Walt checks out ThinkPad X300, also fits in manila folder
By Darren Murph 
posted Feb 13th 2008 11:15AM
posted Feb 13th 2008 11:15AM
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I'm assuming this will put Apple back in it's place for the time being?
MBA sucks.
I personally saw the MacBook Air and its amazingly small and thin but not sure if its worth all that money for no ports. Most people with mobiles do not want to carry a truckload of accessories.
JAmerican
Apple is king not because their products are necessarily better, but because they are the masters of marketing and, more importantly . . . generating BUZZ.
Case in point . . . iPods, while great devices, often lack basic features that you can find on cheaper devices by Creative, Iriver, etc. But does Joe Schmoe consumer know that? All they know is Apple has commercials (at the Super Bowl, no less) and billboards and everything else saturating the market.
It’s not as much Apple’s genius as it is every other companies’ folly for not even TRYING to compete with Apple’s marketing. Do you even see commercials on TV for other mp3 players?
When the MacBook Air came out, Apple wisely played up the form factor while playing down the limitations. That’s marketing. And the mainstream media swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. Thank God for Engadget, et. al for providing the tech community with an outlet to find the real deal.
When Leopard came out, the Mac vs. PC ads had already been pounding home how BAD Vista was (which we could debate all day). It's the public PERCEPTION that matters most when it comes to generating buzz, not the truth.
@tuba man
Vista is a mess, no excuses now.....
Apple's products are brilliantly marketed, but they are also beautifully designed. This lenovo sub is ugly as all get out and is at least $1000 more, so whats your point?
Not the same approach to ultraportability as the MacBook Air. But sounds impressive. Lenovo usually have high quality stuff, espesially the more expensive options. I would like to bring the Air to the cafe for my personal coffee surfing, but this to the business meeting to connect to a projector.
And what would you say is Apple's approach to ultraportability? Not enough for too much?
"But does Joe Schmoe consumer know that?"
I thought it was the Apple consumers that were smug and condescending...
The average consumer knows what's more important is not how many features they manage to cram in but how well they are implimented and how easy they are to use. It's difficult for young geeks to understand this and it took me a while to understand this as well.
Case in point. I was the owner of a Windows mobile smartphone for 3 (long) years. When I got it I was stoked about all the things I could do with it. I downloaded tons of 3rd party apps, took photos, etc. After the euphoria wore off I realized that most of its features were such a pain to use and so poorly implimented that I just didn't want to bother. I ended up using it just as a phone. I now own an iPhone and I don't see this happening because it's so easy to use I actually enjoy taking pictures with it or creating shoplists or adding calendar events, etc.
I'll add this: The point of ultraportability is to offer as much of what can be found in a standard "un-portable" product, IMHO.
If I opened a beer, poured some of it into a bottle the size of the thimble, labeled it the world's smallest beer, marketed it as equal to the original beer and charged consumers twice as much to buy it, I would be laughed out of the marketplace.
@Tuba
iPods aren't the best, but when I bought my first iPod (back in 2004) the only alternatives were Creative and not much else. The iPod won hands-down because of its accessories. At the time, it was the only one with an option of a wireless remote. Now the lead in accessories has widened even more. I now control my iPod via a radio remote. I only stay with iPod for the accessories.
I guess you all forgot to mention that this thing runs on a 1.2GHz ULV processor, which is significantly slower than the MBA's.
I thought the car analogies were bad. The "ultraportable beer" example has just shamed us all.
Reply to: "Truth Hurts"
"""lol, I would stay away from anything "CHINKPAD" for the time being."""
Are you a tard?
Smart People Play Tuba hit the nail on the head. If power/performance mattered, Apple would have been out of the game a looooooonng time ago.
@Truth Hurts
You win for most moronic comment of the day. Where the hell do you think Apple products are made? "Chinks" and "nips" rule your life, now how do you feel about that? Dumbass.
