the fans. The MBA does not feel warm. Workable so. And then you feel probably coming. What if you put the MBA to work? A game like Football Manager 2013, what does that with the MBA? Unfortunately, no good. The fans are going to blow at full speed, and the MBA is hot, very hot in the upper left corner and at the hinge. Makes sense, since FM2013 is a CPU-intensive game. To see how loud the fans are impressed I made a movie. Side note is that this is in a quiet environment, allowing fans clearly be heard.
In short: 99% of the tasks MBA makes no noise and produces hardly any heat. Are you going to still try a game, you have to take into account loud fans, hot top and an impact on battery life.
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OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
A touchy subject. For Windows is sacred, the other OS X. As I indicated at the beginning of the review, I wanted to know why people are so wonderful OS X badly find /. Upon startup I was greeted with a setup: Name, location, password Apple ID, etc. The setup felt almost the same as Ubuntu. Once everything is set up, a "desktop" presented by the oh-so-familiar universe as background. always visible menubar, which has the same functions as a mouse. Also always visible, but it is to hide the Dock. From there you can launch applications quickly. Similar to the Windows 7 taskbar. Finder is the variant of Windows Explorer and works as I actually expected it. Items you can remove the keyboard shortcut Command + Delete , or fashioned by tapping with two fingers on the touchpad and 'Move to Trash' choosing. Safari is the Internet Explorer of Windows. Supplied as standard with OS X and the browser to choose the longest possible battery life thanks to the optimizations. Installing programs in two ways. First, you can install via a. Dmg programs such as via Windows Installer. SPSS for example, took advantage of this and this was also a familiar face. Another variant, however, by dragging them to the "Applications" folder, and then the program is installed. Very simple, but also confusing for a Windows user. The same goes for uninstalling programs. Where you "Remove Programs" programs had to uninstall Windows Control Panel and you can now simply drag the application to the trash and ready. Also this was just searching the internet and even digest, but I know now that it should be done. In the area of program compatibility issues, and I'm still running up against problems. Office I use Office 2011, and is happy FM13 compatible with OS X. For FIFA is not an option, but maybe that's only good. But I have a virtual machine installed with Windows 7 for Microsoft Access and Publisher I need. Case Also, I sometimes paint (yes you read that right) needed for very quick drawings or adjustments. 7-zip I Keka found, but am still orienting to other applications. Where I am most satisfied with the gestures built into OS X. Two finger scrolling works great with two fingers 'tapping' to right, four fingers to the left / right to switch between full-screen apps and Spaces, four fingers up for Mission Control etc. Especially Mission Control is very convenient. During an SPSS case I had several Word documents, Chrome tabs, Excel and SPSS two screen open. Alt-Tab works in that case less fine, because you've got that you keep looking. Lame so many applications open Also you can add new desktops from Mission Control, so you can separate during use. Certain programs This is very useful if you want to have SPSS in Desktop 1 and 4 Word documents in Desktop 2. So there is not much overlap between all programs. Also, you can switch between the two desktops as a fullscreen app, through a four-finger swipe.
Full Screen mode is also very useful if you have open. Two main programs So you can switch between a (non-) fullscreen app and a full screen app. With four fingers Another advantage is that you have something more pixels available in Word to use.
But for example one thing OS X Windows 8 can learn the 'Acitivieitenweergave. Windows 8, I found much clearer and more colorful. Overall I am very happy with OS X, but I probably have to learn a lot and to explore in the future. What I like to have is OS X Mavericks, the successor Mountain Lion. This will provide even more optimizations that have a positive impact on the battery life should have. Imagine even more than 12 hours on one battery charge ... But as long as OS X Mavericks is not out yet, it remains tentative at speculation and to wait. By that time, this review will also get an update.
Connections - External Screen
During my studies there will be plenty of occasions when I have to give a presentation. Often this Powerpoint presentations will be where the MBA should be on the projector. Thus connected Sometimes it is also fine to close so you have more space and can use two screens. Still higher resolution screen on the MBA has only one connection to connect, screens and beamers and it is in my opinion the best choice . The Thunderbolt port is in fact also a Mini DisplayPort. Why is this the best 'connection', as the most common type VGA connector and HDMI projectors is now established in TVs and game consoles? Therefore, there are two reasons: first, there are plenty of 'connectors / converters' for the Mini DisplayPort. There is a Mini-DisplayPort to VGA / HDMI / DVI. Another advantage is the level of resolution output. Where VGA and HDMI (version 1.3a and earlier) are limited to 1920x1080 and 1920x1200 respectively, can Mini DisplayPort to send a resolution of 2560x1600. At the time of writing, the summer has already begun, so the test put on hold for the time being at beamers must be. My first test is thereby connecting the MBA on a Samsung SyncMaster S22B150, which has a VGA port and a resolution of 1920x1080. Connecting the SyncMaster on my MBA was a breeze. First I had a Mini-DisplayPort to VGA connector purchased to make the connection. Possible Then it was plug and MBA immediately recognized my screen. Just like in Windows could be chosen between duplicating / mirroring of the screen, or extend the current screen. The first option is useful if there is someone who needs to see, and what you see. Exactly the same things on the screen For example, a situation is giving a presentation. The disadvantage is that your external display is limited by the resolution of your notebook. In this case, my SyncMaster gave a 1440x900 resolution, which is not sharp and enhances everything looked. The second option is useful if you need more space. Safari on one screen, and Word for example on screen 2. , but then there are some irritations that make working on an external display is less enjoyable in OS X. First, there can be only one screen, the menu bar have + Dock. Want to start a program on your external display, so you will first have to deal with Dock, and then drag it to the external display. Program to screen Although this is also present in Windows, and not necessarily a specific negative feature of OS X, it remains a negative point. What is also strange is that the programs may be using Mission Control. Not drag Fortunately, this is dissolved in OS X Mavericks, so this problem is solved. Another negative feature is the inability to turn off your monitor from the MBA. This is possible if you clam up your MBA, but I also want to use the keyboard and touchpad of the MBA. In Windows it was possible to select only for the external display, but in OS X, this is only possible if you enter a command in the Terminal. While it is indeed possible, I think it is too cumbersome, and you must enter each time the command and when you are ready to make the command settings. In Windows, this was a button 'done'. As a middle ground, I have chosen to set up so that my mouse can escape. Only from the top left / bottom right corner of the desktop / screen diagonally opposite each other In addition, I screen my MBA completely dimmed, so it looks like it is off. Not an optimal solution, but it works. Whether this is resolved at Mavericks, I unfortunately can not be clearly found. My last comment on the external screen is a questionable case, which I'm not sure if multiple users suffer from it, or that this is on my screen. With my Windows 8 laptop I got a sharp display on my external display. But I do it with my MBA, I feel that it is not 100% sharp. Now I do not know if this is an OS X issue, or that this is because my screen was "too cheap". Perhaps converting Mini DisplayPort to VGA also plays a role. 100% sure I am unfortunately not, and therefore I will further investigate this issue yet (via Google) or perhaps a fellow tweaker has the same issue. My preliminary conclusion at this point is that it works, but not optimal. There are some points that need to be improved and fortunately improved in the next version of OS X. When Mavericks out, I will update this section if needed.
