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Forget the MB Air, Meet the ThinkPad X301
- alex_c 18y agoAll the reviews that compare the Macbook Air with the Thinkpad (and the linked review actually doesn't - only the submission title does) miss an essential point: the Lenovo laptop simply doesn't LOOK as thin as the Air. If the people who buy the Air do so for its looks and prestige rather than for practical reasons, then no, the X301 isn't an alternative.
- mattmaroon 18y agoI still can't figure out why I need my laptop to taper down to a thin point like that. With the iPhone, the thinness is pretty boss, since it takes up less valuable pocket real-estate. Having gone from a Treo to a Moto Q, I totally understand why I want my phone to be thinner, and find that one of the more appealing things about the iPhone. By my notebook, not so much. I want it to be lighter, sure, but somewhere below 4 lbs even that becomes irrelevant. (It might not if I were older.) My X60 is slightly thicker than this X301, and it fits in any carrier's laptop pocket with ample room to spare. I can even stick it in bags not designed for laptops, but rather for paper notepads with ease. Why do I want it to be thinner? And who spends a few K on a laptop for looks?
- whacked_new 18y ago> who spends a few K on a laptop for looks? Apparently lots and lots of people. /not one of them.
- mattmaroon 18y agoHasn't the Air been pretty much a dud?
- iuguy 18y agoI've seen several Macbook air's on the train into London. In all cases I have to say it appears to offer nothing over a regular macbook on a train. Whenever I got it there were a couple of looks (although nothing compared to the people going up to those with EEE PCs last year and asking them about them, then watching their jaws drop when they find out the price) but nothing major. I noticed that the number of air's peaked around earlier this year, but that might pick up later as more commuters join in the post-summer morning/evening fun.
- whacked_new 18y agoI was actually talking about computers that have that kind of design flare, macs in particular. While I would like to have one for development, I suspect many people buy them simply to be chic. No evidence, just gut feeling. Like Prada bags. Things I don't notice, but notice.
- mattmaroon 18y agoThe ability to swap out the optical drive for another battery is fantastic. I'm still on my X60 (which is easily the best computer I've ever owned) but will probably have to upgrade to this, pending approval from my accounting department (i.e. wife).
- axod 18y agoIt does look like a dogs dinner though, what are all the bits and pieces around the LCD? What are all the holes and chunks of missing plastic in the base?
- mattmaroon 18y agoAgreed. I've seen the 300s IRL, and while they look a little less sloppy than they do in photos, they definitely are not pretty. They're very functional in appearance. If you're buying a laptop to impress girls at Starbucks (in which case, you might want to do some serious self-evaluation) this ain't the one for you. If you want to get things done while traveling, you can't beat it. I'm guessing that chunk of missing plastic is the little latch for the drive bay. Probably you push it to release the optical drive and swap in the battery. I'll let you know for sure when I get one :)
- JoelSutherland 18y agoThinkpads have looked the same for nearly 2 decades...good looking is not the point. Ask anybody that owns one and they will rave about their durability and keyboard quality. I've had a T40 for 6 years and it is still in great shape.
- ivankirigin 18y agogood looking is not the point. If you want people to forget the MacBookAir, then good looking is very much the point
- JoelSutherland 18y agoI agree with you. I was trying to say being good looking is not the point of the ThinkPad. I would guess that the design of the ThinkPad hasn't changed because they are appealing to past owners. I hated the design of the T40 at first. Now ThinkPad design appeals to me probably because I associate it with my past experience.
- herdrick 18y agoI had a Thinkpad in the late 90s - its design wasn't too bad. Things seem to have gotten much worse.
- river_styx 18y agoIt's ugly.
- rcoder 18y agoMy X300 is, bar none, the best laptop I've ever used. Unlike the MacBook Pro or T-series laptops (my previous all-around faves), it doesn't attempt to be a desktop replacement, but it's worlds more capable as an all-around travel computer than the Air, due to the internal optical drive, onboard Ethernet, and numerous USB ports. The 301 looks like a very minor, but worthwhile, upgrade. Of course, the fact that the Air runs OS X, while the X300 runs Windows or Linux, will make the decision all by itself for most potential buyers. Personally, I find that the X300 running Ubuntu makes for a nearly ideal mobile development system.
- froo 18y agoIf needed, you can always install Kalyway to get your OS X fix and have the best of all worlds.
- icco 18y agoThese are all great computers, now if only people thought about price. All of these 3lb 13" notebooks are cool and really what I want for a notebook, but can anyone afford them?
- mhb 18y agoI like my X40 and since the built-in optical disk and touch pad aren't important to me, I'm waiting to see the X201.
- maurycy 18y agoI would get it. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of effort to run Leopard on it, so it is no option for me. Linux costs too much time, and I simply don't like Windows. I would love Apple releasing their OS on other platforms.
- abossy 18y agoHave you tried Ubuntu lately? It's easier than OS X.
- maurycy 18y agoYes, I did. Lack of TextMate and OmniGraffle. Unfortunately, both emacs and VIm are very time expensive to configure to have the same features, working nearly the same way, as TextMate does.
- abossy 18y agoHaven't tried TextMate, but I hear it's all the rave. Does it follow the emacs/vim design paradigm of keyboard shortcuts?
- maurycy 18y agoYes. And adds bundles http://manual.macromates.com/en/bundles http://manual.macromates.com/en/bundles which are the killer feature. Jumping between files and methods with shortcuts is nice, too. Of course, it is archievable with VIm but it takes time and you'll constantly find you forgot to mimic TextMate in yet another aspect.
- zzzmarcus 18y agoIt's small and functional like the Air, but it still won't run OS X which is why all comparisons of PC's to Macs are, to some degree, apples to oranges.
- trominos 18y agoSweet Jesus, why is Apple the only computer company in the world that understands (and applies) the idea that, in the age of Core Duos and 2 GB RAM standard, style is the primary thing most people want in their computer?
- kajecounterhack 18y agoBecause every other computer company uses M$, which is the opposite of "style" -- its downright "conformist" not saying I agree with that, just stating facts.
- kajecounterhack 18y agounless of course, you're psystar
- akkartik 18y agoI would choose the thinkpad with its optical drive and 5yr vs 2yr lifespan anyday. Looks mean nothing. But it comes with Vista :( That's the only reason I'm with my first mac, the air.
- jemmons 18y ago"Forget BMW , meet the Scion!"
- abossy 18y agoRemember that a BMW without seatbelts is still a car without seatbelts, and a computer with the lacking functionality of a Macbook Air is crippled no matter how good it looks. I'll take the seatbelts, thank you very much.
- jemmons 18y agos/with the//; Fixed that for you.
- ComputerGuru 18y agoRead it again, more carefully. You'll see that it's correct as-is.