@ Zeus : The X300 still doesn't come with OSX so the MBA still rules!
Figures. I didn't know having one of the least compatible operating systems ever created was a plus... What?
Not having OSX is plus.
I installed Leopard on my PC and it's like Ubuntu, only you know, without all the applications.
Removable battery! take that, Apple!
you see the price?
no removable battery, dvd drive or few extra USB ports are worth the extra $1000 more than the already expensive MBA. yikes.
This thing is fatter, more equipped, uglier (IMO) and much more expensive than the MBA - doesn't really seem like a "i told you it could be done, Apple" situation to me.
And those who need window for business....??
@baba
You install Windows on your MBA...
o ok then...well I'm satisfied with my $800 ~7lb gateway laptop with XP.
Take that Apple!....
But....does it has 2 USB and optical drive?????
The picture above confirms that it does have an optical drive.
Hot.
I think our Lenovo rep who showed it to us yesterday said it actually has 3 USB ports, the docking station is actually USB and can be placed else where on the desk.
The MBA can be hacked for 3 extra usb ports: http://www.maushammer.com/systems/MBA/USB.html
The ThinkPad does not need to be hacked for 3 ports.
Also, those three extra ports on the MBA would only be USB 1.0 if you could figure out how to do it, and that's not counting how they would affect the appearance of the stylish laptop.
And it even has an optical drive.
Why is the image flipped? But nice to see them putting a DVD drive into a package that looks thinner than the X60s.
"Unlike the Apple, which can be ordered with a higher-capacity, lower-priced hard disk, the new ThinkPad will only be available with the expensive, limited capacity solid-state drive. So it will start at between $2,500 and $2,800–up to $1,000 more than the Apple’s base price–and will be limited to a paltry 64 gigabytes of storage."
damn
This is just for the inital launch. They will be offering a spinning HD in the coming monthes per our Lenovo Rep.
Yeah, "take that, Apple".
Idiots. I'm sure Apple is worried about an "ultraportable" that's heavier, thicker, slower and costs more. Oh it has an optical drive? Well that just changes everything there doesn't it Jethro? Yeah, Apple is quaking in their boots right now, I'm sure.
@Zak. Thanks for the side by side comparison. An you please provide your benchmark results justifying your "slower" claim? Thanks!
@Zak, ThinkPads are business notebooks. They are built to last. Proof is in my X31. Four year old 12" ultra portable, dropped a couple of times from my desk and not a dent in sight. Keyboard is still the original one too.
The only thing I need to replace is the battery, and I didn't have to part a couple of days with it just to have it installed.
yeah, exactly, go baby. Spin that shit, DJ Mossberg...
@ Jon, sounds like you're suggesting MBAs are not built to last? Have you ever held one in your hands? Try it and get back to me. Oh and the MBA battery can be replaced by removing 12 screws. Yes, it doesn't just pop out, but you don't have to take it in either.
@whatishalo - All you have to do is be able to read.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/08/lenovos-upcoming-x300-ultraportable-leaked-by-best-buy/
"Lenovo's X300 will run on a SL7100 chip, which is apparently a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo"
@Zak
Yeah, .12 lbs heaver and .2" thicker, it's a real cow. I'd gladly trade that and the Apple logo for actual functionality.
12 screws just to replace the battery. I am sure airport security will be happy to know why you are sneaking in a screwdriver on board an airplane.
And I highly doubt they will let you keep your precious MBA at Guantanamo Bay. And yes I have held Macbooks, in fact used them. More reliable than most notebooks, but no where near ThinkPads.
@Zak
I'd hardly call "just removing 12 screws" a swappable battery. Sure it's user replaceable but the whole point of a swappable battery is to change it on the go. In order to change the MBA batter on the go you'd have to carry around a notebook toolkit which adds to the list of accessories to carry around. Oh yeah, and about being slower and heavier, maybe you should check this out:
http://gizmodo.com/photogallery/x300/1000528037
Hey Zak, I got a Lenovo x61s with a low voltage 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo, 80GB HDD and an 8 hour (maybe 6 real world usage) coming in at under 3 lbs for $1100.
