ThinkPad X300
Though it has been all over the web for weeks, readers of this blog know that until we officially announce a product, I am not allowed to talk about it. That day is finally here and I’ve been chomping at the bit to be able to say something for quite a while now on our newest ThinkPad, the X300.
Lots has been said around and about this product. There have been treatises, videos, proclamations, denouncements, songs, and thousands of column inches written. (Well, maybe not songs…I got carried away.) Some absolutely love the product. Some aren’t quite as enthused, which is to be expected for any product announcement. Any diehard ThinkPad fan who has seen this system generally has the same reaction: “WOW!” My challenge was to come up with something different than what everyone else is writing about.
I’ll leave you to read the specs elsewhere. Perhaps I’ll delve into some of them in more detail in future posts if there’s enough interest. Here are some of the things you won’t be reading in a review.
When someone picks it up, that person comments on how thin and light it is. What happens shortly thereafter is almost as predictable as it is interesting to watch. Almost without fail, once someone holds one of these machines for a few minutes, that person starts to absentmindedly rubbing their hands over the top cover. The soft touch paint is absolutely intoxicating to run your hand across. It’s unlike any other ThinkPad finish we’ve had before and even better than our black external USB hard disk drives. I’m sure there will be lots of comments about how Kohut’s gone off his rocker, calling ThinkPad a fetish item, but try it out for yourself. You’ll see what I mean.
More practically, turn the system over. There are several things that have been improved and are worth noting. First, in direct response to customer feedback, there is one door access to the memory slots, wireless, and mini PCI card slots. Our engineers stopped using one-door access design when the original Roll Cage was introduced in order to give the card slots and memory protection via the Roll Cage. While they accomplished their goal, the drawback was that servicing these was harder than many customers liked. With the X300, ThinkPad engineers figured out how to give both serviceability and protection.
The rubber feet deserve special mention. Though the system uses solid state HDDs, the system still needs as much protection as ever from shocks and bumps. These rubber feet are an iterative result of years of research and development (and patents) for protecting ThinkPad systems. There are multiple layers of protection here.
- The shape of the foot itself. As an experiment, with the same amount of force, poke yourself with one finger and then three fingers in the same spot on your arm. Notice how when you use three fingers, the force is better distributed because it is not focused on a single point. ThinkPads have been using this design point for several generations and I have yet to see another vendor who has figured out this concept, much less implemented it.
- There are two kinds of rubber. Soft rubber provides maximum cushioning and dampening for minor bumps.
- Bonded to the soft rubber is a hard rubber. This is needed for harder bumps and falls when the softer rubber “bottoms out.”
- The center nib (or nipple, if you insist) is an actual airbag which when depressed under force, acts to control deceleration to minimize damaging forces on the system.
Rumors of the demise of our trademark magnesium hinges are greatly exaggerated. They’re still very much a part of ThinkPad design. Our design team just colored them black for this system.
Back by popular request (demand, is more like it) are the red and blue stripes on the TrackPoint buttons. David Hill wrote about those in his blog. You’ll see a new Lenovo logo emblazoning the top cover, but don’t worry, the ThinkPad name is ours forever. Also for the first time, we have a touchpad in an X Series ThinkPad. It’s larger than any of our other touchpads, and has less of a lip around the outside edge. This way less detritus (i.e. cookie crumbs) gets caught in the crevices. Biscuit eaters around the world rejoice.
The speakers are MUCH improved, which is something we’ve needed to do for a long time. They’re loud and they’re clear. You won’t want to dump your home stereo for them, but if you won’t need to wear a headset to watch a movie in a hotel room any longer. There are other little touches evident throughout. Key buttons like the mute, CapsLock, and power buttons all have LEDs inside to show you when they’re activated.
And to those who think that Lenovo has compromised quality by making a machine this thin and light, nothing can be further from the truth. This machine is rock solid (and more importantly, FEELS rock solid) thanks to what we’re calling our Hybrid Roll Cage II design. The top cover consists of layered carbon fibers bonded together with a resin for superior strength. On the sides of the top cover are glass fibers which are necessary to give superior wireless performance. (Glass doesn’t block the wireless signals like carbon fiber and metals do. Other vendors use plastic to get around this issue. That’s what the strip along their top covers is. They are hoping you don’t notice.)
