X300 or X61 Tablet or MacBook Air or something else?

I have a lucrative consulting job coming up that will require a lot of traveling. Part of the contract is that the client will supply me with a sub-$2,000 laptop of my choice for the duration of the job.

I am thinking about which one to get and I need your help. The MacBook Air is elegant and a pleasure to use, but its resolution, 1280 x 800, is okay but nothing special.

The X300 has higher resolution, but is a tad heavier. There's a price drop at Lenovo to clear out inventory in favor of X301, so the price is good, if only temporarily.

The X61 Tablet's SXGA+ is another improvement. The 1400x1050 resolution would be great for large spreadsheets... but now we're at about 4 pounds.

The ideal I have in mind -- high-resolution, long battery life, 3 pounds or less, runs quiet -- probably does not exist. The above three seem to be the closest match, as far as I can tell.

I need to ask for your expertise. What other laptop should I also consider, given the above? I would gladly consider other brands, not just Lenovo.

 

Try the X200s topseller models. From what I'm reading here, they're clocking in at the $1500(USD) range, and come with a 12.1" WXGA+(1440x900) LED screen, and run about 2.5(?) lbs with the 4 cell battery. No optical drive though, is the big tradeoff.

 

The MacBook Air also does not have optical drive. The X200s has a better display, better keyboard, more battery options, more ports, and a lower price tag - very compelling!

To me, Lenovo engineering seems to be ahead of most Wintel laptop manufacturers, except Sony perhaps. Is that an accurate perception?

 

My consulting firm owns many different laptops (Dell, Sager, HP, Lenovo, Fujitsu).

From personal experience, the X61T SXGA is an excellent traveling consultant's machine. The tablet is great as a mouse substitute in airports and for web browsing (I'm a big tablet fan).

I'm thinking of getting the new x200 for travel but according to the early reviews they really weigh the same as the x61T:

http://www.gottabemobile.com/LenovoHP+Tablet+PC+Shootout+Weight.aspx

I'm mildly disabled and I'm always looking for a highish performance 3 pound notebook but I haven't seen one yet. All of my two pound machines are really underpowered for serious work.

The Lenovo machines come with a lot of extra crap-ware installed (much of it aimed at corporate IT support) so pruning back what loads at start up can improve your snappiness.

Phil Schaadt

 

The X200 Tablet weighs around 4 pounds, similar to the X61 Tablet. One big difference is in screen resolution - the X200 Tablet has 1280x800 while the X61 Tablet offers 1400x1050. We probably won't see any more standard aspect ratio screens for laptops in the future, so when Lenovo clears its inventory of the X61 Tablet units, it will be the end of an era.

 

Some more random thoughts:

The closest match to the MacBook Air seems to be the X200 and not the X200s: Same 3-pound weight, same 1280x800 resolution.

Although the X200 does not have the MacBook Air's looks, it does have: 1) better keyboard, 2) the option to choose larger batteries giving up to 9 hours of battery life, and 3) a price tag below $1,200, thus beating the MacBook Air by more than $600.

Although I like Mac OS X and appreciate the minimalist style of the MacBook Air, I don't like it quite that much.

In my mind, the X200s is the next step up from the X200. It has all the same advantages over the MacBook Air, plus 1440x900 resolution, at about $1,700. This, from my perspective, appears to be a $500 premium for the higher resolution and a few refinements here and there. If I were spending my own money, I would probably pass on the X200s and stick with the X200.

The X300 is more interesting because in addition to the higher resolution, you also get a 64 GB SSD. Although SSDs are falling in price, they are still a premium item. In this case, they justify the price difference from a X200.

 

The Vaio Z IMHO is the way to go ... just around 3lbs and fully powered. It fits in my ultraportable backpack. Coming from someone who has owned a lot of ultraportables over the years, it is the most balanced in terms of weight vs. power.

 

Of the choices you listed above, I would go with the x300. It seems to have the total package in terms of reliability, portability and durability.

 

I took a look at the specs for the Vaio and the weight is listed at 3.42 lbs. FenderP, can you actually weigh it since in my experience laptop machines always weigh an extra 1/4 lb over the spec.

Thanks,

Phil Schaadt

 

I have three notebooks curently. A t400, x300 and a dell xt tablet. If you're going to be traveling I would highly recommend the x300 even though the screen on it isn't as good as the screen on the t400 and dell xt. The x300 with a ssd is extremley fast doing the light stuff like browsing the internet. The batterly life with the 6 cell is about 3 hours. You could ad the drive bay battery and extend the life a little more. The t400 with the 9 cell battery is too heavy and bulky compared to the little x300. Also, there is a huge difference between a 12" and a 13.3" screen. The x300 with the 13.3" screen is large enough be used as my full time pc. The 12" on the dell xt is not really large enough to be used as my full time pc. I would bet that the x300 with the bonus of a 13.3" screen and built in dvd drive is lighter than many x61t's and my dell xt tablet. Get the x300. Best traveling machine around.

 

Some of this choice depends on your personal workload. If it is more than Word, email and Internet the x300 processor would be underpowered.
Phil Schaadt

 

I would say it comes down to your preference for optical drives, battery life, keyboard quality and sexiness.

If you want sexy - go air
If you want optical drive - x300
Keyboard quality - x300, x200, or any other Thinkpad
Battery life/weight - x200s - consider the SSD if you want it to be really snappy. It also has a modem, card-reader, and 54mm express card slot that could come in handy for expansion or working in remote areas (the Air and x300 are an all internal proposition, expansion is difficult). The x200 I have is also really quiet (the only thing I ever hear is hard drive seek), the x200s may be even quieter, especially with an SSD. Do yourself a favor and get the 9-cell, the laptop is still very manageable and the battery life is great.

You may also want to consider getting the WWAN card internal on either the x200 or x300, this assumes that the consulting firm will pay the $60/month fee for the service.