EIGHT MONTHS AGO.
three usb ports, FIREWIRE (ironic), ethernet, VGA-out and a PC Card slot.
EIGHT MONTHS AGO
"And yes I have held Macbooks"
The MacBook has a plastic shell and the MacBook Air has a metal shell. Please don't compare them. Apples and oranges.
@something - .2" thicker? Come on, the screen alone is more than .2" thicker than the MBA's screen never mind the rest of the laptop. And let's try not to forget that the X300 is also $1000 more expensive in addition to being significantly slower. If that makes you happy then you're not the sharpest tack in the drawer, but hey, it's your money.
If you want a speed comparison I suggest you check out the link I posted above, it's pretty clear. And like it or not, the X300 *is* heavier. Sorry. And yes, I know why batteries are swappable. If you had actually read what I said and what i was responding to, you would have seen that I was responding to a comment that said they have to take an MBA to a store and leave it for a couple days to get the battery replaced - which isn't true.
@Jon - nowhere near Thinkpads? Are you serious? Then I suppose my 12" Powerbook should have fallen apart by now or something? Oh wait - it still works perfectly. Well there goes your "nowhere near thinkpads" statement. If you really believe Apple's laptops are not built to last, the only person you're fooling is yourself.
@zak
It doesn't actually cost more. If you want to compare it to the MBA you have to compare it to the model with the SSD, which if I recall, is about 3 grand. So it's actually cheaper. And you are right about it not being .2 inches thicker, it's .15 inches thicker. So I guess you could get an ultra portable without a dvdrw drive, lose 2 extra usb slots, no built in ethernet, and not have a removeable battery, all for only 250 bucks more if you really wanted to.
@Zak
I have owned 2 12" Powerbooks and they are the biggest pieces of shit computers I have ever owned. I babied them and they ended up dented and scratched to hell. It took me 2 1/2 hours to replace a hard drive after removing about 40 screws and the keyboard. Apple's industrial design team must call it quits after they get the exterior case polished up for the PR photos. I still have one in the closet collecting dust because it is too slow to even surf the internet without the incessant spinning beach ball. What tiresome junk.
As for the new laptops out there, any rational person comparing the attributes of a Lenovo to an Apple would have to admit that the Lenovo/Thinkpad is a far more practical approach to laptop configuration (better keyboard, tougher case, docking solutions, screen resolution). To each his own on the OS, but you are way off base in thinking Apple physical designs are superior.
also @ zak
the screen isn't thicker, it just has a raised edge that overlaps the laptop's body. that edge both makes the lid stronger, and increases the durability of the closed laptop. my 4-year-old R-series feels like one solid piece when closed, and has taken more abuse than I am proud to admit.
@Zak
I've seen a lot of mac fanboys before but now you're just embarrassing yourself. Blindly believing that no one can compare to a certain company is just ignorant. I've used many laptops before (PC and Mac) and I have to say I like OSX better than Windows but there are definitely more durable/better construction/better feature-set laptops in the PC realm. Given the ThinkPad reputation, this laptop is likely MUCH better (hardware wise) then the MBA. Face it, Apple could have done much better. Give it up already.
Highest Ranked
What are those spikes on top of the screen??
Can anyone tell me how thick it is?
Saw one yesterday, it isn't much thicker than the thin laptop optical drives. The units size while retaining Thinkpads build quality is really impressive.
The "spike" is a beveled edge that mates with the bottom half of the laptop so when it is closed, there bottom and top of the laptop are locked in every direction, side to side, front to front, up and down.
So even if you drop your laptop on one of the upper corners, the screen hinges wont take all of the force of the impact.
Matt's lyin'. It's a built in stapler. It's got everything!
On the optical drive front- I have really yet to use mine. Most software's downloadable & when I want to watch a movie I digitize it first.
