This is for Windows users. Apple fans beware!!! (yes it's relevant to MBAs)

[jpl6]

Like others have stated, this is nothing similar to a MBA.

A MBA is a great ultraportable laptop that has is slim, lightweight, has decent battery life, but yet at the same time performs almost all non-gaming tasks quite well.

The laptop you linked, while it doesn't have the typical (imo) netbook form factor, it's interior components are definitely netbook quality. With that CPU and the lack of SSD, and especially with a Windows OS, the performance of the machine will lag far behind the MBA.

---

On the other hand, there are Windows laptops out that already that can match the MBA's performance at a similar or cheaper price point. However, they don't have the MBA's think & sleek form factor. If you just need a cheap (and still relatively portable) machine, just buy any recent laptop with decent specs (core i5, 4 gb ram; SSD is less crucial, but if you can afford it, it'll definitely improve performance). Don't buy the netbook you linked since by today's laptop standards, it's definitely really outdated.

There are Windows laptops existing and more coming out that directly match the MBA though. The Samsung Series 9 is an example of a competing ultraportable, albeit at a higher starting price. A lot of the major manufacturers have also recently announced MBA competitors launching in the new few months at similar prices. Some of them even have a dedicated graphics card which will be interesting to see in action.

So are there current MBA competitors? Yes - at higher price points. Are there MBA competitors comping out at similar price points? Yes.

Is the laptop you linked a MBA competitor? No. Will it match the performance of any decent Windows laptop that costs less than $1000? No.

 

[iphonsteve4ajob]

I think Lenovo makes great laptops. If I only had PC's to choose from I would definitely go X220 or something along those lines.

I think it comes down to economics in the end. Some people will see the validity of saving a couple hundred dollars for a somewhat similar computing experience. Others would gladly pay the premium for the cache of owning one of the most beautifully designed computers in the world.

My Mac to me is more than just browsing the internet and checking email...working hard drives, logic boards, and RAM.

There is a physical sense of joy I feel when I walk in the door and see it sitting there on my desk. I admire it's sleek design and minimalistic logo. I think of all the thousands of hours of design expertise that went into its creation. I imagine the software guys working hard to create a user experience that takes off where the physical elements leave off. I think of how this company has changed the world in its single minded pursuit of a "different" computing experience.

In the end this machine makes me want to work harder, better, more creatively. In as much as industrial designers create office work spaces to energize the feeling of a place in order to affect a physical response. My Mac has the same effect on me. Simply put, it is a work of art. And as such inspires me to make the attempt to be better than I can be for the day.

There is no price for this. $700 more?? Done and done again...

 

[dontwalkhand]

I know Lenovo makes great computers, but this isn't competition to the MacBook Air. Two different market segments definitely. I am now saving up for a MacBook Air.

 

[vitzr]

I have the x120e. It is actually on next to me. I have 8GB of ram installed as well as an SSD (64GB). The upgraded x120e probably cost me... around $500.

Its pretty good. My only complaint is that the screen SUCKS. People complain about the MBA screen...because they haven't seen the x120e screen. I've never used a more horrible screen.

Why it wasn't returned when it was discovered the display was not up to your preferences is puzzling.

Much less spending even more money on it.

Seems as though there's something wrong with this picture.

 

[chile7236]

sorry but MBAs are not competitively priced compared to their "competitors" (however you perceive what classifies as an MBA competitor). the MBPs have come down in a bit to be solutions that the average laptop buyer is looking for in an all around laptop but from what i have seen/heard, most people i know think MBAs are little netbooks that "look better" than windows netbooks but cost way more.

 

[KnightWRX]

sorry but MBAs are not competitively priced compared to their "competitors" (however you perceive what classifies as an MBA competitor). the MBPs have come down in a bit to be solutions that the average laptop buyer is looking for in an all around laptop but from what i have seen/heard, most people i know think MBAs are little netbooks that "look better" than windows netbooks but cost way more.

You're looking at it wrong then. The MBA is very competitive in the space in which it is really competing : Ultra-portables or these new fangled "Ultrabooks" as they are being called.

The Thinkpad x120e is not it. It uses a low power processor, like the Intel Atom except made by AMD. Same as every other Netbooks. The MacBook Air uses a full powered part, so it is not a Netbook equivalent, it is much more powerful in a smaller package.

The competitor made by Lenovo in this space is the Thinkpad X1, priced at 1199$ (but with many caveats) :

If you upgrade it to have a 128 GB SSD and Bluetooth to match the 13" MBA, you get a base price of 1499$ (wait, that's more expensive than the MBA) and it still has the following negatives :

- 1366x768 resolution on the 13.3" screen. Lower than the MBA
- Core i3 processor, a lesser part than the 13" MBA base.

At this price, it has no advantages over the 13" MBA either.

