macbook air

Apple trims prices on refurbished MacBook Airs

Consumers in the market for a MacBook Air can now save a fair amount of cash on a refurbished unit.

Apple has cut its prices on several factory-refurbished MacBook Air editions. A tour of the company's Refurbished product page reveals an 11.6-inch, 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 model selling for $749, 16 percent off the normal price. This flavor offers 2GB of memory and 64GB of flash storage.

A similar version but with 4GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage is selling for $829, a 17 percent cut off the usual price. And a 13.3-inch … Read more

Can you spot the Apple laptop?

The designers at Samsung and HP sure love Apple's laptop design philosophy, but the duo may want to take a step back next generation and innovate a little bit. CNET found several new computers from these companies that look just like an Apple MacBook Air. Can you tell which one is the real Apple product in the picture above?

Our more discerning readers might easily spot the differences between each of these devices, but Crave decided to make it a little more challenging by shrinking the pictures down a bit. Readers who participated in our guessing game on Facebook had a pretty easy time spotting the real Apple, but the pictures were also much larger. … Read more

Best MacBook Air cases and covers

When a hot Apple product hits the market, it has a tendency to spur a cottage industry of accessories. The MacBook Air is no exception, with several companies making MacBook Air cases and covers.

Since the Air's design hasn't really changed in the last couple of years, most of the cases, covers, and sleeves that worked for the older 11- and 13-inch 2010 and 2011 models should work with the updated 2012 MacBook Air versions.

As always, feel free to make your own suggestions for cases and covers you like and we'll consider adding them in the next update.

Click on any image to start slideshow. Cases are listed in alphabetical order.

Updated August 8, 2012 with four new cases.… Read more

OWC announces SSD uprades for MacBook Air

It's generally easy to upgrade your computer to a standard solid-state drive (SSD) as long as your computer supports the standard 2.5-inch hard-drive design. The MacBook Air, however, doesn't, so most people are stuck with the machine's relatively limited stock storage.

OWC announced today the OWC Mercury Aura Pro SSD, which is designed specifically for 2012 MacBook Airs. Instead of the standard design, the new SSD comes in the same design as those used inside the supported Air; it's shaped more like a stick of system memory than a hard drive.

OWC says the Mercury … Read more

Add an Ethernet port to your MacBook Air for an easy $7

Although the slim, ultralight profile of the MacBook Air is impressive, owners must sacrifice a few features PC owners take for granted, like an optical drive and an Ethernet port.

Without an Ethernet port, the Air is a wireless-only machine, forcing users to find a Wi-Fi connection, even if there's a more stable wired network available.

Apple offers two workarounds: a USB Ethernet adapter and (new for 2012) a Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter. However, each of them will set you back $29.

Thankfully, there are plenty of cheaper USB to Ethernet adapter solutions out there.

Monoprice, the Internet's best-kept … Read more

Will cheaper MacBook Airs sap ultrabook momentum?

Apple's cheaper-but-better MacBook Air isn't good news for ultrabooks.

Ultrabooks surfaced last year as a niche product in response to the Air. And now Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, at el are trying to mainstream the skinny laptops.

There's one problem. Apple just cut the price and upped the processor specs on the MacBook Air today.

So, is Apple still standard bearer and ultrabooks just pretenders to the lightweight laptop throne?

Only time and market-share numbers will tell.

Spec check: $1,099 11.6-inch MBA: The high-end model has dropped to $1,099 from $1,199 and packs … Read more

Apple's WWDC news: New Macbook Pros, iOS 6, upgraded Siri

Apple's news at WWDC today skewed heavily toward its Mac line, with long-awaited updates to its MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, and MacBook Air lines, while also providing a first glimpse of the latest version of its iOS mobile operating system.

The event served as a reminder that while Apple's largest growth drivers are the iPhone and the iPad, its Mac line continues to be an important part of business. To better illustrate the point, Apple unveiled a next-generation MacBook Pro.

That said, the mobile end got its update with iOS 6, which includes 200 new updates, as well … Read more

WaterField's CitySlicker MacBook Air case is slick, but the handle costs extra

WaterField Designs makes some swanky cases for laptops, tablets, e-readers, and even the PS Vita. The company's latest edition to its catalog is the CitySlicker, a compact carrying case for the MacBook Air and presumably smaller Windows ultrabooks.

Although I haven't gotten my hands on one, the nice thing about it seems to be that while it's slim, it does offer more storage than a laptop sleeve, with a few pockets on the inside and one on the outside for storing the Air's AC adapter and charging cable.

The downside is the price.… Read more

2012 Ivy Bridge MacBooks, iMacs may soon reach consumers

The new 2012 Ivy Bridge Macs might be coming soon to a store near you, according to a couple of recent hints.

Details revealed yesterday by benchmarking site Geekbench point to a MacBookPro9,1. Powered by Intel's Ivy Bridge chip Core i7-3820QM quad-core running at 2.7GHz, the name and number would seem to indicate the successor to Apple's current 13-inch pro laptop.

However, MacRumors believes that since the i7-3820QM processor runs at 45 watts, it's more likely to surface in the beefier 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro units.

Another Geekbench benchmark page appears to tip off an upcoming new iMac. With the name and number iMac13,2, the new model would appear to indicate a 27-inch iMac. Powering the new iMac is Intel's Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770 quad-core chip clocking in at 3.4GHz.

How do we know this information is legit? … Read more