You can now transform your Macbook Air into a Touchscreen laptop with this beautiful gadget!

Mac users rejoiced! We just got word that Challenger Singapore is now exclusively selling Airbar, a magical device that can turn any 13.3 inch Macbook Air in a touch-screen enabled computer! Now we don’t have to be jealous of our Windows nemesis friends anymore!

Here’s a quick overview of the unbox, setting up and usage experience. It’s super simple!

Setting Up 5/5

At first glance, the Airbar is sleek and stylish. Setting the Airbar up was a fool-proof process. A simple plug-and-play mechanism with no complicated download or software installation is required. Indeed, it is as easy as what the box instructed, “Plug-and-Touch”.

Fit & Aesthetics 4.8/5

Fits perfectly and unobtrusively against the border of the our 13” screen. As I tried putting it on the MacBook Pro, it obstructs part of the screen and protrudes out due to the size difference, defining it’s exclusivity for MacBook Air.

Functionality 4.3/5

Indeed, it works exact as advertise! With the AirBar, I can now interface with my Macbook Air directly by touching the screen without using the cumbersome mouse or touch-pad, which are technology from the last decade.

As an added bonus, unlike touchscreen laptops, the AirBar is able to detect touch using other objects such as pens, so it is actually possible to draw on the screen! (But I’m not sure how many people want to do this and risk scratching their Macbook Air screen though…)

Practicality 3.8/5

I did run into some practicality issues, however. The touch surface sometimes fails to register my touch, leading to frustration. It could be that we received a slightly faulty unit, so we will check in with Challenger on this.

Another setback is that the AirBar takes up one USB port. On a port starved Macbook Air, one USB port is a lot! It would make so much more sense if there’s a bluetooth version of AirBar, but the additional circuitry and batteries for a bluetooth implementation could make a bluetooth AirBar too bulky.

Overall: 4.5/5

Despite some setbacks, the AirBar is every Macbook Air user’s dream come true. I am no longer jealous of my friends touting their Windows laptops with touch screen because now my Macbook Air now has one too!

The AirBar also comes in a Windows Variant that fully supports Windows’ native multi-touch gestures. It is exclusively available at all Challenger outlets and Hachi.tech for just $99 or $109, depending on your screen size.