Let the PC fanbois have some fun! I'd imagine if I had to use a PC all day, I'd be a maniacal piece of human debris as well... So, "macuserssmelllikebum" ... whereas I take it from your name "bum" meaning "a**"... better to smell like one, then to be like one! Hint, hint. HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa.......

my dear boy, your humor is astonishing. rolling on the floor was i! what wit! what timing! seriously, stop it already! "meandmykyjelly"! priceless!

only someone with balmer deep up his a** could come up with this stuff. clearly, yours is a superior intellect. really, you're far too clever for us here so leave us our little moments of defense for out platform of choice. go off now to windows forums where you can share your witticisms with others who think that "oh yeah man!" is a smart comeback.

I meant I wish Apple wouldn't put design before fuction.

How does one fold the flap on that envelope. Thats a compromise. Also, who travels with all that usb c*** anyway.

Apple sold another MacBook Air to make this Lenovo commercial. Sweet!

ps "When Elizabeth Mateo (cnnmoney.com) put three ultraportables through their paces, only one stole her heart. MacBook Air. “Using the Air,” she says, “is like Christmas, your birthday, and Valentine’s Day all rolled into one.” In fact, Mateo was so impressed with its looks, size, weight, and performance that the 20-year PC users says “I now lust for this laptop and will switch to a Mac as soon as possible.”"

First I gotta give Levono props for trying not tout its advantages over the Air. The problem is the commercial really doesn't do what it's suppose to do. First, there is a particular audience that these ultra portables are targeted at, ie not your average consumer, but rather road warriors. So Levono really strikes out when trying to communicate its message to road warriors; the true road warrior doesn't carry 5 peripherals with power supplies, they are weight frugal and will jump at any tech means reduced weight and no need to carry accessories. The levono say, yeah, I can fit into that same envelope, barely, and I've out all those useless USB ports for all those peripherals that you never carry with you. I think they would have done a better job at an advert if they didn't show the Air, again, they seemed to miss the audience. I know that if I traveled as a road warrior, it'd be the Air, not the levono.

On a side, all my USB hubs I bought years ago are all sitting in a box collecting dust. I have two USB ports on my PowerBook that hardly ever get used, nor does my ethernet port. I'm almost always connecting via VT and WiFi, it's just the way it is. I just wish Apple put a 3.5 inch floppy in the Air, then it'd be perfect.

Lenovo makes an interesting case (without of course, mentioning the extra $1000 cost for only a few hundred bucks worth of components!). MacBook Air is a really great looking laptop, but quite frankly I think it only fills a niche market. Did everyone notice how much slimmer the MB Air seemed in the envelope - and how much the ThinkPad filled it out?

As has already been said, Lenovo is targeting the wrong market with this commercial- the Lenovo is a business laptop, $1,000 more expensive than the base MBA (which is 1.6Ghz as opposed to the Lenovo's 1.2) and potentially most importantly, it's a whole lot less attractive and less cool than the MacBook. And look at it- it's not even that small and the envelope that the MacBook fit in so perfectly won't even close around the Lenovo. In my opinion, this attempt at an advertisement is pathetic.

I believe that companies shouldn't try to advertise their products with another company's- it's pretty cheap. Lenovo, however, is not new to using Apple to *unsuccessfully* market its products. Am I the only one who remembers the ad touting Lenovo's all-in-one against the first LCD iMac? That commercial even went as far as to show the Lenovo sticking out its disc drive "tongue" at the iMac, one of the originally kind of witty things Apple used in its iMac commercials. But then Lenovo had to come along, like Meet the Spartans and Epic Movie, and waste viewers' time with ads based entirely off of original ads by other companies.

Disgraceful.

While I don't buy laptops based entirely on their cool factor, I do know that it does factor into many people's decisions. The MacBook Air is cheaper and cooler than the X300, which is fatter, uglier, and $1,000 more expensive. People who Lenovo wants to sway (the ones considering buying an MBA) probably won't want to switch operating systems, sacrifice size, weight, speed, and style and still have to pay an extra grand for all the trouble.

It almost seems to me as if Lenovo just enjoys taking cheap shots at Apple. That as they made wasn't even funny, it was just kinda c***. Didn't have a lot of production value. And I find it funny the way the ad kind of backfires in the way it accentuates just how much sexier and thinner the MacBook is than the X300. That was probably the opposite of what they wanted to do.

