X300 -- Engadget

Lenovo slips out the new ThinkPad X301: new CPUs, 128GB SSD, still thin as hell

by Joshua Topolsky posted Aug 15th 2008 at 6:37PM

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.

Continue reading Lenovo slips out the new ThinkPad X301: new CPUs, 128GB SSD, still thin as hell

Lenovo's X300 sees price cut, you'll see it ship eventually

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 19th 2008 at 7:26AM

Good News: Lenovo trimmed at least $160 off its 13.3-inch X300 ultra-portable configurations.

Bad News: "Ships in more than 4 weeks."

[Thanks, Nomi]

Read -- Old pricing via Google Cache
Read -- New Pricing

X300 vs Envy 133 vs MacBook Air... Fight!

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 10th 2008 at 8:05AM

Suddenly the 13.3-inch ultra-portable market is looking a might bit crowded. At the same time, it's never looked better now that we have the choice of Lenovo's X300, Apple's MacBook Air, and Voodoo's just announced Envy 133. Decisions, decisions.

ThinkPad X300	Envy 133	MacBook Air
0.73 to 0.92-inches	0.70-inches	0.16 to 0.76-inches
2.9 to 3.1-pounds*	3.37-pounds	3 pounds
13.3-inch LED	13.3-inch LED	13.3-inch LED
1,440 x 900	1,280 x 800	1,280 x 800
Removable Battery	Removable Battery	Not Removable
Ethernet	External	via USB adapter
3x USB	1x USB, 1x USB/eSATA	1x USB
DVD	External	External
1.2GHz Core 2 Duo	1.8GHz Core 2 Duo	1.8GHz Core 2 Duo
GMA X3100	GMA X3100	GMA X3100
SSD only	HDD or SSD	HDD or SSD
Vista	Vista	Vista or OS X
$2,700 to $3,000*	$2,099 starting	$1,800 to $3,100*
Business minded	Instant on Voodoo IOS	Cuts cake

*Depending upon configuration

How would you change Lenovo's X300?

by Darren Murph posted Jun 6th 2008 at 6:30PM

There's no denying it: Lenovo's ultrathin X300 grabbed its fair share of attention earlier this year, due in large part to its estranged rivalry with the MacBook Air. Now that a few months have passed since the first wave of adopters welcomed the 13.3-inch ultraportable into their homes, we figured the time was right to ask you all how things have been coming along. Do you still feel like a proud papa when checking out those three USB ports? Is there really enough horsepower in there to churn through your pivot tables in a timely manner? Or are you longing for one of the many netbooks that have since demanded the limelight? We already know how the experts feel about it, but this one's for you -- how would you mold the X300 into the machine it should've been from the start?

HP's Voodoo team prepping something "beautiful" for June 10

by Paul Miller posted Jun 2nd 2008 at 11:28AM

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

Lenovo has some funny-ha-ha times at MacBook Air's expense

by Paul Miller posted Apr 30th 2008 at 8:35AM

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]

Continue reading Lenovo has some funny-ha-ha times at MacBook Air's expense

Lenovo X300 review roundup

by Darren Murph posted Feb 26th 2008 at 5:17PM

Just in case you feared that Walt Mossberg was out on some sort of limb when he proclaimed that the X300 would satisfy road warriors everywhere, we've sourced some other reviews from across the intarwebz to ease your mind. Lenovo's über-stealthy ultraportable, which officially went on sale today, managed to impress one critic after another, with the biggest complaints coming from the high starting price tag, omission of a DVI port and somewhat sluggish performance -- which are pretty much expected given the form factor. Outside of that, everyone was practically in love, with praises addressing the delightful keyboard, integrated WWAN and overall usability of such a minuscule machine. But hey, don't take our word for it -- check out the reviews below in full before you cough up your $2,500 (or more), cool?

Read - PCPro (5 out of 6 shiny stars)
Read - CNET (8.5 out of 10 golden trinkets)
Read - Notebook Review ("big thumbs up")

Lenovo's X300 ultraportable gets official, is available now

by Darren Murph posted Feb 26th 2008 at 8:18AM

Granted, you knew full well today would be the day that Lenovo unleashed its MacBook Air opponent on the world, but just in case you feared some sort of catastrophic eleventh-hour delay, we're here to inform you that all is well. The 2.9 to 3.1-pound, LED-backlit X300 (that's the one on the left, you know) is indeed available today for those who've been drooling for weeks through "Lenovo's business partners," but of course, it'll take at least ~~$2,799~~ $2,548 (on the firm's official webstore) to gain admission to this slim 'n trim party.

