And exactly how thick are those? Not to mention that they're 11" netbooks. And finally, they're UGLY PLASTIC cases.
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MBA: "What about me?"
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And exactly how thick are those? Not to mention that they're 11" netbooks. And finally, they're UGLY PLASTIC cases.
"They" are not netbooks if you read what the page says. The X301 is not a "netbook" as it has a 13,3" LED-Backlit display (the X201 is 12,1"). It's 0.73" – 0.94" thick. You can lift or carry them easily with one hand. The body is carbon fibre and very well build, not to mention that Thinkpad keyboards are considered to be the best. With these babies you can REALLY work everywhere you are, even in a desert or tropical forrest. I would never consider to bring an MBA with me on a backpack trip to australia (if you want something more realistic). May there be dust, water, heat or cold, the Thinkpad can do it.
If you just focus on thinness no matter what, keep going (btw that would have gotten you a Dell Adamo XPS...
http://www.adamobydell.com/xps/us). But as all you MBA maniacs always say:"Don't judge it if you've never used, or even seen one in person". These computers are workhorses and incredibly well build. Just because you don't see them at newegg or bestbuy or whatever these stores are called, they should not be forgotten.If you are looking for a professional grade ultraportable this is the way to go. If you just want a lightweight and "sexy" computer, and do fairly basic stuff (YEAH I know, PS rocks on a MBA), chose the air.. but please stop (not YOU) talking about the air as if it's the user, who is not satisfied with what it can do, doesn't get how awesome it is if it falls short hardware-wise.
I'd love to have an air, but it just has too many shortcomings when it comes to hardware. The day my current macbook dies, I'll get a Thinkpad X201s, with i7CPU,4 or maybe 8GB RAM, 128 SSD, Optical Drive, matte display and up to 12 hrs of battery life all in a 1,39kg package.. the bad thing is that I don't see my macbook die anytime soon...
BTW: If you chose a x201s with a 4cell battery which would equal in a MBA battery life, it weights only 1,1kg although it's still not as thin as the MBA^^ but you won't have the low build quality of a Sony Vaio Z, that I guarantee.. I have yet to meet someone who is not completely satisfied with his Thinkpad, and I study Computer Science, I see Thinkpads every day...
I purchased a new one. Also I never purchased Apple Care with any of my Macs but with the Air I finally purchased Apple Care. I figured worst case if the hinge is as bad as people say, I can get that repaired 2 years from now. I used the educational discount and picked up a 8GB iPod touch along with it.
I must admit the x201 is quite impressive, but I would not want a laptop with a smaller than 13" screen. If the x301 had the some options as the x201 it would be pretty awesome. However the lack of a good graphics solution hurts both of them, imo. And I personally do not like the design of Lenovos, however they are rugged machines and should last a while.http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...781CA29B4ECB9ADAD8E72CF6FD61&menu-id=products
there you go
- weights less (starting at 2,89lbs)
- better CPU + 4GB RAM (up to 8!)
- way more battery life
- optical drive
- ports!
- ....
only "bad" thing is the GPU, as it's the intel integrated.. but as long as you don't game, you're fine.
and please don't start with "looks" or "windows"... those are incredible computers! The best in my opinion. Unfortunately the lineup you can find after the link is somehow not available in germany. the german page only shows the e100
As for the Adamo XPS I absolutely love the design of it, maybe even more than the MBA's design. Although I would really like to see a faster processor in it, but I believe the RAM increase may make up for the slower processor. I would definitely like the Adamo more than the Air if it came with a better graphics solution than the intel IGP, but Sandy Bridge should solve this problem.
Well, I'm going to feel like a chump if they update the Air next month... but I finally could hold out no longer. I ordered a 2.13/SSD MBA this week. I'm starting a new job in which I'll no longer be eligible for the academic discount (which, between computer, AppleCare, free iPod Touch & Bento was close to $400) and in which I really need something more up-to-date than my six-year-old PowerBook G4.
As, mostly, a MacRumors lurker, I want to take a moment to thank everyone here for their comments on the MBA. They have been most illuminating both where the Air is concerned and earlier this year when I was shopping for the Quad-Core i5 iMac on which I'm writing this message.
What finally convinced me that the current SSD version will fit my needs was when I figured out that my dad's last-generation MacMini has nearly identical specs (frontside bus, processor speed, 2GB RAM, L3 cache) to the SSD air. Not exact, of course, but enough to convince me, after a couple of days of working with it, that I'll be fine with the current MBA.