Connections - printer
A while ago, I had thought that with the purchase of a Nexus 7, the paper era would be over. Some books I had in PDF format or I have scanned my summaries so that I could read on the Nexus and the paper version could resell. It turned out that reading from a 7 "tablet screen something was more tiring than I expected and the distraction was also greater. Hence I had to print out. Still scanned versions The same applies to reports. Nowadays everything has to be uploaded to check fraud but the professors find it better to make. Scribbled / note paper So a printer is still necessary. For purchasing the MBA I had searched the internet and my printer, Epson Stylus SX115, did work on the MBA. On the website I found drivers for my printer, so I already knew I was right. In Windows 7/8 is now plug and then Windows Update searches the drivers for you. On OS X, it is exactly the same. When connecting my printer, I got the following message: In one way or another, went looking for the drivers fault and was nicely told that could be searched for updates through the Mac App Store. Of course it is useful if my printer does, so good I went to the App Store. After loading a while and I was waiting to see the following: By clicking on "Update" was sufficient to install the drivers. Not much later, I got around to see if I ever got into Windows the same screen. Connecting my printer went so smoothly and It just works motto appears to be correct. However, I would recommend the purchase of an MBA, to see if your peripheral is suitable to avoid. A lot of trouble and stress Updated September 11, 2011 After I update within got through the Apple Appstore, I got a very annoying problem . Before, I could always print manual duplex. Since the update option is gray-sided and therefore not selectable. After I consulted Google this problem was still not resolved. Uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers, unfortunately, did not work. I had to print something and therefore had a Windows 8 virtual machine booted and printed from the VM. However, this is not a nice solution to this problem. I hope I can find a solution, as it is annoying anyway. Here
Windows 7 & 8
was asked to me to test via Boot Camp Windows 8. There is often a debate as to whether it was necessary to use Boot Camp for Windows or VMWare / VirtualBox / Parallels. The answer is simple: if you want minimal performance loss, then Boot Camp is the way to go . You only use it to test / use just that one little program I would virtualize. Until I saw a post from a user. This user said that the Boot Camp could be via Parallels / VMWare. Partition approached This would be the best of both words are. Your Boot Camp partition accessed via a virtual machine to use MS Paint and via Boot Camp starting to play. Fifa 13 This sounds fantastic in the ears. supports Windows 8 now (U) EFI boot, something OS X for years. This is a great advantage to install on your Mac. Windows 8 This means that there is no BIOS to become more virtualized and saves an installation step. However, there are specific drivers needed to work. Enjoyable in Windows These can be downloaded from the Boot Camp Assistant. The drivers are also on the Apple website to find, but the Boot Camp assistant often has a newer version that is not on the Apple website is. The illustration below shows which features this assistant is: My first attempt was to install Windows 8 on the SSD for the MBA. After I put the necessary drivers on a USB stick I started the MBA again and pressed at the boot sound the "option' button. This allowed me to choose a different boot disk. You can see that there are some possibilities: Machintosh HD, OS X Recovery, Windows and EFI Boot. The first is your "regular" hard drive where OS X on it and all of your personal files. The second disc is your recovery disc, which you can access if your OS X installation is destroyed. The Windows option is to install Windows via the BIOS method, and EFI Boot install Windows using UEFI method. I chose "EFI Boot" because Windows 8 supports EFI perfect. installation actually runs just like a normal Windows installation. Country, language, keyboard, etc, everything is there for. Note that "Tap to click" inside the installation environment does not work. You have to really engage the touchpad. Windows reboot 2x, and both times you have to be careful. You started namely from a USB / DVD installation. In the first and second reboot you should choose the appropriate boot disk, namely BOOTCAMP HDD. Otherwise you will be redirected to your OS X installation, and that is not the intention (for now). If all rebooting and setting is completed, you get instantly see your desktop, not the Metro interface. Striking. Now we need to install that you downloaded to install. On a USB through the Boot Camp Assistant Boot Camp drivers After a short 5 minutes everything was ready, and you had a good working Windows 8 (Pro) installation on your MBA. From now on, your MBA boot directly to Windows 8. However, many people use Windows only occasionally, and therefore more likely to boot into OS X. This can be changed by the task bar at the bottom of the gray rectangle to select. Boot Camp configuration, Here you can choose to select. OS X as the primary boot drive Here you can also activate "Tap to Click 'like' Two taps = Right. ' If you've read my piece well this was my first attempt. Back in OS X, I tried to approach. Bootcamp partition via Parallels In Windows 7, this was no problem, but Windows 8 still had some cures. Parallels can be no EFI recognize, so the Boot Camp partition can be. Did not start Other users say this is due to the PCI-e SSD, which is not recognized by Parallels. But both have it agree that this problem may be solved by Parallels and should be.
So I thought it was a shame that I could not approach. My Boot Camp partition via Parallels and VMWare This still gobbles a fairly large amount of storage space, and plenty of space to install programs I had not. When I read on the internet that Windows 8 could be. Installed on an external drive In one way or another, this brought me to an idea, to testing. "Force" of Thunderbolt I have for a reasonable price a LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt / USB 3.0 256GB SSD external drive tapped on the head. 256GB is more than sitting, as big as my SSD was in the Thinkpad. I found it a waste to spend, so I solved it. Follows much space on Windows 128GB is committed to Windows 8, formatted in NTFS. The remaining 128GB free space when I set. This is important if you want to install on an external drive, Windows 8 but do not want to use Windows. Complete external drive
This time I have Windows 8 installed on the 128GB partition on the external SSD, and after 15 minutes everything was ready. It feels just as fast as the Windows 8 installation on the MBA. Then a Windows Experience Index benchmark done, yielding no bad results.
