Video Hands-on with the ThinkPad X300
February 21st, 2008 by Avram Piltch 
We were all very excited this morning when Lenovo’s hot new ThinkPad X300 arrived at our door. We all stopped what we were doing and rushed to the conference room where we unboxed the laptop and filmed Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer examining this little wonder.
Is the X300 a MacBook Air killer and is it worth just under three grand (when fully loaded)? Have a look at the video below and give us your thoughts.
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Many options are available but our test system features the following specs:
- 64GB SSD Drive (standard)
- 2GB RAM (you can get up to 4GB)
- 1.2 GHz Core 2 Duo processor SL7100
- Ultrathin DVD burner
- 6-cell Li-Ion Battery (claimed life of 4.5 hours or so)
- Ports: 3 USB, external display, headphone, ethernet
- EV-DO from Verizon Wireless
- GPS
What do you think? Would you rather have the X300 than a MacBook Air?
25 Responses to “Video Hands-on with the ThinkPad X300”
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February 21st, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I think this is way more powerful. Mac Air just looks tasty but can’t do SHIET!
February 21st, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Nice with 4gb RAM, but then again you will need it running vista. Can you even start the machine with a 1,2 ghz processor running vista!?
Nice with the optical drive and the 3 usb.
February 21st, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Very interesting! Too bad the idiot behind the camera is clueless as to how to adjust a tripod!
February 21st, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Can someone figure out how to use a camera properly??? What is the editorial staff releasing this stupid video???
February 21st, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Does that SL7100 play a high-definition 1080p movie encoded with x264 flawless?
February 21st, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Macbook Air has a much faster processor and a more reliable OS. If you need more than 1 USB get a splitter, and most people wont use the GPS and EVDO, if so, they can purchase it later
February 21st, 2008 at 5:28 pm
1.2Ghz processor sucks, macBook air with SSD drive is 1.8 that’s quite a bit extra you get and it seems Apple have done it without sacrificing battery life. 5 hours v 4.5. I wonder how many hours of DVD watching you get on this?
February 21st, 2008 at 6:20 pm
You have got to be kidding me. That thing looks so cheap looking! If I counted correctly including that stupid red pimple, you have basically 6 buttons for a mouse, including the pimple and the trackpad? Who needs that? A DVD player…nice addition, but heck I can fit all the DVD’s I want on my $40 8GB portable flash drive.
Mac OS is polished…Vista is a joke, an absolute joke.
Air is made of aluminum, not some cheap pvc plastic casing from Mattel!
Please people, if you’re going to spend that much on an ultra-portable, at least take a look at the MacBook Air, I think you’ll understand what it means to have one in your hands.
February 21st, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Why does it have to have all those stupid bloody stickers on the housing? Do I really want to advertise that it has an Intel chip. I wouldn’t let a car company put stickers on my car to advertise, why do computer manufacturers do the same?
Where is the design with this thing? I agree with Glenn, it looks so cheap AND costs a fortune for a subpar processor too!
February 21st, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I would not touch either unit….mayber next generation?
February 21st, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Dude…..It’s 3 grand.
February 21st, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Hey Lenovo, the 80’s called and they want their laptop back! Colour, shape, form, semantics and aesthetics. It seems Lenovo hasn’t thought about any of those aspects and made what in my opinion is possibly the ugliest laptop EVER!. This thing is so freaking ugly. I mean just look at that hideous ‘Enter’ key! Who’s idea was that. What purpose does it serve?
Don’t even get me started on the trackpad buttons!
And yes good point Jimmy, what’s up with the stickers?
Forget about whats on the inside, whats on the outside is enough to make me close my eyes, block my ears, and sing “la la la la la”
February 21st, 2008 at 9:35 pm
why are you guys bashing the lenovo? this computer is for real businessmen that want a real workhorse computer, not some flashy toy. Don’t get me wrong, the Air is a beautiful piece of technology, but it is not the most practical computer. It seems to me that all of you are feeling threatened with anything that is comparable to your “Air”.
February 21st, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Aaaand that post by Ben sums up the Macbook Air, and it’s fanboy’s.
Keep the envelope, along with the hunk of CD/DVD challenged junk, and the fanboy’s too.
I want the one i can install my software on without need for an extra add on, and that means CD/DVD.
The Macbook Air is great. If all you’re doing is sitting in starbucks, wearing your castro hat, V-neck white Tshirt, and silly scarf.
LOLHAX WTF WHY U WE@R SC@RF 1t’s 80 DEGR33$?!