Again, to all of you in MacRumors Land... thank you.
As, mostly, a MacRumors lurker, I want to take a moment to thank everyone here for their comments on the MBA. They have been most illuminating both where the Air is concerned and earlier this year when I was shopping for the Quad-Core i5 iMac on which I'm writing this message.
What finally convinced me that the current SSD version will fit my needs was when I figured out that my dad's last-generation MacMini has nearly identical specs (frontside bus, processor speed, 2GB RAM, L3 cache) to the SSD air. Not exact, of course, but enough to convince me, after a couple of days of working with it, that I'll be fine with the current MBA.
Again, to all of you in MacRumors Land... thank you.
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...781CA29B4ECB9ADAD8E72CF6FD61&menu-id=products
there you go
- weights less (starting at 2,89lbs)
- better CPU + 4GB RAM (up to 8!)
- way more battery life
- optical drive
- ports!
- ....
only "bad" thing is the GPU, as it's the intel integrated.. but as long as you don't game, you're fine.
and please don't start with "looks" or "windows"... those are incredible computers! The best in my opinion. Unfortunately the lineup you can find after the link is somehow not available in germany. the german page only shows the e100
I can contribute with my own (personal) experience on the X301.
At the beginning of 2009 I was forced to buy a new laptop as my PowerBook G4 was getting too old. The unibody MacBooks available at that time did not convince me because of some apparently absurd choices, most notably the non-replaceable battery and the glossy screen (which I still think is a bug and not a feature in a laptop). A friend of mine recommended the X301, and so I followed his suggestion but was disappointed.
Some of the hardware is indeed very good and the machine itself is impressively sturdy, but the quality of the LCD screen was unacceptable: non-uniform lighting, stains of color near the edges, very poor illumination. I checked 2 other X301s from colleagues and they were basically the same.
I tried hard to re-create a friendly, productive working environment on that machine, in Linux first and then Windows, without success. At the present time, the combination of a Unix-like layer with an easy and usable graphic interface that I need make OSX the perfect choice. In general, I don't think one can reason about the quality of a computer without taking into account the software that can run on it.
Regarding the "looks", yes I agree that they should not matter too much, but this is true only in principle. If you get used to the way Apple designs its products (which doesn't always mean they are also effective, see the mighty mouse), the X301 looks as the artifact of a caveman.
In the end, after being a (spoiled) Mac user for many years and despite all my efforts, the experience with the X301 was so bad that I sold it after 6 months and got a MBP 13" (notwithstanding the glossy screen). I wasn't brave enough to buy an MBA because of all the issues that apparently affected it. But am still waiting for a lighter laptop: either for the MBP to get thinner, or for the MBA to be updated.
I'm currently sitting next to a X300.. I can't see any of the things you mentioned, in fact, it looks pretty good to me... However, there may be faulty machines out there. The 27" iMacs where not without hardware faults just like the older MBAs screens. I don't think you can say that X-Series laptops just have crappy screens, you just had bad luck. Besides that, I couldn't find too much evidence that many people have this problem with their X300 after google. But you have a point, X-Series do not have the brightest screens out there, but as it's a matte finish anyway, I don't see the problem. It's not meant to be a laptop for multimedia-consuming purposes "only". There is no perfect laptop out there.
Concerning the looks, sure, it's a matter of preference. I for one prefer to have the hardware I want over the looks (However I cannot say that looks don't matter to me, but I don't think it's bad.. it's decent and functional design to me, while the MBA design is great, no doubt about that, but it simply limits it's functionality.. but that's the problem with the iMacs too). And of course, software plays a big role too, but I'm fine with Ubuntu, and if you know how to configure it properly, you should be good. But software and looks are a matter of preference and needs. For the average user, Ubuntu may be too "complicated", while for the tech savvy user, it's pretty good.
I'm happy to chime in on the Lenovo x201/x301 displays, I've had enough of them and there's many around our office so I'm not basing my comments on 1 or 2 machines.
The Lenovo screen sucks, it's bad, very bad. Just as described above by another poster, horrible viewing angles, dark spot's, plus I'll add dull, grainy with an awful 'sheen' to it under artificial light in the evening.