On the bottom part of the system, the frames around the keyboard and palm rest are both solid magnesium (outlined in red in the picture below). This continues ThinkPad’s design point of having a full-contact frame to protect the display. When the system is closed, it becomes one solid unit, not two pieces put together. The result is that forces get displaced from the center of the top cover to the sides, where they can be effectively managed. The result is superior strength of which no other vendor can offer.
I’d switch over immediately save for one point. Sadly, for me, 64GB is not enough. But of course, time will solve that problem.
Lenovo Meet the Modder Dean Liou
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 2
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 1
Lenovo H320 desktop
February 26th, 2008 5:00 am
Folks,
I have posted all of our official X300 photos on our Flickr account, in full high resolution glory.
Link
Note: This comment manually inserted at top of comment stack.
February 26th, 2008 6:04 am
But why did you remove the docking station connector? That makes it uninteresting for me. And what about ThinkLight or keyboard light?
Anyway, all the other improvements sound very great, at least i wanna test it
February 26th, 2008 6:19 am
I believe the DVD is removable isnt it? Is this the standard ultra-bay slim? Is so, can’t we add a second hard disk for storage?
February 26th, 2008 6:37 am
I’ve drooling over this machine ever since the leaks came out.
Unfortunately $3000 is a bit pricey.
Any chance of a future version with normal hard disk?
February 26th, 2008 7:03 am
Thanks for the infos Matt, the new Thinkpad X300 looks very promising. I like those -on a first rough view maybe inconspicuous to catch improvements- which have been done even on certain little parts, like the rubber feets, the soft touch paint, the glass fiber and magnesium parts etc. – I also hope the display bezel is this time screwed and not just glued together?
Other interesting things to know would be, how the keyboard, trackpoint/touchpad do feel in comparison with other Thinpads, if the higher resolution 13.3″ matt LED display is also seen for the Lenovo engineers as a big improvement and of course how the X300 overall performs for a subnotebook with a 1.2 GHz LV CPU.
I believe another for many people very interesting point would be, how the new X300 will perform with one of the latest higher capacity 1.8″ HDDs instead of a SSD under Vista etc. and what battery runtimes can be expected with the different available batteries.
February 26th, 2008 7:06 am
If it is ‘rock solid’, why then just 1yr warranty??
February 26th, 2008 9:17 am
Interesting post, I really do believe this is the best ThinkPad ever, for me, I couldn’t switch for my primary system at the moment as I need second hard drives in the bay (and also the lack of a docking station which I believe is the biggest flaw) but if it weren’t for doing technical support, i’d be using one of these in an instant……….and feeling very smug whenever I passed anyone using a MacBook Air.
February 26th, 2008 11:12 am
You can tell I haven’t had nearly enough caffeine this morning since I first posted it to Matt over at Design Matters…
As everyone at TPF knows, Bill and I have had one now for a few days. Dunno about Bill, but I’m in love with it! Reminds me very much of the much-loved 600 series in look and feel, and I’m glad to see Lenovo reach back to bring those qualities forward.
February 26th, 2008 12:09 pm
Matt,
Being ‘Rock Solid’ and parts failing are not the same thing, however, I thought all the X300 systems came with a 3 year warranty
February 26th, 2008 12:48 pm
Snife – three years is what’s listed for their warranty in tabook.
February 26th, 2008 2:12 pm
What’s with the annoying blue led on the thinkvantage button? It’s so dell and hp and other “bright and flashy” consumer crap. Does anyone actually use the thinkvantage button? I don’t even have the drivers installed on my thinkpad.
February 26th, 2008 3:00 pm
If you really NEED a dock and hard disks, I think you are missing the point of this notebook. For the highly mobile professionals and enthusiasts this machine was built for it is pretty close to perfect. With the removable battery, extended battery life, and a DVD this notebook makes much more sense than the crApple Air.
