Lenovo 'Air' , Worlds Thinnest with Internal DVD Writer

Lenovo X300 Series Thinkpad.... Watch out Apple!


Hi guys,

Finally a competition for Macbook Air... this one is Faster, Cheaper & has more features.
Now Apple MacBook Air (launched last month), finally has an official challenger from the Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo.
The company has launched their ThinkPad X300 ultra-portable machine. The notebook weighs 2.93 pounds (base model) and boasts of more features than Apple MacBook Air.

Lenovo has equipped this notebook with three USB ports and DVD Writer, in comparison to MacBook Air's one USB port and no writer.
The laptop measures 0.73 inches at its thinnest point and 0.92 inches at its thickest point, bigger in comparison to MacBook Air, which measures 0.16 inches at its thinnest part and 0.76 inches at its thickest part.

The company also claims that the notebook uses 25 per cent less power than previous ThinkPad models.

Targeted at both business and consumer users, the laptop comes with Windows XP or Windows Vista.

X300 is powered by Intel's Core 2 Duo SL7100 LV low-voltage chip, operating at 1.2GHz. The laptop is expected to get WiMax capabilities later this year.

Ultralight X300 series Thinkpad—and other than the price and release date, I have all other Detals including the Specs.
Some Specifications : a 13.3-inch LED backlit 1440X900 screen, an ultralight 2.5 pound form factor, and Intel Merom Santa Rosa Dual Core CPU (2.0 Ghz / 880 Mhz ), a 64 GB SSD, up to 4GB of DDR2 PC2-5300 memory, and 4 hours of battery life











Spec Sheet:




References:
1. TimesofIndia
2. Gizmodo.com

 

How much is it?!

 

3000 bucks

 

Customize one yourself: http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...-category-id=AB685843BDD4412BB8FAB17D26FADACF

No, it doesn't have to cost that much.

 

64GB solid state hard drive, not much for capacity but external drives can be used whenever possible. If it can really run 4hrs on a 3 cell battery than that's impressive as well.

 

I would think the Sony TZ line makeds a stronger case for being an Air competitor, in no small part because it's the PC that Apple themselves used as inspiration. It's got similar features to the X300 and is lighter, mostly because the display is smaller.

This past Sunday I (finally) replaced my old IBM X30 with the Sony TZ, after waffling mostly between it and an X61s. The TZ's design won me over, and I have to say I'd pick it over the X300 as well.

 

Sony TZ is a flop product..my dad wanted to buy an ultra portable as an Additional but we got fed up of same old High Priced sub-standard quality Sony Laptops..

He has changed Sony VAIO thrice.. they give lot of problems.. the chassis is very poor quality apart from Carbon fiber
He Bought ASUS eee finally..

Lenovo seems good..especially the Core Clock ..which Sony can never reach

 

I see two key specs that are wrong in the OP.

It is not 2.5 lbs, but rather 2.9-3.4 lbs depending on configuration.
And it is 1.2 Ghz not 2.0 (actually both are mentioned in first post).

 

I disagree that the air competitor is the Sony TZ. The real competitor is the Sony SZ but Apple doesn't want to compare Air to the SZ.

The TZ is an 11" screen whereas the SZ has a much more similar size 13.3" display.

 

The SZ is way too heavy - it's a subnotebook, not an ultraportable. Steve Jobs used the TZ to compare to the Macbook Air in his introductory speech, and if you do a Google search of "macbook air sony" you'll see that the TZ is the model most frequently compared to the Macbook Air. Here is such a comparison from MacWorld.

 

Ooook. So you find that 4 lbs is way too heavy.

 

Too heavy to make it a credible rival for the Macbook Air? Yes.

You said you felt the SZ was the Airbook rival, and I said I think the TZ makes a better case in terms of size and weight, and pointed to articles that compare the two as direct rivals, including some that quote Steve Jobs comparing the two.

You mentioned screen size as the reason for making them rivals. As some of the articles point out, even though the display is bigger on the Mac, the Sony has a higher native resolution resulting in incredibly sharp images and more screen real estate.

 

I disagree that the TZ is a better rival than the X300 is to the MBA. Just because an article compares the two doesn't make them "direct rivals".

Look at the specs.

MBA:
Height: 0.16-0.76 inch (0.4-1.94 cm)
Width: 12.8 inches (32.5 cm)
Depth: 8.94 inches (22.7 cm)
Weight: 3.0 pounds (1.36 kg)
Screen: 13.3-inch

X300:
- Dimensions: 12.4" x 9.1" x 0.73" - 0.92"
- Weight: from 2.93lbs with 3-cell battery and no optical drive to 3.32lbs with 6-cell battery and DVD Burner in

They weigh very close to each and the only real difference is the height. If you're referring to his keynote, then Steve Jobs compared the TZ and the MBA because he didn't have the X300 to compare with at the time. I think the X300 would've blown it out of the water.