After installation, I went back to OS X to see if I could get through Parallels / VMWare., The Boot Camp partition recognized The 128GB partition where Windows is because it is recognized as Boot Camp (probably by the drivers). But unfortunately I get the same error as before EFI Shell. As I said earlier, I recommended if you use do not want your entire external hard drive for Windows 8, to create a partition for Windows and create. a free partition In my case I want to use the remaining 128GB as a real external drive, which I can put files. To maintain for OS X and Windows, as many compatibility I want to format this partition as exFAT. However, the first time I went into the mist, because I had designated. Both partitions as NTFS Once in OS X and Windows, I could see the second partition but not formatting to exFAT or remove and return. The second time so I have a 128GB partition for Windows and the other 128GB deflated. So I could after installing Windows to format the second partition exFAT. This is a temporary solution for Windows. I took the entire space for OS X and 128GB for Windows to install programs and utilizing the power of the MBA. Use Meanwhile, I have my virtual Windows 7 again put to very fast to boot. MS Paint and Access I hope Parallels and / or VMWare with a solution to the inability to access the Boot Camp partition, and otherwise I think this is also a good solution. Data on the battery life, I still owe you. This is because I boot Windows 8 from an external SSD, leaving just a little more power. I also want to be sure that all drivers and programs are installed before I can give. An indication of the battery life
Conclusion
The MBA is an ultrabook which since its first introduction to the outside barely changed. This year, a second microphone got there, and that was it in terms of changes to the appearance. changes have taken place there. On the inside There is a Haswell processor and it is not a SATA SSD, but a PCI-e SSD. The battery has become something bigger, without making. MBA thicker But more than this has not changed. ultrabook For connoisseurs and lovers you would think that the MBA has to offer little extras at this time compared to the other ultrabooks. Many have a 1080p IPS display, which should provide. Good viewing angles The Vaio Pro is the first competitor of the MBA, which has a better screen than the MBA. With the help of a sheet, the battery life can be up to 14 hours. It is striking that the Vaio Pro also the only competitor in the ultrabook market with Haswell processors. To me this is at least a step up compared to the X230. I deliver on CPU (i5-3210m) and partly Windows and perhaps build quality. Battery life I go forward again, as well as in the field of weight. User experience is fine, but Windows 8 I've never found appalling. It worked just nice and my dream machine was a 13 "tablet with Haswell processor, 8GB RAM, SSD and super long battery life. But for now it remains a dream and I am extremely pleased with the MBA. The MBA is easy to everyday tasks, but an intense game play will come with trade-offs: heat and sound. The retina MBP 13 "I have never considered, since the performance was substandard. The retina MBP 15 "is for me a lot too high and expensive step, and there were many problems. The MBA 11 "I found again too small. Overall, the MBA a great laptop for the average student battery life on priority number one is standing. In terms of processing power you get almost no deficit and the speed of the MBA ensures that tasks smoothly and quickly go. About the price is a bit debatable: one is the basic model with student discount a good choice, compared to the competition. On the other hand upgrades again expensive, and the money should be spent then, because afterwards it can not. For now cross the MBA head and shoulders above the rest with its battery life, but still arriving Haswell ultrabooks and tablets for the door and windows 8.1 is yet to be seen. Updated September 11, 2013 For the update of the MBA had an overall assessment of 5 stars. Some users commented that if I took the reviews, that I would never come. Never a 5 star average When I had the excuse that point battery life as a student weighed heavily on me many times. With this update, I'm still a star get off. The reason for this is the problem that I encountered with my printer. For the software update of the printer, there was nothing going on, but after the update I can no longer double-sided printing. Also, there are a number of settings have disappeared. With the result that I need to print via a virtual machine or Windows PC for now flawless experience. It is a pity that there is no half-stars could be given, but worth 5 stars, it is unfortunately not. For the rest, my conclusion is not changed, and remains a wonderful machine. But one with a small blemish.
Accessories
The reason I gave this section after the conclusion place, because I believe that some accessories will not affect the performance of the MBA. Of course there are some accessories that increase the connectivity, but real influencers on performance are not. For the accessories I have therefore a separate conclusion in this section. 's MBA was fairly bare delivered, as mentioned in the review. Not supplied or picture sleeve adapters like the Zenbook (Prime) from Asus. I'm pretty careful with my stuff and especially when it involves a huge investment in a device. A sleeve was therefore a must if I take my MBA. Since Apple products often maintain a universal standard in their product lines, the accessories are also easy to use and find. So you can buy at the Apple Store for example accessories. Often the products are more expensive than what you can get elsewhere. At the time of writing, I have purchased some accessories. Accessories - be.ez LA robe 13'' MacBook Air sleeve Graphite / Black When I go to school, then I use my shoulder to my Thinkpad laptop, lunch, notepad and occasionally books to carry. The choice of a shoulder might not be good for my body, but I found it easier. The bag has separate compartments inside, which makes separating things easier. In a backpack things are often 'squeezed'. The shoulder was originally designed for 15'' Thinkpads, but I was there for free with the purchase of the X230. The X230 fit well in the bag, and was completely covered, leaving other stuff was not damaged. The X230 The MBA is a different story. There he stands out above the protection, which could hit some other stuff damaged. This, of course, I would not have and had a sleeve for the MBA in my eyes the solution.
Ideally I'd like to see the MBA in black because it gives a nice look in my eyes. The color of the sleeve must also be black for me, or very close to black. I was first looking at the online Apple store. There I saw the Incase 13 "sleeve stand, which according to Apple was also suitable for the MBA. Just searched the internet for reviews and the like, and it appeared to be true. Perhaps a little too rushed to order printed, I came back until afterwards that it was created specifically for the MBP. Yes, the MBA fits in, but then there's a lot of empty space in between. Contacted Apple through the mail and I did a) not returnable and b) I got my money back. A blessing in disguise, but let's say. then I looked elsewhere for a sleeve. On the website of A-mac i saw this 'be.ez LA robe sleeve 13''' stand. Luckily there was an A-mac store in my hometown, so I could see it with my own eyes and feel. I was already sold fairly quickly and had the right sleeve included.
The sleeve has only one fastener which is one quarter of the total area covers. As a result, you do not have to worry that the rest of the case your MBA damaged. Also in the zip you do not have to worry. There is a kind of protective strip on both sides, so the MBA is closed zipper. Here they have thought about it. The case on the inside and outside is made of a soft, firm but malleable material. Apologies for the somewhat vague description, but better unfortunately I can not articulate.
I use it mainly to transport, the MBA secure in my bag and it does (for now) too. There will, of course, alternatives to the reasonable hooggeprijste his sleeve, which are often found on Chinese online stores and / or websites such as Ebay. A hard case for the MBA around seemed not convenient, since the heat also partly goes through the aluminum. The MBA can be a nice warm stove without hard case, hard case and I do not even know. Price: € 25.95
Presentations held on the university continues through projectors, where you can connect to a VGA connector your laptop. The MBA course has no VGA connector, otherwise it would not be so thin thin profile more. As a solution to this could be a VGA cable can be connected via the Mini DisplayPort / Thunderbolt Port. Using an attachment, I opted for the Apple version, since I have heard that some non-Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter is not working properly stories . It would be extremely annoying if the cable does not function during a presentation for a grade. As a test, I have it connected to my Samsung SyncMaster where the experience to read earlier in the review are returned. The cable was purchased from the online Apple store, and admittedly, it's pretty pricey. According to other friends I could just as well for a standard Mini DisplayPort to VGA cable select, but I would have preferred that it works well at one time. Price: € 29.00
Another cable, which I occasionally will only need. My wifi connection at home is not always stable and sometimes sense to stop one day. Oddly enough, there is Internet or via Ethernet cable. I've been through a number of times that this situation occurred to a deadline, and it has an Ethernet cable ensured that my life is not so hard went down. cable does what it should do and is recognized by my MBA. The connection is stable and there are no preliminary rarities discovered. However, I must place an important caveat. As the title suggests, it is a Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter. The MBA has only one Thunderbolt port, and when you connect your cable to it, then you can often use an external display. Of course this is possible when you have an (expensive) Thunderbolt display. This is very important, and probably ensures that you get to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter must consider. USB Often the speed via USB or (significantly) lower. Again the same story. Pricey. However, it uses a Thunderbolt connector, which is a completely different thing than a Mini DisplayPort cable. Furthermore, a USB to Ethernet cable alternative, if use is made of an external display
The last (and first) time I purchased an Apple product was in May 2010, an iPod Touch 8GB, to take the trip to Rome with. Listening to music, World Cup scores monitor, surfing etc. € 150, the time bought me a huge amount for a person who is subject to six hours a week working at the supermarket. Have fun with it had there (now owned by my sister), but a new Apple product in the house was no other way. Too high a price in my eyes. Now three years later, I would venture to me a new Apple product. The X230 which has served me well is now owned by another Tweaker, and I wanted to Mac OS X a try. I had always wanted to know why other users / were so highly critical of the notebooks (and other products) from Apple. Business Administration As a student, I have no need or quad-core processor, a powerful graphics card for playing games. For me, the device must be able to multitask (Word, PDF, Safari, SPSS, Excel), but most have a long battery life good. There are plenty of workplaces, but too few outlets. If I were in a group of four work, I have two friends who necessarily need an outlet, otherwise it falls off again after one minute. Battery life is priority number one. The X230 could achieve the 7 hours on its 6-cell battery, which I almost never have to take the charger along. WWDC Apple on June 10, 2013 was therefore very interesting to follow. It was certain that the MacBook Air would get together with the MacBook Pro. A refresh A Retina display would get the MacBook Air. And of course the new Haswell processors. But they were disappointed, and the MacBook Air was only a few innovations. But the most eye-catching of the topic on the MacBook Air was still the battery life. The 13 "would be a whopping 12 hours of work. On one battery charge Unlike some manufacturers, Apple is often accurate with their prediction. But even 12 hours for me was a bit unbelievable. , the choice was quickly made, and the MacBook Air 13 "(from now on referred to as MBA) was the chosen one. The configuration of my MBA is the same as the basic model for one thing: an i5 processor, 128GB SSD and 8GB of RAM. 8GB RAM may seem superfluous for my tasks, but despite that gaming is not on my list, I still like to play Football Manager, more RAM, and also could not hurt.
