Lenovo ThinkPad X300 First Thoughts Review

[dietcokefiend]

If you want a good small notebook look at the X61. Lighter, smaller, much faster. You can have a 7200rpm 2.5" drive, T7500 2.2ghz processor, etc etc.

You just dont get the super thin package or 13.3" screen.

[sp00n]

More pics comparing the X300 to the Air.

[beq]

OT: Any ideas when Dell's Latitude E series will launch -- will it be on the Montevina platform? Also will any of the models have a trackpoint stick?

I seem to recall that the Latitude E will have DisplayPort and eSATA connectors, as well as PCMCIA/ExpressCard, flash reader, etc.

[aamsel]

wow this is inferior to an X61 in just about every way except that it has the optical drive and the backlit screen (does the x61 have a backlit screen? i dont even know)

why not just buy an x60 with 2 high-capacity batteries, 1/3 of the price and even more portable

is the x62 still coming out or what?

It also has a trackpad which some people (like me) want.
I would have bought an X61s awhile back, but I am one of the few that can't do trackpoint.

I really don't understand the comments like I can get an SZ and a 1330 for almost the same price as the X300. Thats like saying I can get 2 tahoes for the same price as a porsche 911...

You are correct.
A more fair comparison would be a comparable M1330 configuration with 64GB SSD, but then both the Dell and the X300 have features that the other one does not have. Comparably equipped, and depending on what Dell "sale" you happen to hit, the price is not that different.

Also, the X300 comes with the newer SSD which the Dell does not. Dell is talking about going to the new faster SSD's very soon.

Looks like a great little laptop the x300. Certainly better than the frankly massively form over function MacBook Air.

If I do have one criticism of both these laptops, are either of them ultraportables? The Vaio TZ with basically the same spec as the X300 is definitely an ultraportable. Are we seeing a new category springing up of ultra subnotebooks?

The performance of the x300 is also a bit of a disappointment. If only it had a 1.8 or 2.0 ghz it would be the near perfect small laptop.

1440x900 on a 13" is pretty good as well.

Very good point. They are not true ultraportables. Basically, with both the MBA and X300 some weight and thickness has been removed, while leaving the larger screen and room for a full-sized keyboard.

A better term might be a "thinner and lighter"!

Andrew

[Ethyriel]

I just can't think of anything else to call them. They go beyond thin and light, and I don't think ultrathin would work since a thin and light or ultraportable could technically be just as thin. I tend to think 12" and these very thin and quite light 13" machines should be called ultraportables, and especially tiny 12" and the smaller 11.1" and 10.6" machines should be called subnotebooks.

But then, we still have 12" machines which weight a solid pound more than this new breed of 13" machines, and those are definitely in the thin and light category. It just goes to show that things are very dynamic, and you can't say all 13" machines fit one category. I've often heard the 3lb mark cited as the cutoff for ultraportables, and with these machines hovering right at that mark I have absolutely no problem calling them that. I don't even see a need to relabel smaller notebooks, but maybe it will help placate those that seem to be losing sleep over the whole thing.

[g2tl]

what version of wprime is that?

[josephcherng]

i'm so glad Lenovo decided to revert back to the old glory days of the Thinkpad 600E...it seems they've taken many design aspects from that timeless machine.

1. black hinges rather than those the bare metal that makes me cold just looking at them.
2. rubberized finish
3. 13.3 inch screen
4. briefcase style open latches.
5. decent speakers
6. good old red stripes
7. CENTERED SCREEN!!

i love that 600e...let's hope this lives up to our expectations

[Andrew Baxter]

A better term might be a "thinner and lighter"!

Maybe we should just call these new notebooks very-expensive-thin-and-light-but-not-quite-ultraportable-products-made-by-companies-so-they-look-cool-and-engineers-feel-proud-but-in-all-reality-they-won't-sell-many-because-they-cost-too-much laptops? Lol. I'd group the MacBook Air, Toshiba R500, ThinkPad X300, and maybe Panasonic Y7 into that group.

[scythie]

Wow. That's one sleek ultraportable. If I had the money to spend, I'd definitely get one as a second laptop, for my more-of-an-everyday usage [as opposed to my Vostro, which I use to game. lol].

For me, 13" is the smallest screen I can bear [which is why I call and categorize it as an ultraportable rather than a thin-and-light]. I got to use a VAIO TZ in a nearby Sony store and, maybe it's my eyesight, but I was squinting when I was using it the whole time! Don't get me wrong. The screen is gorgeous, but WXGA in that minuscule of a display makes reading a pain.

I visited the nearest Apple reseller here, but they still don't have the MBA on display. But really, 3 USB ports and an optical drive versus 1 USB port and no optical drive? I'll take those extra .5 inches thank you very much. I don't need to have the "thinnest notebook" in the world. Hopefully, the ThinkPad doesn't suffer from long charging times, as we've seen in the MBA. Geez, the MBA actually looked like an attractive proposition until, aside from the obvious lack of ports, more compromises showed up.

My 2 cents

EDIT: LOL at horizontal scrollbar. That's quite a mouthful of category...

[aamsel]

Maybe we should just call these new notebooks very-expensive-thin-and-light-but-not-quite-ultraportable-products-made-by-companies-so-they-look-cool-and-engineers-feel-proud-but-in-all-reality-they-won't-sell-many-because-they-cost-too-much laptops? Lol. I'd group the MacBook Air, Toshiba R500, ThinkPad X300, and maybe Panasonic Y7 into that group.

Yeah, that's what I meant!

Andrew