Get a refurbished MacBook Air for $999

If you were tantalized by the razor-thin MacBook Air when it debuted a year ago but disheartened by its price, here's good news: the online Apple Store is selling refurbished MacBook Air laptops for as little as $999 shipped. To put that in perspective, the least-expensive new Air sells for $1,799.

The $999 model sports a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, and all the other standard Air features: 802.11n, a built-in Webcam, a 13.3-inch display, and so on. Read CNET's review for all the details.

Needless to say, you don't get an optical drive, which has been one of the major MacBook Air complaints since day one. You do, however, get a full one-year warranty, same as with new models.

Wow, is that tempting. I always thought the MacBook Air was way cool, but way overpriced. At $999, it's definitely more reasonable. The lack of a DVD drive doesn't bother me in the slightest, but I'm not wild about the small hard drive. What about you? Is this the nudge you need to grab some Air?

[loose_screw]

Very tempting, 802.11n and 1-year warranty. The 80gb hard drive is twice the size of my ThinkPad T43, so I don't view it as much of a drawback. I do have a few questions though:

Is this the previous gen Mac Air?
How is the battery life?
Is it possible to install Windows (a la bootcamp) without an optical drive? I don't have any other Apple storage products or computers to mount an optical drive from.

Thanks Rick!

[rickbroida]

Alas, I don't have answers for most of those questions, as I'm really not a Mac person. But I can virtually guarantee you this is a first-gen Air. Check CNET's review for info on battery life and do a little Google searching for help with the Bootcamp question. (Curious about that myself.)

[FNSonin]

I suspect that it is the previous generation based on the processor speed.
The battery life seems to be comparable to my Thinkpad X41 at 4 hours full blast
You can mount the optical drive remotely over the network using a PC. I do not know about Boot Camp as I use OSX on my Mac Air and windows on my X41 as one is personal and the other is corporate.

[abundantsnotbob]

There is a feature called "remote disc" I think, that you can use an optical drive on a mac or pc, and the macbook air will recognize it as an optical drive.

[toddstauffer]

Yeah, this is first gen; 1.6Ghz and 80GB 4200RPM drive.

It's a nice catch -- that IS a low price -- but the integrated graphics processor comes close to killing the deal for me. When you can't play any modern games on one of the sweetest industrial designs in a while, that's a toughie.

And the single USB port? Argh.

It'll still start conversations in coffee houses, I'm sure.

BTW, the external DVD drive is $99 in the Apple Store, and probably cheaper on eBay. Not sure how you'd install Windows without one, unless you have a disk image of Windows (which would mean its sourcing was a little shady).

[pellets007]

Yes, it is.
Battery: 4-5 hours based on Cnet and Apple. Most people say 3 hours or so.
And no, I don't think you can install Windows via Remote Disc. The problem is that XP has no idea of Remote Disc. I'm not to sure on this though.

[Januss331]

Definitely did it. I always wanted an Air but always stayed away due to the price. But, this is a crazy price. The size of the drive doesn't bother me as I use an external drive for everything but school work anyways (all my media for example). I've got a Macbook Pro right now and I'm going to keep it for my photo editing but as far as lugging back and forth to school and home, the Air will do just fine. I take notes, write up a lot of stuff and use keynote pretty heavily. That's the majority of work for me. The battery life is standard as far as I can tell

[jake k]

I wish I had waited and found this great device before buying my original white macbook 3 months ago. The Air is exactly what I need for being a college student, portability with just enough power for browsing websites and typing up word documents and papers. Looking back, I love the white macbook (the best computer I've ever personally purchased) yet I would definitely rather have the macbook air for my particular usages of a laptop.

[akarol]

Or get any netbook out there that is far superior for less than half the price.

[FNSonin]

I saw an ASUS EEEPC at Target during Christmas shopping. What a piece of junk. I touched some of the chiclet keys and they came right off. I by computers to be used for upto 5 years. Not bough and then thrown away like a used kleenex. What netbook do you think is far superior to a laptop made out of metal with asealed keyboard?

[mishani]

Half the price yes, but far superior? 10" screen vs 13", Atom processor vs. Core duo.

[fooldog01]

Still a ripoff if you ask me.

[brain47]

get a life.

do u always post negative comments.

The air is one of the coolest laptops ever. since you are most likely NOT poweruser, photo and movie editing (although you can do that on the Air, just slower)

Looks like NO one is asking you.....

[CNET Editor's note: Personal attack deleted.]

[IowaNinersFan]

Even being USED, it's still more expensive than a BRAND NEW PC. What a ripoff!!!

[myles taylor]

Can you show me a brand new PC Ultralight that is cheaper than this? If you're comparing it to standard PC's well, it's more expensive than standard Macs too. Computers are in classes and you can't compare across classes.

[pellets007]

Actually it's more likely that the Air on sale isn't used. Rather, it;s just the previous model. It's been up on the Apple site for a while now, to long for them all to be used.

[Dan7637]

mac haters f-ck off, the air is more powerful than my sony pc with xp 1.83 Ghz Pentium and 1 GB of Ram which weighs even more, if i hadnt just bought my macbook i would have got this

[fdunn3]

Well now is your opportunity.

[fdunn3]

I'd rather have one of the newer netbooks or the AMD low cost ultra-portables at about half the cost.