Ordering, delivery and unboxing
Ordered on July 2 through the Apple Store, I had to transfer the money. The amount was too bad, since I had a student discount and promo code. This brought the amount of € 904.13. I also could use the Back-to-School Action, which gave me a coupon of € 80 to spend in the App Store. On July 8, I received a shipping confirmation, and after half a world from Shanghai, Incheon, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Cologne came on July 11 via UPS to me. 9 days the trial lasted, and if you got a standard, it would still be / should be faster. The sad thing is that Apple, unfortunately, does not use iDeal, making it even faster would be in, but I was not really in a hurry, so it did not matter. 's MBA came in a simple, bare cardboard box. From the outside you would not know it was going to an expensive notebook, and that's a good thing. Once the box opens, you see a white box with the famous Apple logo. Inside the box is not much. The MBA, a 45W MagSafe 2 charger, extension and three booklets. That's it. No more, no less. When I saw the box, I thought there'd be a lot in, but it went really well (and a bit disappointing ...).
Appearance and gates
an Apple notebook is very easily recognizable. The silver and aluminum? Does it have a glowing Apple logo? Congratulations, you have found an Apple notebook. Similarly mine. Silver with a white Apple logo that lights up when the MBA is turned on. On the left we find a MagSafe 2 connector, a USB 3.0 port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and two microphones. The only change compared to all previous MBAs is the addition of a second microphone. On the right we find a Thunderbolt port, another USB 3.0 port and an SD card reader. The MBA opened, we find a US-International keyboard ( rectangular Enter button, and long left shift key) keyboard with lighting and a large touchpad. Especially the touchpad is a relief, but later it.
Build quality
, as in the previous section, the MBA made of aluminum. The X230 was made of carbon fiber, a type of plastic. The Thinkpads are known for their build quality. The housing is flexible, allowing it to absorb the blows. Easier The MBA is the rigid aluminum housing. Some users say that stiffness is not tantamount to build quality. Whether this is true time will tell, but no thanks. It would be extremely shame to just toss to see who is right. So expensive laptop on the floor What I worry about is the surface of the MBA. Aluminium scratch faster (see the iPhone 5), and that I would only too gladly avoid. I'm sparing with my stuff, but accidents do happen. Again, time will tell, as the real "intensive" use and dragging again only about to begin in September.
The screen
where they used was flooded with 1366x768 screens 13 "and above, manufacturers begin to understand it. getting better and better Some may even exaggerate a little to spend on small formats (Apple, Samsung, Toshiba). Extremely high resolution screens on the market Of course, can of course be scaled so that it is some workable, but the increase in sharpness in exchange for lesser battery life it worth? The MBA has, as in the first model, a 1440x900 resolution. Coming from a 1366x768 resolution on a 12.5 "screen, it was still getting used to. While I certainly do not have bad eyes, is working at 100% in Word a bit small. The entire Office package is much smaller for my feelings, and that's getting used to. Yet this is a step higher on the ladder resolution, and more is often better. However, I do agree that Apple for the MBA had to choose at this price. Higher resolution Competitors today have at least 1600x900 screens on their Ultrabooks, a large part even 1920x1080. Apple also had to opt for something but they probably will in the next generation switch on Retina displays. The screen is a TN panel, which usually does not provide good viewing angles. To be honest, this point is not an issue for me. Also, I'm not a graphic designer, do not work with Photoshop and other photo editing programs, so do not worry about me too precise color accuracy. Of course, of course, no blue green on the screen, but high demand in this area, I do not. Suggest It is also a glossy screen, so you can look back. Yourself sometimes on the MBA The X230 had a matte screen, and there it was a bit dull screen (perhaps it also has to do with the quality of screen). On the MBA, the colors look a bit brighter out, which makes it more beautiful. Or under fluorescent light glossy screen is vomiting, irritation later I can only conclude, as it is currently holiday. In September / October, there will most likely be an update occur. Updated September 11, 2013 As I said, the exact color fastness me not of great importance. But of course more is always good. Many users claim to have a custom color setting screen. Benefit This mainly applies to screens made by LG. After the instructions from this site had succeeded, I notice that the colors just look a little better. Previously, no problems, and now I do not even feel that it brings something extra. But for other users this can be useful.
Keyboard and touchpad
on the world there are countless types of keyboard layouts, making it difficult to import some. For example, you have Azerty, Qwerty, Qwertz etc., and if you buy the wrong you've got a little problem. Upon ordering the MBA's keyboard was set to "Backlit Keyboard Dutch. Most users are probably used to "Backlit Keyboard U.S.. The differences are shown below. Dutch Keyboard: U.S. Keyboard: The keyboard is nice and spacious. Blind typing is fine, and pressing keys is not a problem. Well there are some things differently, thanks to the OS. So called the 'Alt' 'Option' and the start button disappeared / replace the 'Command' key, which also acts as a 'Control' key. Also, there are no dedicated Home / End / PgUp / PgDown buttons, but I have not actually really missed, and are also accessible. Using the FN key Furthermore, the 'Backspace' button is replaced by a "Delete" key, but the function is the same. This means that there is no "Delete" function. Backlit keyboard is now ingrained standard, and has sixteen positions. It's nice to have, but actually never needed. When it is dark, I usually have a desk lamp that provides me with enough light. TouchPad is huge. The X230 had a small touchpad, but that problem could be solved using the trackpoint and trackpad buttons. The touchpad has a glass layer, what gestures to make smoother. Snapping the touchpad works fine, but to my ears a bit loud. It had softer liked, but it does not bother. I often use the "Tap to click" function, so it makes less noise.
Performance
As I wrote in my other two reviews, I am not one of the benchmarks. For benchmarking data, I also refer to other review sites like Anandtech and Notebookcheck.
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CPU
The CPU chosen for my MBA is a 1.3 GHz Intel Core i5-4250U. It is a dual-core processor ULT, which has a low TDP of 15W. It is a CPU from Haswell series, Intel's latest processor generation. Strikingly, the i5-4250U clocked lower compared to the i5 (1.8 GHz) in the Ivy Bridge generation that sat in the MBA in 2012. This processor had a TDP of 17W. From various reviews the main reason for the lower clock seems to be. A boost in battery life Anandtech has the CPUs tested and in some cases performing the MBA 2013 is equal to or better than the MBA in 2012, while the MBA 2013 match for MBA 2012. Narrowly in other situations, for an additional cost of € 150 may be chosen a 1.7 GHz Core i7. I do not need the power and the € 150 I can do better somewhere else to spend. For those readers who have doubts about the added value of an i7 over an i5, the impact on battery life and other tidbits I recommend this review read AnandTech .
