Solid State MacBook Airs Arriving

MacBook Airs with the 64GB Solid State Drive (SSD) have begun arriving in the United States.

My personal order was placed online the day of the MacWorld announcement, and after waiting nearly a year (time is relative) I finally received my shipment notice last Friday.

Armed with a Fed Ex tracking number, I watched with some amusement as my future Air-to-be was picked up in Shanghai, spent Saturday night seeing the sights in Anchorage, Alaska (are there any sights to see in Anchorage?), and in due course she landed here in Denver on Sunday. Quite the world traveler.

Then again, that’s exactly what she’s designed to do.

Monday morning my Air hopped on a passing Fed Ex truck, and by late afternoon (where have you been?) we were together at last.

You’ve probably already seen the unboxing and undressing and disassembly photos, so there’s no real need to go into those kinds of embarrassing and somewhat sordid details.

In fact, after all of the exposure the Air has received the only real mystery she has left lies in determing the difference in battery life between the 64GB SSD and the 80GB PATA hard drive versions.

Which I can’t help you with. Yet.

I’ll publish those numbers as soon I get them, but until my Air has calibrated herself by going through a couple of complete charge/discharge cycles there’s not much point.

I will say, however, that my Air and I are out having dinner and the “time left” battery indicator currently reads 3:27, with a 61% charge. (WiFi on, Bluetooth off, screen 30% power, backlit keyboard likewise.)

Turn WiFi off, and she adds another 20-30 minutes to the clock.

Do some math, and with this usage pattern (writing an article) we can plan on spending somewhere between six and six and a half hours together.

Not bad at all.

And yes, she’s thin. Happy now?