[drew630]

Refurbished?? I thought Apple products, well, just worked...

[pithenumber]

these are the ones that didn't want to work but were forced to work anyways

[myles taylor]

There are two principles that you can apply to everything:

1) Anything man made will break; it's not perfect.
2) When you make millions (or even thousands) of anything, you will have a certain number of them fail.

These are facts of life.

[pellets007]

Again, I'll write that these are probably just the previous model - not used. They have been on the site to long, meaning that it's unlikely that they are all used. If you look at most of the other refurb Macs, they all sell out and get taken down. Speculation of course, but it's a more probable reason.

[JorgeS18]

I still think it's $600 too expensive.

[pellets007]

A $400 netbook is no where near comparable. Core 2 Duo vs. Atom. 2GB RAM vs. 512MB. 13" vs. 8/9". I'm not going to be a fanboy, as I'm not, but a computer at that price is no where near comparable.

[rickbroida]

Hey, hey, let's keep it civil, peeps. People are allowed to like or dislike Macs, netbooks, etc. Let's have some respect for each other's opinions, okay? :)

[GALLERY84]

I GOT THE AIR WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT , I WOULD AGREE WAY WAY OVERPRICED BUT I LOVE THE WEIGHT AND THE THINNESS OF IT ALL

I CAN HOLD IT WITH ONE HAND WHEN IM IN BED OR WALKING AROUND THE HOUSE WITH IT OTHER THEN THAT NO GREAT SHAKES , BUT I WOULD NOT TRADE IT IN FOR ANYTHING

Thanks for the tip on this..... I have been intrigued by the MBA since it's introduction... spent my lunch hour at the Apple Store trying out there display model, came back and just ordered the 1.83 with 64 gig SSD ($1299)

I look forward to a lighter backpack when i'm on the road :-)

[mc0689]

it is very easy to install windows on a MacBook Air using BootCamp. You can use any external optical drive but Apple sells one made for the MacBook air for just $99.

[Trexuphigh]

I picked this up. It'll arrive on Tuesday. I'm hoping that like rumor has it that Apple uses the Refurb store to liquidate older stock as there seem to be quite a few available for that price. Other postings on the refurb store disappear after a day or so but this offer has been up for a bit now. So it could be that Apple is clearing out the 80G/667MHz FSB models.

I converted to Mac 3 years ago when I picked up a 6 month old 12" Powerbook 1.5 Ghz G4 (still using it as my primary home computer with regular uptimes of 60 days), followed last year by a new Black MacBook for the wife. I wanted to get a silver MacBook for Christmas in 08 but was swayed by a HP tx2500 series 12" laptop from Costco in Late Nov. After putting up with a small touchpad, cheapo keyboard, fragile feeling, the occasional Vista and hardware related freezes and reboots, constant OS and AV pop ups and updates, I found myself returning time and again to the 3.5 year old G4; then the hard drive died on the HP.

I think a grand is a fair price to pay if this turns out to be a stable, like new machine, that will last me 3 years. I'll hit it hard when it arrives and if it proves worthy of keeping I'll get the extended Apple Care warranty, if not, I'll trade it for a new MacBook in the first 2 weeks. I just saw I can sell my Powerbook for $400 on Craigslist as I also have the old iSight for it.

I guess what I'm saying is that buying an Apple is just like buying a Toyota. Once you get past the sticker shock you'll see a reliable, well designed and engineered product that keeps it's value relative to other brands.

I'd like to add that for the last 10 years I've been professionally supporting, on-site, corporate DELLs, HPs, and other clones. When I get home the last thing I want to do is more PC support. Businesses, with custom and legacy apps, need PCs, at home I do not, I need something that does not need constant maintenance, tweaks, etc.

[nycchoi]

I ordered mine....so happy.

[hameiri]

Well, my wife needs a Windows PC, so I guess it's not a problem for me. But, if I was buying a notebook for myself the Air is beautiful!

But, I really want:
1. A Blu-ray burner (or, at least a player)
2. HDMI port
3. Firewire.
4. SSD instead of a hard drive.

[dustandrust]

I just ordered a 60 gig. I called apple,and the rep claimed that all air refurbs get a new battery (normally $129) and a new top and bottom cover as part of the refurb process. That's pretty cool if it is true. The 4200rpm disk is the biggest problem with this machine. Upgrade paths are very limited. I'm hoping that these are old stock being sold as return also. The screen LCD on this is supposed to be better than the new 13inch Macbooks. This will be my first Mac...I hope it lives up to the hype.

[dustandrust]

Received my $999 air. It had 1 charge cycle on the battery, August 08 build date, and looks like new. As a long time Thinkpad X series user, I have to say I am impressed. Compared to my X41 tablet (also has a 4200rpm drive), it boots very quick, and the screen is very nice. Even though it has a smaller footprint, the X41 feels like a brick after using the Air for a while. On the downside, while the aluminum makes it very light, It feels much less robust than the Thinkpad. Free disk space out of the box on the 80gb drive is only 55gb. I plan on doing a clean OS install to remove the extra fonts, printer drivers and Garage Band stuff. If you don't mind having a Mac you can't upgrade, this is the one to get.

[mgwatson]

still overpriced.