GPU
Core i5-4250U comes with an Intel HD5000 graphics card. This falls in the GT3 category, the 'high-end' series from Intel. However, this does not have a dedicated RAM for the graphics card (Intel HD5200 has that) and has a lower clock speed compared to the HD5100 and HD5200. gaming and OS X usually do not go together, partly because of the compatibility (. exe), on the other because the ports are often not good. Still, I have two games just to test. The first game is Guild Wars 2. On the Intel HD4000 the X230 I could barely pick up the 20-25FPS, and the MBA I get the OS X client 30FPS when I'm in a quiet area. In a busier environment this drops to 25FPS, which yet again is better than the HD4000. Maybe it works even smoother in the Windows version, but I'm not going to test. I also Guild Wars 2 is not able to test long because playing through the touchpad is not fine. A mouse is surely a must. Another game is Football Manager 2013, which is more CPU intensive than GPU. Loading a next day takes a while, perhaps it is because the database I selected (Dutch Football Pyramid database for the experts). Watching the matches in 3D is very smooth, and I had not the X230 on the HD4000.
SSD
The SSD is a 128GB PCI-E SSD made by Samsung. Which SSD you get is seemingly in the 11 'a lottery (SanDisk vs Samsung), but at 13' I heard this moment only Samsung's. You have a Samsung SSD if SM state and SanDisk SD if there is. The difference is that the Samsung SSDs perform slightly better than the SanDisk SSDs. The Samsung seems to be something. Reliable Nowadays I can not live without SSD. HDD makes noise, less efficient, and especially less. Booting the MBA is also done within 10 seconds. Blazing so. Windows 8 could also boot in 10 seconds using a Samsung 830 SSD, so very special is it not. It is of course nice to be able to launch programs quickly. This was a very difficult choice: opt for the 128GB version for € 200 or more a 256GB SSD. On my X230, I had a 256GB SSD which was half full. 128GB would be very tight, and the 256GB so I would have more leeway. But the additional cost of € 200 was too much for me. A 2.5 "256GB SSD is not € 200, but well, there must be a profit. Finally opted for the 128GB, which I just very good to deal with the space available. Currently I have the Office 2011 suite, SPSS, Windows 7 x64 VM, Football Manager 2013 installed and 2GB of documents on Dropbox. In total I now have 56GB free of 120GB, so it is not that bad. Music I have now via Spotify and Google Music, and movies I have an external hard drive. Altogether been provisionally a wise choice. Below is an image with the benchmark of the SSD. Tweakers.net received read and write speeds of 613.78 MB / s and 599.94 MB / s respectively. I come to read and write speeds of 722.6 MB / s and 442.7 MB / s, respectively. With my own test using Blackmagic Disk Speed Test A higher reading speed, but a lower write speed. The performances are comparable, and in practice you nothing of the difference. The system feels very fast. Opening Safari and Finder goes right, but opening Word documents take a little longer, while that happened on my X230 instant.
RAM
This was the only upgrade I've done through Apple. Namely RAM soldered to the motherboard and it is not user-upgradeable. Would you have 8GB RAM, then you should indicate this in advance. Although I've never gone over the 4GB ram 8GB anyway I found some 'safer'. The two 4GB sticks LDDR3 soldered to the motherboard, running at 1600MHz. The MBA uses efficient DDR3 RAM, especially now that the Haswell processors supporting better.
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Wifi
The early adopters of the MBA had complaints about the Wifi connection. Apple is known for it, in order to deliver new products. Wifi performance with moderate Of course, the complaints were also received at Apple and they would solve it with an update. My preliminary experiences with Wifi are positive. On the first day I had suffered from a slow connection, but I suspect this is due to the numerous downloads simultaneously (Dropbox sync, Office 2011 download). The next day was my connection back to normal and I get 1.2 MB / s with a Tele-2 to 20Mbit / s Internet service. 1x I only suffered from a drop-away connection. However, Tele-2 modem has more often suffer from Wi-Fi Woes (1x per month, for a period of 1 to 3 hours). A new modem does not see Tele2 as a solution. Below is a picture of some speed tests of the WiFi connection on my MBA. I'm at the time of testing in my room, which 5-7 meters away from the modem, as the crow flies. Between the modem and my room is still a room between, and thus two walls. Updated September 11, 2013 After testing nearly two months, I still pleased to report that I have encountered with Wifi no problems. Before the update I had no problems, and not after the update. Too Note that this may be different, since there are still a number of users have problems. Per person
Battery life
The selling point of the MBA 2013: "all day battery life. 12 hours without a power outlet nearby, no extra battery slices, no protruding battery cells. A dangerous claim, but Apple is in the area of battery life is usually not far off. At the time of writing, the summer, making it more difficult to mimic. the 'real-life' situation Still, I'm just trying to do what I always do: surfing the web, typing a document in Word (review in this case), there music (Spotify). Done browsing through the Safari web browser, installed AdBlock. I visit sites like 9GAG, Soccer Zone, Tweakers, GoT, Engadget, AnandTech, TheVerge, Nu.nl and Blackboard. Word as the Office 2011 version. Brightness is at 5 bars, since I do not like bright screens. Results: 09:30 to 10:30 Surfing, typing, listening to music. 13:30 to 15:00 and again worked just played Football Manager 2013. 16:15 - 18:00 surfing, typing, listening to music. 18:45 to 20:30 surfing, typing, listening to music. 08:45 -. 10:51 Yet about 26% battery * The periods in which no use is made of the MBA has it stood / closed, in standby mode, but not completely off. Total: 1 + 1:30 + 2:45 + 1:45 + 2:06 = 9 hours and 6 minutes. According to the battery indicator I can work 3 hours, which equates to 12 hours of battery life. Apple makes it so true, but there are caveats should obviously be placed. First of all, varies with the situation, per application and per person. So I'm using a fairly low brightness (5 bars), and here I have stable WiFi connection. I also use the Safari browser, which is optimized for OS X, unlike other browsers. Also I just played Football Manager, and simulating was not flawless, which has also affected the battery life impact. If I had not played FM13 I could certainly benefit from more than two hours (decrease of 15% in an hour of play, more on that later). I be able to add, hoping later more realistic test, but that, as of September really clear. Updated September 11, 2013 Now that I've used, the MBA longer again, I can also tell something about the battery life. First of all, watching a flash video online. I follow with pleasure the series 'Suits' and that I look through a website. Watching one episode suits (average length of 44 minutes) costs 10% on the battery indicator. Basically, you can be 10 episodes of 44 minutes Suits look before the MBA gives up the ghost. Most tablets often do better, but not much better. Basically this is not a problem. Moreover, the use of Google Chrome and Safari a difference. The power of Google Chrome is higher than Safari. Most likely this is due to the optimizations that are in the Safari browser. Exact figures unfortunately I can not give, but an indication. For example, if I missed any 9GAG posts between 00:00 and 9:00 back browse Safari, is only 1% off. I do this in Google Chrome, however this increases to 6%. Also, viewing websites in Google Chrome creates a noticeably shorter battery life. An hour or 8 is feasible, but 12 hours is far away. Idle MBA is very economical. If you have your programs open but nothing else does, then that has very little impact on battery life. I do not work non-stop to the MBA, as there may be consultation is needed between teammates. Then the MBA is not used, so that fortunately little influence. short battery life is good as long as you stay with the included Apple programs. The next update can be expected after the release of OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
Heat and noise of the fans
in a thin laptop it without visible ventilation outlets. Something makes you think. Where do all the heat out then? Then is done via the hinge at the rear. That's where the ventilation system, which should provide. A laptop cooler under normal use (surfing, Word, listening to music), where you do not put the CPU to work, do not hear the fans. The MBA does not feel warm. Workable so. And then you feel probably coming. What if you put the MBA to work? A game like Football Manager 2013, what does that with the MBA? Unfortunately, no good. The fans are going to blow at full speed, and the MBA is hot, very hot in the upper left corner and at the hinge. Makes sense, since FM2013 is a CPU-intensive game. To see how loud the fans are impressed I made a movie. Side note is that this is in a quiet environment, allowing fans clearly be heard.
