Lenovo ThinkPad X300 series to be phased out, replaced by T400 this year

We're not sure what tea they're being served in the Far East these days, but the peeps at Lenovo have somehow convinced themselves to let go of the legendary 13-inch ThinkPad X301 and replace it with the 14-inch T410s by the end of the year. Ouch. While you mop up the tears pooling around your boots, here's Marketing Director Wang Lipin's reasoning: with the T400 series capable of offering more powerful CPU and GPU at a similar portability but much lower price (we're talking about a $980 difference between the T410s and X301 base models, at the time of writing), the X300 series has since lost its special place in the ultraportable category. It's tough to argue with figures like that, and hey, at least that's one less temptation for the sake of your piggy bank. Or so we're left to tell ourselves.

[GnuGeek Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:52AM]

Good laptop can make sad Keanu happy. Looks like this one doesn't.

[Clyzm Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:55AM]

Looks like someone browses Reddit.

[Anay Posted Jul 15th 2010 11:17AM]

@Clyzm or Digg...

[AlexDorman Posted Jul 15th 2010 2:33PM]

@Anay Or 4chan or any website for that matter. I can't even tell who starts these memes anymore.

[MrFairladyz Posted Jul 15th 2010 3:12PM]

@Clyzm

Reddit, I've been there before... Somewhere in England, right?

[epitomics Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:55AM]

Ugh, not another emo Keanu Reeves spoof

[Marko Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:56AM]

big thumbs up for the photoshop!

[Special Agent Steve Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:56AM]

Keanu Reeves has had the hardest life... literally. Just wiki his personal info, it's really depressing.

[zwielichtig Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:04AM]

tasteless and cheap photoshop, but hey, as long as it sells

[choupique Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:08AM]

Salesman really should have told Keanu about 9-cell battery option...right at the end of his DVD too.

[grouver Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:22AM]

in what world is a 14" laptop a good replacement for and ultraportable? You can lower the price point a bit and upgrade the internals and you don't need to give me this BS about a 14" t series being the same as a 13" X. If Apple can cram all that in a 13" body so can you Lenovo.
Anyway I think the real story here is that the X300 series is not making enough money for lenovo cause it is a purely business class notebook. But what Lenovo is forgetting is that brand loyalty cost a lot more than number of sales.

[tobsmonster2 Posted Jul 15th 2010 6:35AM]

@grouver
Your Apple comment was BS. The rest was painfully obvious. Also I'm sure Lenovo's think tanks we're able to decide more sales > brand loyalty. Also your feet smell.

[Jamuflaknu Posted Jul 15th 2010 6:57AM]

@grouver Your objection against the 14'' ultraportables works only in theory. If you compare the X301 next to the T410s, you will find them both very thin, extremely light and very easy to carry around. If I had to chose today, I would go definitely with the T410s because of the lower price and notably better performance at the expense of the slightly higher weight.

[bigcow05 Posted Jul 15th 2010 9:43AM]

@grouver

LOLwut? T400s is 3.8lbs, Macbook is 4.7; T400s is .83in thick, Macbook is 1.08in thick. And the Thinkpad has a bigger screen, better thermal cooling, and more durability and safety features than the Macbook.

[Nomi Posted Jul 15th 2010 9:44AM]

@grouver Have T400s, its actually very thin and light...not netbook light, but light for a 14-13 incher. Its a LOT lighter than the 13in Macbook. 4.5 vs 3.5 lbs I think..

[b0rndead Posted Jul 15th 2010 6:59AM]

X2xx is the way to go anyway

also theres the cheap but better-than-average-acer-like-crap Edge 13 for a little above netbook prices

[Mike Posted Jul 15th 2010 10:46AM]

@b0rndead

+1

I think it's more about overlap with the X200. The X200 is much cheaper and nearly as powerful... no brainer?

[richb93 Posted Jul 15th 2010 7:13AM]

About time I saw the sad Keanu here. Your photoshop monkeys should be proud ;)

[xyrec Posted Jul 15th 2010 7:20AM]

I love how the guy in the background has no legs.

[Richard Lai Posted Jul 15th 2010 7:58AM]

@xyrec Fixed!

[Growly Posted Jul 15th 2010 7:38AM]

Noooooooo :( and here was I, awaiting the refresh so patiently.

I'm actually going to have to mop away that pool of tears.

Sob.

[thisNthat Posted Jul 15th 2010 7:40AM]

ThinkPad sucks.... I'm working on one at this very moment. Would never buy one for myself.

[Panoptic Posted Jul 15th 2010 9:16AM]

@thisNthat It's not an SL series is it? Because those are garbage. I own a pre-Lenovo T series and a new X201 and honestly I don't think I'd use anything else.

[ruby Posted Jul 15th 2010 9:43AM]

@thisNthat

I almost got a X300 last year when it was on sale for $1200.. but I just recently bought myself a t410 that I've been using for about the past 3 months.. I'm coming from an Apple notebook and this Thinkpad is honestly better than anything I've ever used. sometimes I wish I bought the X200 instead but I really like what I have.

[thisNthat Posted Jul 15th 2010 9:59AM]

@thisNthat

Hate me, I'm just telling ya what my experience is.

This here ThinkPad R500 I got from work is chunky, heavy, creaky and ugly. Besides that I hate that freaking "red-dot-stick" and them big ass ugly mouse buttons. Make the touchpad bigger. The keyboard light is a bad joke and the non-symmetric screen position is killing me. How could somebody WANT that?

The whole thing sucks performance wise, either. Besides, I have never seen a ThinkPad that made me actually want one.

HATE ME THINKPAD FANBOIS, HATE ME!!

[yevgeny Posted Jul 15th 2010 11:14AM]

@thisNthat
Don't compare R and T series.
R - means ugly and cheap

[SmDFrylock Posted Jul 15th 2010 8:02AM]

Whatever you knew about ThinkPads, throw it out the window this year.

