Back To The Mac: 11.6-inch MacBook Air Specs & Features Uncovered Before Event?

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Earlier today we told you how Apple’s forums have already revealed the new products coming out at the official Back To The Mac event: new MacBook Air, iLife 11 Suite and, quite possibly, Mac OS X Lion. But it looks like we have more details about one particular product that Steve Jobs will introduce today, the 11.6-inch version of the MacBook Air.

Since Apple announced the new media event, we’ve seen a ton of leaks concerning the brand new 13.3-inch MacBook Air, but, most importantly, the new 11.6-inch MacBook Air.

Today, we seem to have a lot more concrete details about the smaller Air, and the new specs and features sound more than plausible. The notebook that will rather resemble a netbook will pack a powerful processor and more connectivity options that could turn the Air into an improvised workhorse at times when no other computer is available. In fact here’s the temporary specs and features list we’re going to rely on until the product becomes official:

• Smaller 11.6-inch display.
• 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (with a 2.33GHz option possible).
• 2GB of memory in the base configuration.
• No optical drive, naturally.
• Mini DisplayPort, USB, and SD card reader along the left-hand side and USB and power on the right (that’s 2x USB).
• The trackpad has been updated to match that of the new MacBook Pros.
• Although smaller due to the 11.6-inch display, it’s still about the same thickness as the current MacBook Air.
• A black power key now sits immediately to the right of a smaller eject key on the MBA’s keyboard — the round aluminum power button is gone. A design decision that might support the MBA’s rumored instant-on capabilities though our source didn’t see this functionality exhibited (possibly because it was running OS X 10.6.4).

We ‘ll also notice a few changes in design, which will accommodate some of features above, but we don’t have any official images of the device just yet. The list above also leads me to believe that the 13.3-inch MacBook Air will offer the same new connectivity options, and if everything gets confirmed later today then the 13.3-inch model will be even more interesting than its predecessors.

Remember to tune it later today, at 10 AM PST, 1 PM EST to follow our extensive Back To The Mac coverage.