T310 or X310

Intel will release core i7 680UM in this summer. Rumors have swirled that new MacBook Air will get updated with the new CPU. I guess there's still some chance that MBA's competitor, X301 will get updated a few months later.

i want a ultra-portable but powerful notebook; i need 6hrs+ battery life; cool and quiet, that's all. the 2 year old x301 is just lame, and t410s is not light-weighted enough for me. at last i pulled the trigger for x201s. it's been 3 weeks, overall i like it but it's not perfect.

1, no integrated camera, no wwan.
2, 1440*900 on a 12" screen is absolutely wrong! at first i thought there would be less eye strain once i get used to it, but that never happens. i still feel uncomfortable after 3 weeks.

my dream machine will be like this (X310 or T310?) :

• x301 look and feel
• 13" LED screen with 1440*900 resolution, should be perfect balance.
• integrated webcam, WWAN upgradable.
• under 3 pounds weight, NO DVD drive!

(i can't understand why so many people still want machines with dvd-drive? i never used dvd for the past 1.5 years! i can re-install operating system with USB drive; today most software is downloadable; amazon and itunes are good places for latest movies; most blue-ray consumers won't watch blue-ray movies on a cramped notebook screen. people who have the need to burn disks always have desktop or external options)


what you think?

 

T310s.... that would be good....

 

given your list, an X301 with either a drive bezel or 3-cell bay battery would fit your needs.

calling the X301 "lame" for no reason other than it being two years old is lame in and of itself.   my X61s is older than that and far from being lame.

 

Why did you go for a X201s in the first place - considering you already had a X200?

Unless you absolutely need 1440*900 resolution why not just go for a non S version. In fact why not just stick to a X200 with web cam, 1280x800 res, built in WWAN and perhaps SSD. That is the configuration I have and it is fast, has lots of battery life (marginal difference to X200s) and is the best ultraportable I have ever had.

 

You can't have it all I guess.

 

I'll take anything that's sub 3 pounds and 12"+ in screen size with 8+ hours of battery. But I don't actually plan on getting another ultra portable any time soon =P. The x200s is pretty close to those standards anyway.

And there could be plenty of reasons for people to need a DVD drive. It's like me asking why anyone would need core i5/i7 power in a 12" portable. I don't need that power but lots of people do.

 

Really. The only complaint I have with my "old" X300 is that I need a bigger drive in it.

 

I don't think people would ever buy a 13inch laptop with no DVD drive. There is little reason to go that big with a machine and not have a drive because there are already 12inch ultraportables...

That being said I think the x3xx series will get a new CPU refresh when the new coire i7 drops.

 

If the X300 series ditched the DVD drive and used that space to put in a 2.5" hard drive (instead of 1.8") and better cooling for a regular-voltage i5/i7.. i'd be all over it. Basically a larger version of the X200 series. On my X200, I just wish I could have a slightly bigger screen (13.3") and keep everything else the same.

 

I think my X301 is FAR from lame. In fact, it's perfect for my needs.
I do hope that they update the X301 though with a newer model. The X301 has been around longer than Lenovo has most laptops on the market for.
I for one cannot wait to see what Lenovo will replace the X301 with, and what it will look like (let me guess, black with a red dot in the middle of the keyboard lol).
But yes, I HOPE that they just don't get rid of the 13" Thinkpad line altogether

 

The drive size is really just because of the thinness most likely. Considering the x200 has standard hard drives.

But I could see that being a great machine, just not one that would sell too well and be worth making.

 

what if mxm takes to favoring small form factor?
also, screen size is a big thing for me. id love to have a horrible looking laptop on the exterior (given that the build is still good) with an OLED screen or something.

you can do that yourself as far as hard drives, right? i dont understand the 2.5 hard disk thing. sure its a little bit of effort to figure out, but whats wrong with a 2.5" external powered sata drive at a full speed interface such as express card?
cant you boot from stuff like that? personally, im going to work on my ultraportable setup for that purpose.
if it doesnt fit in the optical drive slot, then you can just have a lighter weight OS on your internal drive.

as far as the cpu thing, i totally agree. i think there are a lot of people looking for the smallest package for standard power. the only hardware i want to be above standard quality on a laptop is the screen, because i consider it the most important human interface device.

yeah, i feel like the cpu thing will happen though, considering the x200 has been fitted with t9300s and such.