So yes, when doing real comparison shopping and not comparing the MBA out of segment (if you're comparing the MBA to lesser machines, the MBA is not for you anyhow) it is very aggressively priced and competitive in the market.

 

[Abazigal]

sorry but MBAs are not competitively priced compared to their "competitors" (however you perceive what classifies as an MBA competitor). the MBPs have come down in a bit to be solutions that the average laptop buyer is looking for in an all around laptop but from what i have seen/heard, most people i know think MBAs are little netbooks that "look better" than windows netbooks but cost way more.

Then those people are thinking wrong.

I feel the MBA is competitively priced insofar that you are getting a fairly good deal in terms of what you are paying for. I think it is saying something when apple's competitors are unable to replicate the MBA in terms of costs, especially when the general impression of apple products is exactly that - quality products, just horribly overpriced.

Sure, you can buy a useful laptop at half the price of a MBA, but as the age-old adage goes,"You get what you pay for." Those computers are cheaper exactly because you are getting less in terms of specs and portability!

 

[3dflyboy1]

Ok, fair enough. I feel compelled to reply then, to post that this is mis-information.

This is no where near similar to a notebook. This is not even remotely close to being "similar" to the macbook air. The AMD Fusion CPU is a netbook class CPU. Far superior to Atom sure, but still way under powered.

Yet it's capable of running games like COD6, TF2, LFD2, Portal, and Minecraft at medium graphics settings. Not too shabby IMO; I think that classifies as "notebook" processing power, even if it's at the lower end of that category. Also, As I said before, I think Lenovo accurately hit that spot between wimpy netbook and a full-fledged laptop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW3bMeJtiSQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMfs9bYV4t8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDN4RO81SBE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1ynXLl_t3I&feature=related

You should have known you wouldn't have many people in your favor in an Apple forum.

no kidding.

 

[Goratrix]

There is already a replacement available, the X121e or the Edge E120 (in some countries), with Sandy Bridge processors, so it's definitely not a "netbook" anymore.

I have considered buying the 11" Air for quite some time, but in the end I got the Edge E120, and am very happy with it. For 630 euro it has:

- very bright MATTE screen, the best keyboard in class
- 3x USB (one is always-on), HDMI out, Ethernet, VGA
- removable battery, easily replaceable HDD, expandable RAM (up to 8 GB)
- trackpoint, 5in1 card reader
- 9 hours battery life browsing on wifi

the drawbacks are a slower processor (i3-2357), a worse trackpad, and it's thicker and heavier than the Air (1.5 kg). However, none of those would make sense for me considering the nearly double price for the Air (1169 euro) especially considering the things that the Air omits (ports and expandable RAM).

 

[3dflyboy1]

I think Lenovo makes great laptops. If I only had PC's to choose from I would definitely go X220 or something along those lines.

I think it comes down to economics in the end. Some people will see the validity of saving a couple hundred dollars for a somewhat similar computing experience. Others would gladly pay the premium for the cache of owning one of the most beautifully designed computers in the world.

My Mac to me is more than just browsing the internet and checking email...working hard drives, logic boards, and RAM.

There is a physical sense of joy I feel when I walk in the door and see it sitting there on my desk. I admire it's sleek design and minimalistic logo. I think of all the thousands of hours of design expertise that went into its creation. I imagine the software guys working hard to create a user experience that takes off where the physical elements leave off. I think of how this company has changed the world in its single minded pursuit of a "different" computing experience.

In the end this machine makes me want to work harder, better, more creatively. In as much as industrial designers create office work spaces to energize the feeling of a place in order to affect a physical response. My Mac has the same effect on me. Simply put, it is a work of art. And as such inspires me to make the attempt to be better than I can be for the day.

There is no price for this. $700 more?? Done and done again...

That's a great description. You're right, of course. That's exactly why a lot of people choose macs over similarly priced pcs.

Maybe I can think outside the box of apple and consider a nice little lenovo...? The x120e suits my needs just fine.

There is already a replacement available, the X121e or the Edge E120 (in some countries), with Sandy Bridge processors, so it's definitely not a "netbook" anymore.

I have considered buying the 11" Air for quite some time, but in the end I got the Edge E120, and am very happy with it. For 630 euro it has:

- very bright MATTE screen, the best keyboard in class
- 3x USB (one is always-on), HDMI out, Ethernet, VGA
- removable battery, easily replaceable HDD, expandable RAM (up to 8 GB)
- trackpoint, 5in1 card reader
- 9 hours battery life browsing on wifi

the drawbacks are a slower processor (i3-2357), a worse trackpad, and it's thicker and heavier than the Air (1.5 kg). However, none of those would make sense for me considering the nearly double price for the Air (1169 euro) especially considering the things that the Air omits (ports and expandable RAM).

I have to look into that.

