Like all Apple laptops, the Air has a large glass trackpad, which is designed to take advantage of OS X Mountain Lion's built-in gestures. Don't scoff at the gesture support; it's as convenient on the Mac as it is on the iPhone and iPad, but without the hassles of smudges and fingerprints on the screen.

Like all of the Macs on this list -- save for the mini -- the Air has a built-in camera. The camera's resolution is 720p, but it's enough for FaceTime video calls, or messing around in Photo Booth. A nice thing about FaceTime calls: you're not just limited to Mac-to-Mac communication; FaceTime calls can be made to iPhones and iPads, as well.

Thinnest, lightest laptop in the roundup; aluminum unibody adds durability despite the thinness; backlit keyboard; good battery life; large trackpad with multitouch gesture support

Storage on the entry model is rather limited; no optical drive built-in; memory cannot be upgraded