Lenovo x301 worth the buy?

Hello,

I'm very interested in the Lenovo x301 as I'm going to be traveling overseas for work. I understand it's a light laptop with great battery life but I have a few questions about purchasing it:

- Is there a better alternative? - I haven't kept up with the latest and greatest from lenovo.
- Should I buy it in the United States or overseas in Asia (I'll be traveling there)
- Average price range so it's a good deal?
- Anything else I should know about the x301 (recalls, common problems)

Thanks!

 

USA is the cheapest country to purchase laptop. There is no better alternative that has similar level portability, connectivity (GPS, WWAN, etc) and mechanical strength all combined into one slim laptop package. Although it has been a while since it was first released, but it is still more than sufficient for FHD movie and regular office application.

No problems as far as i know.

Price range depends on whether you are getting it new, refurbished or second hand (whether in A1 condition), in Australia you could get a brand new one for around 1200 Dollars, which should be around $900 USD. But given this laptop is not as ubiquitous as the T series, the purchase price can vary quite a lot depending where you buy it from.

 

The X301 is a fine machine. If you're interested in long battery life, the X200/X201 with the nine-cell might be another option. Plus you can probably get them cheaper. The reason to get the X301 is if you need a very thin notebook or an integrated optical drive. I would point out if you buy one overseas you'll get a different keyboard and the language will not be English if you care.

 

I LOVE my X301 (typing on it now, while waiting for my car to be fixed at the dealership lol) .
I bought mine late last year, and I could not be happier.
The build quality is simply fantastic. The keyboard feels MUCH better than my T61's keyboard, and the build quality is far superior to it as well.
To me, the X301 is one of the best/better built Thinkpads ever made.
However, it all comes for a price. They are NOT cheap at all, especially if bought new from Lenovo.
I have no plans on getting rid of mine (I was thinking of selling it, since I don't use it very much, but I've decided that very soon, this will probably be a collectors item, since I don't think Lenovo will be refreshing it any time soon). Plus, this laptop is right in the middle of the portability spectrum. It's like the perfect design. SUPER thin, screen quality could be a little better, but screen size is perfect, DVD drive, SUPER build quality, etc.
So, I'd go for it !!

 

lol collectors item.

Anyways I garner from everyone that it's a solid laptop, that sounds good. I think I will go ahead and get a x301 soon, just have to find the right dealer.

As for the x201, I see it's a netbook. I'm not a fan of the netbooks but it's a nice high-end and it's 1k cheaper. 12'' doesn't do it for me but 13.3'' screen size is perfect for me.

The x301 is just so expensive, I haven't seen it for the Australian Price of $900 USD which is just amazing. Maybe I'll get it shipped and pay tax...

 

Depends on what you mean by 'netbook' and why you don't like netbooks. The only thing the x201 has in common with a typical consumer netbook is the relatively small size and lack of DVD drive. But its power (probably 4 times as powerful), resolution (720P display), and expansion options (dock, express card) are much greater than any netbook.

The x301 is one of the most well engineered Thinkpads to date according to most people. But you swallow a lot in performance rice ratio when you compare it to the x201. But if you're doing regular office work I don't really see any need for something stronger than a C2D.

 

I don't really see my X201 as being a netbook. It appears to be more powerful in everything other than the graphics department than my 15" T60p (which has a T7400 cpu, 7200rpm HDD, and 4gb of ram).

The build quality is all thinkpad, not netbook, too. Honestly the 12" screen isn't that much of a change from my 1400x1050 15" T60 either. It's definitely smaller, but it's not really a huge deal. That and after coupons my X201 came out to $931.56 (i5-520m, 4gb ram, 320gb 7200rpm hdd, 9 cell battery, N6300 wifi with the 3x3 antenna screen) whereas the pre-coupon starting price on an x301 is $2,089. Just a thought, you might want to give the x201 another look if you don't need an optical drive.

 

The X201 is not even remotely close to a netbook, quite the contrary. It is as fast as any current 13"/14"/15" laptop with integrated graphics and just as well built as i.e. the T-series ThinkPads, which means better built, using better materials than consumer laptops - let alone netbooks. Even if you compare to a ThinkPad "netbook" like the X100e it is superior when it comes to fit and finish and still much more powerful.

