iFixit has a new MacBook Air. You know what that means.Tearing it open and checking it out. So what did they find. There’s the new Thunderbolt port of course and the fancy new keyboard backlighting. But inside is where all the good stuff is.

There’s an Intel Core i5 processor of course and a Bluetooth 4.0 chip and we also learned that the MacBook Air scores a four out of ten for ease of repair, so it might be best to leave this job to the experts. After all this toy is expensive.

The updated MacBook Air was unveiled today and case manufacturers are already on the case, so to speak. WaterField Designs is launching a new lineup of cases for your new MacBook Air. The Smart Case will protect your MacBook Air and keep it looking great.

It comes in two sizes, 11.6 or 13.1 inches. The case features a nylon exterior that is water-resistant, with a padded interior, an Ultrasuede scratch-free liner and eco-friendly distressed brown leather. You paid quite a bit for your new toy, so you may as well protect it.

Apple has announced the new 2011 MacBook Air, which will come with the latest version of Apple’s OS, OS X Lion. There is an 11 inch MacBook Air and a 13 inch MacBook Air available and both feature Intel’s Thunderbolt technology. The 11 inch model comes with either a 1GHz dual core Intel Core i5 processor or a 1.8GHz dual core Intel Core i7 processor. Your choice. All models now have a backlit keyboard as well.

The base model has a 64GBSSD and the top model a 128GB SSD that can be upgraded to a 256GB SSD. Other specs include 2GB of DDR3 RAM, which can be upgraded to 4GB, Intel HD Graphics 3,000, a FaceTime camera, two USB 2.0 ports, a Thunderbolt port, WiFi, Bluetooth and a pair of stereo speakers.

Is that a MacBook Air? Why no, it’s MIC’s new Aluminum Keyboard Buddy Case, which offers both a protective case and an almost full QWERTY keyboard for your iPad 2. When you close it, the Buddy Case’s magnets will even put your iPad to sleep.

It is powered by a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery and will cost you $50. It only holds your iPad at one angle though which is annoying.

Looks like Apple feels the need for speed, and so they have given a speed boost to the solid-state drives in newer MacBook Air models. Most batches were using Toshiba’s X-Gale SSD, but now a more recent model has been spotted using a Samsung-made 470 series drive.

The 128GB drive is of course much faster in reads and writes, taking things from about 210MB per second and 176MB per second in the old Toshiba SSD to 261MB per second and 210MB per second in the Samsung version. The upgraded drive, which Apple identifies as SM128C, also supports Native Command Queuing to optimize how it reads and writes to the drive. The X-Gale lacks that feature. Good news for those looking in a MacBook Air.

The MacBook Air is a real winner thanks to it’s super slim form and great battery life. Sony wants to roll out their own version with a Vaio notebook known as the Hybrid PC. It’s a fast ultralight machine with a Core i7 processor, a Solid State Drive, HDMI 1.4 connectivity and Wi-Di.

The whole package is less than 2.5 pounds. When you this machine, the Hybrid PC will is transformed into a full desktop replacement. Other specs include a Radeon HD 6700M graphics processor, a Blu-ray burner, Ethernet and VGA connections, and a connector that brings together USB with AC power. Battery life without the dock has been rated from 8 to 16.5 hours.

Apple announced the new MacBook air back in October, which means we will likely see the 2011 MacBook Air around October of this year, and now it looks like the 2011 MacBook Air may come with 3G. The news comes from Apple conducting a survey among its MacBook Air customers and asking them questions about how much they use 3G, data syncing and more.

So it is looking like Apple is seriously considering putting 3G into the 2011 MacBook Air, which would be great news to many users. I wonder if Apple will also put 3G into the 2011 MacBook Pro’s. We’d love to see that.

Apple’s MacBook Air is still enjoying being the slimmest notebook around, since the Dell Adamo has been axed. Soon it will have some competition though since Acer, Asus and Lenovo are all planning to launch new ultra-thin notebooks in the second quarter of 2011 and they will feature components that are more competitive than Apple’s MacBook Air.

That means that they can sell them at a lower price. Acer will release its new Timeline notebooks, Asus will has its U-series slim models and Lenovo is offering new ultra-thin models of its IdeaPad. The prices on these notebooks should be below $1,000.

GelaSkins have been around for a while offering neat skins that prevent scratches on your notebooks and smartphones. Now if you own one of the new MacBook Air ultraportables, GelaSkins has announced that it is now supporting that device as well.

GelaSkins offers many different styles, some plain, some from famous artists. The one pictured above is “Take Me to Your Leader” and they even have some from Frank Miller of 300 and Sin City. There’s a great selection.

Everyone’s ultrathin Apple laptop looks the same as everyone else’s. It’s hard to stand out from the crowd when all your gear looks alike. Enter Colorware. Starting at $1,850 you can get a MacBook Air made in 2010, made exactly to your color specifications.

Sure it’s crazy expensive, but if we could afford it we would all be doing it right? Sadly, there’s no option for repainting an Air if you already have one, so you’ll have to buy it direct from Colorware.

You had better think twice if you want to install flash on your MacBook Air. Arstechnica ran some battery life tests on Apples new MacBook Air and they have discovered that by installing Adobe Flash onto the system the battery life of a full charge can be reduced by as much as 33 percent.

This was originally discovered by accident on a MacBook with Flash installed websites loaded in Safari where Flash-based ads kept the CPU running far more than seemed necessary. Making the battery life last just 4 hours with Flash installed.

The folks over at iFixit have torn apart the new 11.6-inch MacBook Air. It’s just what they do. If you are squeamish about your tech being taken apart, then don’t look at the pics. Still, it’s good that they do this, so that you and I don’t have to.

If you don’t have experienced hands, don’t try it. You will void your warranty if you decide to strip down your new MacBook Air. Anyway, if you are itching to discover what they found, just have a click on the link below.

Word on the street is that another two MacBook Air models are being prepped, shipping later this September. As far as pricing, speculation persists that it will be less than what Apple has slated its MacBook Air for currently.

These new MacBook Air models could target the mainstream notebook market, which would see its 13.3″ display shrunk down to 11.6″, with Intel’s newer ultra-low voltage Core iX processors. It’s a drop in processing power, but affordable enough to compete against other mainstream models and brands like the Acer TimelineX.

A month or so back Apple finally updated its line of MacBook Pro notebooks with new processors from Intel. The MacBook Air is still chugging along with the processors that it has had for a long time. That may change this week according to a rumor.

MacWorld Australia reports that the MacBook Air is getting an update this week. The rumor comes by way of a tipster that was right on with a tip that the MacBook Pro line was being updated.

This MacBook Air clone goes the extra mile by including a clone of the MacBooks box as well, along with a manual and necessary drivers. Imagine when you open this package and find that what’s inside isn’t from Cupertino at all.

I wonder if this is enough to get Apple’s lawyers all hot and bothered. However, you have to give the cloner here some credit, it does have a user replaceable battery. It you want the package above, it will cost you $278. Possibly much more if you see this on Ebay and think it’s the real deal.