By now almost everyone has heard of the new Apple Macbook Air. Even hardcore PC enthusiasts will most likely at least recognize the name; after all, the Apple MacBook Air has a very special claim to fame. It claims to be the world's thinnest laptop, so thin, in fact, that it can easily fit into a paper envelope. Apple demonstrated this talent to perfection in the macbook air commercial where the laptop was unexpectedly withdrawn from an envelope. Some may dispute that Apple's Macbook Air is the thinnest computer ever, but it is definitely very thin, and much thinner than most.

So how come other computers can't replicate Apple's design? What it is that allows Apple to achieve a centimeter thin full value laptop? Well, to be honest it is due both to miracle engineering and certain  sacrifices. While Apple did manage to condense the Intel Core 2 Duo processor by up to 60 percent, they could find no method for shrinking the now mandatory optical drive. Instead, they choose to do without an optical drive in designing the laptop, which is still considered one of the main reasons for the laptop's rather lackluster success when compared to other Apple laptops. Of course Apple could not possible envision releasing such a cutting edge computer with such a major weakness, so they provided a solution: the Macbook Air Superdrive.

The Macbook Air Superdrive is an external optical drive made specifically with the Macbook Air in mind. In fact, it will not work with any other computer, so it is literally designed only to solve a glaring gap in the Macbook Air's performance. And the device does indeed solve this problem. The Apple MacBook Air Superdrive  is quite light and slim, like its parent, with a weight of only one pound. Of course, the Superdrive's design also compliments the Macbook Air's look perfectly, and it would be hard to expect otherwise. Furthermore, the drive reads and burns both CDs and DVDs with a 4X burning speed. The Superdrive is essentially a required piece of equipment for any Macbook Air owner, unless they can live without an optical drive or playing any CDs, DVDs, or loading software (yeah right). It is plugged in via USB, and this can be slightly problematic as the Macbook Air possesses only one USB port. Although a USB hub provides a quick and painless solution. It is also somewhat of a shame the SuperDrive only works with apple laptops, or more specifically, only with the Macbook Air; because it is definitely one of the sleekest looking external DVD recorders on the market. Especially as the external DVD recorder field appears to have long neglected appearance and stylish design. Nevertheless, at least all Macbook Air owners can be happy.