The MacBook Air has much longer batterlife than the MacBook or MacBook Pro. The thing is, given that this MacBook is aimed fairly and squarely at the traveller, extensive battery life when on the road is essential.

As a result, the MacBook Air's trackpad is disproportionately large, compared to the size of trackpads found on the MacBook or MacBook Pro. Like the MacBook and the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air features a slimmed down MagSafe connector for power. Apple estimates that with wireless networking turned on, the MacBook Air can get about 5 hours of battery life.

Unusually, there is no built-in CD drive. Apple is betting the uses of such drives - for instance burning discs and loading software - will become less relevant as more and more services can be performed wirelessly or delivered over the internet. An external drive can be bought for 65.

On the left side, near the back, is a slightly recessed space on the MacBook Air's underside with a MagSafe power connector. As a result, the MacBook Air comes with a different power brick, a smaller 45-watt brick than the one the MacBook uses. On the MacBook Air's right side is a drop-down door with three ports. The good news is, MacBook Air ships with two video adapters in the box, one for VGA, one for DVI.

In short, the MacBook Air is absolutely not a desktop replacement and shouldn't be compared to a MacBook or MacBook Pro as you're doing.