MacBook Air measures 0.16 inches at its thinnest point, while its maximum thickness of 0.76 inches is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks. MacBook Air boasts a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing, and a trackpad with multi-touch gesture support so users can pinch, rotate and swipe.

"Performance is obviously important to all users; however, the emphasis or the main feature of the MacBook Air is portability," said Richard Shim, an analyst at IDC. "As a user, you have to understand that you are going to sacrifice certain key capabilities, but you are gaining thinness."

The Most Common Criticisms

MacBook Air is powered by a 1.6-GHz or a 1.8-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and includes as standard features 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, and 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1. An optional 64GB solid-state drive contains no moving parts for added durability.

MacBook Air users can buy the companion MacBook Air SuperDrive, a compact external drive, for $99. The SuperDrive is powered by MacBook Air's USB port, eliminating the need to carry a separate power adapter. MacBook Air delivers up to five hours of battery life. And Apple's Migration Assistant software lets users transfer files, applications and preferences from an old Mac to MacBook Air over a wireless network .

Two of the most common criticisms of ultra-portable notebooks are the sacrifice of performance and features. Apple's MacBook Air wins praise for overcoming some of the obstacles of previous ultra-portable machines.

"Apple set a new standard for thinness in the industry," Shim said. "This type of product hasn't really done well with consumers in the past. However, we've never gotten to this level of thinness before. If this product resonates with the market, we will see more competition in this area."

Is MacBook Air the Pricing Pioneer?

Shim expects students and travelers to appreciate Apple's latest computer innovation the most. Students who need to carry a notebook from the classroom to the lab to the dorm room, he said, will understand the benefits. Travelers will, too, he said, but Apple's market is not the typical executive because they often carry notebooks using just the Windows platform.

The price may be an issue with students and other consumers. The new MacBook Air will be shipping in two weeks through the Apple Store for a suggested retail price of $1,799. "In our research with focus groups, thinness catches the eye," Shim said. "However, when you show consumers thin products, you don't show them a price. So the question is, will they be willing to pay a premium for a smaller form factor?"

Historically the answer has been no, but market conditions have changed. Average selling prices for PCs have come down industry-wide. And, Shim said, we're talking about Apple here. "Apple has been successful with unconventional form factors in the past," he concluded.