The MacBook and the iPod touch have both taken positions on a Time list of the top 25 travel gadgets for 2009. The updated plastic MacBook is complimented for being tougher than its predecessor, and having LED backlighting, which contributes to a maximum seven-hour battery life. The magazine also remarks on the presence of a glass multi-touch trackpad, and the removal of mercury and arsenic from materials.

Time's Touch selection is the 32GB model, the cheapest one a person can buy that still has Voice Control, an iPhone 3GS-level processor and more than 8GB of memory. The player is treated as more of a gaming device however, with song and video playback being a secondary priority.

Notably absent from the gadget list is the iPhone itself, which should in theory provide all the functionality of the Touch with the addition of calling and mobile data. The only phone on the list is the Motorola Droid, based on Google's Android 2.0 platform and much less gaming-oriented.