ULTRAPORTABLE
A
fter running the benchmarks,
crunching the numbers, and spend-
ing days doing usability testing the
old-fashioned way—using the laptops in
real-world situations—we decided that of
the three ultraportable machines tested
here, the one we’d buy with our own
money is the Lenovo ThinkPad X300. Even
though you can buy two MacBook Airs for
what this ThinkPad cost.
The decision in this category ultimately
came down to survivability and usabil-
ity. Both the Sony Vaio and MacBook Air
seemed fragile, and we worried about their
ability to withstand the wear and tear of
heavy use. The ThinkPad feels sturdier than
laptops twice its weight, and its SSD drive
should deliver better survivability than the
old-school spindles and heads in the other
two machines. Unfortunately, that SSD also
adds at least a grand to the X300’s price,which is a huge premium to pay if your
idea of high-risk computing is balancing
the machine on one knee while you veg
out in front of the tube during Shark Week.
Lenovo desperately needs to add a budget
X300 using standard hard drives.
The ThinkPad’s screen might not shine
like those of its glossy-paneled comple-
tion, but it actually makes the notebook far
more versatile. When we took all three of
the ultraportable models outdoors, only the
X300 remained usable—turns out there’s
something to be said for the screen’s dowdy
anti-glare coating, which is not an option
with the Air and Vaio. Add to that the
X300’s comfortable keyboard and plethora
of input options and you have a solid all-
around offering. Sure, it could stand a few
more inputs and outputs, but with three
USB ports we’re satiated.
Performance is less crucial in the ultra-portable category, but the ThinkPad deliv-
ered more than respectable scores in most
of our benchmarks, losing to the Sony by a
smaller margin than we expected, given the
differences in hardware. We’re especially
impressed with the X300’s Photoshop
results, which show the read benefits SSD
users can expect.
That said, none of these laptops is
bad—if you don’t mind dealing with the
abundance of crapware on the Vaio, that
is. Folks shopping for a relatively inexpen-
sive 3-pound laptop will find the MacBook
Air to be a stunning value at $1,800. We’d
never advocate using it as your only PC, but
as a mobile option it’s pretty compelling.
The Sony Vaio delivers impressive perfor-
mance, but we’d expect more solid build
quality for the $2,600 price. –W SBest in Class: Ultraportable
Not too big and not too small, the ThinkPad X300 delivers the perfect
balance of performance and size in a killer package
Premiere Pro CS3 (min:sec) 59:21 47:22 59:Photoshop CS3 (min:sec) 6:07 3:08 5:
ProShow (min:sec) 95:11 35:44 63:MainConcept (min:sec) 174:11 59:52 119:
FEAR (fps) WNR WNR WNRQuake 4 (fps) WNR WNR WNRBattery Rundown (hrs:min) 2:39 3:02 3:Best scores are bolded.Apple MacBook Air Sony Vaio SZ Premium Lenovo ThinkPad XBENCHMARKSPC Notebooks vs. MacBooks
(0| MAXIMUMPC | AUG 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com