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:30 am
I dunno how you people find the Macbook Air more appealing. I mean c’mon gimme a break, this thing has more wireless options then you can even comprehend, more USBs and for those complaining ’bout build quality should know its made of solid magnesium sporting a rollcage design and not “cheap PVC plastic “. For your info though it’s a rubberised which actually minimizes everyday wear and tear a great deal.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:31 am
Wow, Air fanboys with little to no knowledge on anything, thats something I haven’t seen before!!
“Cheap PVC plastic casing from Mattel”
….
Yeah ok, to bad this thing can be dropped from atop a ladder and not stutter, and get water poured on it and not even wince. Sure vista is a joke, but at least I can easily install my copy of XP with the BUILT IN CD/DVD DRIVE!
For the same price this wins hands down, perhaps the Air would qualify better as a coaster for my cup of morning coffee. Take $1000 off the Air and I might consider it, but I take build quality and performance/price over that glorified paperweight anyday.
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:11 am
Think Pad X300 is a kind of noddles. With 1.2 Ghz cpu, Lenovo invented a new kind of noddles.
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:26 am
Regarding doing real work with this thing… not really. Not when you consider that it is using the 1.2 ghz processor. You’d better be doing email or light word processing.
I think the comparisons between the Air and X300 are interesting. While Lenovo is pushing connectivity, I think they are forgetting that we are headed to a wireless world. Ports will soon become obsolete. Why do you think Dell is now selling laptops with wireless USB?
The key to ultraportables is battery life and reliability. Both Apple and Lenovo have a good reputation in that area. Battery life is probably a toss up, but Walt Mossberg found that the Air had longer battery life than the X300 in his battery drain tests. Nice that you can at least replace the X300’s battery but you’ll have to find an AC plug with the Air or your out of juice.
If I was going to take a chance on one of these, I’d definitely go for the Air because of the price and the option of the 80 gig hard drive. SSD prices will be coming down and I don’t want to be forced into buying an SSD now only to watch the price get cut in half during the next few months.
I liked the comment about the 80’s wanting their laptop back. Truth of the matter is that the X300 is pretty bland. The only ones who will appreciate it are diehard Thinkless fans.
2nd generation for the Air is bound to be sweet.
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
The Lenovo internal chassis and roll cage is made of advanced carbon-fiber.
And it has a swappable battery. And WWAN. You know. Stuff users need.
And they won’t have to carry around dongles and hubs.
The Air is also $3K with an SSD. But it has OSX. That’s it. Don’t tell anyone that the OSX hack runs on Thinkpads.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:56 pm
People that think this the X300 is better than a MacBook Air need to get their head examined by a competent doctor.
The X300 costs almost 50% more than a MacBook Air and what you get is a DVD drive (that most people NEVER use and can be purchased for $99 for the MBA). You also get 2 extra USB ports, EV-DO, and a GPS (three more things the average person never uses).
In addition to all the mostly worthless features, you get a computer that has 70% of the processor power and runs half as fast as the MacBook Air. It is also larger and weighs more than the MBA.
Lets not forget that the build quality of any notebook PC will never come close to an Apple product.
All that for an extra $1,000+. You are kidding right?
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:42 pm
I would give up my first two children for this computer.
February 23rd, 2008 at 9:54 pm
I have a Macbook Pro and love it, but I must admit X300 is what the Macbook Air should have been. Apple seriously missed the boat with the Air and I hope they can learn from Lenovo. Lastly, you PC haters need to simmer down you give Apple owners a bad name.
February 25th, 2008 at 8:23 am
I think Macs are great products, but don’t bash a product you’ve never used. I’ve used a ton of different products from both the Apple and PC side, and have to say that Thinkpads are the most durable products I’ve ever used, hands down. If that’s not enough of a reason to use them is the amazing customer service. Those two factors alone would make the Thinkpad worth looking at. The X300 is a business machine and should be viewed as such. Pairing it with a trendy device like the Air really is comparing apples with oranges (er, Thinkpads).
May 25th, 2008 at 2:31 am
Good lord! What is the deal with mac fans? They are just computers, not identities!!! Quit watching those stupid holier-than-windows commercials. I own the X300 and it is the sturdiest and “friendliest” computer I have ever owned. Concerning the 1.2 proc? This thing benchmarks rather high and the “feel” of the machine is really snappy which is what matters. Is photoshop rendering slower than a friggin mac pro quad? Of course! If you feel threatened by it, fine.. but coming on here to play this dumb psychological game of convincing yourself that a dumb X300 hasnt robbed you of your identity? COME ON! Get YOUR head checked.
June 13th, 2008 at 6:07 am
Glenn Says;
“Air is made of aluminium, not some cheap pvc casing from Mattel!”
You are completely clueless. The X300 is made of magnesium alloy with carbon fibre. Aluminium is cheap for this class and price range of laptops.