In a weirdly casual move, Lenovo has let details slip on the next iteration of its MacBook Air-challenging laptop -- the ThinkPad X300 -- unsurprisingly dubbed the X301. The new device ups the processor ante by adding the as-yet-unreleased Intel Core 2 Duo ULV (ultra low voltage) U9300 (1.2GHz) and U9400 (1.4GHz), both with a 6MB L2 cache and 1066MHz FSB. Additionally, the X301 will support up to 2GB of DDR3 RAM, and Lenovo will offer SSDs of the 80GB or 128GB variety, as opposed to the last generation's 64GB option. A new DisplayPort jack is included, along with boosted mobile broadband quality, GPS, and plans for a WiMAX version later this year. The laptops start at $2,599 and will be available August 26th, though the 128GB option doesn't show up until September. Full PR after the break.

File this rumor under the "sure, that makes sense" category. Granted, PhoneNews may not be the go-to source for Apple rumors, still, the site's reputable enough to at least give this one a listen. It claims that national retailers have been alerted to an imminent announcement of a new revision to the MacBook Air. More specifically, PhoneNews claims that the MBA will move away from the stop-gap, 65-nm Intel processor dusted-off special for Apple (and now Voodoo's Envy 133) in favor of Intel's latest "standard" 45-nm Penryn processor. If true, then we're talking about possible clocks ranging from 2.26GHz to 3.06GHz (up from 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz), a 1,066MHz FSB (up from 800MHz), and appreciable increase in CPU power draw to 29W (up from 20W). We can also expect better GMA X4500 integrated graphics assuming Apple adopts the Centrino 2 chipset. To offset the potential degradation in mobility, PhoneNews asserts that Apple will beef-up the battery and replace the 45W MagSafe adapter with a 60W version like those found with existing MacBooks. With this rumor and all the others related to Apple's lineup of MacBooks, we wouldn't be surprised to see Apple announce some kind of special media event sometime soon.

Update: It's worth noting that Intel also plans to release a few low and ultra-low voltage Penryns in a 22-mm package (same as now) around the September timeframe. Though these would decrease, not increase, the power draw as described by PhoneNews.

Like we mentioned in our hands-on impressions, the new Z-series laptops from Sony are in many ways impressive, but in ultimate thinness they leave a bit to be desired. This is perhaps best demonstrated best by Journal du Geek's comparison shots here with the MacBook Air. Sure, the Z wins all over the place on specs, with Centrino 2, discreet graphics, a full-size laptop hard drive bay, and what was that? Oh yeah, a Blu-ray drive. The Z also manages a smaller footprint, thanks in part to a smaller 13.1-inch screen in that shorter 16:9 aspect ratio, but also due to its slim bezels surrounding the screen and keyboard -- something the Air could do well to take note of -- but the actual 1-inch thickness seems dramatically fat compared to its ultrathin competition. Overall, it's all about what kind of laptop you're really gunning for, but if thin is the ultimate goal, you're going to be much better off with the X300, X200 or Envy 133 on the PC side.

As tnkgrl mentions at the outset of this hack, the MacBook Air SuperDrive is a nice little slice of hotness, retailing for a mere $99, and doing the whole external drive thing with Apple's sense of style. Unfortunately, it only works with the MacBook Air due to a proprietary IDE to USB bridge, as tnkgrl discovered. For a mere $9 she was able to find a replacement part, and after pushing some internals around she had her self a Mac mini and HP Mini-Note-friendly USB disc drive. We've all been laboring under the assumption that Apple needed more than the standard USB power draw, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that she was able to pull this off with a regular part, and we demand Apple start selling $108 SuperDrives-for-all immediately. Er, please?

We heard they were coming. Now it looks like we've got a second ultra-thin laptop sporting Intel's custom-built, 65-nm processor first unveiled in Apple's MacBook Air. At about 3:00 minutes into the Envy 133 video, Rahul Sood, Voodoo founder, says that his new Envy 133 uses an "off roadmap chip" of Intel design which consumes 20 watts of power. Looking at the Envy spec sheet reveals a processor running at either 1.6GHz (SP7500) or 1.8GHz (SP7700), with 4MB L2 Cache and 800MHz FSB. Right, those are the exact specs as the custom CPU found inside of Apple's MacBook Air. Also of note, LaptopMag says that Voodoo's instant-on IOS is none other than DeviceVM's Splashtop which ASUS is currently bunging into all of its motherboards. Make no mistake, this hunky chunk of carbon fiber is still magical, it's just not the mystery it seemed when launched this morning.