What, no floppy drive?
I demand back compatibility!
With "THREE" USB port at your disposal, you can plug in anything you want
Optical drive is backward compatible so far as I'm concerned.
Anthony, I think that was his point.
How does it stack-up in dimensions, because with all of those ports, features, and DVD-ROM drive that is impressive compared to the gimped MBA.
And for the person complaining that it only has a 64GB SSD, who wants an 80GB iPod HDD in their laptop, no-one, that's who.
I think they can achieve a good balance of features while maintaining its smallish size. Even Sony's uber small TZ series (1.2kg) and thin SZ (1.8kg) notebooks have optical drives.
This ThinkPad looks really good. It even have a touchpad for those who hates trackpoints as well as a fingerprint scanner. Too bad we won't be getting the classic IBM RGB logo but at least we will be getting our little classic red nipple.
How is its battery life? I think MBA would average out to be ~2-4 hours under normal day-to-day usage, under OSX.
Let's also have both machines run the same tasks under XP/Vista, and compare their battery life.
Any Apple fanboys that rag on Thinkpads have obviously never used one. They're tough as nails, best keyboard BAR NONE, and are zero ego machines.
I will be replacing my X61 Tablet with the X300. The X300 starting price will be around $1700 with a spinning 100GB HD, and I could still easily get that much $$ from selling my Tablet.
Anyone seen the videos of the Lenovo guys running over Thinkpads with dirtbikes, while its on? They even immersed a Thinkpad into a pool. Took 5 seconds for the water to finally kill it, and IIRC it still powered on after drying out.
X300 > MBA/MBP/MB
I saw a guy using an MBA on the train yesterday...that thing is made of pure sexy. I bet this thinkpad is quite the usable machine (bearing in mind that you pay for that...it's still a grand more than the base MBA), but sexy it ain't. Different strokes for different folks.
I personally cannot stand Apple's designs, I think everything but the Mac Pro looks like shit.
I love the way Thinkpads look.
Beauty is subjective.
I actually went out to lunch with our Lenovo rep yesterday because she wanted to show the x300 to us.
I think I am in love and want one. Too bad I don't feel like spring $2,500 or so for it. We may look at them for the company when they release the non solid state drive version, which should bring the price down a bit.
It holds up to the Thinkpad standard though, very well built with all the standard features you can expect from Thinkpads.
It also sounds like they are renaming their entire Thinkpad line-up, no more T6x, X6x or R6x. They will be 2xx, 3xx, 4xx, etc... and the first number indicates screen size, 2xx being 12", 3xx being 13", etc... Though doesn't sound like any major updates.
We are heading to Lenovo HQ in North Carolina in May for a tour, hopefully I can win a free X300!
Security system. Type a wrong password and the cover slams closed on your hands stabbing them...
LMMFAO!
Darn 'Reply' doens't work. Last comment aimed at
@petje1
@ Feb 13th 2008 11:28AM
What are those spikes on top of the screen??
Can anyone tell me how thick it is?
This post proves three things.
1. Engadget doesn't have an Apple bias.
2. The Anti-Apple folk are quick to pounce when they see blood in the water.
3. The concept of the MBA just flew over the head of many.
This is a laptop, not an ultra-portable. This clearly out specs the MBA, but it's not catering to the same market, especially with it's price range.
How is it not an ultraportable? It specifically says that it is a ultraportable. At 3.12 lbs, it's only .12 lbs heavier than the macbook air. Older thinkpad ultraportables with 12" screens came in at 3.7lbs without an optical drive, so this is a pretty good improvement. Price is steep but that's mostly due to the SSD, when the HDD comes out, it should be lower. The MBA comes in at around the same price with the SSD so it's not like it is a different price range. And it's the other way around; ultraportables usually cost MORE, normal labtops cost less. Just compare the price of the MB, MBP, and MBA to see what I am talking about.
@zargon
Which are you in love with... the rep or the X300?