 

[litchblade]

hahaha

This Thread is a joke...

Actually I don't know anyone who would consider buying this Lenovo Netbook instead of buying a Macbook Air if he wants one.

1) You don't have a comparable screen
2) Its ugly
3) No MAC OS X
4) WINDOWS WINDOWS WINDOWS

Fail

I think the upcoming "ultra books" will compete with Apple but not this one

 

[3dflyboy1]

This Thread is a joke...

Actually I don't know anyone who would consider buying this Lenovo Netbook instead of buying a Macbook Air if he wants one.

1) You don't have a comparable screen
2) Its ugly
3) No MAC OS X
4) WINDOWS WINDOWS WINDOWS

Fail

I think the upcoming "ultra books" will compete with Apple but not this one

Try to be a little more open-minded.

 

[scarred]

Yet it's capable of running games like COD6, TF2, LFD2, Portal, and Minecraft at medium graphics settings. Not too shabby IMO; I think that classifies as "notebook" processing power, even if it's at the lower end of that category. Also, As I said before, I think Lenovo accurately hit that spot between wimpy netbook and a full-fledged laptop.

Here's the problem... People that want to play those games can get a desktop that is 100 times more powerful then that netbook, for the same price. For the price a macbook Air, you can pretty much get the top of the line gaming desktop. To say "this notebook plays games" is such a bad argument. It can't be part of the sales pitch. Anyone playing PC games is already doing so on a desktop or alienware type notebook. Anyone looking to play PC games isn't looking at netbooks and airs.

So, what can we do with these portable computers? Certainly internet, email, pictures, music, movies... Fusion is very capable of handling those tasks (just like the air). As much as I hate the term, "content consumption", works fine. What about content creation? Creating videos, editing music, editing pictures, programming, writing, drawing, mathematical simulations, etc. etc. Fusion is simply not capable of doing these tasks sanely (where the Macbook Air is).

Lots of people would be fine with a Fusion computer for basic tasks (and occasionally doing something advanced really slowly)... but there is one more wrinkle. That whole "tablet" thing... These things are pretty much the kings of 'consuming content'. If all you want is to browse the internet, email, look at pictures, listen to music and watch movies, while occasionally doing something else for a few moments (like creating a quick document), then the tablet is by far the computer for you.

Like I said, your post is just in the wrong forum. If you think there is value to this fusion PC, fine... but it's direct apple competitor is the iPad, not the Macbook Air.

 

[3dflyboy1]

Here's the problem... People that want to play those games can get a desktop that is 100 times more powerful then that netbook, for the same price. For the price a macbook Air, you can pretty much get the top of the line gaming desktop. To say "this notebook plays games" is such a bad argument. It can't be part of the sales pitch. Anyone playing PC games is already doing so on a desktop or alienware type notebook. Anyone looking to play PC games isn't looking at netbooks and airs.

So, what can we do with these portable computers? Certainly internet, email, pictures, music, movies... Fusion is very capable of handling those tasks (just like the air). As much as I hate the term, "content consumption", works fine. What about content creation? Creating videos, editing music, editing pictures, programming, writing, drawing, mathematical simulations, etc. etc. Fusion is simply not capable of doing these tasks sanely (where the Macbook Air is).

Lots of people would be fine with a Fusion computer for basic tasks (and occasionally doing something advanced really slowly)... but there is one more wrinkle. That whole "tablet" thing... These things are pretty much the kings of 'consuming content'. If all you want is to browse the internet, email, look at pictures, listen to music and watch movies, while occasionally doing something else for a few moments (like creating a quick document), then the tablet is by far the computer for you.

Like I said, your post is just in the wrong forum. If you think there is value to this fusion PC, fine... but it's direct apple competitor is the iPad, not the Macbook Air.

Point. I was just giving an example of how the processor isn't wimpy.

 

[billy12]

The Thinkpad x120e is not it. It uses a low power processor, like the Intel Atom except made by AMD. Same as every other Netbooks. The MacBook Air uses a full powered part, so it is not a Netbook equivalent, it is much more powerful in a smaller package.

I know what you meant, but I don't think I would describe the CPUs used in the MBA as "full powered" as they're ULV parts.

 

[Goratrix]

What about content creation? Creating videos, editing music, editing pictures, programming, writing, drawing, mathematical simulations, etc. etc. Fusion is simply not capable of doing these tasks sanely (where the Macbook Air is).

The i3-2357 in the Lenovo X121e (E120) that I mentioned above certainly is capable of those things more than enough.

 

[entatlrg]

If you want to an / comparison with Lenovo than look at this

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/products/Laptops/ThinkPad/thinkpad-edge/e220s/index.html

I debated both strongly but chose the MBA and am very pleased...but oh how I do miss my ThinkPad keyboard In fact I would go as far to say that my MBA keyboard SUCKS, in comparison...