If you want to make your product look hood, stick it next to a product that's uglier, fatter, and less well-known; not the one that most everyone thinks is so groundbreaking in its design, looks, and performance in such a small package.

Better luck next time, Lenovo: I eagerly await the day that you introduce a fat, boxy touchscreen phone to the market and advertise it with iPhone ad music, and iPhone model hands clumsily operating the WM6 mobile browser, and the ad ending with something "witty" like "The Lenovo AssPhone. It can do some of the stuff the iPhone can!"

Just a heads up... I think you are wrong about the price. The Lenovo is actually cheaper than the Mac. Yes if you ditch the SSD on the mac you save around $1000, but the Lenovo has one. So you aren't comparing the same computer anymore. Lenovo will also offer a non-SSD option for a price that is also lower than apples. It's also a half pound lighter. Come on retards, give credit where credit is due.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/computers/?p=108

Just let me make a statement with out being labeled... the macbook air is the laptop for a shift in tech not to be compared to the thinkpad. Its supposed to be for people who don't need or care about all that extra c***! I love the idea of no optical drive and 1 usb, thats all I use on the road. It looks beautiful and fits my needs perfectly! so piss off fanboys on both sides, you don't know what your talking about!

Also, who doesn't use more than one USB port? Especially when there is no internal superdrive. The second you hook up your ipod, you can't hook up anything else via USB without a hub. You don't think thats a pain in the a**? Two is doable. But one? I use a mouse all the time. And I prefer a corded one because everyone once in a while a bluetooth mouse will just stop working. If you're going to sit there and tell me that there is nothing wrong with that, I will have a lot of trouble giving you any credibility.

Then get a USB hub! I do understand that it won't exactly always be convenient or glamorous, but it is convenient for the niche market it's targeted at: just because it doesn't happen to suit you because you don't know how to use a trackpad, it doesn't mean it's any less useful for the said 'road warriors' to whom half the thickness and 400mhz more than the X300 will make a significant difference.

And to the poster who made the point about the Lenovo being more expensive because it has an SSD drive: no, the Lenovo ONLY offers an SSD drive model, so that still means you can get a faster CPU, a thinner case and yes, a larger default PATA drive: all for $1,000 less than the X300.

And the SSD drive? Buy one if you really feel the need, but many are coming to the realization that the small boost in speed and durability may not be worth the grand that companies charge for them. There is no doubt in my mind that eventually they may become the standard for portables, but that may be years away. Right now, they are just not cost effective for the majority.

And to the poster who made the point about the Lenovo being more expensive because it has an SSD drive: no, the Lenovo ONLY offers an SSD drive model, so that still means you can get a faster CPU, a thinner case and yes, a larger default PATA drive: all for $1,000 less than the X300.

Sorry, you can't have it both ways. Whenever anyone dares claim that a Dell is cheaper, the response is always "Yeah, but its not an equivalent machine! You need to spec out the Dell to match the Mac's features, then the Mac is cheaper!"

If you do that, fine. But then you have to do that here. The MBA is cheaper, but with a 'regular' hard drive. But to compare the two computers, you need to update the MBA with the SSD.

If you want to compare... http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/03/18/ssd.notebook.failure.rates/

Is it just me or is the sound / music on this ad appallingly bad? Like someone got hold of GarageBand for a minute and tossed it together?

The idea behind the ad is nice, but the execution is poor: yes we get to see unknown cable one connect to unknown port one, rinse and repeat. I doubt that the buyers for either ultraportable will make much sense of it.

Now if Apple can get power without wires to work (and they should be able to: it's almost a hundred years since Tesla figured it out) then everything else will just be gravy.

That's a good point and totally true. But, one could argue that these comparisons are based on hardware advantages, such as faster processor or faster drives. The question about what the actual advantage is with a SSD drive is relevant here. Still, even Apple touts the advantages of SSD so when comparing Apples to Levonos I'd have to agree that to compare the two machines you'd have to include the SSD drive in the Air to compare.

The lack of ports on the Air has been a major issue for lots of folks. I've made the point often that while this is valid for each individual, everyone has a different opinion as to what those ports should be how many there should be. Why not firewire, ethernet, video, etc. To me, USB makes sense. What I don't really get is the complaint about not having enough usb ports. If I carried around an iPod, wired mouse, needed to plug into ethernet and also carried around Apples external drive, well, there should be bells going off in my head that the Air is not the right computer for me and I should be considering the HUGE 1" MacBook Pro with it's extra 2.4 pounds. I think the people that complain about what the Air lacks aren't the targeted consumer. I think their people who don't NEED the Air, but want it for the cool factor, or think the need it because the walk to the local coffee shop everyday to work. But anyone that needs to lug this thing around onto planes into multiple meetings day in and day out, well, they're not taking their iPods, burners, or anything wired that they don't need to with them.