Though this would be more appropriate on the Design Matters blog, I will say I’ve never really minded the size or “weight” of my 14″ T-series. My ideal setup would be a 15″ UWXGA T-series and a X-tablet. One device doesn’t fit all in the same way a pickup truck is a lot different than a sports car. I think the Thinkpad line sufficiently covers all the important price and feature points with this in mind.
February 26th, 2008 3:11 pm
I wonder why there always has to be a compromise. The X300 looks great. Being able to switch between DVD and additional battery is great. The display is, too. But then I don’t understand why only a 1.2GHz LV processor was chosen. I assume the expensive SSD is compensating for that in terms of performance but if you buy a MacBook Air with an SSD (prices should be comparable in that case) the X300 will look pale. And no ThinkLight, snif.
I currently own an X31 which I love but want to replace. At the moment, it looks like I’ll go for an X61 (T8300 when it’s finally available) or an X61s (L7700) because I don’t really care about thin but for “real small” even if that means I have to stick to the old 1024×768 screen. Compromises…
Now if there was an X300 with a cheaper 160GB HD and a 1.6GHz CPU…
February 26th, 2008 4:13 pm
Do you have plans for the model without the touchpad, but with the normal size trackpoint buttons, like in the X60?
February 26th, 2008 4:14 pm
I have to say well done to Lenovo for designing such a thing of desire and beauty. I think you need to distil this innovation down to a T Series in either 13.3” or 14.1” models. Incorporating more powerful processor and the standard, faster 2.5” HDD (7200RPM preferably).
Innovations I like are: the form factor 13.3” is brilliant although some of us would rather trade a bit of weight for more performance, easy access service slots (especially common upgrades like RAM), backlit LED display; that is by all accounts much brighter than usual on a Thinkpad.
If you can produce something that is a compromise between the X300 and the 14.1” T Series – you’ll have my money.
February 26th, 2008 4:15 pm
Kevin,
I fully understand the point of this laptop – i was merely stating why I couldn’t personally use it as my main system at the moment as I do need second hard drives otherwise i’d switch but this is more a limitation of my requirements than the system. I can personally live without a dock but if you look at the main moaning about this system so far it is that it doesn’t have DVI, a docking station (possibly UWB) with a DVI port would ease this concern for many users, additionally if any large enterprise was to deploy these, they generally require docking options to ease things for their staff who will want external monitors/keyboard and mice and won’t want to connect 5 cables every time they are in the office.
February 26th, 2008 4:22 pm
Jerimias,
The X300 does have a Thinklight, the best one ever imho (even though i think its a pointless feature personally).
The 1.2 CPU is easily explained – battery life! The small battery in the X300 is smaller than the Macbook Air (due to being removable/space constraints etc) and the larger battery is only slightly bigger than the MBA and it has a lot more hardware to power, the 1.2 CPU uses 12 watts of power, the 1.6 uses 20 watts of power; as a primarily mobile system, the drop in battery life simply wouldn’t be worth the extra performance.
February 26th, 2008 4:50 pm
@Jeremias
As you can see when you look closely at the pictures, the X300 does indeed have a Thinklight. Where did you get that info from?
BTW, this is a real Thinkpad, it deserves the name. Thanks for building this nice machine. And yay, stripes!
February 26th, 2008 5:10 pm
@Snife, @Philip,
you’re right. I noticed a few minutes ago that I fell victim to a pre-release rumor. The hardware maintenance manual indeed lists a ThinkLight. I couldn’t see it from any images I’ve seen so far, though. The HW maintenance manual also reveals another little detail: Some models are likely to be equipped with a 120GB hard drive (5400rpm). Light at the end of the tunnel. Anyway, I’d gladly trade a little battery life for a slightly faster CPU especially since I could add another battery to the drive bay. I’ve never missed the DVD drive in my X31.