You'll be saying the opposite in a few months if you went back and tried the Lenovo keyboard.

I was a Lenovo fanatic, left them for Mac's only because Lenovo screens SUCK, hated the mac keyboards so much I actually went back to a Lenovo x301, but again the screen was so bad it forced me back to Mac's...

Am I ever glad it did because after I was through complaining about the mac keyboard and actually used it for a month or two I ate my words, I thought and still do the mac keyboards (once you're used to them) are the best, smooth as silk, effortless to use and well designed I'm lighting fast, more accurate with for sure less typing fatigue than I got from typing on the Lenovo keyboards. And, I type a LOT, 7 days a week.

Now typing on a Lenovo keyboard feels soft and mushy, too much travel, more fatiguing on the fingers to work the keyboard ....

The keyboards can be adjusted too, unfortunately the screens cannot.

Some computer manufacturers should be blackballed for the crap screens on their systems, they must put unnecessary stress on the eye, so how can they be allowed to sell them? Worse yet people are willing buy that junk with their hard earned cash.

Doesnt need to be this way, could be better, consumer needs to demand more.

 

[litchblade]

Try to be a little more open-minded.

Sorry, but you sound to me like you don't have enough money for the macbook air and want other people to buy your Lenovo instead of the Macbook Air, although this has nothing to do in this forum.

Everyone I know who uses my Macbook Air or even just sees it directly loves it because of its design, its OS and some other things. And THIS is nothing a 500 Lenovo Netbook will ever do. Sorry

 

[TheUndertow]

"trolling" would be if I posted a thread titled "MBA SUCKS!"

All I'm trying to do is suggest an alternative for MBA users who don't require quite so much processing power for light use. Please don't take this the wrong way.

"Apple fans beware".......

Beware of what exactly?

I'm a Windows user and not proud of it.

Windows 7 Enterprise has been okay but let's not forget what the last batch of Windows OS releases have been like - that searing pain in my back was brought on by Vista.

At some point you need to realize there's a troll lurking in every fanboi - if people were interested in the Leveno, they'd be on that forum.

Processing power (which you reference) is a small piece of the big picture - right now, Apple seems to see the "big picture" to the point that Intel is paying folks to create competitors and going so far as to call them "Ultrabooks".

 

[scarred]

The i3-2357 in the Lenovo X121e (E120) that I mentioned above certainly is capable of those things more than enough.

Yup, absolutely. I agree.

Now... what's the price for that one? Oh, and it isn't even available yet?

You know how they put cheap coffee makers at the end of the aisle at Walmart? That is just to make you go into the aisle. They've researched that the rest of the coffee makers need not be severely discounted. So long as the entry one is, the consumer will just assume the rest are "good deals".

You guys are doing the same with this lenovo. "Look at this cheap netbook"... then when I say "ya, but it sucks"... you say "ya, but look at the upgraded version". You assume because the entry version is cheap, the upgraded one will be as well. The Lenovo X121e is currently Vapour ware in the US, with an estimated cost close to the Air.

 

[ditzy]

I'm sorry everyone, but here is the car analogy. On entering this thread, I thought that this would be the equivalent of comparing a Porsche to a Aston Martin. Instead I found that I was comparing a Porsche to a Ford. They are simply not in the same class.

 

[KnightWRX]

I know what you meant, but I don't think I would describe the CPUs used in the MBA as "full powered" as they're ULV parts.

They are still able to perform the same operations per clock as the LV and SV parts. They just have less cache, lower clock speeds, etc..

Intel Atom/AMD Fusion are really the in the small leagues compared to any SB (including ULV) parts. This is the line that needs to be drawn for a fair comparison.

 

[dubels]

Point. I was just giving an example of how the processor isn't wimpy.

Try using the processor for a few months. You will notice how wimpy it actually is. Decent for day-to-day task but anything more and you have a problem. Also beware my Fusion CPU tends to run hot even when just using word.

 

[3dflyboy1]

Ok...apparently this thread isn't going anywhere. Sorry if I caused any trouble. I didn't intend to. Perhaps it would be better to open a new thread dedicated to praising the macbook air.

Moderators, could you close this thread please...?

 

[Goratrix]

Now... what's the price for that one? Oh, and it isn't even available yet?

The Lenovo X121e is currently Vapour ware in the US, with an estimated cost close to the Air.

Sorry, but... what??? The i3-based X121e (or the Edge E120, same device), has been available for over a month now, all over the world. I've had mine for two weeks. Are you serious that it is not available in the US? Well, that's funny, but it doesn't make it vapourware. That would be like calling the iPad vapourware, just because it's not available in Kazachstan.

And regarding the cost, I paid 630 euro for the Lenovo. A comparable Air (4GB/128GB) would be 1169 euro. How is that even remotely "comparable"?