This is a niche computer, and I think the reason Apple produced it is b/c they could and based on both their design drive and the growth of Mac market space. I truly believe that Apple considered releasing something like this back with the 12", but at the time Apple didn't have the market share to justify producing such a specialized computer. The compromise was the full featured 12", which of course still didn't have the sales to make it profitable.

I completely agree with what you said about the Dells being more expensive than Apple's argument, but still, your reasoning in this special comparison would just do more to throw the comparison off.

As I understand it, the MacBook Air with SSD option does run you about $350 more than the X300- but for that extra $350 you get a 1.8Ghz Core 2 duo, which puts the Air's processor far above that of the X300. I'm sure you'll remind me that with the X300, though, I'd be getting three USBs, an ethernet port and a DVD drive, but again, [i]the MacBook Air is a niche product[/i] for people to whom anything that adds any bulk or sacrifices performance will immediately become unattractive. Sure, the X300 can also be ordered with four gigs of RAM; but honestly, where will that get you with only a 1.2Ghz processor?

But as I said, they belong to two different markets. People who would find the Air attractive would not go for the X300 and vice-versa. We can compare all we want but in the end the people who find the Air more practical will buy the Air and the people who find the X300 more practical will buy the X300.

Not understanding something (or someone) is a common reason for not liking them... and Apple is difficult to understand. Oh, there are some people who claim to understand them... but I'm not convinced anyone fully understands Apple.

Here's the problem: Apple's goal is NOT to sell the most computers... which is crazy. Trying to view it any other way eventually makes you go crazy. Then it doesn't seem crazy, but then there are other problems, such as people calling you names like: "Apple Fanboy", "Coolaid Drinker", "Steve Jobs Lover", etc.

So, we have Apple making niche products... during the boom years of a key industry, no less!

This explains the dilemma or conflict for Apple Lovers (such as myself): You love Apple's products and want to love the company, but you can't because they (Stevie) make it too hard (and have always operated that way).

So... to sum-up: where's my low-cost Mac tower?

Um... That would be the Mac Mini...

I would have thought an "Apple Lover" like you would know that.

i want the mac cube back!

but the video is very amusing. However I think if they stacked all the cables, hub and external drive carefully, they might have been able to put it all back in that envelope. They could have easily used a USB hub with all horizontal ports and it would have fit just fine.

However, I would also rather have an Apple ultra that was like the Lenovo X300. I guess I lose out. There are always some compromises in life. Anyway I don't judge my computers based on fitting into a manila envelope.

Assphone...that's funny....

Anyway, pick the laptop you want. I like Macs, own several. For work I buy our roadwarriors Lenovo X series (X61 currently) i have about 20 in the field and they are very nice Windows laptops. They are small, tough, run the applications these folks need, and are reasonably priced.

Everybody should just calm down, the MBA is a nice little laptop, cooler than the others. So what. Good for Apple pushing the others to get better. Wouldn't do it for me as I do need a few ports and the optical drive. I have a Macbook Pro and like it a lot. You want Windows and don't need to run Mac OS, there's one for you too - buy the Lenovo.

Sheesh, doesn't anybody here have a life?

First, I wonder if this is actually a Lenovo ad. Are we sure it is? It seems more like someone made a home video from a quality stand-point. They also don't really follow Lenovo branding or even end with a clear call to action or mention of what this is and who makes it. I doubt this is a real ad.

Second, did anyone count how many USB devices were plugged into the Air? More than 3. So, if you want apples to Apples, you would need a hub on the X300, too. So, given that, what's the point of the video?

Mac lover or PC lover, it doesn't matter. The video is flawed in quality and premise.

Good for Apple pushing the others to get better.

Actually, Apple pushes the others to 'look' better. Hasn't worked yet, though.

Um... That would be the Mac Mini...

I would have thought an "Apple Lover" like you would know that.

Well, an Apple lover knows that the mini isn't a tower. It's a flattened cube (not to be confused with a flattened Cube). It isn't accessible, it isn't upgradable, and its specs are laughable.

