should I upgrade from my x301?

I bought my Lenovo X301 close to 2.5 years ago. I love this machine, but it's got a laundry list of issues. Short battery life, stucky keyboard, I think my Ram/Processor is going bad, and it overheats. I dropped this machine close to 50 times. I don't want to fix it up either, I want a brand new machine.

But reading this forum, it seems like this was the last good machine that Lenovo made. There are no good upgrades from it

What can you guys recommend? Should I wait till Lenovo comes out with something better? Or is there something out there that I'm not aware of?

I wouldn't want a smaller screen (not really), or a heavier machine (definitely not).

What if I was to consider another brand? What's the 2nd favorite on this forum ?

 

Most "issues" can be blow out of proportion on this forum. I still think the x220 is one of the best ultraportables out there with the full voltage CPU, IPS display, battery life, etc.

The Macbook Air 13 is very similar to the x301 if you can stomach the price....

 

can i expect something new/better from lenovo in the coming weeks/months? how often do they release a new machine?

macbook air - mac i dont even know how to use one of those.


what do you guys think of the sony z2?

 

It's one of the top units at the moment if you can stomach the price. There's other great systems that are a lot cheaper: 12.5" Lenovo X220, 12.1" HP 2760P tablet, 13" Asus UX31 (900P ultrabook), 13/14" Toshiba R830/R840 (900P), 14" Samsung Series-7 (900P).

See these and more listed by weight in the the thin-and-light link in my sig. A cheap runaround if nothing quite hits the mark is a 11.6" Samsung Series-3 i5-2xxx ULV for $350.

 

i would think the x220 is the best option for me? has anyone moved from x301 to x220?

 

Sometimes people can get little dramatic with what they say. The X301 is a fine laptop, i got two of them, but they are not much better than the X220 or X1 for that matter.

In fact i use the X220 as my main workhorse now, and it has entirely replaced my X301, T400s and X200 that i have been using. The X1 is good too, but the only things i don't like about it are the keyboard's key layout, trackpoint and the lower resolution screen (13.3 inch 1366x768, but the image quality is light year ahead of the X301). But the X1 is fast, and the X220 is even faster with the i7 and max ram capacity of 16 gigs. (X1 has only one ram slot for a max of 8 gigs).

Oh and the X220 can be optioned with 12.5 inch IPS LCD which is a beauty. The X301 to X220 transition is quite easy (13.3 inch to 12.5 inch), the X301 to X200 i had was little bit harder due to the 13.3 inch to 12.1 inch move. The X301 to X1 was okay in terms of screen size, but the lower resolution LCD on the X1 was noticeable, but it did compensate it with the higher quality LCD on the X1. The keyboard on the X1 is very different to the X301 and it may take sometime to get use to. While, the X301 to X220 keyboard transition almost feels natural.

In order to overcome my X1 keyboard issue (as the layout is too similar to a Macbook Pro/air), i use an external Thinkpad USB keyboard with Trackpoint.

 

supposedly there's a lenovo 'customer appreciation' coupon code going around for an additional savings. does anyone have one that they're not using? should look something like this: https://enews.lenovo.com/pub/sf/For...pugxopnolhmJopgJQJhuV8w3ywvX8w9G=68c6vseI8vh6

The IPS lcd you're referring to is this?: 12.5" Premium HD (1366x768) LED Backlit Display, Mobile Broadband Ready, 2x2 Antenna

'premium?'

 

you need to subscribe here to get your own code.

 

T410s/ T420s would be the closest substitute to the X301 right now. It's an awesome machine.

 

The T line feels a bit too heavy for my taste... although, only 1 lb heavier than the x301. Anyone switch from an x301 to one of these?

 

The T400s that i got which is similar to the T410s and T420s in weight doesn't seem to bother me at all. But the using the X301 and X300 for couple of days and then picking up a T400 does give you a noticeable surprise in terms of weigh differences. So much so, i stopped carrying the T400, and moved my usage to X61, X200, T400s, X301.

So much so when i purchased a replacement for the X301 that was stolen, i was thinking of getting another X301 or bite the bullet and get the X1 or X220 (although the T420s did pass through my mind a fair bit during the purchase decision making process). I ended up getting the X220 myself, and i was fortunately enough to get the ThinkPad X1 free.

Having used X1, X220, X200, T400s, T410s, X301, X300, etc, i think the best replacement for the X301 that you got would be:

X1
X220
T420s

X220 fitted the bill for me, as i can get 10 hours of battery from the 9 cells, it was small and compact. Great build quality (at least mine had), super screen quality, i3, i5, i7 cpu choice all made sense. Also, you can fit the X220 with a slice battery that can double the battery life, for something like 20 hours, which would be truly a marvel to have.

For me if i am to get the T420s, it would be due to the need to support 4 screen through optimus, otherwise i don't really see the need for this. Also the T420s LCD screen quality is not as good as the X220 IPS LCD.

 

As someone who has used and returned a X1, I really cannot recommend the machine to anyone, considering its-
1. Poor screen resolution and ratio: despite being much larger in size, it has a lower res (1366 x 768) 16:9 screen.
2. Glossy screen: the glare is simply unbearable, both in a brightly lit room/ outdoors.
3. Poor keyboard: it's not a thinkpad keyboard.
4. Poor battery life: the original battery + slice's battery life is not even commensurate with a X220 with a 9 cell, but has the weight of a W520
5. Exorbitant price: it's even more expensive than the T420s... it just doesn't make any sense.