Read -- Splashtop
Read -- MacBook Air processor
Read -- Envy 133 specs

Sure, we've sized these two up theoretically, but how well do Voodoo's Envy 133 and Apple's MacBook Air get along when sharing the same meatspace? There are certainly some striking similarities -- both have gargantuan trackpads, for instance, but Voodoo has taken things in an aesthetic direction all its own. We just hope these two decide to be friends instead of mortal, cake-cutting enemies.

Our stubborn pocket books and loved ones continue to chime in with a resounding "no" every time we start considering one of those fancy HP Blackbird 002 units, but that doesn't mean HP isn't on to something when it comes to fancy aesthetics and even fancier tech specs -- all courtesy of that VoodooPC buy a while back. Now it appears HP has a big unveil set for June 10 that "could begin to establish the company as a provider of beautiful technology gear" according to a Fortune article on HP. Voodoo founder Rahul Sood likens Voodoo's role as akin to Lamborghini within Audi, and has promised a "huge announcement" on his own blog. He even hinted at a laptop in a birthday post depicting him cutting his cake with a MacBook Air (pictured): "Ahh well, I wouldn't be needing this notebook for long anyways... :) Stay tuned for more..." The subnotebook fanboy within us hopes that means HP has a X300 / MacBook Air killer in the works, but whatever it is we certainly hope it warrants the modicum of buzz HP and Rahul are building for it.

[Thanks, William M.]

Read - HP reaches for the cool factor
Read - Rahul on Audi and Lambo
Read - Rahul and the Cake Knife

Those that know Rahul Sood, founder of Voodoo PC and CTO of HP's global gaming business, might not be so surprised to hear he used a working MacBook Air to cut his thick, rich, chocolatey birthday cake. While wearing an HP shirt. And then posted it to his site. Good luck, Rahul -- we're totally sure the Apple fanboys of the world are going to give you a pass on this one.

Now, we know that the MacBook Air is one thin laptop, but some Apple forum members in Germany are claiming that the edge of the laptop is not only sharp -- but downright dangerous. According to "Apple Talk" reader Bajuware, his MBA went kill-crazy all over his elbow while he was cold-chillin' on his couch. The details are a little hard to suss out due to the language barrier (and machine translation), but it would appear the Air's bottom edge made nasty work of the human flesh like someone had insulted its mother. Another MBA owner claims his computer is sharp enough to slice bread, though we assume it's not used for buttering. Honestly, we're not sure what kind of danger an innocent MacBook Air could really pose besides causing you to throw out your back constantly plugging in the AC to charge that not-quite-as-advertised battery.

Apparently some audio can't be turned up to F11.

We're still hearing reports of MacBook Air overheating woe, well after an EFI update in April that was meant to address some of those problems. While hot computers are nothing new, the MacBook Air starts shutting down cores and offloading processes when things get bad, which means users are faced with aggravating stop-start freezing until they can manage to cool the computer off -- or just put it to sleep and let it "rest." Apparently some people have traced this back to the age-old misapplied thermal grease problem, but that's hardly a solace for the average consumer trying to convince Apple to fix this thing for them. We took a MacBook Air that was acting up into the Genius Bar and Apple claimed it couldn't reproduce the problem, though we have heard cases of Apple replacing the computer for users. We'd be curious to know just how many Air users are having trouble, and if the X300 is experiencing anything similar, so let us know in the comments.

Funny concept, Lenovo -- manila envelope stuffing was just ripe for a demonstration of what all you typical MacBook Air user is going to need on hand -- but we've gotta dock a few points for the shortage of Yael Naïm in this X300 mockumercial. Let it be known that we take our fake commercials based on real commercials based on sexy product war very, very seriously around these parts. Video is after the break.

[Thanks, Lee M]

One of the most surprising things about the launch of an ultra-portable laptop dubbed "Air" by Apple wasn't its thinness but the lack of an embedded WWAN radio. No more, at least if you're not intimidated by smoldering solder and warranty violations. Jordan Bunnell has posted a step-by-step of his success at integrating a Verizon USB727 Aircard into the MacBook Air chassis thanks to the MBA's previously unused USB controllers discovered on the system board. While the EVDO signal (and speed) has appreciably degraded from its externally attached origins, Jordan is still pulling 1,400 to 1,700kbps downloads and 380kbps uploads -- something which might be improved with antenna tweaks. Regardless, those speeds are significantly faster than the 0kbps stock MBA owners experience.

[Thanks, Tom]