Mac OS X Lion’s AirDrop in action: tests, instructions and video

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PChhZx5AyRU]

We have been testing out AirDrop since we got our hands on Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and it is one of the most helpful features in the new Mac operating system launching this summer. AirDrop allows you to wirelessly and simply transfer files between nearby Macs, running Lion, and actually does not require users to be on the same WiFi network.

You just have to be nearby and your Mac must have recent WiFi hardware. Chances are though, that if your Mac is capable of running 10.7, you have modern WiFi technology.

We find AirDrop to be very helpful already, but it goes beyond the average consumer. AirDrop is perfect for those with more than one Mac, people working on documents together in an office, and if you need to quickly turn assignments into a teacher in school, all the students can simply just drag the document onto the classroom Mac.

The possibilities seem almost endless at this point. In our use of AirDrop, the performance has been normally up to par with our expectations. It does hang from time to time when you are setting up an initial transfer, but rarely. Apple will also likely fix any remaining issues in upcoming builds, and of course in the final release.

To initiate an AirDrop the involved users simply need to open the AirDrop panel, in Finder, on all their Macs, wait for the Macs to popup on the screen, drag the files you want to transfer, and click confirm. In our tests, transfers have been fairly quick and it’s a lot more efficient than our old methods of emailing or transfering files via USB flash drives. Be sure to watch our walkthrough video above.