Lenovo has officially unveiled and made their ultra-portable ThinkPad X300 available for order just about a week ago. With a lot of anticipation and speculation in the lead up to this release it seems that the X300 lives up to just about everything you could have hoped for. The new ultra-portable from Lenovo, the ThinkPad X300 features a 13.3-inch LED backlit display, a 1.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB RAM, 64GB SSD, it runs Windows XP Professional and ranges in weight from 2.9 to 3.1 pounds with a variety of available connectivity options. Pricing will begin at $2,548 and go up depending on configuration.
Let’s get on with the reviews…
We had previously seen the pre-release review courtesy of Walt Mossberg, who gave it an overall positive review, noting mostly the operating system and battery life as issues.
“I believe that both the Mac operating system and the software that comes with it are superior to the Windows operating system and built-in software offered on the ThinkPad.”
To be fair we feel the operating system comments, although we agree are more of a personal choice and not something to make or break the X300, as for the battery life, it was 24 minutes less than a MacBook Air, but still came in at a very respectable 3 hours and 5 minutes. Personally if this was all he could really mention as poor or bad, then the X300 seems to be a great deal.
Just in case his review is not enough convincing to plunk down you $2,500 plus we have rounded up a few others that should help win you over. Most issues or complaints did seem to revolve around the price, but the laptop seems well worth the money. Some of the reviews are just early or quick reviews, so some of these opinions may change a little in the future, they also tend to focus on comparing the X300 to its closest competitor the MacBook Air.
“The pricing on the X300 is going to start at around $2,400, our configuration is closer to the $3,000 mark since it’s fairly loaded with options. Needless to say, this isn’t something John Doe consumer will be dropping their money on in place of an $800 Dell.”
“As of this writing we’ve only had the ThinkPad X300 for a few hours now so once the honeymoon is over we’re sure there will be more to complain about, but right now it’s a big thumbs up on this piece of engineering from the ThinkPad labs.”
PCMag.com:
PC Mag pointed out a few points that were missing, such as the lack of storage options, the X300 only offers a SSD, which at this time is still a very pricey option. Also noted was a lack of a built-in SD card slot, which seems simple enough that it should have been added. After all with a light small ultra-portable, who wants to carry extra peripherals like a card reader on the side. They did have some positive points to include a good battery life, the internal DVD burner, the available ports and the fact that it has an integrated EV-DO antenna and is also WiMax ready.
“It will make a huge dent in your company’s budget, but the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 has a lineup of features that eclipses those on the Apple MacBook Air.”
CNET (a video review):
CNET has some similar comments to those of PC Mag also liked the connectivity, DVD burner and available ports and also noted the high price of the SSD as a downfall.
“The ThinkPad X300 breaks new ground by packing a broad display, full-size keyboard, and nearly every feature a mobile user needs into a sleek, lightweight case.”
Overall it seems if you are looking for an ultra-portable that ships Windows XP, and do not mind the slightly elevated price tag then the X300 seems to be a great choice.
Lenovo has officially unveiled and made their ultra-portable ThinkPad X300 available for order just about a week ago. With a lot of anticipation and speculation in the lead up to this release it seems that the X300 lives up to just about everything you could have hoped for. The new ultra-portable from Lenovo, the ThinkPad X300 features a 13.3-inch LED backlit display, a 1.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB RAM, 64GB SSD, it runs Windows XP Professional and ranges in weight from 2.9 to 3.1 pounds with a variety of available connectivity options. Pricing will begin at $2,548 and go up depending on configuration.
Let’s get on with the reviews…
We had previously seen the pre-release review courtesy of Walt Mossberg, who gave it an overall positive review, noting mostly the operating system and battery life as issues.
To be fair we feel the operating system comments, although we agree are more of a personal choice and not something to make or break the X300, as for the battery life, it was 24 minutes less than a MacBook Air, but still came in at a very respectable 3 hours and 5 minutes. Personally if this was all he could really mention as poor or bad, then the X300 seems to be a great deal.
Just in case his review is not enough convincing to plunk down you $2,500 plus we have rounded up a few others that should help win you over. Most issues or complaints did seem to revolve around the price, but the laptop seems well worth the money. Some of the reviews are just early or quick reviews, so some of these opinions may change a little in the future, they also tend to focus on comparing the X300 to its closest competitor the MacBook Air.
NotebookReview.com:
PCMag.com:
PC Mag pointed out a few points that were missing, such as the lack of storage options, the X300 only offers a SSD, which at this time is still a very pricey option. Also noted was a lack of a built-in SD card slot, which seems simple enough that it should have been added. After all with a light small ultra-portable, who wants to carry extra peripherals like a card reader on the side. They did have some positive points to include a good battery life, the internal DVD burner, the available ports and the fact that it has an integrated EV-DO antenna and is also WiMax ready.
CNET (a video review):
CNET has some similar comments to those of PC Mag also liked the connectivity, DVD burner and available ports and also noted the high price of the SSD as a downfall.
You can check out their video here, CNET Lenovo X300 Review.
Overall it seems if you are looking for an ultra-portable that ships Windows XP, and do not mind the slightly elevated price tag then the X300 seems to be a great choice.
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