February 26th, 2008 7:16 pm
Actually, I sort of like the backlit Thinkvantage button. I don’t equate it with that of a cheap HP or Dell either. To be equal with one of them, it would need 15 to 30 more random blue backlit buttons, cheap silver painted creaky textured plastic, all the while still wearing the uber-cool stickers on the palmrest reassuring you it has a “hi-gloss” widescreen display, the brand newest wireless G technology, and right under that, a sticker of some guy dancing with dread locks.
February 26th, 2008 9:39 pm
In the pictures on Flickr, it only looks like the red stripes got put back on. Is the blue stripe returning on the middle mouse button as well?
February 26th, 2008 11:23 pm
[...] released by Lenovo today. See the great post describing some of its unique features over at Inside the Box. Two things that were unmentioned (as far as I know) before launch: 1) it does have a type of roll [...]
February 27th, 2008 2:21 am
So we have the choice of either a DVD drive or an extra battery, but is the bay swappable or fixed once the Thinkpad is built?
February 27th, 2008 2:28 am
Zachary: You forgot the “Dell product”, “Intel Inside” and “Microsoft Windows Compatible” stickers. And don’t forget that one with a picture of a guy and his wife that you never find out is the guy whose job it is to put all the stickers on (He figured no one would notice another one).
Interesting stuff…can we get a few interior pics? Higher res than the Business Week?
February 27th, 2008 2:28 pm
hi, looks a great machine, just my conts.
- slow processor
- DVI port instead of the VGA
- SSD drive is expensive, sorry
- the stickers…., i always hate stichers on laptops, are they really mandatory?
- Whats the linux compatibility?
i have switched to mac years ago and i am pretty happy but i will go back to “normal PC” with the X300 (looking for durable HW) if its compatible, i am NOT going back to windows anytime.
great machine so far..
February 27th, 2008 3:51 pm
How does this compare in size and weight to the X60s? (or 61s) I’ve been carrying the X60s around for a long time now. I am assuming the X300 is lighter but larger, right?
February 28th, 2008 3:41 pm
THE THINKPAD X300′S PRICE IS SO HIGH,I ADVICE THAT YOU SHOULD PRODUCE SOME HHD TO INSTEAD OF SSD AND MAKE THE PRICE LOWER. WE VERY appreciate to buy it ,but we can’t pay so much money to buy it .
February 28th, 2008 6:22 pm
To slightly future-proof the machine, I would want to see faster processor options even if they defaulted slower. I am currently running an m1330 because it was the best thing I could find for the form factor last summer, when I had to buy a laptop for school. It’s pretty great, but it’s not everything that I want in a laptop. I wanted to buy a Lenovo system, but there were a few competitive pricing and other features which I went for, despite being put through hell with a delayed manufacturing process. Of course, my laptop depreciated by more than 50% in less than 6 months already, of course…
I really, really, really want an x300. I walk past an air and get gadget envy, but with the lenovo all the things I complain about the air are gone and the only thing between me and sultry electronic satisfaction is the pricetag… I like the media reader and expresscard slot I have now, and the 8400 GS; Maybe in another development cycle the new tech will be so unnervingly compelling that I will just splurge and try to give my m1330 to my little sister or something like that.
I am trying to set up a scholarship for students through my blog, focusing on new media and technology and their intersection with college admissions and marketing, and contacted Lenovo by e-mail about seeing if they were interested in even a very very very minor contribution to it (or if they were interested in advertising on my web site), but never heard anything back. Do you know who I should contact about this?
Thank so much. Really like your post here–has some great information which just makes me wish I could get a free x300 and be a “student evangelist” here at Yale or something like that… sigh!
February 28th, 2008 7:15 pm
This is an amazing piece of design and engineering that deserves the compliments it has gotten. I do have a problem with the lack of a docking station connector especially since the laptop does not have DVI / HDMI / Displayport. What if I want to use it on my 24″ monitor while at home? VGA looks terrible on it.
From a design perspective though, the biggest problem I have with it is the horrible light on the thinkvantage button. One thing I love about my T60 is the lack of unnecessary consumerish blue lights. These will reflect on even a matte screen when you are watching a movie in the dark on the laptop and are just terribly cheesy. They belong on a HP entertainment notebook not a business tool.