The laptop, I have a lovely wife at home. ;)
And not a lovely laptop at home too?
"And not a lovely laptop at home too?"
Not yet, I bought one but the wife comidered that.
I am in the market for a new one soon, but our life is on hold until we buy a house, don't want to screw up my credit score and trying to pay off debt and pad the old bank account.
And this one comes with the capacity to run 10s of 1000s of viruses, all built in! What a bargain!
*yawn*
You people are still using that tired old argument?
I have never had a problem with any of my PCs and I for sure don't take the care that I should.
My friends and family PCs that I have help with, who are not computer literate have only at worst, had spyware... while annoying, isn't a big issue.
I hope to get a demo X300 in though here at work, going to slap linux on it to see if I could even buy one. With linux, I will have no issues with these so called viruses and be running one of the OS's that Apple would be no where with OS X if it wasn't got all the hardwork of the open source community.
And it's just the same with the MBA if you choose to run XP on it... Tadaa!
@zargon
Whew! I thought otherwise ;)
just remove that stupid touchpad...
I enjoy how many of you bash the MBA without actually owning one or putting it throught the paces - this thing is built solid and the biggest thing you are missing in the side by side MBA vs Lenovo - It runs Windows and as Mac users, MBA owners prefer to run OS X or how bout those nifty built in features like The Wireless Access Manager or maybe try uninstalling any of the Lenovo features and see what you are left with... I will take muti-touch on my trackpad and a very portable leopard anyday of the week...
Somebody seems to be a little sensitive.
I enjoy how you can take what should be a fairly simple argument (people who don't own MBAs are criticizing it? God forbid!!!) and somehow manage to stretch it into a long, seemingly pointless rant by pointing out features that a device has - then using hyphens to further extend your "sentence" beyond the reasonable limits something like this should be taken.
Hell, I have no idea what you mean by "try uninstalling any of the Lenovo features and seeing what you are left with."
And multitouch? Meh.
Um, you don't need to actually use something to realize that it's severely limited in functionality. Most people have what's called common sense. If I poured some V8 in your coffee, would you have to actually drink it before knowing that it will taste like shit?
No.. the software built into a lenovo is crap and for that matter windows is crap.. dot dot hyphen hyphen.. and Joe I think you are mistaking common sense for technological short sightedness ..
I'm glad the WSJ has posted an article about the X300 cause now I can talk about it! I got to use one for several days recently and was pretty impressed. My department is responsible for hardware standards at a large software company. We're Mac and PC users and I personally switch back and forth every few months though I'm completely a Mac user at home. Here's what I wrote on my internal blog
------------
I've been using a new ThinkPad the last few days. It's the ThinkPad X300 and it is similar in many ways to the MacBook Air. Read on for my comments about it and comparison to the MacBook Air.
[Note: I received a MacBook on 2/4, a couple of days after I wrote my notes on the X300, and I've added an update section at the bottom.]
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote here about the MacBook Air. I said I wasn’t overly impressed and my opinion hasn’t changed. Apple has made the Air the “best” in one area and focused on that to the detriment of everything else. Their marketing is like this:
THIN!! REALLY VERY, VERY THIN! IN FACT, THE THINEST OF THEM ALL! LOOK AT IT: THIN! Light, wireless, SSD, screen keyboard, other stuff…
And they are right: it sure is thin. But, as I said the other day, how much do you want to sacrifice for all that thinosity? (I’m sure that’s a word.)
The ThinkPad X300 offers a very interesting comparison. Lenovo isn’t Apple – they don’t do the one focus area thing – so the design is more balanced. In general, it is very similar to the Air. But it’s a little bit thicker, enough that it can have a removable battery and a 7mm thick DVD drive. It can have up to 4 GB RAM and iIt uses Intel’s SL7100 processor. That’s a 1.2 GHz low voltage model; slower than the Air but I’ve been happy the performance so far.
