Mossberg previews Lenovo's 'Air-killer' X300
updated 12:25 pm EST, Wed February 13, 2008
Mossberg on Lenovo X300
The Lenovo ThinkPad X300 is real and should have distinct advantages over the MacBook Air, Walt Mossberg says in a preview of the portable. Like its Apple cousin, the X300 will include a 13.3-inch screen and a full-sized keyboard but in a far thinner shape compared to other notebooks in the class through the use of a 1.8-inch hard drive; online store leaks and reports have also suggested the computer will share the MacBook Air's CPU design, albeit at a slower 1.2GHz clock speed.
However, the new ThinkPad should distinguish itself by eliminating most of the Air's drawbacks, according to Mossberg. The system will have room for a DVD burner, an Ethernet connection, and three USB ports; it will also live up to wireless claims with the option of a 3G modem or a GPS receiver in addition to Wi-Fi. The battery will also be user-replaceable, addressing a common complaint about the MacBook by frequent travelers.
Lenovo nonetheless is now known to have made some sacrifices to achieve this profile. The system is generally thicker than the MacBook through the lack of a tapered front (though is still less than one inch thick) and is also heavier when the DVD drive is installed at just over 3.1 pounds; early claims have the system at 2.5 pounds with the optical drive removed. Pricing will also be an issue, says the journalist. While Apple leaves its solid-state drive (SSD) as an option, the X300 will ship with a 64GB SSD as its only hard drive, lifting the minimum price to between $2,500 and $2,800.
Mossberg does not say when the X300 is expected to ship, though a succession of leaks suggest a release within days or weeks.
just shoot me
02/13, 12:33pm reply
every time I hear the tired phrase 'XXXX-killer'
[XXXX = array(MacBook Air, iPod, iPhone)]
climacs
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2001
Fugly
02/13, 12:51pm reply
It's amazing to see such stupid "whatever-killer" news whenever some winner product from Apple comes up...iTunes still dominates, iPod dominates, the iMac has dominated, the Macbooks dominate...this thing is FUUUUUGLY, under-powered and thick.
It cannot be compared at all to the supreme design of the MB Air...utterly ridiculous.
ricardogf
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2003
Uhm...
02/13, 01:05pm reply
What does that video (about cell phone carriers) have to do with this topic?
G4_Kessel
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2003
doesn't run OSX
02/13, 01:17pm reply
Bottom line, it doesn't run OSX so it's not going to be killing anything of mine anytime soon!
Feathers
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 1999
My eyes! My eyes!
02/13, 01:19pm reply
Wow. That is ugly. Almost nightmarish.
Why, people? Why? Is it really that hard to make an attractive product? Who works in your design department?
HombrePhaty
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2003
hooray!
02/13, 01:29pm reply
another dark gray box running Winblows! Yep, definitely an Air-killer.
Not.
climacs
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2001
MacMacs out in force
02/13, 01:33pm reply
MacBooks don't dominate -- not compared to quite a few PC makers (including Lenovo, on the world scale).
Also, if I have to hear "it can't possibly be good, it's not running Mac OS X" one more time, I'm gonna scream!
Feathers, you're okay, since you said it was personal preference, but even if the system fits Lenovo's usual "IT admin chic," the fact is that it's an extremely compact system that has Apple beat in some important areas. If you're platform-agnostic, it could be a good machine.
Commodus
Mac Elite
Joined: Feb 2002
read before you jump...
02/13, 02:10pm reply
I must be going blind because I'm sure I didn't write what is attributed to me by commodus. Don't recall saying anything about it not being good. I'm equally tired of apples and oranges comparisons between Macs and Windows machines, although, at significant additional expense ie: a licensed copy of XP or Vista, you can run them on a Mac. Too bad the reverse is not the case particularly as the recent purchaser of a MacBook, it still chafes that I could have had a far higher spec Sony Viao or Dell for the same money that I forked for a (refurbished) MacBook. This may have been partly the consequence of January sales where Apple doesn't know what a sale is, but that was the period in which I bought and I could have got more for less! MacUser since 1985, I'm not a customer I'm a captive!
Feathers
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 1999
meh
02/13, 02:16pm reply
Subject says it all... another piece o'c*** PC Laptop that the manufracturer (spelling is CORRECT) believes will be a killer and gets a nod from Walt Mossberg saying as much... gee, Walt, how much are they paying you to endorse these ugly things?
True, the MBAir doesn't have a built-in optical drive nor does it really require one. For the extra $99 or so you can have the external one from Apple. Boo-hoo if you can't deal with that. The fact is that it's a dual-layer burner in such a compact design is very nice!
Folks, the MBAir is designed for those Road Warriors that want a small footprint in a laptop -- the extras are just that... extra!
PC users, and I use one too, need to get over the fact that Macs are here to stay, even though I've heard the 'Apple death-knell' scenario over and over again.
Ho-hum... and my personal preference is any Mac, even running OS 9, has a far better user experience than ANY version of Windows.
fritzw1957
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2004
footprint?
02/13, 02:23pm reply
"Folks, the MBAir is designed for those Road Warriors that want a small footprint in a laptop -- the extras are just that... extra!"
the word footprint means something different than what you think it means. the MacBook Air has the same exact footprint as a MacBook.
it is just thinner and lighter.
010111
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2002