The X200/X201 is superior to the X301 in terms of performance, but obviously lacks one inch of screen real estate and is not quite as slim. But if you don't need a built-in optical drive and a 13" screen you are much better of with the X200/X201 and I think you will appreciate the smaller form factor.

 

interesting... I was watching the c-net reviews and they refer to it as a very high-end netbook. They made it seem like paying 1k for a netbook is just silly.

I guess what I'm concerned about is that the screen size is a tad smaller than the x301. I have nightmares of the asus ee-pc screen size so whenever I hear "netbook" I just imagine the horrors of squinting at micro text. I just hate that eepc.

I'll take another look at the screen size.

edit: now I'm torn between the x201/x201s/x301.

Is WWAN that useful (gotta pay for it right?) and is it worth getting a WXGA+ screen?

 

I'll post up pictures of it compared to my 15" 4:3 ratio T60 in a few.

Here are the Win 7 Experience scores of my X201...don't seem netbook-like to me
CPU 6.7
RAM 5.9
Graphics 4.4
Gaming Graphics 5.2
Primary Hard Disk 5.9

I will say the 12" screen is small if you don't auto-hide the taskbar, but once you turn that feature on it seems fine to me.

 

@detergentcan

cnet should not really be taken seriously for things that are beyond laymen discussion. Even if it is a keyboard shootout saying the thinkpads have one of the best one .

But I can understand your confusion, as the netbook arena has been pushing the screen size options and intel is thinking about allowing larger screen sizes on the atom platform.

But anyways most of us consider netbook to be cheap in quality and cost and low performance but maybe not cool running.

 

OK: I have the chance to buy the x201 for $802.48 exactly.

It's a limited time offer so you guys think it's worth it?

Specs:

Intel Core i5-520M Processor (2.40-2.93GHz, 3MB L3, 1066MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
12.1" WXGA LED Panel, 3x3 UltraConnect II antenna; Wireless Broadband Upgradeable
Intel HD Graphics
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
TrackPoint
320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
ThinkPad X200 Series 6 cell Li-Ion Battery
None
ThinkPad bgn Wireless
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable
3249: 1 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller

 

Wow, and I thought I had gotten a good price ($931.56 including tax for basically the same computer except I got the 9 cell batt, the touchpad, and the N6300 wifi). If you can change the options, I think with the 3x3 monitor it's worth getting the N6300 wifi. Also, the all-day computing (even with wifi and video) of the 9 cell battery might be nice to have.

BTW, I'm uploading photos now to compare the X201 to the 15" T60, so it's only a matter of a few more minutes.

 

yeah I can add a nine cell for 25 bucks... I might go for it.

Also thinking of the ultrabase... not sure if it's that useful though.

 

Ok, here's the photo gallery. These both have their respective form of 9 cell battery installed.
T60 vs X201 - Richard's Photos

I passed on the ultrabase - I don't see myself using it for anything other than an optical drive, and I already have an external DVD burner (not like I ever really need an optical drive on the go, I guess it'd be nice for movies on a place, but then there are ways to put those on your hard drive or a thumb drive these days, and I'm not sure how on the go you can be with the ultrabase).

Seriously though, how are you getting these prices? Planning on robbing the place? lol. They haven't changed the ultrabase bundle offer pricing since I got mine, and when I got mine there was a 20% coupon that I used.

Or are you not including tax?

 

meh $885.63 with tax - sucks to live in california... but free-shipping!

after the 9cell it's not that great of a deal compared with your buy heh.

I'll PM when it's activated to show u how I'm doing it, it's a hot deal that just popped up today. but I need those 5 posts to allow me to PM first...

 

Dude, if you can afford it, get it. If i had the cash I would have gotten one in a heartbeat.

 

I would point out the text size on the X201 will be slightly larger than the X301 since the X201 LCD is WXGA while the X301 has a higher resolution WXGA+ screen, though the difference is not huge.

 

Ah, ok, mine was like $887 before tax, so given that I had the touchpad, N6300, and 9 cell I guess we're paying about the same.