A forum user delighted his fellow members with detailed pictures and specs of a prototype MacBook Air. The laptop, acquired from eBay, runs an interim build of Mac OS X 10.5 (8R4016), while the serial number on the machine indicates that it was built in May 2007, well before the original MacBook Air was introduced.

“I bought it on ebay as a BIN in order to get the live.com cashback,” says MacRumors forum member Brett33. “The machine was described as a 1.6ghz MacBook Air 2GB 60GB (guess they just assumed it was a 60GB drive). It also said that the hinges were loose (they are), but not broken, and that the bezel around the screen is a bit damaged. I asked if it booted alright and if there were any other issues, and was told that it was. I was looking for a cheap alternative to a new one for my fiancee, as she wanted a Mac to take to grad school. I figured that she could deal with the hinges etc.”

The user was pretty confused with the specs of his MBA, as they didn't quite match the technical particularities of the current models: “Computer does boot up, but the battery has swollen and distorted the case,” Brett33 reveals later on. “I removed the bottom of the case and pulled the battery, with thoughts of purchasing a replacement battery. When looking at the connections, they are different from the disassembly pictures on the web, and then most of the other internals are slightly different than on the various disassembly sites as well.”

MacRumors points out to another one of its posters, who was able to specify that this model represented "M82 PROTO2 ENC 4," based on the serial number. Asked by the intrigued crowd of forum posters to provide more pictures of the device, Brett33 revealed a black bottom case, without any markings on it. The main board has 'Apple' stamped on it, pictures of the MBA's inner workings reveal. Additionally, the functional iSight camera looks a bit different from the one available on current MBA models, while the bezel around the laptop's screen doesn't show the MacBook or MacBook Air writing.

The prototype MBA sports a black aluminum case
Credits: Brett33, MacRumors

When firing up System Profiler, “the interesting thing was that it said that the airport was not detected,” according to the user. Lastly, Brett33 revealed that he had gotten his prototype MBA from a person based outside of California. According to his post, “the person... has sold other Macs and Mac parts.”

Hmm... Who would have access to prototype Macs?