The New MacBook Air

The MacBook Air is probably the most controversial Apple product since the iPhone. One the one hand, it's sexy as all get out -- sleek, lightweight, quite powerful considering its size. On the other, it's seriously compromised in ways that are turning off potential users.

I got a chance Tuesday afternoon to spend some quality time with the MacBook Air. It's classic Apple -- to hold it and play with it is to want it. But once you have it, it has enough issues that I think it would be frustrating with frequent use.

While I'm willing to hold off final judgment until I have a review unit in my clutches, I have some more thoughts to share after having briefly played with it.

• Its case is indeed remarkably thin. Much credit goes to Apple and Intel's engineers for cramming what they did inside its skin. The material used is identical to the aluminum MacBook Pro, but the way it tapers at the edges like the iPod nano is quite seductive.

• The black keyboard, which initially looks quite jarring against the aluminum when you first open it, does provide greater contrast when the backlighting kicks in, as I suspected. It's easier to see than the backlit silver keys on the MacBook Pro. There are issues with the paint and numbers wearing off the MacBook Pro, so perhaps this is another reason why Apple went with black keys.

• While the base model comes with 2 gigabytes of memory, that's also the maximum amount the MacBook Air can take. That's a real downside, particularly if you want to run Windows via Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion.

• The minimalist hard drive -- just 80 GB -- also puts a crimp in its capabilities. If you are working with video or lots of large photos, or if you carry a lot of music with you, that 80 GB can fill up quickly. Add Windows -- either through virtualization or Boot Camp -- and you're out of elbow room. And if you pay the nearly $1,000 it costs to upgrade to the 64-GB solid-state drive, you've got even less storage.

• The backlit LED screen is beautiful -- the display is just as crisp and bright as it is on the 15-inch MacBook Pro. It's a joy to look at.

• The lack of wired connectivity is an issue, too. There's no Ethernet port, and only one USB port. If you need to connect to a hardwired Internet connection, you're out of luck if you have a wired mouse, printer or your iPod you'd also like to also connect.

• Not having a built-in optical drive doesn't bother me too much, though those who like to watch DVDs on plane flights are grumbling. Still, if you have the hard drive space left to hold it, you can always put a digital copy of a movie on the MacBook Air to watch.

• Much is being made of the Air not having a removable battery. Those who are complaining say they like to carry multiple batteries and swap them out. While there aren't really that many people who do this, this product is aimed at the market that is most likely to want to do this. I think people want at least the capability of doing this, even if they don't do it on a regular basis -- it's a safety net.

The MacBook Air looks like a great traveling machine for people who write a lot. I suspect many of my colleagues in the press are drooling over it. But if you want to do anything more ambitious with it than wireless Internet access, writing and office productivity on the road, it may disappoint.

If Apple's as smart as I think they are, a 15-inch model -- which will have more room for more features -- is in the pipeline. It might be wise to wait for that.