It’s got the same 13.3” LED-backlit screen as the Air but it is higher resolution: 1440-by-900 instead of 1280-by-800. It’s also got more ports: three USB, an Ethernet port, a full-size VGA port, audio in and out. Surprisingly for a ThinkPad, the X300 has wonderful speakers, one on each edge of the wrist rest (the area in front of the keyboard). A web cam is at the top of the screen, alongside the little light that illuminates the keyboard (not as slick as the backlit Mac keyboard but perfectly functional).
Like the Air, the X300 does not have a PC Card or ExpressCard slot. The keyboard, as usual with a ThinkPad, is superb. I actually like it more than the keyboard on a full-sized ThinkPad. It’s got the usual combination trackpad and pointing stick, though the trackpad isn’t as clever as the one on the MacBooks: it’s not multitouch and it doesn’t even support two finger scrolling, which is a MacBook feature that every laptop maker should have copied.
The X300 isn't shipping yet – it’s not even announced – and IT will evaluate whether it will become a standard. Lenovo does plan to replace the X61 model with the X300 and it would appear that the new model is better in all ways than the old. Except for hard drive capacity: the only hard drive option is a 64 GB solid state drive. (Consumer models can use a 120 GB drive but that’s not the model we would get.) Personally, I think that’s fine. SSDs are the way of the future and most people using an ultra light laptop are probably going to be ok with the smaller capacity. However, the X300 is so good that I wouldn’t be surprised if people who currently use a full-sized ThinkPad want to switch. Since using the X300, I haven’t missed any features of my larger ThinkPad T61. The X300 has the same resolution screen, an excellent keyboard, DVD drive and great battery life (an honest four hours), so I haven’t missed the T61 at all. I’m a manager though, so most of my day is spent reading and writing email. If I was in product development or showing our products to customers, I’d probably want the fast processor of the bigger model.
So, bottom line: X300 or Air? Well, I don’t have an Air yet – maybe later today – so I haven’t had a chance to compare them side-by-side. From a hardware point of view, the X300 is superior. It’s a more balanced design and the sacrifices Lenovo has made make sense. I actually prefer the look of it: nice, square edges and a screen and keyboard that come right up to the edge – no wide bezel, like the Air. But the Air is a Mac, so it’s got OS X and I think OS X is far better OS than the clunky Vista. The X300 I have also has the usual array of software PC vendors install to make up for deficiencies in Windows, so the whole experience is not as elegant as on the Mac. An X300 running OS X would be the perfect combination. For now? Well, this X300 is going back to Lenovo today. But in March, it’ll be a tough decision. Check back with me then! Oh, if you in San Jose today before 10 AM, come by and check out the X300.
Update 2/4
Since I wrote the notes above, I have received a MacBook Air. It has reinforced my opinion that hardware-wise, the X300 is superior. Apart from being thinner and having a faster processor, the X300 is better in all ways. I'm definitely missing the high-res screen of the ThinkPad and the better keyboard. Having just one USB port was a hassle until I got corporate wireless working. (I did get a USB Ethernet adapter with the Air.) Also, the Air, like the X300 is often quite noisy. Not enough to be annoying but it's surprising since both models have a SSD. The cooling fan coming on seems to be related to processor load.
While I do prefer the X300, the Air is impressive. It's crazy thin and like the X300 feels, very solid and well made. The screen, while lower resolution, is bright and clear and the keyboard is quite good. I don't like the feel of it as much as the X300 - it's a little squishier - but it's large and comfortable.
Overall, if you're a Mac user or a Windows user, you'll be delighted with your choices - both computers are superb entries into the sub-notebook market. For me, the perfect choice would the X300 running OS X but I don't think that's going to happen any time soon.
Seriously dude, a like would've been fine.
*Link
Are You sure about the 1,2 Ghz ULV? Every other site I found is talking about a 2 Ghz LV CPU.
Yes, 100% sure about the 1.2 GHz.
