NetbookShow

Apple still has no plans to offer a netbook, if you define a netbook as a low cost ultraportable computer.

But Apple recently released  an 11.6 inch version of the MacBook Air, which at $999 and up is relatively cheap for an Apple laptop. And now the company is offering refurbished models for $849, making the company’s smallest and lightest laptop even more affordable.

Sure, you can buy two or three 10 inch netbooks running Windows for the same price, but good luck finding another computer with a Core 2 Duo processor, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 64GB SSD, ridiculously thin case, and NVIDIA graphics for that price. Oh yeah, it also runs OS X out of the box, no hackintoshing required.

The Apple MacBook Air MC504LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop is a compact laptop broughtforth by one of the major players in laptop manufacturers Apple, that is quipped with a two GB DDR3 SDRAM and a solid state hard drive of 256 GB.

It has a lustrous display that comes with a NVIDIA GeForce 320M processor of graphics. Plus it comes with an in-fitted Face Time camera and in-fitted stereo speakers, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 802.11n Wi-Fi. Moreover it offers seven hours of non-stop productivity and has a standby time of thirty days. The Apple MacBook Air MC504LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop, works on the Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard Operating System.

The Apple MacBook Air MC506LL/A 11.6-Inch Laptop stands to be mobile in every form, shape and way.

It comes quipped with all-flash storage, a battery that lasts long, a multi-touch trackpad, NVIDIA graphics, an Intel Core Duo 2 processor and a display that has high-resolution. All of these features are available in one compact enclosure that is extremely light in weight is ultra-slim and sturdy enough to be handled by you for carrying out all your daily tasks while you are on the move. The Apple MacBook Air MC506LL/A 11.6-Inch Laptop offers a battery life of five hours. It comes with a classic spinning hard drive that is especially used in laptops for better functionality.

Really, TSA? Are you honestly so stoked to disappoint?

If you’ll recall, the American Transportation Security Administration got up close and personal with a first-generation MacBook Air after wrongly assuming it was an Apocalypse-bringer, and even after adjusting rules  so that iPads, netbooks and other smaller electronics could fly through carry-on screening equipment without being unpacked, we’ve still heard of (and personally experienced) occasions where agents have demanded that tablet PCs be ran through naked. If there’s a lesson to learn here, it’s that the TSA is consistently inconsistent, and you’re probably better off putting everything you own in a separate grey bucket for the sake of covering your bases. The same applies to Apple‘s new 11.6-inch MacBook Air, which is cleared to undergo TSA scanning while packed under the aforesaid amended rules. In theory, you shouldn’t have to remove it from your backpack as you struggle to reach your gate, but if we had to guess, we’d say you’ll be ask to take it out and re-run it if you try. But hey, you’re only being victimized and scrutinized in the name of security, so it’s all good. Trust us.

If there’s one thing that’s not hard to find in China, it’s Macbook Air clones. I hear that’s popular there too. But back to Macbook Air clones, we’ve seen a number of underpowered thin and light laptops with a distinct Apple-like style. One of the latest is a machine from Shenzhou Vayee.

The laptop has an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display and netbook-like specs including a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor. It has a 160GB hard drive and 1GB of memory and a SIM card slot.

But the most distinctive thing about the Vayee laptop is it’s Apple-like design with an island-style keyboard and a metallic finish. The sides of the notebook aren’t quite a sleek though, with an array of ports staring you in the face, including an Ethernet jack and a few USB ports.

The computer is about an inch thick, and weighs about 3 pounds. There’s no word on pricing or availability.

The Iridium Star notebook from china is hardly the first thin and light notebook with a MacBook Air-inspired case and netbook-like guts I’ve seen. But at just about $230, it’s definitely one of the cheapest. And with an Apple logo emblazoned on the back, it’s also one of the ballsiest.

The notebook has an 11.6 inch, 13766 x 768 pixel display, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, and 802.11b/ WiFi. It runs Windows XP and comes with a fairly weak 2600mAh battery. I’d be surprised if you can get more than 3 hours of run time, but that’s to be expected from a product this cheap.

Other features include an Ethernet jack, 2 USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, a 1.3MP webcam, and integrated Intel GMA 3150 graphics. The laptop is available in black or white… if you happen to be in China. I don’t expect to see this model sold internationally any time soon.