February 28th, 2008 9:06 pm
[...] Inside the Box [...]
February 28th, 2008 9:24 pm
@Julio The light isn’t *on* the ThinkVantage button. It’s just the sides that are transparent enough to let the light show. I just took it into an interior room and turned out the light. It’s a very dim blue glow that doesn’t reflect off the screen at all.
February 28th, 2008 10:44 pm
Many good things, although I am in the market for a 15.4 T61p that I hope will share many of these features shortly. Two reasons I have been holding out are the lack of DVI/HDMI and the hope for improvement in laptop screen color accuracy and quality.
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2994
I am glad that Thinkpad screens may be getting LED backlighting, but was concerned to hear that Samsungs LED screens although bright seemed to have a poor range of color. Would welcome any news one way or the other on this.
It seems that UWB may be used soon with monitors so that may reduce the need for DVI/HDMI.
“802.15.3a, a follow-on standard still in the formative stages, will define an alternative physical layer. Current proposals based on UWB will provide more than 110Mbit/sec. at a distance of 10 meters and 480Mbit/sec. at 2 meters. This will allow the streaming of high-definition video between media servers and high-definition monitors, as well as the extremely fast transfer of files between servers and portable devices.” – Russell Kay, Computerworld
February 29th, 2008 5:49 am
It’s the perfect ThinkPad for me!
I will buy it instantly if it comes with SLED preloaded and supported. Otherwise, I will have to get the Air, reluctantly (I don’t need lots of ports and an optical drive, I just need a very portable computer with a Unix system for my research and studies)…
February 29th, 2008 1:33 pm
[...] on Lenovo’s Inside the Box blog, the ThinkPad X300 designers have posted a comprehensive article about the Lenovo ThinkPad [...]
February 29th, 2008 6:36 pm
This Thinkpad does A LOT of things right:
- it’s a true Thinkpad with a great keyboard layout, trackpoint, thinklight, and indestructible.
- I like the SSD
- Many modern wireless connections
- DVD drive
- higher resolution display than the x60 (I’m working on a T42p 15″FlexView (1600×1200), 133dpi, and I’m loving it. The 128dpi of the X300 is a bit lower, but still good)
So it looks like the perfect laptop. Still I won’t buy it, because it has no DVI, that’s so 1980s.
What would be nice:
- no Microsoft tax (I got my T42p with some DOS which I never booted, Linux has been running nicely since the first minute, except for the ATI graphics card which has given me many headaches. The Intel graphics drivers for the X300 should be pretty good though).
- a docking station
So I’m going to stick with my T42p a little longer, and hope for a DVI/HDMI/Displayport on the next revision of the X300.
February 29th, 2008 11:25 pm
Nice specs! I red all of the comments and they’re already cover what i want to say here…
Just some addition, i think i prefer the magnesium-colored hinges, not the black one. Magnesium color give some nice accent to the overall black colored design.
March 1st, 2008 8:05 am
“Almost without fail, once someone holds one of these machines for a few minutes, that person starts to absentmindedly rubbing their hands over the top cover. The soft touch paint is absolutely intoxicating to run your hand across”
Mind you, this is not a toy, I’d rather lenovo concentrated on things like dock connection.
I also hope that this intoxicating, soft touch paint won’t peel off the corners after two months of use.
March 1st, 2008 11:22 am
Hi every one
grate blog and grate post
i have some questions
1. Is it possible to order the x300 whit SLED installed?
2. Can i change from dvd to extra battery myself?
March 1st, 2008 9:35 pm
[...] it even has special feet. Gear | Tablet PC Posted Sunday, 02 March 2008 Permalink [...]
March 2nd, 2008 1:45 pm
Although the X300 looks great in many respects, a major deal-breaker for me is the lack of an ExpressCard slot (or even a PC Card slot) in a machine of this price. Such slots would make it possible for buyers to add any missing features according to their needs, such as DVI/HDMI or FireWire, and otherwise future-proof the machine against future advances in other standards, such as USB 3.0 or Bluetooth 3.0, or any successors to HSDPA, Wireless USB, or 802.11n (“802.11o” anyone?)
