Review:- Lenovo ThinkPad X300

The ThinkPad X300 under review here has the following specifications:

• Processor: 1.20GHz Intel Core 2 Duo L7100 (800Mhz FSB, 4MB Cache)
• Graphics: Intel X3100
• Screen: 13.3-inch WXGA+ (1440 x 900, 300 nit) LED backlit display
• Memory: 2GB (up to 4GB configurable)
• Storage: 64GB SSD
• Optical Drive: Ultra-thin DVD Burner
• Wireless and Communications: Intel 4965AGN (802.11 a/b/g/n wi-fi), BlueTooth 2.0 EDR, Intel UWB, GPS, Verizon WWAN (EV-DO)
• Battery: 6-cell Li-Polymer extended life battery (3-cell Li-Polymer battery available and multi-bay extended life 3-cell battery)
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports, Monitor out port, AC adapter, headphone/line-out, microphone/line-in, Gigabit Ethernet
• Dimensions: 12.4" x 9.1" x 0.73" - 0.92"
• Weight: from 2.93lbs with 3-cell battery and no optical drive to 3.32lbs with 6-cell battery and DVD Burner in
• Port Replicator: Via USB
• Input: Full sized keyboard, trackpoint navigation, touchpad, fingerprint reader
• Operating System: Windows XP Professional (Windows Vista available in various flavors)
• Other Features: Integrated web camera
• Warranty: 1-year

Conclusion

The ThinkPad X300 is a premium product that's worth the price if you need the features it offers. The X300's excellent portability, abundance of wireless options, built-in optical drive, SSD advantage, great screen, fantastic keyboard, and second-to-none build quality all add up to a notebook that's easy to recommend to business users who consider a notebook to be an important part of their success with work. It's certainly not the right notebook for everyone, the 64GB storage limit, under powered processor and high price immediately eliminates most consumers from even considering the X300. We would have like to have seen such things as an SD card reader, docking capability and an ExpressCard or PC slot. You can't have it all though, and the ThinkPad X300 is much more practical than the pretty but port challenged MacBook Air, and so the X300 gets the Editor's Choice recommendation that we couldn't rationalize giving to the MacBook Air. Bravo to Lenovo, and we hope that they push this 13.3" slim form factor more and find ways to bring the pricing down.

Pros

• Under 1-inch thick, the thinnest ThinkPad ever
• Light weight and easy for carrying around in a bag
• Superb build quality and feel, nice design touches added
• Built-in optical drive for such a thin notebook is a rarity
• Good performance in normal business tasks, very fast bootup with the SSD
• Very bright screen for easy viewing

Cons

• No SD card reader
• No expansion dock capability, USB based port replicator only
• No ExpressCard or PC card slot
• Starting price of $2,500 is out of range for many people