Oh, and for the 'low-cost', you get no keyboard or mouse. Why? Because its targeted at one basic group: Windows users who might want to switch (assuming their keyboard and mouse are USB and not PS/2, of course, but you can't count on those PC users/vendors to keep with the times).

(Hey, at least I didn't blame the lack of keyboard/mouse on Apple being cheap and trying to keep revenues overly high!)

But as hombrephaty stated, Apple isn't out to sell hoards of computers. They'd rather simplify their product lines up and not have them come close to overlapping for fear of 'cannibalizing' sales. Or they do this because Steve thinks people who want to use Macs are easily confused and would go crying into the night if they had to make a real comparison/decision.

It's a great ad because it skillfully exploits easily perceived (whether true or not) weaknesses to the MacBook Air. It will sell computers. Apple's responses could be to massively reengineer the Air, which would be a costly move, or to reposition it at a different price point. That latter is probably what they should do, because it is unlikely that the Lenova or Sony can compete on price. And since price is an historic weakness of Apple, making price a selling point would make it newsworthy. (Given Apple's approach historically through, they are more likely to try to compete on "style," which could result in the Air taking its place alongside the Cube as a great piece of non-sellable art.) The Air is not the ultra portable that travelers have been longing for since the demise of the 12' Powerbook, however it is a good start on a replacement for a new line of MacBooks that would be more similar in production to the MacBook Pros (and what the MacBook Pros will eventually become), therefore making the whole line less costly to manufacture. The Air, as priced, is currently selling "okay," however, if priced as a value computer, they'd sell like the proverbial hot-cakes. And in the meantime, Apple could take what they've learned from Air and apply it to both the MacBook Pro line and to a combination, ultra-light, small-footprint portable/ Newton-replacement tablet whose interface could bridge the gap between the Mac OS X and iPhone/Touch GUIs.

OK, so the Mac Mini isn't much of a tower, it's a bargain-basement desktop, but I don't agree with what you said about it just being targeted at Windows users who might want to switch. Ever think that schools might want a good value solution for their computer labs? Last time I checked, most computer labs don't need powerful towers for most students' work. They just want a small, inexpensive solution that includes only what they need, the computer. Chances are that they already have the displays, keyboards and mice, so what's the need to spend extra on what they already have? No one here is insulting PC vendors.

And, to be honest, although I have nothing to do with Apple in any way, I don't see the need for a bargain tower. After all, they already have the iMac, which is basically a tower in terms of specs, and it isn't all that expensive either. There just wouldn't really be a point in selling a tower that had the same specs as the iMac- the only difference is that with a tower you would save on the display.

And I think it's a good idea that Apple is trying to keep things simple. Last I heard, it was a good thing that Apple makes computers accessible to people who don't want to spend hours on setup and trying to convince the computer to work for them, not to mention extra time installing and updating virus protection software, downloading drivers for peripherals, and maybe having to buy new peripherals that just don't seem to want to work with Vista. And then more time, for some, downgrading to XP.

Do you NOT think it's a good thing that Apple offers a simpler solution to the computer-illiterate?

Main Point: Just something to factor in to your previous post re: schools... Dell sells our school district decent towers for $250(!)

Side Point: this may be the most mature forum discussion... ON THE INTERNET. Where are all the typos, profanity, juvenile insults?

I don't see the need for a bargain tower. After all, they already have the iMac, which is basically a tower in terms of specs, and it isn't all that expensive either.

Great. Except for the included display, non-upgradable video, and no extra space for internal hard drives (I've have yet to fall in love with having a pile of disks on my desk when the could be in the computer, where they belong), and no ability to add any extraneous features, it is just what the mid-tower crowd wants!

There just wouldn't really be a point in selling a tower that had the same specs as the iMac- the only difference is that with a tower you would save on the display.

Um, isn't that a point? I will never buy an iMac, because I see no point in replacing a monitor as often as a computer. Nothing says 'green' like having people replacing perfectly good parts because Apple decides everything should be combined into a single device.

And I'm thinking another point would be, I don't know, sell more computers. Or is that too hard of a concept? Oh, right, Apple is just a small struggling company barely making ends meet, they've got to keep their number of products down, otherwise they're going to be beleaguered again!

And I think it's a good idea that Apple is trying to keep things simple. Last I heard, it was a good thing that Apple makes computers accessible to people who don't want to spend hours on setup ...