Point being, I just know that somehow, some way, during the next few years there will be at least one new must-have feature that can’t be satisfactorily added to the X300 in its current configuration (i.e., by using Bluetooth 2.0 or the usual rat’s nest of USB adapters). And without some kind of expansion slot, there won’t be a thing you can do about it – you will just have to buy a whole new laptop. In addition to the environmental unfriendliness of this approach, it will feel that much worse if you had spent $3000 on your laptop than if you had only spent $1500. (I certainly don’t envy MacBook Air purchasers, who are going to feel this even worse given a couple of years.)
Am I wrong about this? Are the X300’s current connection capabilities (USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0, etc.) enough to compensate for the lack of an expansion slot, for the next few years anyway? I’d be interested to see other people’s take on this issue.
March 2nd, 2008 3:58 pm
16:10? No thanks. 16:12 would be appropriate for a business notebook. No 16:12 => no deal.
March 2nd, 2008 9:08 pm
The HSPDA is via mini pci removable, no?
I feel that given the niche market for laptops with 2500+ pricetags as a starting point… it is less of an issue that it would be in a mass market laptop. That said, I was prepared to pay fairly close to that price premium for a laptop I thought would future-proof me through 3-4 years of college… so, yeah.
March 4th, 2008 11:12 am
As someone who has never owned any laptop other than a Thinkpad, I’m glad to see the x300. It has so much of what I’m looking for in an upgrade (currently have x41 tablet). Unlike others, I like SSD, but I’m concerned a bit about the processor speed: the last thing I want is a slower computer (the main reason I won’t upgrade to Vista). Although I use my current thinkpad 10+ hours per day, I can’t say I’m really a computer guy insofar as I have no idea whether the SSD would compensate for the slow processor (would really like some info on this).
Also, I would like some info on:
1. WINMAX – don’t know much about it and whether anyone is really using it.
2. ditto for: WAN option with GPS (why would I need a laptop with GPS?)
3. When can we expect a larger SSD drive
March 4th, 2008 5:56 pm
The SSD compensates quite a bit in the benchmarks I have seen so far for tests that are more disk intensive; for many things that are CPU heavy, the HDD wouldn’t be a bottleneck anyways, so it tends to be slower as expected… but depending on what you would want to be doing with it, it wouldn’t matter so much. For me, as a 1-laptop person now that I am at school, it is not quite as acceptable because I don’t have IT people to just pay for expensive laptops while I have some other laptop or desktop at home. (I did just get a free toshiba x205! but I am trying to give it away in a scholarship… lenovo, anyone wanna help with that, too?)
March 4th, 2008 8:17 pm
Sam:
Thanks for that info. I guess what I want to know is this: Currently I have Thinkpad X41 Tablet (1866-6SU) with 1 GB memory, 60 GB hardrive, and Windows XP. I generally run Outlook, Word (both 2007) and sometime Windows media player, Endnote.
Would the x300 be faster?
March 6th, 2008 1:26 am
Definitely should be, I think. It’s not much slower than an x61 at PCMark05, which is a system-wide test: http://www.notebookreview.com/.....ewsID=4270
March 6th, 2008 11:45 pm
BTW lenovo-bloggers: So far I have a Toshiba laptop that I’m giving away because they stepped up the plate to help sponsor that scholarship… sorta… but I’m giving away a free x205, is the point. missing out!!! not too late!!!
March 7th, 2008 6:12 am
Gorgeous!
When will this beauty be released to the UK/Europe, please?
I use an R40 and a T42 and I will be looking for a new Thinkpad. I was thinking about an X61 or a T61… but now….
I’m in lust with this new Thinkpad.
Apple users eat your hearts out
March 7th, 2008 10:18 am
Steve, the X41 was one of the worst ThinkPads ever produced for speed (relative to the time when it was released) – the X300 with the SDD will put it to shame for speed.
