Traveling With a MacBook Air, Part 1

For comparison, Apple's MacBook Pro 15-inch comes with a backlit-LED screen, and it's a $100 upgrade on the 17-inch MacBook Pro. Current MacBooks don't offer the backlit-LED screen. If you compare the MacBook Air to a MacBook in a retail store, you'll see the difference. The Air's screen pops, while the MacBook's screen looks a bit washed out in comparison.

The Air's screen is clearly legible, even in direct sunlight. That's a plus if you want to work outdoors, or with a large window to your back. While waiting to board my flight out of San Francisco, I searched for an available power plug to keep the Air juiced. The only plug not taken at that moment was near a large window, and it was a sunny day. Fortunately, this didn't cause any viewing difficulties whatsoever.

Worth noting: The keyboard is backlit, too, which helped me type more easily during a night flight. You can adjust the keyboard backlighting up or down using dedicated Function keys. Also, the Air features an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts keyboard and display brightness based on the lighting conditions around you.

As you might imagine from a laptop measuring 0.76 inches at its thickest point, the Air is a joy to travel with. It's so skinny, I slipped it into a vinyl drawstring bag designed to hold a pair of shoes. Then I packed the shoe bag with the Air inside into my laptop backpack for my travels.

The Air's light weight paid off many times during my trip. Because the Air is so thin and light, I removed it from my bag while waiting in line to enter an airport security checkpoint. In comparison, I usually leave bulkier laptops in my bag until the last possible minute, because their heft makes them more difficult to hold while also juggling bags, slipping off my shoes, and going through all the other checkpoint cha-cha-cha dance moves.

Also, the slender Air handily fit into the airline's seatback pocket. It was ready to go as soon as the flight attendant announced it was okay to use electronic devices.

After reading a recentWall Street Journal articleabout all the nasty things people leave in airline seatback pockets, I highly recommend placing your Air in a protective bag or sleeve before stashing it.

Though the Air weighs just 3 pounds, its actual traveling weight can be a bit more. You may need to pack additional accessories that you wouldn't need with other notebooks.

Example: The Air lacks an internal optical drive. If you want to watch DVDs in-flight, you'll need Apple's externalSuperDrive(online prices: $90 and up), which weighs just over 11 ounces. If your hotel offers in-room wired Internet access only, you'll need to pack Apple'sUSB Ethernet Adapter($29). To plug into an airplane power port, you'll need Apple's45W MagSafe Airline Power Adapter($50).

The combined weight of the Air plus its AC adapter, the SuperDrive, the USB Ethernet Adapter and MagSafe Airline Power Adapter is 4 pounds, 5 ounces. That's still lighter than most laptops, but you have more pieces to pack--and potentially lose.

Even though it's thin and light, the Air has a full-sized keyboard and 13.3-inch screen, so it's roughly the same width as many other laptops.

The Air fit comfortably on my seatback tray in coach--until the person in front of me fully reclined. Luckily, on my San Francisco to Atlanta flight, there were plenty of empty seats, so I moved to a window seat with no one seated in front of me.

My return flight, however, was packed. When the person in front reclined, I could no longer type comfortably on the Air on the seatback tray. I had to place the computer on my lap to continue working.

Worth noting: Some have complained that the Air, like other Apple laptops, grows uncomfortably warm during use. I didn't find this to be a problem, however.

Eye-Fi recently expanded its line of memory cards that add wireless connectivity to digital cameras for photo sharing and image file transfer. Among the new products: The 2GBEye-Fi Explore($129), which automatically locates nearby Wi-Fi networks and adds geo location tags.

Gateway's P-172X FXdesktop replacement laptop delivers good gaming performance but disappointing sound. The machine is bound to get your attention, though, with its 17-inch display, glossy black hard-plastic exterior with copper-colored detailing, glowing backlit keyboard shortcuts, and moderate price ($2000).

TheSanDisk Sansa Fuze, a flash-based MP3 player, delivers low prices ($80, $100, and $130 for the 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB versions, respectively); a long list of features, including voice recording (great for business users) and support for subscription services such as eMusic, Napster, and Rhapsody To Go; and an ultracompact design.

Contributing Editor James A. Martin offers tools, tips, and product recommendations to help you make the most of computing on the go. Martin is also author of theTraveler 2.0blog.Sign upto have the Mobile Computing Newsletter e-mailed to you each week.

Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket?Tell me about it. However, I regret that I'm unable to respond to tech-support questions, due to the volume of e-mail I receive.