The X300 and MBA make excellent rival ultra thin-and-light notebooks. The consumer gets to pick between aesthetics and practicality.

 

The only reason Steve Jobs compared his Air to the TZ was to show his notebook is better than the TZ and similar ultraportables, by having a larger screen, larger keyboard, more processing power all the while being thinner than the TZ. Of course, he conveniently left out the part that the TZ has more ports and connections and a built-in DVD drive or 2.5" HDD (in some models) and a removable battery which gets more battery life to not make his creation look bad. He wanted to make it look as good as possible obviously.

Besides, the Air is too big to be an ultraportable, note the name ULTRA-portable. That doesn't mean being super-thin, it means mainly having a small footprint. The Air is more of a thin-thin-and-light notebook.

 

Not "an" article - dozens of articles. The TZ is the model the MacBook Air was built to target. Steve Jobs didn't mention it at random from the available PCss; he'd hired former Sony employees for the project specifically to help capture the Sony VAIO mystique, which is the most similar to Apple's own philosophy of integrating numerous sorts of media (Video Audio Integrated Output).

The X300 is built for the same market (ultraportables), but that's like saying any 4-door sedan is targeting the BMW 3-series just because it's a 4-door sedan. The X300 wasn't designed to target the MacBook Air or the TZ any more than the Ford Taurus is built to compete with the BMW 335i - it was designed as an alternative for those people who find them too whimsical and over-styled. It's the difference between comparing and contrasting.

 

That's a horrible comparison lol.

The X300 and the MBA are luxury notebooks, except the X300 is a more practical luxury. Both are very high priced notebooks. The X300 wasn't designed to target anything, it was just built to be the best ultra thin-and-light notebook on the market, regardless of price.

All I said was that I disagree with you when you say the TZ is more comparable to the MBA just because Steve Jobs says so. And I highly doubt that the X300 was designed for people who don't like over-styled notebooks. That's a ludicrous statement. It was designed with the business and travel crowd in mind, not people who want a less stylish computer.

 

Here's the thing. I get what you're saying, but you don't seem to have any basis for saying them - you're just making pronouncements. Sure, they might be your opinions, but they don't seem to be informed opinions. WHY do you say the X300 was designed to be the best ultraportable, regardless of cost? Because it could be lots better, if that were true. WHY do you think it was designed the way it was. WHY do you find it comparable to the MacBook Air? The only stat you intially stated was it had the same-size display, which is the same as saying any two people of the same height could be twins.

Your posts have the familiar ring of someone with strong opinions who doesn't have any idea what he's talking about. No offense.

 

Swappable Battery
Higher Resolution
Faster SSD
Ultrabay which can accept optical drive or battery
Trackpad and trackpoint
Fingerprint reader
3 USB ports
Thinkpad keyboard
Thinklight
Stereo speakers
AN ETHERNET PORT
WWAN and GPS will also be available.

The X300 does have less processing performance and slightly worse battery life than a MBA however.

The reason that Steve Jobs didn't compare the SZ to the MBA is that the MBA wouldn't look as favorable when comparing features.
SZ is:
More powerful
Less expensive
Has switchable video cards
Better connectivity
optical drive

"it was designed as an alternative for those people who find them too whimsical and over-styled"
You're already hinting at the argument that Thinkpads "don't look as good" as Apple or Vaio computers.

Your posts have the familiar ring of someone with strong opinions who doesn't have any idea what he's talking about. No offense.
Arkit3kt is fully capable of posting a rebuttal as well

In the end, no one is going to change anyone else's mind about this. MBA fans are going to say that Steve Jobs knows what's best for them by leaving out all this stuff and that it looks awesome while they use it at Starbucks. Look at how thin it is! It looks so much better than a black lunchbox.

The rest of us that are more focused on actual computing will be looking at other options; like the X300.

 

Okay now stop making this a Flaming thread..

This laptop is an answer for those who dont wanna switch to Apple & yet want smthing like Macbook Air.

 

It's very early in the morning now, in Singapore. So can we have the judge announce on the winner of this debate ?


rgds.

 

Who is the judge?

Btw Steve Job is a charismatic speaker... so what he does it put you in Reality Distortion Field & make a fool of u by using his Charm.

Thats the reason Apple users are so defensive.

 

Aiyoh, a dozen pro-ThinkPad extremists' criticism on the Sony VAIO (in another thread) cannot even sway my opinion on the VAIO. Let alone Steve Job.

You started this thread; you be the judge then.


rgds.

 

Don't mind if I do.

