Apple MacBook Air or Lenovo Thinkpad X200 Tablet?

[alphaod]

I have a dilemma here; I absolutely love my MacBook Air; it's an awesome computer, it's pretty fast, and the battery life is terrific. Problem is recently I've been running out of RAM on this computer and there isn't a way I can upgrade it. When it starts swapping, I can feel the increase latency. It also gets terribly hot and there is nothing I can do about that either.

On the other hand, I have a Thinkpad X200 Tablet coming in (it's being built). It's faster than the MacBook Air in some ways, has an ever longer battery life, its got a gorgeous IPS panel with multitouch and pen capabilities, has more RAM. I love Windows 7, and I have found myself using that more now than OS X which is scary.

Which computer should I stick with? I have never used a X200, but I loved the X60 which was a great computer. I'm sure this one is better. I'm pretty solid with the Air minus the fact that I keep needing more RAM than 2GB. I obviously can't keep both.

Just as a background to why I even have an X200 coming in: Old X60 got dropped in a pool, Lenovo told me they didn't want to fix it and would just send me the current maxed out X200 instead.

 

[ermir4444]

So your only problems with the air are the overheat and the 2 gigs of ram.

1 - You can go with the lenovo after selling the MBA which will give you more ram and probably you will be able to hold it on your lap (pretty sure you couldn't with the air)

2 - If you are not in a rush you can wait for the next generation MBA which will come either Jan or March 2010. It will probably be a complete overhaul so it might fix the overheating issue and come with 4 gigs of ram as well. And if it doesn't you can still buy whatever windows tablet you think off. If i was you i'd still wait...

 

[Unprocessed1]

What Rev MBA do you have?

 

[alphaod]

So your only problems with the air are the overheat and the 2 gigs of ram.

1 - You can go with the lenovo after selling the MBA which will give you more ram and probably you will be able to hold it on your lap (pretty sure you couldn't with the air)

2 - If you are not in a rush you can wait for the next generation MBA which will come either Jan or March 2010. It will probably be a complete overhaul so it might fix the overheating issue and come with 4 gigs of ram as well. And if it doesn't you can still buy whatever windows tablet you think off. If i was you i'd still wait...

#1: I can and do use it on my lap; it's just that it overheats randomly and the fan goes crazy and it doesn't die down unless I sleep the computer or something.

#2: Is that to say I should sell the X200 and wait out the Air? I know that if I sell the X200 before I open the box, I can pretty much get a lot of it back; once I open it, not so much especially on ebay and such. As for the Air I know they sell very well used.

What Rev MBA do you have?

Latest model: Rev. C

 

[Bbusyb]

A New revision of the Air is probably not going to come for few months as the last refresh was in june this year. So If you are fine waiting out for three-six months waiting for a refesh with your current Air, then it might be worth waiting.

I'll say use the x200 when it comes. Even if you want to sell it after a few months, Thinkpads seem to hold their value better then many other machines.

With Win7's additional support for Touch and Ink, its a great machine. Add in the Longer battery life and the Thinkpad keyboard you've got a great mobile machine.

I was planning to get one, but it the UK, the price for the Specs I wanted was 40% higher then for my macbook (Edu Discount not available from Lenovo here) , so I ended up going for the Macbook instead but it was a hard decision

 

[rhinosrcool]

Why the tablet as opposed to either the x200 or x200s? Both of these are comparable in weight to the Air. On the other hand, the tablet, with the bigger and needed battery, weighs around a 1lb more; in mobility terms, this is a lot.

Personally, I have the x200. It is extremely light (close to netbook light). But, it has a really nice keyboard. Also, it comes with a good cpu. While not as thin as the Air, its footprint is smaller.

Don't get me wrong, the tablet is a good computer (I've used it). Also, Windows 7, from videos I've seen, works great with the x200 tablet. But, tablets are different beasts.

 

[alphaod]

Why the tablet as opposed to either the x200 or x200s? Both of these are comparable in weight to the Air. On the other hand, the tablet, with the bigger and needed battery, weighs around a 1lb more; in mobility terms, this is a lot.

As per:

Just as a background to why I even have an X200 coming in: Old X60 got dropped in a pool, Lenovo told me they didn't want to fix it and would just send me the current maxed out X200 instead.

Of course I meant X60 Tablet and X200 Tablet.

 

[rhinosrcool]

As per:


Of course I meant X60 Tablet and X200 Tablet.

I understand this. My point is that the non-tablet x200 is more comparable to the Air. The x200 tablet is great, but it's considerably different than the Air.

 

[Unprocessed1]

The rev C is pretty fast, you must be doing some very intensive things, maybe a computer with more RAM would be a better option. What exactly are you doing on the MBA that eats up the RAM?

 

[MacKiddyWiddy]

Have you not looked into mbp if u need more power?

 

[three]

The MacBook Pro really isn't that much bigger and heavier than the MacBook Air. If you want a notebook that is more capable and still small, I'd go with the 13" MacBook Pro.

 

[alphaod]

The rev C is pretty fast, you must be doing some very intensive things, maybe a computer with more RAM would be a better option. What exactly are you doing on the MBA that eats up the RAM?

My browser eats about 1.2GB (Wired and active); yes a lot of windows open. Combine that with word processing, Mail, etc., RAM runs out quickly.

Have you not looked into mbp if u need more power?

I have a Mac Pro which is why I sold my MacBook Pro to buy a MacBook Air.

The MacBook Pro really isn't that much bigger and heavier than the MacBook Air. If you want a notebook that is more capable and still small, I'd go with the 13" MacBook Pro.

Oh the MacBook Pro is much bigger. If you use the Air long enough, you can tell the difference. The Air is like carrying a notepad; it slips between books and I can even tuck it under my arm like a man-purse if needed. The MacBook albeit very sturdy is equivalent to carrying a hardcover textbook.

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The quandary here isn't what other computer I need to buy apart from what I have. I'm not missing power. Simply put if I keep the X200, I will sell my Air. I will not look back and regret it or anything. Thinkpads do not hold their values as well as a lot people think. That means I won't be buying an updated Air if one does come out with 4GB of RAM.

Macs on the other hand still do hold their value longer. I know if I sell my MacBook Air, I can get a good sum now and not much a difference in 6 months if a newer model comes out.

It does by the looks of it that the X200 is heavier than the Air; in fact it's about the same weight as a MacBook. I'm not sure I want that. Maybe this is an opportunity to get rid of that machine.

 

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I'd stick with the X200. It seems absolutely fantastic.

 

[J&JPolangin]

...if they want to send you the tablet model, see if they will send you the regular lighter maxed out model... or just sell the tablet before you open it and buy what you want...