March 9th, 2008 12:04 am
Ugh! Why Lenovo?
So, I was going to order the x300 and as I’m going though the customization, at least 2 of the options I want have red text next to them saying “selecting this item will delay your shipment by MORE than 4 weeks!”
What? This great new product is rolled out and now if I want to order it I have to wait over a month to get it? Moreover, given what I’ve read on this blog and others, Lenovo has a terrible reputation for slow delivery.
Lenovo: You just lost a sale.
March 9th, 2008 1:37 am
Steve: if it’s any consolation, that doesn’t touch the pain of the m1330 launch last summer.
March 9th, 2008 4:06 am
*sarcasm mode on*
This is ridiculous, I have to wait 4 weeks to get the exact configuration I want on a brand new system – you should have every configuration built and waiting in a big warehouse so I can order one straight away. I’m going to throw my toys out the pram and go buy a worse system now as I have no patience.
*sarcasm mode off*
Dont get me wrong, of all the things Lenovo need to improve, the ordering process is at the top of the list but this is how most PC Vendors work, they announce a product and it takes a bit longer for the public to get their hands on one, Apple has a tendancy to do things a little differently and keep a product a secret until they have manufactured a stockpile of them. I think the X300 is worth a 4 week wait personally.
March 10th, 2008 10:45 am
Snife:
I understand your point. But this is hardly an isolated problem with the Thinkpads (this is coming from a loyal Thinkpad user; I’m currently on my 3rd model and have never owned anything else).
Moreover, since Lenovo caters to the business crowd, they should understand that 4 weeks (and will it really be just 4 weeks?) is a long time in the business world.
Now, I’m willing to hold off buying my next laptop for a month or so and check back with the website and see if they have the features I want available. But if they don’t, well, there is this thing (sarcasm mode on here) called the law of supply and demand.
March 10th, 2008 3:09 pm
it’s understandable to be slightly impatient as ordering a new computer does include a sense of excitement, especially with something as aesthetically and technically compelling as the X300. however, what the impatient types (including the business crowd) always seem to miss is that there’s likely nothing wrong with the computer they have now and waiting another 3-4 weeks won’t kill them. if the computer they have now is so bad that they can’t wait then they probably should have replaced their computer long before this.
i ordered my X300 today and will impatiently await its arrival. thankfully, for my sanity’s sake, my current thinkpad collection will serve me quite well in the interim–business trips included.
March 13th, 2008 8:38 am
Now when I read stories like this, I think it might be worth waiting a bit longer (perhaps someone here can speculate when the x300 might get a bigger SSD drive?)
http://www.cnet.com/8301-13924.....7-1_3-0-20
March 13th, 2008 9:28 am
faster and more reliable SSDs would be a welcome addition to the market. i wouldn’t expect them to be cheaper though. intel will first have to recoup development costs.
for me, 64GB is enough for the OS (vista ultimate x64), a host of design and office apps, a few gigs worth of email, and part of my music library while still leaving half the drive full. the other half will be for in-development client files and swap space. until larger and less expensive SSDs are available, i plan to travel with an external USB HDD to house less essential files. at first i thought 64GB wasn’t enough but i believe it’s quite manageable.
regarding larger drives, later this year (august? september?) the X300 will be offered with a 120GB 5400RPM 1.8″ HDD. performance, however, is expected to be noticeably less than that of the SSD. my guess is that the HDD will accompany models with faster processors but that’s purely speculation on my part.
March 13th, 2008 7:14 pm
Ooops, Lenovo did it again :-/
The X300 screen quality is horrible (extremly low contrast, bad viewing angles even among notebook TN panels). What should we do (pay) to get decent displays back, please ??? Substantial display quality problems since the top quality IPS displays were gone (btw the X300’s panel is manufactured by TMD only – there is only one supplier) is the number one reason to consider another brand, sorry. Let’s compare it with Sony Vaio TZ or MacBook Air displays …
March 14th, 2008 12:03 pm
I normally don’t say things like this, but price isn’t really an issue for me when it comes to SSD. If they do provide better performance and are less susceptible to failure, I’d gladly pay extra. For me, anything that makes a computer faster (while keeping it small, I know, a hard thing to do) is what matters.