The 2010 Sony Z screen is poor compared to previous model years, '08/'09. The Lenovo screen(s) are worse than the Sony. Some say among the worst in the industry.
Read reviews about the Lenovo xSeries notebook displays, there's lot's of disappointment noted.
The display panel is one of the most costly parts in a notebook. Apple has arguably the best notebook displays in the industry. I'm yet to find anything better. It's unfortunate another pc laptop manufacturer didn't see the opportunity to produce a competing notebook with an excellent display, so far that hasn't happened. Must be a very costly venture otherwise we'd have better displays from more notebook manufacturers.
The sole reason I sold my Lenvo's and Sony was because of the displays.
The Lenovo screen sucks, it's bad, very bad. Just as described above by another poster, horrible viewing angles, dark spot's, plus I'll add dull, grainy with an awful 'sheen' to it under artificial light in the evening.
The 2010 Sony Z screen is poor compared to previous model years, '08/'09. The Lenovo screen(s) are worse than the Sony. Some say among the worst in the industry.
Read reviews about the Lenovo xSeries notebook displays, there's lot's of disappointment noted.
The display panel is one of the most costly parts in a notebook. Apple has arguably the best notebook displays in the industry. I'm yet to find anything better. It's unfortunate another pc laptop manufacturer didn't see the opportunity to produce a competing notebook with an excellent display, so far that hasn't happened. Must be a very costly venture otherwise we'd have better displays from more notebook manufacturers.
The sole reason I sold my Lenvo's and Sony was because of the displays.
I agree, the main problem with the Lenovo ultraportables is the display. Next to the MBA, the Lenovo's display is obviously junk. It is difficult, because every other feature in the Lenovo ultraportables is PERFECTION. I do like their keyboards more... but the MBA's keyboard is better than every other laptop I have tried (including MBP, MB - for some reason the response, feel, and etc is better on the MBA).
I have primarily "worked as" a writer for the last year, and the MBA is great for it - but the Lenovo would have been better. However, when actually using the MBA for entertainment purposes, it blows away the Lenovo ultraportables thanks to the wonderful display. In addition, I have had zero problems with lines on my main MBA's display. However, I got a new MBA (same specs other than third-party SSD I am "testing"), and the display is not as nice as my other 2.13 GHz MBA - same display model number and same gamma settings.
The display seems to be the most important feature in my opinion... and the MBA destroys the Lenovo ultraportables there. We are ALWAYS using the display when using a notebook, and the nicer MBA displays are giving the user a better visual experience when the user is watching any video, viewing photos, graphics, and etc.
However, if I was just using an ultraportable for writing Word/Pages documents, the Lenovo would be the way to go. I enjoy using a one-computer setup... although I did just order a Mac mini and I technically have two MBAs, so there's the truth. I am just using the Mac mini for television, video, audio, and "server" responsibilities.
If you are just writing you can use a pentium4 from 2004 as well (If the laptop would have had a great keyboard as well).
Really, with an i5/7 and up to 8GB RAM, how can you say that it's "only" good for writing? If you work in IT/ComputerScience in general, you do other work than graphics and/or audio (Sure you may do graphical simulation as well, but that does not happen on the road so much), at least you don't need 100% color correctness and whatnot. I for one work with Eclipse, Netbeans, Terminal, Acrobat, LaTeX (editor) and XY. None of these programs needs a "beautiful" screen. No offense, but that statement makes no sense to me.
I don't want to argue about the display quality. I've only seen a dozen X-Series around campus and at my friends, and none of them seems to have obvious display problems like dark spots or uneven backlit, but maybe it is just me...
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5546&review=lenovo+thinkpad+x201+x201s+tablet
I just read that review and it really seems like the only true contra for the X-series is indeed the display. They say the colors are not as vivid and/or seem to be washed out, but nothing about non-uniform lighting or stains of color near the edges as indicated by angusticeps.
As I already said, I don't want to argue, obviously the displays are not as good as the apple panels (or even junk I've you want to call it that), but I worked on a X300 today for some time, as I'm thinking about purchasing one when my macbook dies, and the screen was totally sufficient for daily stuff (reading pdfs, watching random (HD) youtube videos).
I don't work with graphics, nor do I watch more than one movie on my macbook per month (I have a TV) and I also don't look at pictures on my laptop for hours.