Outstanding post... Thanks!
Lenovo's are great notebooks, and this is no exception. I've set up quite a few Lenovo's for business users over the years, and I have had nothing but good things to say about them. However I still prefer my Dell M1330 (speed, form, and reliability).
You want OSX on a PC, then here you go :) I hate OSX with a passion (much rather have Linux with KDE 4), but it is doable.
http://osx86.thefreesuite.com/
Fantastic write-up. Just one question though? What makes two-finger scrolling on mac touchpads better than edge scrolling on most other touchpads? I've used both, and other than being more used to one than the other, I can't say one is better than the other. Now, the possibilities of Mac's advanced multitouch are very interesting.
Jorvay, I've never like the edge scrolling very much. I have to think too much about it because if I'm not in the right place - in the edge zone - it doesn't work. I find the Synaptics pads and software to not be as reliable as the Mac two finger scrolling, which is completely bullet-proof. I haven't played a lot with the multi-touch pad on the Air (I'm using an Air full time now) but I probably will when more apps support it.
Justin's right, in terms of Apple comparisons, this one is really competing with the Macbook Pros and to some extent Macbooks. In form factor, it is pretty close to, though lighter than, an MBP (at 1/4 to
Not sure what we're comparing here, because the screen alone on this looks thicker than the MBA. Unless that envelope is freaking tiny. On the MBA, I honestly wasn't that blown away by it until I held one. It looks and feels like the future and made the regular MacBooks look like clunky, cumbersome dinosaurs. And the regular MacBooks do the same thing to most PC laptops. Including, i'd wager, this one.
I am not sure how to explain this. ThinkPad bezels are thicker on the edges so when you close it down, it sorts of 'hugs' the ThinkPad body. The screen itself is thin, but not as thin as Sony's SZ notebooks.
You have to remember IBM and Lenovo build their TP with reinforced screens. This is why TP's screens don't suffer from LCD distortion if you try to push the screen inside from the back.
Sorry, bad character in the above post. here's the rest:
(at 1/4 to less than 1/10 of an inch thinner, vs. the MBA which is 0 to over 1/2 an inch thinner than the X300). When you configure it with a hard drive, it'll probably be about 2 pounds lighter than a 15" Macbook Pro, or 1.5 lbs heavier than a 13" Macbook. If Apple comes out with lighter MBPs, it'll be a tough call to give up 2" of screen space for the Lenovo.
The MBA competes to some extent with any small, light laptop, but as others have noted above, if you're really worried about 2 extra USB ports or wired Ethernet, etc., you're probably going to pass on the MBA anyway, and the X300, Macbook, and other similar laptops are going to be in your sights.
I think the envelope thing is kinda dumb. A lot of laptops will fit in an envelope. If you get the big envelopes, some desktops will fit in them too. This speaks nothing of my opinion about the MBA or this Lenovo.
It really amazing how Apple frames a debate. Sharp, Sony and Toshiba (and not Lenovo) have produced or are currently producing lappies within .03" or so of the Air but somehow that .02" is the paramount "feature" over function. Personally the Air is a letdown because I'd like OS X on some of the long overseas trips I take for work. That use, rather than as conversation starter at the coffee shop 3 blocks away is where ultra portability comes into play for me. However, it is massively ill suited to that task because of the non removable battery and lack not only of an Ethernet port (good luck getting room wifi in hotel in china outside HK, Shanghai or Beijing) but, for closer trips, an option for built in 3G. I know it worked great for iPods but "thinner!" doesn't mean cutting edge to me. If I was itching to store my laptops in manila envelopes it might be a different story.
EDIT: I mean "now Lenovo" rather than "not".
this think is not a mba competitor, they are 2 different machines...2 different types of buyers. prime example, look at the hdd options of each.
I give you the "two different kinds of buyers" argument...Actually, I'm not gonna go there.
It's the size of my macbook... of course it'll be able to fit all those features, Apple's been doing that for years!