Do you think I am only one of few people to think that the X300 is not a better comparison to the MacBook Air than the Vaio TZ? I guarantee you that you will find at least three links on the page one stating that the X300 is MacBook Air's rival just by googling "macbook air rival".

Actually, let me do it for you.

Article #1
And Another #2
Another #3
Now #4
Article #5
Finally, the 6th Article

Out of the first 10 results on page 1 of Google, 6 of them link the X300 with the MacBook Air.

Hmm...I don't seem to see a mention of the VAIO TZ anywhere. Must be a fluke? Let me reiterate. You can find articles on a comparison between any two computers, but it does not make them "direct rivals". So as you can see, all one the first page of Google, I manage to find 6 links stating the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 is a rival to the Macbook Air with the search times "macbook air rival".

When a consumer is looking for a notebook computer. One of the first things they contemplate is the size, hence screen size. So right away, if a consumer wanted a 13" screen, then that is what they're going to look out for. The TZ being an 11" CAN be compared to the MBA but it's not as comparable as the X300 is.

The Sony VAIO TZ is the same as the X300 in the sense that they are both "fully-featured". But yet you insist that the 11" TZ is more comparable the 13" MBA than the 13" X300 is.

Do you seriously believe that's what their motivation of design was? As an alternative? That's a ludicrous statement.

And yet another ridiculous metaphor. But let me just give you some blowback from your own comparison.

In reality, it's not height that determines twins, but rather looks. The X300 has a more resembling look to the MBA than the TZ does BECAUSE they both have similar form factors. Not just the screen, but the whole computer as a whole.

/done

Back on topic; I'm looking forward to purchasing an X300 myself. Just patiently waiting for some price drops.

 

Thanks for the response. It might have been a more effective argument if you'd read the articles you linked, wherein several analysts make the exact same points I made. Also, you did little but reiterate previous points, still without substantiating them. But I get the feeling this is going to be your best effort on the subject, and I won't tax you further.

 

Where's the defensive Apple user? I've never owned an Apple, and definitely wouldn't get the MacBook Air. I have, however, owned every IBM subnotebook model since the ThinkPad 500 (well, I skipped the X2 series), along with several other ThinkPads. I've got a mint condition 701C in my collection with the ultra-rare 64MB RAM upgrade, and until I bought a TZ this past Sunday, my main computer was an IBM X31 (my little brother received it today via mail). All told, I've owned about 20 IBM ThinkPads, though I haven't owned any of the Lenovo-made ones.

 

Pretty much each article I linked mentions the X300 as the rival to the MBA. Did you not read them?

Nevermind. I see you've given a nice and subtle surrender; I won't impugn you any further.

 

.



.

 

Not so much a surrender, as a realization you aren't going to make any intelligent arguments. And now you come back with a little "I won - neener, neener, neener!" post? I'm sort of embarassed you're a fellow ThinkPad enthusiast...

 

Not so much an "I won", as you aren't going to even provide any arguments, so you come back with a "even though I can't defend my statement, I am still holier than thou" post. I find it amusing your dodging of the matter.

What are your reasons to think that the TZ is more comparable to the MBA than the X300? I don't see any.

 

It is called picking your fight. Remember that a marketeer's job is to promote a product and extoll its virtues. Steve Jobs targeted TZ because the MacBook Air had good chance of winning against it. He is not choosing the comparison to help you decide, unless it results in you buying one of his babies.

It's simple, really.

 

Will we see this laptop with a 2.0 ghz processor within the next few months or was it a typo? I'm surprised they aren't using the same processor used in the Air. Hopefully it also will support an N card...I don't see it as an option right now.

 

Actually, as I pointed out earlier, the TZ was picked for comparison because it's the model Jobs was targeting with the Air's development, it's why he hired former Sony VAIO engineers to help develop it. It was Sony's forward-looking design language they wanted to emulate, not the Thinkpad's backward-looking one.

As far as the Air comparing favorably, not even. Jobs simply glossed over the weaknesses of the Air, which doesn't compare favorably to any PC I know of since - as Calista Flockhart career can attest - being thin isn't actually a talent. I've spent over a decade shopping for lightweight laptops, and my goal was never to get something thin enough to slide under a door. Like most road warriors, my goal was light weight, small size, battery life, processing power, then features, in that order.

The 13" display models still strike me as too big for a "true" ultraportable (imo, there's more to the term than just weight), but I know I'm in the minority there. My travel laptop for years has been a Sony Picturebook with 9" display, my meeting laptop is an IBM Transnote with 10" display, and my daily driver X30 (made a typo in one post and called it an X31 previously) had a 12" LCD. Screen real estate on the road has never been my obsession, coming from a time of VGA displays; I only want a big display when I'm docked.