What I want in a laptop is the performance I need to get the job done, a nice keyboard, a "decent" matte screen and long battery life all while being ultraportable (light and relatively thin, and max 13,3"). Sure, I'd love a perfect display as well, but for watching some random show while on the train, or a youtube video, I don't think I would mind the display.
Of course, if your computer must be a multimedia talent as well, the screen is obviously very important, but to say you can't use them because of the screen seems to be a bit over the top.
Oh and btw. have you ever been sitting across from someone and wanted to show him something on you laptop, without getting up or turning around your laptop so that you cannot look at it at the same time? No? Well, then you obviously don't care that you can move the Thinkpad's display angle so low, that it's almost in line with the keyboard..
It's just that a Thinkpad seems to be far more useful and useable in a real-world-work-environment (to me).
Scottsdale: Didn't U say something recently...
... about the Rev. C Air's screen was a step backward? If I understood you correctly, you said very breifly that --- the Rev. B models had two different type screens on the high/low models (hard drive/SSD), and the lesser of those 2 screen types is what both of the current models have?
Meaning that the best screen is on the 1.86ghz model with the 128 SSD, that the Apple refurb store sells for $1,349.?
I had never heard of this point on the forum, before. It may tilt my own decision.
Would you please confirm which model(s) has the best screen... and in what ways is that screen better in comparison with the one on the current 2.13ghz model? Inquiring eyes want to know!
... about the Rev. C Air's screen was a step backward? If I understood you correctly, you said very breifly that --- the Rev. B models had two different type screens on the high/low models (hard drive/SSD), and the lesser of those 2 screen types is what both of the current models have?
Meaning that the best screen is on the 1.86ghz model with the 128 SSD, that the Apple refurb store sells for $1,349.?
I had never heard of this point on the forum, before. It may tilt my own decision.
Would you please confirm which model(s) has the best screen... and in what ways is that screen better in comparison with the one on the current 2.13ghz model? Inquiring eyes want to know!
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...781CA29B4ECB9ADAD8E72CF6FD61&menu-id=products
there you go
- weights less (starting at 2,89lbs)
- better CPU + 4GB RAM (up to 8!)
- way more battery life
- optical drive
- ports!
- ....
only "bad" thing is the GPU, as it's the intel integrated.. but as long as you don't game, you're fine.
and please don't start with "looks" or "windows"... those are incredible computers! The best in my opinion. Unfortunately the lineup you can find after the link is somehow not available in germany. the german page only shows the e100
it is hoped (yours and Lenovo's) will be a very happy and enduring marriage
it is hoped (yours and Lenovo's) will be a very happy and enduring marriage
I did nothing more than pointing him to a device that does what he asked for: an ultraportable which weights less and has more power (admittedly not in regards to graphics performance and display quality, but in nearly every other respect: cpu, battery life, ports, weight etc..of course it's debatable which one is more important to you, that's what we are here for) than the MBA, and stated my opinion on it... but whatever you say
If apple would offer such a computer, I would buy it in a heartbeat (max 13,3", i5/7CPU, up to 8GBRAM, up to 10hrs battery and matte screen).I agree with this, I always thought the MBA was pure awesome. And I was always jealous as I didn't own one when they came out, however I hadn't been to an Apple store in ages and thought it would be more prominent in the show area.
I was at the Santa Barbara store a week ago, and the MBA along with the white unibody Macbook were relegated to a far away shelf alone, single and by themselves. The MBPs were everywhere in multiples and I think that is a primary reason they don't get the attention they deserve.
I have no idea why they would not split up the show space and have less MBPs and more MBAirs.
Interesting.
I had the screen replaced on my Rev A with either a Rev B or Rev C screen (not sure which one), but the quality isn't as good as the original.
I think part of the problem with the MacBook Air is that the average consumer is an idiot. Therefore, they rely very much on what the salesperson tells them. Sales people 1) want to sell a product now rather than in a few days; 2) don't want to run the risk of selling a person something that won't meet their needs. Therefore, the MacBook Pro will ultimately be sold more frequently as it is the safe option. In regard to lack of display models, it is possible the hinges broke and were never fixed/put back on display.
Anyway, I have too more Tuesdays before I have to buy a new Mac, so fingers crossed for an update.
The OKC Apple Store does something similar. They have the MBAs and white Macbooks at the end of a display shelf in a rather inaccessible corner of the store. I hope that's not a subtle hint from Apple concerning the MBA's future.