Last time I checked, I wasn't complaining about USING the computer, I was complaining about Apple selling computers (and everything else). Apple apparently thinks their customers can't make a choice. Apple can't make a 15" MacBook, because consumers would be too confused trying to decide if they want the MacBook or MBP. Can't make a mini-tower, because then you'd have to choose between an iMac or mini-tower, or mini-tower vs macpro. Oh, the horrors of it all! The worst is their stupid "We need to charge the same amount for every song, because people are too stupid to look at a price and make a decision!"

I would love to get a new tower to replace my aging (and twice repaired this year) G5 tower. But I spent so much on it 3 years ago, I can't see the financial sense in replacing it with a MacPro this year (maybe next, but that might be stretching it). Of course, I may not have much say in this matter soon, as Apple is sure to be giving up the G5 support soon. I wouldn't be shocked to start seeing intel-only support out of all future OS'es and software.

Bravo testudo. That shut them up.

...had the new comment format where testudo's posts can get marked "thumbs down" like eleventy!1! times. that's neat.

Well, testudo, I don't have much to say to your last post. If you just want to disprove or ridicule what I put on the table for consideration, then go right ahead. If you dislike the idea behind the Mac Mini and 'all-in-one-ness' of the iMac, then that's your choice.

And if you dislike Apple too, well, that's your choice as well, although I don't really see why, with your dislike of them selling computers, you own a PowerMac G5 and still plan on upgrading in the future to a Mac Pro.

And, uh... what do you mean when you say you wonder why iTunes sells all their songs for the same price? It that just, well, logical?

Why would such a corporation as Lenovo put Air in their commercial? I mean c'mon, it's a niche product, it doesn't have the hype of iPhone, all in all it's just another notebook.

I can only guess that X300 has nothing in store to appeal to customers. Just another notebook out of hundreds. Oh look, brilliant idea - we have much more than Air has, why not focus on that? What do you mean every notebook have more ports than Air, we need to differentiate somehow!

In the end it turns out as another free promo for Apple. People who need ports and the drive won't buy Air anyway. People who need beautiful notebook with basic functionality just got a reminder about Air.

in the mid-sized Mac tower department.

It's ridiculous that Apple doesn't sell a PRO mid-sized headless desktop. Mini-tower or pizza box, who cares. Stick it in an XServe box. The MacPro is too much, the Mac mini is a joke. Give us a Half-MacPro: half the slots, half the size, same power.

Remember the Mac IIcx/ci. They sold very well against the Mac IIfx. 3 slots vs. 6. Apple could do it again.

I don't WANT a huge MacPro box to support my desk (literally), but I DO want the same kind of performance in half the size or LESS (please). Unlike others, I'm not asking for a $399 box. Sell it for $1500 and I'd be happy.

The argument that the Mac mini is plenty is fine if you're not a pro graphics user. The Mac mini is perfect to attach to an HDTV… beats the pants off an TV!. Right now, I use a MacBook Pro, which I love, but I'd love my Half MacPro.

Lenovo buy the ThinkPad from IBM?

I love how people complain about 1.2GHz being slow. Last time I checked Word did't require a 1Ghz processor to do its job. This was written on a 700Mhz G4 PowerBook 12" ... still fine for use after all these years.

Based soley on the X300 vs MacBook, I'd take the MacBook. It's like comparing a New Beetle to a SMART. The New Beetle isn't just faster, with the TDI (diesel) engine in it, it's more economical and safer. Sort of like the MacBook air, it costs more than the SMART fortwo.

Well, in the world I live in, lots of people do more than Word on their computers.

But even for those who need no more than 1.2Ghz, there are still less expensive notebooks you can get that are substantially faster than that. Granted, most of those are not ultraportables- but for Lenovo to call the X300 a no-compromise is a bit of a joke. Maybe not a joke in terms of ports, but definitely processor.

Never show your competition in the ad unless you can absolutely crush it. It only reinforces the competition. The IBM machine does not crush the MBA. It looks like a piece of trash next to it. No question from a looks, looks, price, performance perspective the MBA wins.

With Bluetooth I don't need or want USB connectivity beyond 1. I don't need wired LAN and I almost never use my CD/DVD player. So for an ultra PORTABLE why would I want these to bulk up my machine.

IBM is grasping at straws here in this comparison. The only negative I can see is the inability to replace the battery. But frankly how often are you in the position where you working for 4 hours straight and not near a power source. Even transcontinental flight you are working that long straight unless you are a complete workaholic.

Lenovo is NOT IBM -- IBM sold their PC and ThinkPad lines to Lenovo a few years back (as they saw these products becoming a liability rather than a profit centre).