A few weeks with the new Apple Macbook

(The new Apple Macbooks. I have the one on the left – Space Gray)

I’ve had the new Apple Macbook (that I was so excited to get) for a few weeks now, and I’m ready for my official review. As a reminder, the new Macbook (it’s not a “Pro”, and its not an “Air”, its just a…Macbook) is Apple’s latest laptop. It’s the lightest, thinnest laptop they’ve ever made. It’s small (12in) and only has one port to plug stuff in to. And it has a terrific Retina display.

What I like:

– The battery is terrific. I don’t even keep a power cord on my desk at work. I charge it at night, and then can almost always use it all day without needing to charge it. This gives me ultimate portability, and since I’m on the go a lot, its just what I needed.

– The full-length keyboard is terrific. They made the keyboard extend end-to-end, allowing for a more comfortable typing experience.

– Retina screen is great, of course. As I’ve said before, unfortunately not using a Retina (or high resolution) screen is like watching SD TV instead of HD TV. I just can’t do it.

What I’m wishing for:

– It’s a little too small. When the larger screen versions come out, I’ll switch. If there was a 15in Retina Air, I’d be using that right now, even with the extra weight and worse battery life (but the Air’s are not Retina). The current size isn’t a deal breaker for me, but I’ll switch up once a larger one is available.

– Cellular connectivity. This is the ultimate portable laptop and I’m not sure why Apple hasn’t started offering cellular connectivity with these devices yet. I had a Chromebook a while back that had cellular connectivity and I loved it.

– Touch screen! Seriously, why hasn’t this happened yet?

– The keyboard is a little too loud. Too clicky sounding, so I’m constantly worried about disrupting everyone around me with my loud typing.

Conclusion:

I’m very happy with this new laptop. It might be a problem if I did more CPU-intensive work (like graphic design), but since most of my laptop time is spent in a browser or in Evernote, this machine handles the load just fine. I can put up with the smaller screen knowing that soon there will be larger alternatives.