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Get a refurbished MacBook Air for $999

Who cares if it's a refurb? You still get a full warranty and all the same light-as-Air goodness.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida

If you were tantalized by the razor-thin MacBook Air when it debuted a year ago but disheartened by its price, here's good news: the online Apple Store is selling refurbished MacBook Air laptops for as little as $999 shipped. To put that in perspective, the least-expensive new Air sells for $1,799.

The $999 model sports a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, and all the other standard Air features: 802.11n, a built-in Webcam, a 13.3-inch display, and so on. Read CNET's review for all the details.

Needless to say, you don't get an optical drive, which has been one of the major MacBook Air complaints since day one. You do, however, get a full one-year warranty, same as with new models.

Wow, is that tempting. I always thought the MacBook Air was way cool, but way overpriced. At $999, it's definitely more reasonable. The lack of a DVD drive doesn't bother me in the slightest, but I'm not wild about the small hard drive. What about you? Is this the nudge you need to grab some Air?