Apple Mac has had an amazing start to the year, with profits up a massive 36% according to recent figures published by the company. The last quarter alone saw a rise of 51% in units sold compared to this time last year, and with the new 3G iPhone being released in June, the trend looks set to continue.

The change in how consumers purchase and play music is a huge part of the Apple turnover (if you excuse the pun!). Macintosh sold a staggering 10.65million iPods in the first 4 months of this year, along with 1.6million Iphones. Apple’s software package iTunes is now the biggest retailer of music in the United States, with a 58% share of the whole market in total and over 50million customers worldwide.

With the consumer slide to the digital side of purchasing music, the same cannot be said for hardware. Apple now has more than 200 official stores across the globe, and these stores alone saw a quarterly rise of 74% in sales this year. This shows that even with the general public embracing the digital age, people still like to see what they are buying first hand when spending a larger amount of money.

This is a real turnaround for the company as before the release of the iPod, there was a lot of talk of Apple going under due to poor sales in a Microsoft dominated market. But with bad customer feedback on the latest Windows Vista programme compared to the excellent reviews of the Mac OSX Leopard operating system, the tide seems to be turning.

Mac computers were always deemed more of a design tool by the general public than a home computer. With the release of the iPod, Apple Mac opened the door to a younger, savvier crowd who wanted their music on the move in a coolly packaged gadget. With more and more people downloading their music, PC users were being infected by a plethora of viruses, whilst Apple customers seem to experience almost none. With the way consumer habits have changed, so has the Apple marketing and product transformed with the times.

The Apple iPhone for instance merges the two most popular gadgets for young people today – their mobile phone and the best MP3 player on the market. Apple is now synonymous with everything that is ‘cool’ about technology, which in my mind is one of the major factors for the upturn in sales. It’s not always been this way though, as I’m pretty sure anyone who purchased the old beige G3 like me will testify!

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The latest, lightest PC laptop, the Lenovo ThinkPad X300, is causing quite a stir within the portable computer market. I’m not sure whether the boys at Macintosh will be quaking in their boots, but I’m sure they will have to sit up and take notice to the machine being bandied around as the ‘Apple Air Killer’.(read our Apple Mac Air review here)

The spec of the X300 is very similar to that of the Air book, with a weight difference of only 0.03kg per unit, whilst Apple offer a 13.3inch LED flat screen compared to the Intel 12.1inch. The X300 is also powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, which was specifically designed by the manufacturer for the Apple Air book, though it does run at the marginally faster speed of 1.83GHz.

For me though, the big difference is the X300 ThinkPad featuring an optical drive. I can understand Apple’s logic in using the Remote Disc software to ‘borrow’ another computers drive, but when you’re on the move and you need to burn a disc quickly, having your own DVD burner is vital. Also the Lenovo Thinkpad has a removable battery, meaning a spare can be carried, unlike the Mac Air’s built in power source. Plus, with the X300 having three USB ports to the Airbook’s one, the ThinkPad’s add on capability far outweigh that of the Mac.

Another major difference is the price, with the Apple Air costing $800 more than the X300. As an Apple user myself, I understand that you do expect to pay more for Macintosh hardware. The machines themselves are always amazing feats of innovative design, one of the main reasons Mac customers keep coming back for more. But, for a PC user this machine is one of the lightest on the market, practical, and comes with a reasonable price tag; surely covering all the bases when considering the purchase of a portable workstation.

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Apple’s latest portable computer, the Macbook Air certainly lives up to its name. Weighing in at only 1.34kg, the Air is not only the lightest laptop on the market, but also the thinnest. The Macbook Air’s height whilst closed is a mere 1.64mm, yet with dimensions of 12.74in wide and 8.9in deep, the Air is light, but not too small.
 
Due to these dimensions, Apple has been able to fit the Air with a large 13.3inch screen, whilst the keyboard is only slightly smaller than that found on a regular computer. The keypad itself is backlit, with an ambient light sensor that controls the level of illumination required. When closing the Air, the machine instantly goes into standby, whilst the laptop locks by the meeting of two magnetic strips as opposed to the usual clip. As with all Apple products the exterior design is impressive, and so is the inside.

The Air is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, with an 80GB hard drive, running at a speed of 1.6GHz. The machine also comes with 2GBs of RAM fitted as standard, though the machine itself cannot be upgraded with additional memory. The battery on the Air is fixed into the machine, rather like an iPod, and has an energy span of up to 5 hours. The designers have also incorporated the multi-touch trackpad, the same breakthrough technology used on the Iphone. By using the trackpad as opposed to a mouse, it is possible to move through pictures at great speed and even rotate them.

The one major feature Apple has forsaken in their quest for the ultimate in sleekness is the optical drive. To counter this, Apple has come up with a new software programme which allows the Air to ‘borrow’ another computers drive via a wireless connection. An external optical drive is available for the Air Book, but the ‘Remote Disc’ software is great for installing programmes and ripping audio CDs without using any cables. Each machine comes with Bluetooth and wireless connection fitted as standard, though with only one USB port and no Ethernet port, Apple are certainly underlining the ’stand alone’ in this stand alone unit!

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