A remarkable moment occurred when Apple unveiled the Macbook Air at a press conference back in January.

The hushed exclamation that went around the room – and around the world on web-casts and in reverent news reports – was worth millions of dollars to Apple, because it showed that the company is still capable of making breathtaking statements with its product design.

Even at its thickest point – the rear edge where the keyboard and screen hinge together – the gleaming aluminium notebook measures less than an inch thick, and tapers to barely one sixth of an inch along its front edge. It weighs 1.36kg – a little heavier than we’d expected – but then the 13.3in screen is larger than that found on most other notebooks so small.

Even then, that weight is well distributed across the body of the computer such that it can be picked up and balanced it in the palm of a hand with little effort. It’s an undeniably impressive piece of industrial design, but the slimline look does impose limitations.

Like most lightweight notebooks it has a modest processor: our review unit runs at 1.6GHz, with 2GB of memory and an 80GB hard disk (there’s a 1.8GHz model available for £1,389). This will handle most day-to-day computing, such as running Microsoft Office, email and even basic photo- or video-editing, perfectly well.

However, if you’re looking for a portable recording studio or a computer that will churn out DVDs of home movies then you’ll need something a little more powerful. Besides, it can’t burn DVDs or any discs, as there’s no disc drive in there (though you can get an optional external DVD drive for an extra £65).

A program is supplied that allows it to take over the drive of another Mac or PC on the network for installing programs – we found this worked well. There are a few other limitations: the single USB port isn’t too bad, but the lack of Firewire means that you can’t connect a digital camcorder. It does have built-in wireless networking, but no network connector for an ordinary wired network (that’s another optional extra at £19).

Frustratingly, the one extra we might have wanted isn’t available. The three hours of battery life we got during our tests was acceptable but not outstanding. Unlike most notebooks, the base of the unit is screwed shut so it can’t be opened to replace the battery with a spare if you’re on a long plane flight or working outdoors.

Yet with all those limitations, the elegance of the design remains attractive.

It might seem expensive but it’s well-priced compared with rivals from Sony and Toshiba. So while the Air is probably too limited to act as a main computer, it could make a very good portable companion to an existing desktop Mac or PC.