What are the differences between the MacBook Air (NVIDIA/Late 2008) models?

Please note that all Macs mentioned in this Q&A have been discontinued. The MacBook Air (NVIDIA/Late 2008) was replaced by the "Mid-2009" MacBook Air on June 8, 2009.

The MacBook Air (NVIDIA/Late 2008) models -- the MacBook Air "Core 2 Duo" 1.6 13" (NVIDIA/Late 2008) and MacBook Air "Core 2 Duo" 1.86 13" (NVIDIA/Late 2008) -- are extremely similar to one another.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc.

Externally, both MacBook Air NVIDIA/Late 2008 models have the same ultrathin case as the original model -- and the same 13.3" display, full-size "chiclet-style" back-lit keyboard, and single-button "three-finger" multi-touch gesture trackpad.

Connectivity of each includes AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a single USB 2.0 port, analog audio out, and video out capabilities (Mini DisplayPort). It lacks Ethernet (an external adapter is available), Firewire, and optical audio in/out.

Internally, both models have "Core 2 Duo" processors with a 6 MB on-chip shared level 2 cache running on a 1066 MHz frontside bus, 2 GB of non-upgradable onboard 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics with "256 MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory" capable of supporting an external display at 2560x1600, and a non-swappable battery.

Essentially, these systems vary only by processor speed, drive type and capacity, and price.

The "NVIDIA/Late 2008" MacBook Air is offered with either a 1.6 GHz or 1.86 GHz Intel "Core 2 Duo" processor and a 120 GB 4200 RPM Serial ATA hard drive or a 128 GB SSD configured as follows:

"Late 2008" MacBook Air	1.6 13"	1.86 13"
Processor Speed:	1.6 GHz	1.86 GHz
Drive Size:	120 GB	128 GB
Drive Type:	SATA	Solid-state
Intro Price:	US$1799	US$2499

Site sponsor PowerMax sells the MacBook Air as well as the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Please refer to the Ultimate Mac Comparison feature to dynamically compare any MacBook Air model to any other G3 or later Mac.