In short: 99% of the tasks MBA makes no noise and produces hardly any heat. Are you going to still try a game, you have to take into account loud fans, hot top and an impact on battery life.
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OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
A touchy subject. For Windows is sacred, the other OS X. As I indicated at the beginning of the review, I wanted to know why people are so wonderful OS X badly find /. Upon startup I was greeted with a setup: Name, location, password Apple ID, etc. The setup felt almost the same as Ubuntu. Once everything is set up, a "desktop" presented by the oh-so-familiar universe as background. always visible menubar, which has the same functions as a mouse. Also always visible, but it is to hide the Dock. From there you can launch applications quickly. Similar to the Windows 7 taskbar. Finder is the variant of Windows Explorer and works as I actually expected it. Items you can remove the keyboard shortcut Command + Delete , or fashioned by tapping with two fingers on the touchpad and 'Move to Trash' choosing. Safari is the Internet Explorer of Windows. Supplied as standard with OS X and the browser to choose the longest possible battery life thanks to the optimizations. Installing programs in two ways. First, you can install via a. Dmg programs such as via Windows Installer. SPSS for example, took advantage of this and this was also a familiar face. Another variant, however, by dragging them to the "Applications" folder, and then the program is installed. Very simple, but also confusing for a Windows user. The same goes for uninstalling programs. Where you "Remove Programs" programs had to uninstall Windows Control Panel and you can now simply drag the application to the trash and ready. Also this was just searching the internet and even digest, but I know now that it should be done. In the area of program compatibility issues, and I'm still running up against problems. Office I use Office 2011, and is happy FM13 compatible with OS X. For FIFA is not an option, but maybe that's only good. But I have a virtual machine installed with Windows 7 for Microsoft Access and Publisher I need. Case Also, I sometimes paint (yes you read that right) needed for very quick drawings or adjustments. 7-zip I Keka found, but am still orienting to other applications. Where I am most satisfied with the gestures built into OS X. Two finger scrolling works great with two fingers 'tapping' to right, four fingers to the left / right to switch between full-screen apps and Spaces, four fingers up for Mission Control etc. Especially Mission Control is very convenient. During an SPSS case I had several Word documents, Chrome tabs, Excel and SPSS two screen open. Alt-Tab works in that case less fine, because you've got that you keep looking. Lame so many applications open Also you can add new desktops from Mission Control, so you can separate during use. Certain programs This is very useful if you want to have SPSS in Desktop 1 and 4 Word documents in Desktop 2. So there is not much overlap between all programs. Also, you can switch between the two desktops as a fullscreen app, through a four-finger swipe.
Full Screen mode is also very useful if you have open. Two main programs So you can switch between a (non-) fullscreen app and a full screen app. With four fingers Another advantage is that you have something more pixels available in Word to use.
But for example one thing OS X Windows 8 can learn the 'Acitivieitenweergave. Windows 8, I found much clearer and more colorful. Overall I am very happy with OS X, but I probably have to learn a lot and to explore in the future. What I like to have is OS X Mavericks, the successor Mountain Lion. This will provide even more optimizations that have a positive impact on the battery life should have. Imagine even more than 12 hours on one battery charge ... But as long as OS X Mavericks is not out yet, it remains tentative at speculation and to wait. By that time, this review will also get an update.
Connections - External Screen
During my studies there will be plenty of occasions when I have to give a presentation. Often this Powerpoint presentations will be where the MBA should be on the projector. Thus connected Sometimes it is also fine to close so you have more space and can use two screens. Still higher resolution screen on the MBA has only one connection to connect, screens and beamers and it is in my opinion the best choice . The Thunderbolt port is in fact also a Mini DisplayPort. Why is this the best 'connection', as the most common type VGA connector and HDMI projectors is now established in TVs and game consoles? Therefore, there are two reasons: first, there are plenty of 'connectors / converters' for the Mini DisplayPort. There is a Mini-DisplayPort to VGA / HDMI / DVI. Another advantage is the level of resolution output. Where VGA and HDMI (version 1.3a and earlier) are limited to 1920x1080 and 1920x1200 respectively, can Mini DisplayPort to send a resolution of 2560x1600. At the time of writing, the summer has already begun, so the test put on hold for the time being at beamers must be. My first test is thereby connecting the MBA on a Samsung SyncMaster S22B150, which has a VGA port and a resolution of 1920x1080. Connecting the SyncMaster on my MBA was a breeze. First I had a Mini-DisplayPort to VGA connector purchased to make the connection. Possible Then it was plug and MBA immediately recognized my screen. Just like in Windows could be chosen between duplicating / mirroring of the screen, or extend the current screen. The first option is useful if there is someone who needs to see, and what you see. Exactly the same things on the screen For example, a situation is giving a presentation. The disadvantage is that your external display is limited by the resolution of your notebook. In this case, my SyncMaster gave a 1440x900 resolution, which is not sharp and enhances everything looked. The second option is useful if you need more space. Safari on one screen, and Word for example on screen 2. , but then there are some irritations that make working on an external display is less enjoyable in OS X. First, there can be only one screen, the menu bar have + Dock. Want to start a program on your external display, so you will first have to deal with Dock, and then drag it to the external display. Program to screen Although this is also present in Windows, and not necessarily a specific negative feature of OS X, it remains a negative point. What is also strange is that the programs may be using Mission Control. Not drag Fortunately, this is dissolved in OS X Mavericks, so this problem is solved. Another negative feature is the inability to turn off your monitor from the MBA. This is possible if you clam up your MBA, but I also want to use the keyboard and touchpad of the MBA. In Windows it was possible to select only for the external display, but in OS X, this is only possible if you enter a command in the Terminal. While it is indeed possible, I think it is too cumbersome, and you must enter each time the command and when you are ready to make the command settings. In Windows, this was a button 'done'. As a middle ground, I have chosen to set up so that my mouse can escape. Only from the top left / bottom right corner of the desktop / screen diagonally opposite each other In addition, I screen my MBA completely dimmed, so it looks like it is off. Not an optimal solution, but it works. Whether this is resolved at Mavericks, I unfortunately can not be clearly found. My last comment on the external screen is a questionable case, which I'm not sure if multiple users suffer from it, or that this is on my screen. With my Windows 8 laptop I got a sharp display on my external display. But I do it with my MBA, I feel that it is not 100% sharp. Now I do not know if this is an OS X issue, or that this is because my screen was "too cheap". Perhaps converting Mini DisplayPort to VGA also plays a role. 100% sure I am unfortunately not, and therefore I will further investigate this issue yet (via Google) or perhaps a fellow tweaker has the same issue. My preliminary conclusion at this point is that it works, but not optimal. There are some points that need to be improved and fortunately improved in the next version of OS X. When Mavericks out, I will update this section if needed.
