I guess there are still X301 machines available for a while at least.
That would be my preference, but now that it's not simply available
from Lenovo with perpetual deals and coupons, it caused me to look at
the alternatives.
Knowing how expensive the X301 is (was), I was expecting the MacBook
Air to be comparable in price. It's actually much cheaper and while
I'd have paid the difference it's harder to justify with a
discontinued product.
Specifically the cheapest new X301 I found in a quick search was
$1700, after that it's $2300 and $2500. The MBA is $1500.
I don't know much about Macs so I don't know about build quality,
keyboard feel, etc. and I can see there are features missing such as
cellular wireless, fingerprint reader, the MBA has fewer USB ports
than my X300, etc.
Is there realistically $800 worth of "better" in the discontinued
X301? I'm not trying to convince the world to switch to Macs, I'm
trying to figure out what the realistic upgrade path from an X300 is.
-- Amazon Marketplace is a 1.4 GHz/4GB/64GB for $2300
-- Amazon themselves list a 1.6 GHz/2GB/128GB for $1963 but it's "out
of stock, will order", presumably that now means never
-- eBay has a 1.4 GHz/4GB/128GB/Win 7 for $1700
-- eBay has a 1.4 GHz/2GB/128GB/Vista for $2500
Meanwhile a MacBook Air 1.86GHz/4GB/128GB/OS X is $1507 with external
DVD burner.
This is what I configured for the MacBook Air:
MacBook Air, 13-inch
* Part number: Z0JG
* 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
* 128GB Flash Storage
* 13.3-inch LED-backlit 1440 by 900 (native),
* Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
* AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n/a/b/g compatible)
* Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
* USB Ethernet Adapter
* Accessory kit
* Mac OS X Snow Leopard
Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive
--
Andrew mailto:[email protected]
Saturday, November 13, 2010, 1:52:49 PM, you wrote:
> Yes, that's the way it is, unfortunately. There's definitely a gap in
> the Lenovo ultraportable line-up, because if you want 1440x900, you
> either have to choose an X201s (screen is too small IMO at that
> resolution) or go for the T410s (too heavy).
> Incidentally, I bought myself a 13" MacBook Air, and that convinced me
> the X301 will be my next Thinkpad (to replace my aging X60s): I could
> see the resolution was perfect on a 13" display, even at my age (50).
> Exactly, who needs a built-in optical drive these days? I know for sure
> I'll take the drive out when I receive my X301.
> Unfortunately, it doesn't look too good.
> Cheers, Dominique
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