Read the online version at http://www.cathayphoto.com.sg/viewfinder/read/2008,06,2

Apple is one company that constantly thinks outside the square. It leads the personal computer industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has even entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Its latest offering is the MacBook Air, the world’s thinnest notebook. At its thinnest point, it is an incredible 0.4 cm while its maximum height of 1.93 cm is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks. Unbelievably thin it may be, but it has a stunning 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing, and a spacious trackpad with multi-touch gesture support as first seen in the iPhone, so users can pinch, rotate and swipe what’s on the screen.

Clever and useful features include a backlit keyboard that is ideal for dimly-lit environments such as airplanes, studios or conference halls, and a built-in ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the brightness of the keys as well as the display brightness for optimal visibility.

MacBook Air is powered by a 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and includes as standard features 2GB of memory and an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive. Also available is an optional 64GB solid state drive that contains no moving parts for added durability.

Every MacBook Air includes a micro-DVI port so users can connect to Apple’s gorgeous 20-inch or 23-inch Cinema Displays to extend their desktop or connect to projectors and other displays via DVI, VGA, Composite and S-video adapters. MacBook Air includes USB 2.0 for plugging in peripherals or charging an iPod or iPhone, a headphone jack and Apple’s acclaimed MagSafe Power Adapter designed especially for mobile users.

MacBook Air delivers up to five hours of battery life for wireless productivity and includes AirPort Extreme with the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth. Every MacBook Air comes with iLife’08 – the most significant update ever to Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications – featuring a major new version of iPhoto and a completely reinvented iMovie, both seamlessly integrated with the new .Mac Web Gallery for online photo and video sharing. The new MacBook Air also comes with OS X Leopard, the sixth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system.