They're basically replacing all of their IBM joint designs that they used to have with cheap consumer toys dressed like ThinkPads. R series is dead. X series is dying and will most likely resemble the L, SL and the edge soon, which are glorified consumer units. The only models they're not messing with are the T and W, but hope you got $1000+ if you want a decent performer.

[bigcow05 Posted Jul 15th 2010 9:47AM]

@SmDFrylock

People say this every time new Thinkpads come out, but my x200 is way better than my flexy IBM T42, which also had a major motherboard design flaw. And the T42 was $1800 while my x200 was only $1200. The T, X, and W series look great.

[sethmo Posted Jul 15th 2010 8:10AM]

Isn't the T400 the old model. The T410 replaces it with i3/i5/i7 CPUS. T400 only had Core2 Duos.

Either way, the X301 was too big, compared to the X201 anyway. If the X301 was a 12" screen, and a bit lighter, there would be a place in the lineup for it.

[sethmo Posted Jul 15th 2010 8:16AM]

@sethmo Sorry, the X30x series does need to be whacked. The X20x series is better in every way.

X201: Core i5, average screen and platters - $1400
X301: Core2 Duo, better screen and SSD - $3000

....

[Richard Lai Posted Jul 15th 2010 8:20AM]

@sethmo We're talking about the T400 *series*.

[sethmo Posted Jul 15th 2010 8:22AM]

@Richard Lai Just saying, the X201 is a better option then the X301 to start. The T400 is not an ultraportable. It weighs 5lbs with a 6cell(I have one)!

The X201 should be the "replacement" for the X301, not the T400.

[Dorf Posted Jul 15th 2010 9:09AM]

@sethmo

I somewhat agree with you. The x301 was our ultraportable laptop we deploy here at work. They are great. The x201 is going to fit most needs that the x301 did. The x201 also comes in tablet form as well.

However, we have a "requirement" for an optical drive for some users. The x201 lacks it.

[sethmo Posted Jul 15th 2010 9:24AM]

@Dorf True, forgot about that. Plus a lot of people despise the TrackPoint in general. If they could use the X301 design, keep the trackpad and optical drive, and use the 12" screen, price, and hardware from the X201, you would have a very nice ultra portable!

[BaseVilliN Posted Jul 15th 2010 3:41PM]

@sethmo People that despise the TrackPoint don't deserve to have a ThinkPad.

[Kris91 Posted Jul 15th 2010 8:29AM]

Noooooooooo! Although I have a T400 right now and it is awesome, the X300 is my dream notebook

[Techtrino Posted Jul 15th 2010 8:58AM]

@Kris91
well but the t410s is sooooo close to the x301 why have both in the programe.
I still prefer my x201 with a gtx260 gpu (DIY Vidock)

[mangoman Posted Jul 15th 2010 9:20AM]

Disappointing attitude by Lenovo. There is no way you can compare a 13" notebook to a 14". And its surprising how much a few grams in weight can make when you have to carry a notebook on your shoulder for a decent period of time.

The X300 series was an excellent range. Overpriced, especially lately when you compare the hardware specs which i dont think have changed for a while. Also the lack of a docking station for a business grade notebook doesnt cut it (to me a usb based port replicator is not the same).

[quillaja Posted Jul 15th 2010 9:32AM]

Maybe they'll make a sweet ultra-thin version of the T400. That would be nice. Of course, if they use a crappy screen like they have been doing lately, who cares.

[sdduck Posted Jul 15th 2010 11:00AM]

@quillaja

they did... the t400s/t410s

[TCrimson05 Posted Jul 15th 2010 10:07AM]

"What I can't.....what happens if I fail?"

[TCrimson05 Posted Jul 15th 2010 10:07AM]

if*

[sdduck Posted Jul 15th 2010 11:03AM]

Now, if they could only make the X201s as thin as the X301, Id be game. Love the engineering on the X301, but sorry, it made way too many compromises to be an everyday carry.

[jonyah Posted Jul 15th 2010 11:19AM]

The main selling point for the 301 was the 1440x900 res 13.3" screen. Put that screen on some other laptops and I'll be really happy.

[AdrianWerner Posted Jul 15th 2010 11:35AM]

Propably a good decision overall. X300 brought many great innovations to whole Thinkpad line, but it was just this weird product. If I want portability I will go for X200, and if I want power I will go to t400-500. X300 didn't fit into any of those categories

[KO Posted Jul 15th 2010 11:57AM]

At first, I thought it it sucked that the x300 (which I have and love) is being replaced by the t410s. So I asked my Lenovo rep to bring one in, and I brought my x300 for a side-by-side. In person, the size/weight differences are pretty negligible, and the 4x0s chassis is stiffer overall. And if you still want a 13", there's the Edge 13 (not great), and you can always go smaller with a x201s, which foregoes the ODD but get a 2.5" bay, and still get a wsxga+ screen, and even bigger battery options.

[RadiXe Posted Jul 15th 2010 1:12PM]

Thinkpad is just a sad shell of its' former self. Today's thinkpads are expensive and damn cheap plastic pieces of crap.

[AdrianWerner Posted Jul 15th 2010 3:18PM]

@RadiXe
Not really. Deopends on a model. I don't like some of the modern changes they made to somed models, but on the other hand their X60/x200 series has been fricking brilliant. Far better than anything IBM ever did with small laptops

[AndrewAmazed Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:10PM]

LOVE MY X200. NEVER GONNA GIVE IT UP. THAT'S RIGHT.

[MixMasterMango Posted Jul 16th 2010 2:02AM]

the x300 was too expensive.. plus the x201 is far more portable for those who really want a high end ultraportable.