Connections - printer
A while ago, I had thought that with the purchase of a Nexus 7, the paper era would be over. Some books I had in PDF format or I have scanned my summaries so that I could read on the Nexus and the paper version could resell. It turned out that reading from a 7 "tablet screen something was more tiring than I expected and the distraction was also greater. Hence I had to print out. Still scanned versions The same applies to reports. Nowadays everything has to be uploaded to check fraud but the professors find it better to make. Scribbled / note paper So a printer is still necessary. For purchasing the MBA I had searched the internet and my printer, Epson Stylus SX115, did work on the MBA. On the website I found drivers for my printer, so I already knew I was right. In Windows 7/8 is now plug and then Windows Update searches the drivers for you. On OS X, it is exactly the same. When connecting my printer, I got the following message: In one way or another, went looking for the drivers fault and was nicely told that could be searched for updates through the Mac App Store. Of course it is useful if my printer does, so good I went to the App Store. After loading a while and I was waiting to see the following: By clicking on "Update" was sufficient to install the drivers. Not much later, I got around to see if I ever got into Windows the same screen. Connecting my printer went so smoothly and It just works motto appears to be correct. However, I would recommend the purchase of an MBA, to see if your peripheral is suitable to avoid. A lot of trouble and stress Updated September 11, 2011 After I update within got through the Apple Appstore, I got a very annoying problem . Before, I could always print manual duplex. Since the update option is gray-sided and therefore not selectable. After I consulted Google this problem was still not resolved. Uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers, unfortunately, did not work. I had to print something and therefore had a Windows 8 virtual machine booted and printed from the VM. However, this is not a nice solution to this problem. I hope I can find a solution, as it is annoying anyway. Here
Windows 7 & 8
was asked to me to test via Boot Camp Windows 8. There is often a debate as to whether it was necessary to use Boot Camp for Windows or VMWare / VirtualBox / Parallels. The answer is simple: if you want minimal performance loss, then Boot Camp is the way to go . You only use it to test / use just that one little program I would virtualize. Until I saw a post from a user. This user said that the Boot Camp could be via Parallels / VMWare. Partition approached This would be the best of both words are. Your Boot Camp partition accessed via a virtual machine to use MS Paint and via Boot Camp starting to play. Fifa 13 This sounds fantastic in the ears. supports Windows 8 now (U) EFI boot, something OS X for years. This is a great advantage to install on your Mac. Windows 8 This means that there is no BIOS to become more virtualized and saves an installation step. However, there are specific drivers needed to work. Enjoyable in Windows These can be downloaded from the Boot Camp Assistant. The drivers are also on the Apple website to find, but the Boot Camp assistant often has a newer version that is not on the Apple website is. The illustration below shows which features this assistant is: My first attempt was to install Windows 8 on the SSD for the MBA. After I put the necessary drivers on a USB stick I started the MBA again and pressed at the boot sound the "option' button. This allowed me to choose a different boot disk. You can see that there are some possibilities: Machintosh HD, OS X Recovery, Windows and EFI Boot. The first is your "regular" hard drive where OS X on it and all of your personal files. The second disc is your recovery disc, which you can access if your OS X installation is destroyed. The Windows option is to install Windows via the BIOS method, and EFI Boot install Windows using UEFI method. I chose "EFI Boot" because Windows 8 supports EFI perfect. installation actually runs just like a normal Windows installation. Country, language, keyboard, etc, everything is there for. Note that "Tap to click" inside the installation environment does not work. You have to really engage the touchpad. Windows reboot 2x, and both times you have to be careful. You started namely from a USB / DVD installation. In the first and second reboot you should choose the appropriate boot disk, namely BOOTCAMP HDD. Otherwise you will be redirected to your OS X installation, and that is not the intention (for now). If all rebooting and setting is completed, you get instantly see your desktop, not the Metro interface. Striking. Now we need to install that you downloaded to install. On a USB through the Boot Camp Assistant Boot Camp drivers After a short 5 minutes everything was ready, and you had a good working Windows 8 (Pro) installation on your MBA. From now on, your MBA boot directly to Windows 8. However, many people use Windows only occasionally, and therefore more likely to boot into OS X. This can be changed by the task bar at the bottom of the gray rectangle to select. Boot Camp configuration, Here you can choose to select. OS X as the primary boot drive Here you can also activate "Tap to Click 'like' Two taps = Right. ' If you've read my piece well this was my first attempt. Back in OS X, I tried to approach. Bootcamp partition via Parallels In Windows 7, this was no problem, but Windows 8 still had some cures. Parallels can be no EFI recognize, so the Boot Camp partition can be. Did not start Other users say this is due to the PCI-e SSD, which is not recognized by Parallels. But both have it agree that this problem may be solved by Parallels and should be.
So I thought it was a shame that I could not approach. My Boot Camp partition via Parallels and VMWare This still gobbles a fairly large amount of storage space, and plenty of space to install programs I had not. When I read on the internet that Windows 8 could be. Installed on an external drive In one way or another, this brought me to an idea, to testing. "Force" of Thunderbolt I have for a reasonable price a LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt / USB 3.0 256GB SSD external drive tapped on the head. 256GB is more than sitting, as big as my SSD was in the Thinkpad. I found it a waste to spend, so I solved it. Follows much space on Windows 128GB is committed to Windows 8, formatted in NTFS. The remaining 128GB free space when I set. This is important if you want to install on an external drive, Windows 8 but do not want to use Windows. Complete external drive
This time I have Windows 8 installed on the 128GB partition on the external SSD, and after 15 minutes everything was ready. It feels just as fast as the Windows 8 installation on the MBA. Then a Windows Experience Index benchmark done, yielding no bad results.
