Lenovo's X300 gets photographed in the wild

Just in case Walt's teaser shot and pages upon pages of specifications weren't enough to satisfy your curiosity about the forthcoming X300, we've got a pretty good idea the photos waiting in the link below just might. Sure enough, we've come across a number of crystal clear (gasp!) shots of the yet-to-be-released ultraportable, and while it's totally devoid of aluminum, we still maintain that it's undoubtedly sexy in its own way. Go on, you're just one click away.

[Flashpoint @ Feb 14th 2008 9:58PM]

PLEASE...don't compare the Lenovo to a Macbook Air.

It will only go to show you that the Mac Book air is a poorly designed piece of crap meant to make people using it feel important.

SMUG ALERT !

[ez17 @ Feb 14th 2008 10:39PM]

If you actually held the macbook air in your hand Im sure you would too agree its one of the best, if not the best built laptop you have ever held. Its completely solid not a weak spot on it and the weight is evenly distributed. Before you bash it try it, otherwise your opinion is useless.

[mike @ Feb 14th 2008 10:40PM]

EZ...You drank too much KoolAid

[SuperQ @ Feb 14th 2008 10:50PM]

No, EZ17 is right. I have held it and the MBA is very solid and well built. But that's the one thing I don't like. For being totally striped down to nothing it's heavy for what it offers. It weighs the about same as the X300 with all of it's ports and optical drive.

[ez17 @ Feb 14th 2008 10:48PM]

@mike: same goes to you try it first, I drank to much Apple cool aid, but who's are you drinking? If someone likes a product they suddenly have been "drinking too much cool aid"? What just because its not for you doesn't mean its not for others, next time anyone makes a product lets make sure we run it through mike first.

[mike @ Feb 14th 2008 10:49PM]

I don't drink the Kool Aid. First of all I buy computers based on whats in them not the operating system.

[Truthjerk @ Feb 14th 2008 10:51PM]

If your laptop can't stand on it's own, and MUST be compared to the Air, then it's not much of a laptop at all.
Apple FTW

[Gremlin @ Feb 14th 2008 11:01PM]

EZ... are you kidding? The Macbook Air is at the very least a cool little laptop, but its build quality is far from great. The pop down usb is a shotty idea and provides only cramped access. Further, the lid seems so light and the trayed keys are such a turn-off. I really don't think you can compare it to the thinkpads or the high-end latitudes.

Which is why we're all waiting on the new Macbook Pro's....

[ez17 @ Feb 14th 2008 11:15PM]

@gremlin, "Further, the lid seems so light and the trayed keys are such a turn-off. I really don't think you can compare it to the thinkpads or the high-end latitudes."

These reviews tend to disagree.

Mosseberg: In my tests, the MacBook Air's screen and keyboard were a pleasure to use. It's impossible to convey in words just how pleasing and surprising this computer feels in the hand.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120113632301711881.html

Cnet: As we've come to expect from Apple, the design and engineering that went into the MacBook Air is extraordinary.
it feels very sturdy and solid, thanks in part to the aluminum construction, and we'd have no qualms about carting it around with us all day.
http://reviews.cnet.com/macbook-air/?tag=prod.txt.1

Engadget: Whereas most smaller laptops try to cut weight with inner metal frames and flimsy plastic bodies, the Air bulks up a bit with an all-metal enclosure that looks and feels like it was carved out of a single piece of aluminum.
the machine definitely gets extremely high marks for its the physical engineering.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/25/macbook-air-review/

[CraigJ @ Feb 14th 2008 11:26PM]

@mike "I don't drink the Kool Aid. First of all I buy computers based on whats in them not the operating system." As your avatar clearly indicates...

[mike @ Feb 14th 2008 11:30PM]

Craig: that is to piss off Mac users. I use XP.

[Gremlin @ Feb 14th 2008 11:32PM]

EZ... Engineering ingenuity aside, the screen hinge quality is nowhere near the quality of Macbooks, Macbook Pros, thinkpads, or high-end latitudes. I stand firmly behind this point and I challenge you to compare any of them in person. The macbook air hinge has a limited range as well, which is a major problem for many users.

Onto the keyboard... its nice that the Air has a full-sized keyboard given its size, but I've personally always despised those style of keys (like the macbook and many vaio laptops) where there are gaps between keys. It makes it impossible to type by feel.

I (along with many others) have legitimate concerns with the build of the Air, and no number of reviews will make that fact any less true.

[CL @ Feb 14th 2008 11:45PM]

@mike "Craig: that is to piss off Mac users. I use XP."

