While Apple’s previous generation of laptops took full advantage of Intel’s Core i5 and i7 chips in the 15- and 17-inch versions, we said in our last-gen MacBook Pro review it felt like it was falling behind its stablemates, stuck as it was with a Core 2 Duo processor. It meant that although the larger machines lived up to their ‘Pro’ moniker, you had to wonder about the smallest... 

The new Airs, both in the 13-inch and 11-inch format, are incredibly thin and light, even for someone used to a very small notebook (like Sony Vaio SSD models) work. The all-metal construction keeps it from feeling too fragile, often a problem for ultra-thin systems. The shape is closer to the former Air, as we expected, lost, given the radical transformation of the iPhone 4 over its predecessors....