After installation, I went back to OS X to see if I could get through Parallels / VMWare., The Boot Camp partition recognized The 128GB partition where Windows is because it is recognized as Boot Camp (probably by the drivers). But unfortunately I get the same error as before EFI Shell. As I said earlier, I recommended if you use do not want your entire external hard drive for Windows 8, to create a partition for Windows and create. a free partition In my case I want to use the remaining 128GB as a real external drive, which I can put files. To maintain for OS X and Windows, as many compatibility I want to format this partition as exFAT. However, the first time I went into the mist, because I had designated. Both partitions as NTFS Once in OS X and Windows, I could see the second partition but not formatting to exFAT or remove and return. The second time so I have a 128GB partition for Windows and the other 128GB deflated. So I could after installing Windows to format the second partition exFAT. This is a temporary solution for Windows. I took the entire space for OS X and 128GB for Windows to install programs and utilizing the power of the MBA. Use Meanwhile, I have my virtual Windows 7 again put to very fast to boot. MS Paint and Access I hope Parallels and / or VMWare with a solution to the inability to access the Boot Camp partition, and otherwise I think this is also a good solution. Data on the battery life, I still owe you. This is because I boot Windows 8 from an external SSD, leaving just a little more power. I also want to be sure that all drivers and programs are installed before I can give. An indication of the battery life
Conclusion
The MBA is an ultrabook which since its first introduction to the outside barely changed. This year, a second microphone got there, and that was it in terms of changes to the appearance. changes have taken place there. On the inside There is a Haswell processor and it is not a SATA SSD, but a PCI-e SSD. The battery has become something bigger, without making. MBA thicker But more than this has not changed. ultrabook For connoisseurs and lovers you would think that the MBA has to offer little extras at this time compared to the other ultrabooks. Many have a 1080p IPS display, which should provide. Good viewing angles The Vaio Pro is the first competitor of the MBA, which has a better screen than the MBA. With the help of a sheet, the battery life can be up to 14 hours. It is striking that the Vaio Pro also the only competitor in the ultrabook market with Haswell processors. To me this is at least a step up compared to the X230. I deliver on CPU (i5-3210m) and partly Windows and perhaps build quality. Battery life I go forward again, as well as in the field of weight. User experience is fine, but Windows 8 I've never found appalling. It worked just nice and my dream machine was a 13 "tablet with Haswell processor, 8GB RAM, SSD and super long battery life. But for now it remains a dream and I am extremely pleased with the MBA. The MBA is easy to everyday tasks, but an intense game play will come with trade-offs: heat and sound. The retina MBP 13 "I have never considered, since the performance was substandard. The retina MBP 15 "is for me a lot too high and expensive step, and there were many problems. The MBA 11 "I found again too small. Overall, the MBA a great laptop for the average student battery life on priority number one is standing. In terms of processing power you get almost no deficit and the speed of the MBA ensures that tasks smoothly and quickly go. About the price is a bit debatable: one is the basic model with student discount a good choice, compared to the competition. On the other hand upgrades again expensive, and the money should be spent then, because afterwards it can not. For now cross the MBA head and shoulders above the rest with its battery life, but still arriving Haswell ultrabooks and tablets for the door and windows 8.1 is yet to be seen. Updated September 11, 2013 For the update of the MBA had an overall assessment of 5 stars. Some users commented that if I took the reviews, that I would never come. Never a 5 star average When I had the excuse that point battery life as a student weighed heavily on me many times. With this update, I'm still a star get off. The reason for this is the problem that I encountered with my printer. For the software update of the printer, there was nothing going on, but after the update I can no longer double-sided printing. Also, there are a number of settings have disappeared. With the result that I need to print via a virtual machine or Windows PC for now flawless experience. It is a pity that there is no half-stars could be given, but worth 5 stars, it is unfortunately not. For the rest, my conclusion is not changed, and remains a wonderful machine. But one with a small blemish.
Accessories
The reason I gave this section after the conclusion place, because I believe that some accessories will not affect the performance of the MBA. Of course there are some accessories that increase the connectivity, but real influencers on performance are not. For the accessories I have therefore a separate conclusion in this section. 's MBA was fairly bare delivered, as mentioned in the review. Not supplied or picture sleeve adapters like the Zenbook (Prime) from Asus. I'm pretty careful with my stuff and especially when it involves a huge investment in a device. A sleeve was therefore a must if I take my MBA. Since Apple products often maintain a universal standard in their product lines, the accessories are also easy to use and find. So you can buy at the Apple Store for example accessories. Often the products are more expensive than what you can get elsewhere. At the time of writing, I have purchased some accessories. Accessories - be.ez LA robe 13'' MacBook Air sleeve Graphite / Black When I go to school, then I use my shoulder to my Thinkpad laptop, lunch, notepad and occasionally books to carry. The choice of a shoulder might not be good for my body, but I found it easier. The bag has separate compartments inside, which makes separating things easier. In a backpack things are often 'squeezed'. The shoulder was originally designed for 15'' Thinkpads, but I was there for free with the purchase of the X230. The X230 fit well in the bag, and was completely covered, leaving other stuff was not damaged. The X230 The MBA is a different story. There he stands out above the protection, which could hit some other stuff damaged. This, of course, I would not have and had a sleeve for the MBA in my eyes the solution.
Ideally I'd like to see the MBA in black because it gives a nice look in my eyes. The color of the sleeve must also be black for me, or very close to black. I was first looking at the online Apple store. There I saw the Incase 13 "sleeve stand, which according to Apple was also suitable for the MBA. Just searched the internet for reviews and the like, and it appeared to be true. Perhaps a little too rushed to order printed, I came back until afterwards that it was created specifically for the MBP. Yes, the MBA fits in, but then there's a lot of empty space in between. Contacted Apple through the mail and I did a) not returnable and b) I got my money back. A blessing in disguise, but let's say. then I looked elsewhere for a sleeve. On the website of A-mac i saw this 'be.ez LA robe sleeve 13''' stand. Luckily there was an A-mac store in my hometown, so I could see it with my own eyes and feel. I was already sold fairly quickly and had the right sleeve included.
The sleeve has only one fastener which is one quarter of the total area covers. As a result, you do not have to worry that the rest of the case your MBA damaged. Also in the zip you do not have to worry. There is a kind of protective strip on both sides, so the MBA is closed zipper. Here they have thought about it. The case on the inside and outside is made of a soft, firm but malleable material. Apologies for the somewhat vague description, but better unfortunately I can not articulate.
I use it mainly to transport, the MBA secure in my bag and it does (for now) too. There will, of course, alternatives to the reasonable hooggeprijste his sleeve, which are often found on Chinese online stores and / or websites such as Ebay. A hard case for the MBA around seemed not convenient, since the heat also partly goes through the aluminum. The MBA can be a nice warm stove without hard case, hard case and I do not even know. Price: € 25.95
Presentations held on the university continues through projectors, where you can connect to a VGA connector your laptop. The MBA course has no VGA connector, otherwise it would not be so thin thin profile more. As a solution to this could be a VGA cable can be connected via the Mini DisplayPort / Thunderbolt Port. Using an attachment, I opted for the Apple version, since I have heard that some non-Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter is not working properly stories . It would be extremely annoying if the cable does not function during a presentation for a grade. As a test, I have it connected to my Samsung SyncMaster where the experience to read earlier in the review are returned. The cable was purchased from the online Apple store, and admittedly, it's pretty pricey. According to other friends I could just as well for a standard Mini DisplayPort to VGA cable select, but I would have preferred that it works well at one time. Price: € 29.00
Another cable, which I occasionally will only need. My wifi connection at home is not always stable and sometimes sense to stop one day. Oddly enough, there is Internet or via Ethernet cable. I've been through a number of times that this situation occurred to a deadline, and it has an Ethernet cable ensured that my life is not so hard went down. cable does what it should do and is recognized by my MBA. The connection is stable and there are no preliminary rarities discovered. However, I must place an important caveat. As the title suggests, it is a Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter. The MBA has only one Thunderbolt port, and when you connect your cable to it, then you can often use an external display. Of course this is possible when you have an (expensive) Thunderbolt display. This is very important, and probably ensures that you get to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter must consider. USB Often the speed via USB or (significantly) lower. Again the same story. Pricey. However, it uses a Thunderbolt connector, which is a completely different thing than a Mini DisplayPort cable. Furthermore, a USB to Ethernet cable alternative, if use is made of an external display
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