You know what's equally annoying as Apple zealots that feel the need to tell the world "how their computers are better and pc users suck...etc"?


Windows zealots with equally pointless attitude doing equally pointless things "just to piss people off".
and before you call me "apple fanboy", I am happy with both my pcs and macs.

[nikster @ Feb 14th 2008 11:58PM]

You asked for it, so here we go: MacBook Air is devoid of many of the ports on the X300 and the DVD drive. It costs less and lasts longer on battery, weighs about the same, is about the same size but of course thinner.

The MBA's processor is a C2D which at 1.6GHz is about 2x as fast as the 1.2GHz C2D ULV in the X300.

The X300 has a VGA out only, while the MBA has a much more practical mini DVI port with VGA converter for those presentation situations.

I love them both but at this size and weight, there are compromises made, you can choose those that fit your usage best.

[bandrews-engadget @ Feb 15th 2008 1:10AM]

@nikster: Good analysis, but one objection - I'm not sure in what universe a mini DVI connector is practical. You can't use it at home without a converter to connect to a monitor, and you can't use it on the road to connect to a projector without a converter. At least with the ThinkPad, you can connect directly to a projector, while (almost certainly, if their other machines are any indication) still getting DVI out in a port replicator.

The MBP requires converters in both situations, X300 in only one of the two.

[BrianB @ Feb 15th 2008 1:10AM]

So Apple is right in making their ultraportable come with a 13.3-inch screen. If Lenovo hadn't done a 13-inch ultaportable I wouldn't have known.

[tsw @ Feb 14th 2008 10:02PM]

looks good, wish they had taken a direct side shot of it.

[Miles @ Feb 14th 2008 10:03PM]

What an ugly laptop.
IBM needs to ditch the 1980s tank designs and get something sleek and shiny. It's almost the 2010!

[mike @ Feb 14th 2008 10:10PM]

Okay so the MacBok Ait is a UMPC yet this, same size, is a laptop? Man you are a Mac fanboy!

[Ruben @ Feb 14th 2008 10:18PM]

Miles, do us all a favor and mimic the girl in your avatar.

[mike @ Feb 14th 2008 10:23PM]

Ruben, I thought it was his picture...

[Miles @ Feb 14th 2008 10:58PM]

God damn.
I never said it was a bad laptop.
I just think IBM should stop grasping the the old PS/2 look of the 80s.

[tom @ Feb 14th 2008 11:15PM]

Actually I love the subtle look of thinkpad, it is full of substance. It is built strong, reliable and secure.^^

[mike @ Feb 14th 2008 11:15PM]

I really like the look of the ThinkPad. They look more business like.

[CL @ Feb 14th 2008 11:50PM]

I also like their design, had a thinkpad back in the late 90's and that thing is practically a tank, I lost count how many drops and bumps I had on that thing, yet it keeps going...and yes, I still have that thing running 10 years later. There's a reason why NASA use them on space missions ;-)

[nikster @ Feb 15th 2008 12:06AM]

The Thinkpads look like a Deathstar accessory. It's cool. Timeless. And they are built like tanks so it's not just all show. You just have to rip all those stickers off.

These show that Lenovo doesn't realize how cool their own design is or they would ship 'em like they were meant, in all matte black with maybe just the joystick in the middle red. No blue keys (WTF IBM?!), and no cheesy logo stickers. Black desktop background and none of the think-crapware.

[Ryan Karolak @ Feb 15th 2008 12:29AM]

The Thinkpads aren't supposed to look beautiful, they're supposed to look generic and professional. They're meant to be rugged business machines.

[James @ Feb 15th 2008 2:43AM]

You guys do realize this is a Lenovo laptop and not an IBM laptop? You do know IBM does NOT make laptops anymore. This thing does not say IBM on it anywhere. Even my X61t does not say IBM on it. The ties have been cut.

On a side note people keep saying this has a optical drive. I have yet to see it in the specs. Can anyone point it out?

[Mitch @ Feb 15th 2008 8:25AM]

personally, i rather my laptops looking like Russian tanks rather than pancy aluminum glowing apples

[Nick @ Feb 15th 2008 7:54PM]

There's a reason that there are 7 A series Thinkpads on the International Space Station.

[tsw @ Feb 14th 2008 10:04PM]

maybe it will be on one of those 25% off deals that lenovo had on thinkpads a while back...

[Flashpoint @ Feb 14th 2008 10:05PM]

Right now I'm on a Lenovo X60 - a Tablet.

