Apple MacBook Air Vs Lenovo ThinkPad X300

Prizefight : Lenovo Thinkpad X300 vs MacBook Air

Today, at last ThinkPad X300 after leaking to Best Buy and overviews and comparison with MacBook Air about it in many blogs and websites, officially unveiled.

Its price starts at $2,799, and it is available through Lenovo's Web site and through retail stores.

The First thing Lenovo has mentioned about its new ultra thin laptop is that ThinkPad X300 is more featured than MacBook Air although, it is a bit thicker (The laptop measures 0.73 inches at its thinnest point by 0.92 inches at its thickest point, while MacBook Air measures 0.16 inches at its thinnest part and 0.76 inches at its thickest part).

Apples MacBook Air introduced the world to the thinnest laptop to date. Released in January of 2008, it is known as ultrathin, ultraportable, and ultra unlike anything else. With the recent announcement of the new ThinkPad X300 from Lenovo, analysts are predicting that the ThinkPad will give Apple a run for its money. The following is a brief review of each.

Apple MacBook Air�

The new Apple MacBook Air comes in a bit thinner than the ThinkPad X300, measuring only 0.16 inches at its thinnest point. Steve Jobs actually introduced the new laptop to a crowd of onlookers at the Macworld Conference in San Francisco, by pulling the ultra thin notebook out of an office envelope. With a price tag of just under $2000, this notebook is a bargain in a class of notebooks that are usually a bit more pricey.

Because the MacBook Air is so thin, the battery must be built in. Early tests are reporting about two to three hour battery life between charges. Other drawbacks include no built in GPRS/Edge etc, no optical drive, one USB port, and no choice of pointing device. Though it was designed for an SSD flash drive, it can also be purchased with an iPod drive, and Apple is expected to upgrade the drive by the end of the year. Despite some of these early drawbacks regarding features, overall this is a beautiful looking and very durable laptop, which Apple should improve upon over the upcoming year.

Lenovo ThinkPad X300

Though not as sexy as the Apple MacBook Air, the Lenovo ThinkPad is built with the business user in mind. While the Apple MacBook air is a consumer machine, this laptop is built more to be a business tool.

The ThinkPad has a replaceable battery, replaceable optical drive, and three USB ports, compared to only one on the Apple MacBook Air. The Lenovo ThinkPad keyboard includes both Touchpoint and Touchpad pointing devices, a very durable / industrial strength built frame, a full set of management tools, and a more advanced flash drive. The ThinkPad also complies with EPEAT Gold, meaning it is one of the most  green , eco-friendly laptops on the market.

Which one is better?

Along with all of the executive minded features of the Lenovo ThinkPad, comes an executive level price tag. The Lenovo ThinkPad X300 will be initially made available for around $2,799. So if cost if your main bargaining point, then the sub $2000 Apple MacBook Air is your best bet. Otherwise, your decision should be based on needs. The Lenovo ThinkPad is designed for the top executive that is always on the run. ThnkPads have never really been known for being sexy products, but they have always been thin, while still being reliable. But if you are looking for something ultra thin and ultra cool, at a great price, and you don't need all of the high end business type features of the Lenovo ThinkPad, then the Apple MacBook Air may be your best bet.

Only time will tell which one comes out on top, but these are both great, innovative products that should spur the ultra thin laptop market for years to come.