MacBook Air or Thinkpad X300

I gave you my immediate views on the MacBook Air after watching Steve Job’s annual performance at MacWorld in January. It just oozes ‘style’ but I feel the substance is greatly lacking. I really want to replace my Panasonic Toughbook which has given me such sterling service for the last five years but is now…well, the best word is ‘slow’. But I insist on a laptop that weighs no more than 3lbs (my Toughbook is 2.9lb)

So I am mighty interested in the launch of the Thinkpad X300 from Lenovo due for 26th Feb 08. Read Businessweek 25th Feb 08 Building the Perfect Laptop. It’s actually lighter than the MacBook Air but also has a built in DVD drive, an Ethernet connection, removable battery and three USB ports – all of which the Air does NOT have. Of course it only runs XP or Vista (only you know whether this an advantage or disadvantage!) Only real downside is that it is scheduled to cost $2,700 compared with $1,800 for the Air. But if you were the type of user able to consider the Air in the first place, this is hardly likely to put you off.