Lenovo X300 gets benchmarked, shown off on video

by Donald Melanson posted Feb 22nd 2008 at 12:38PM

We've already heard Walt's take on the Lenovo's slim new X300, and even seen it splayed wide open, but if you still haven't made up your mind you can now check out some benchmarks and plenty of video courtesy of NoteBook review. As you might expect, there's not a lot of surprises on that former front, with the X300 trailing both the MacBook Air and Sony Vaio TZ in processor tests, but edging them both out quite handily in overall system performance (thanks in no small part to the X300's SSD drive, which the Air in question wasn't equipped with). Likely of more interest is the ample supply of videos, which show off the X300 from every angle and compare it to the Thinkpad T61 and X61. Hit up the read link below to check out those.

Mossberg: "I can recommend the X300 for road warriors without hesitation"

by Thomas Ricker posted Feb 21st 2008 at 3:41AM

Walt's full review of the Lenovo Thinkpad X300 is now available. As usual for the man, you also get the bonus (or burden) of a detailed comparison with Apple's competing product which in this case is the MacBook Air. For those of you who remember Walt's MacBook Air review, that quote -- "I can recommend the X300 for road warriors without hesitation" -- stands in stark contrast to Mr. Mossberg's take on Apple's beautiful but compromised ultra-portable. As Walt points out, the biggest differences between the two are the selection of ports, built-in DVD or second battery, and a removable main battery afforded by the X300's relatively thick chassis. Of course, the choice of OS is also a consideration since the X300 can't run OS X while the MBA can run Vista. Walt does lament the fact that the X300 is only offered with an SSD. As such, it's limited to a maximum of 64GB of storage and contributes to the X300's relatively high price tag. It starts at $2,500 with a stripped-down, half-sized battery and no DVD -- $3,000 gets you the more popular full-sized battery and DVD config. Walt's aggressive, full-size battery tests resulted in "weaker battery life" at 3 hours and 5 minutes compared to the MBA's 3 hours and 29 minutes. That said, the Lenovo easily trumps the MBA with 5 hours and 15 minutes of juice when configured with both a full-sized and half-sized battery. The choice seems pretty clear at this point: form or function, which will it be sir?

[Thanks, Jacob L.]

Lenovo's X300 gets splayed in detail

by Darren Murph posted Feb 15th 2008 at 10:49PM

Sure, you probably caught a brief glimpse of the X300's innards earlier this morning, but the photos waiting for you in the read link below are what we nerds really crave. Some lucky cat in Los Angeles managed to wrap his paws around Lenovo's forthcoming machine, and rather than booting it up and keeping it a secret, he whipped out the pliers and went to work. You know the drill -- tap that link below for all the guts 'n bolts you can handle.

[Thanks, Loran M.]

Lenovo X300 vs. Apple MacBook Air... Fight!

by Thomas Ricker posted Feb 15th 2008 at 7:23AM

As long as Lenovo is drawing a direct comparison between their own X300 and the MacBook Air, we thought we'd go ahead and put them side-by-side for you. So dear reader, how do you define perfection?

Lenovo's X300: a quest to build the perfect laptop, revealed

by Thomas Ricker posted Feb 15th 2008 at 6:07AM

While we wait for the official launch now pegged for February 26th, it seems everyone and their brother has gotten a piece of Lenovo's X300 hawtness. Now Businessweek has a complete behind-the-scenes look at Lenovo's 20 month journey to build the perfect laptop. A journey which saw Lenovo's Senior VP in charge of laptops, Peter Hortensius, screaming to his assistant, "Phyllis! Get me one of those interoffice mail envelopes!" upon the dramatic introduction of the MacBook Air. A worthy read into a product Lenovo hopes will provide them with the same halo effect as that other Apple product.

[Thanks, Jacob L.]

Lenovo's X300 gets photographed in the wild

by Darren Murph posted Feb 14th 2008 at 9:50PM

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.

Secrets of the ThinkPad X300 -- what Walt didn't tell you

by Paul Miller posted Feb 14th 2008 at 10:27AM

That X300 preview from yesterday leave you wanting for more? Well since Lenovo doesn't seem to keen about busting this laptop out and giving us the true skinny, we've got some detailed spec sheets to show you in the interim. Just in case you were on the hunt for an ultraportable, Lenovo has gone ahead and compared its new ThinkPad to just about every other tiny laptop under the sun -- with one notable exception. Hit up the read link if the few we collected in the gallery below aren't cutting it for you.

[Thanks, Rabeeh A]