Now my X41 Tablet has a 60 GB HD, Windows XP, and Office 2007 and few other apps. It’s about 70% full ( I do have 2 R&R backups though). So I wonder…
But if I had to choose between a larger SSD drive (I wouldn’t buy the x300 with a regular HD, why not just get an X61?) or a faster processor, I’d chose the faster processor. I hate anything slow, and windows is still too slow for me (but this novice doesn’t understand Linex and doesn’t what to convert to apple).
March 17th, 2008 10:19 pm
several points about design of the x300.
First of all, red strips with thinkpad log? wow! I think they are UGLY!!
it was only good when it was coupled with IBM signature, in my humble opinion.
nothing against with lenovo, but they do not match because thinkpad signature gives stronger looking and red and blue don’t come along with it.
Also, about the lcd and touchpad. wow! the bottom space of lcd is UGLY and HUGE !! what a waste of space! good job lenovo with allocating the lcd screen! of course, i guess there is a tech issue for lcd w camera, but still, i would’ve much appreciated with smaller in area size with a bit thicker width. who’s more important? us? or mac air-wanna be users???
and touchpad, who said we need the touchpad? if lenovo were smart and caring enough to hear the red-blue strip complaints, they should’ve know that for x series users, we do NOT need touchpad. Lenovo should’ve made it without and make it smaller or have other stuff, such as sd card.
THINK!!! lenovo
Touchpad in the x300 (or in general tps) sucks anyway compared to other companies’ product. if you gonna make it, make it right!
Also, the edges of the lcd is HUGE!!!
wow, who will think this is a 13.3 inch laptop?? compare with t series, you can’t even tell the difference except for the thinness.
and who would’ve thought this was the X series?? they are so huge! (in empty space wise, such as with lcd edges, touchpad, …etc)
March 19th, 2008 1:45 pm
Looking at the features of the X300, I’m already drooling on when Lenovo will release the Thinkpad T400 and T500!
Still in my wishlist for the T400-based mobile workstation:
* the red and blue stripes in the mouse buttons
* if they can’t remove the windows key, at least rename it into “Super” or “Command” to make it OS-agnostic
* an integrated webcam
* black magnesium hinges
* IPS screen, preferrably 4:3
* same buttons as the X300
* More than 4GB of RAM capacity
* DVI! It’s not like that there would be DisplayPort-based projectors immediately. the plain T400 can have the VGA port.
April 22nd, 2008 5:03 am
Anybody used the X300 with Adobe CS3 on Windows Vista (is XP even available on X300?)? If so, what’s the performance like? I love the form factor and specs, but the processor speed is very worrying…
May 10th, 2008 2:10 am
I really like this ThinkPad X300. You can find a only blog the video in which you can have fun when it is compared to a Mac Book Air. Just visit http://www.proitzone.com/2008/.....ir-parody/
December 15th, 2008 9:09 pm
I’ve been using an X200 for three months now. The “feet” that you have bragged about here (assuming they’re the same for X200) are of ridiculously low quality. The glue of one of them came out within the first week itself, and of two others have now come off.
February 20th, 2009 10:54 am
I’ve been using an X300 for some time now and I think it’s a great notebook.
Perfect display resolution, better keyboard than usual on thinkpads, rubbed palmrest, many battery options when using the bay battery.
But there’s one thing annoying me: The fan.
When clocking the processor down, the fan is still spinning at level2 80% of the time. That wouldn’t be a problem, but level2 is 5k upm, level1 is 2k upm, and there’s nothing between.
I hoped for a BIOS or EC update, it can’t be that difficult to control the fan speed, but there isn’t any.
Will there ever be an update?
May 15th, 2009 2:33 pm
Funny you point out the rubber feet, in June my T61 will turn 2 and today I woke up to a pleasant surprise of a missing rubber foot.
Do you sell them separately or are you planning to improve the strength of the epoxy so that they do not fall off?