When Apple unveiled the latest version of its MacBook Air last week at the 2013 Worldwide Developers Conference, some wondered if the tech giant could possibly produce a laptop superior to previous models. Given that the Air is already a fantastic notebook, it's hard to imagine any improvements that would be noticeable by most customers.

But based on initial reviews from a number of technology sites, it appears that Apple has done exactly that. TechCrunch marveled at the fact that although the MacBook Air has been out for years, PC makers are only just now making notebooks that compete in terms of form factor and design.

"Apart from overall good looks, the Air has a tremendous leg up on most computers in terms of size, weight and portability," says reviewer Darrell Etherington. "If you haven't yet used one for any sustained period of time, you'll be absolutely blown away."

CNet, another tech site, added to the long list of praise by raving about the extended battery life, which is largely the result of improvements in processor efficiency. The new MacBook Air uses an Intel "Haswell" CPU, which uses less electricity to achieve the same performance benchmarks.

"If you add Haswell to Apple's already-stellar battery life reputation, you get a system, in the 13-inch Air, that Apple claims will run for up to 12 hours," said reviewer Dan Ackerman. "...And in our tests... ran even longer."

If these reviews impress you, be sure to check out the PortableOne online store, where you can find the latest Apple Mac products, including the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, along with a variety of customization options.