The only thing I don't like about it is that it didn't have a webcamera built in, but back then webcams weren't the norm.

My battery lasts damn near 8 hours and the casing is as solid as a brick.

For a true business laptop, I don't think I could choose anything other than a Lenovo X..
I'm thinking however about using my "Bush Tax Rebate" to buy a Hewlett Packard TX Tablet since it has the webcam and is lighter but, the battery is a measly 3 hours.

[Kamall @ Feb 14th 2008 10:05PM]

I guess for a person who loves ultraportable notebooks, I'm insulted people call this an ultraportable. I define that as 11" and below, hence the name ULTRAportable. This X300 is more of a thin and light.

But since many are used to their 15.4+ notebooks, I guess 13.3" is ultraportable to them.

[mike @ Feb 14th 2008 10:11PM]

Me too. Thin does make it anymore portable to me. Still 13.3" laptop no matter what.

[SuperQ @ Feb 14th 2008 11:22PM]

I agree, I really wish they would have dumped the optical drive. Although it would be a great spot to put a 2nd battery.

[zzz @ Feb 15th 2008 6:31AM]

Seems like it doesn't take much to insult you.

Take it easy Kamall.

[Mark Teitelbaum @ Feb 14th 2008 10:05PM]

I am in love with Lenovo/IBM keyboards. I have the lowly N200 3000 but my god, the keyboard is the best one I've ever used. Whenever I try to type on my friends' gateways or HPs I want to stab something...

[mike @ Feb 14th 2008 10:12PM]

Same but I have an older T20. IBM makes the best hardware and they actually provide the manual to repair them yourself!

[DarkLightConnection @ Feb 14th 2008 10:16PM]

A trackpoint and a trackpad on the same computer?

Isn't that a bit..... redundant?

[mike @ Feb 14th 2008 10:22PM]

Its called the UltraNav. I think its good. It is for people who prefer one or the other but want both options. I mean your not losing anything by having both so why not? I think all laptops should be that way.

[Nathan Wiering @ Feb 14th 2008 10:24PM]

I have an IBM r60 that has the Ultra nav. I use both of the all the time. I would have a hard time switching to a computer that has only one or the other. that is why when I got a tablet I picked one that also had both. You don't know what you are missing until you have tried it.

[Ruben @ Feb 14th 2008 10:24PM]

The trackpoint doesnt interfere with your typing, so they just include it. If youve ever used it, after awhile, it becomes the best way to navigate on a laptop. Its even great for games (suprisingly), its just that the tip of your finger gets caved in after awhile.

Im saddened that this is no longer popular in laptops.

[mike @ Feb 14th 2008 10:27PM]

Ruben, me too! It is SO much easier to use that in car then touchpad! Its a real shame. I bet if Apple used um everyone would drop the touchpad in a second!

[tom @ Feb 14th 2008 10:29PM]

Users may appreciate one or the other, I frankly love this dual setting. This ULTRANAV (Trackpoint +trackpad) setting has been the standard since T40s.

This x300 looks really sexy, but simply priced too dearly. It would be more approachable if price similar or comparable to MBA

[mike @ Feb 14th 2008 10:32PM]

Tom, the T30 had it too.

[Raghu @ Feb 15th 2008 12:03PM]

The T20 and other older IBMs had only the Trackpoint. No other manufacturer has gotten the feel of the Trackpoint down. I use it exclusively on my T40.

When I switch to Dells (client machines), I use only the pad because I hate the way their Trackpoint equivalent feels.

Similarly I love Apple's pad implementation better than any one else's. After using my MacBook Pro, I find myself two finger scrolling on other computers.

[tom @ Feb 14th 2008 10:35PM]

@Ruben

How the hell can you play games on it? Oh should I say what kinda game do you usually play?

CoD4 or WoW?

My index finger feels num and trackpoint lost control after two rounds of starcraft(2 years ago). I gave in and got myself a wireless kb+mouse for games since, I didn't want to flex the precious keyboard.

[tom @ Feb 14th 2008 10:36PM]

or solitare? online poker?

[Nathan Wiering @ Feb 14th 2008 10:41PM]

I don't know what games he plays but I use the trackpoint for games.
I play FPS (and I normally am in the top 3 at the end of the round.)
It is great for snipping; you don't run out of mousepad(or space)
RTS (yes I have played starcraft with it. also many other RTS games.)
It is also good for simulator games in which you must control a plane or ship (it is like a mini joystick.)

[mike @ Feb 14th 2008 10:42PM]

I play solitaire on my T20 a ton and no problems!