AirBook vs X300

This is a spoof AirBook ad made by the people at Lenovo. It’s so true.

The items plugged into the USB hub are stuff that the X300 comes with, which are not found in the AirBook. However, there’s still one thing that the ThinkPads lack: the sex appeal. The AirBook just looks sexy as hell, compared to the drab looking X300. On top of that, I have to really wonder about the additional stuff that the X300 has and ask if I’d really need the stuff.

The official plus points listed for the X300 are:

• Replaceable battery.
  This is certainly a plus point as laptop batteries tend to die rather a quick death, regardless of how much precaution is taken to prolong it’s life.
• 30g lighter.
  Harping on a trivial 30g eeks of desperation. I doubt that many would be able to appreciate the miniscule difference.
• 4Gb of memory
  Few people need this much memory. Vista may benefit from it, but OSX sure wouldn’t.
• Optical drive.
  I honestly cannot remember when was the last time I used the DVD drive to read/burn DVDs.
• 3 USB ports.
  This is the second real advantage, if somebody was looking for a desktop replacement, to plug a keyboard, mouse and other peripherals into. But nobody would buy either of these laptops as a desktop replacement.
• Management software.
  Would not really be required if the operating system is good enough, to not require any management anyway.
• TPM security.
  There are few applications for the TPM module and fingerprint reader.
• Ethernet port.
  Only a minor advantage as it can be easily circumvented with a £15 wireless access point and nobody buying a mobility laptop wants to be bogged down by a network cable.
• Wireless options.
  Although the X300 can handle all kinds of wireless options, from Bluetooth to Wireless WAN, most of it does not come standard anyway.
• Superior cooling.
  Unless you took the words “lap-top” literally, you aren’t going to be sticking it on your lap. If you are, you should stop frying your nuts.
• Stronger case.
  Regardless of how strong either machine is, neither one is likely to survive being run over by a car. Toughbooks they are not.

So, in the end. The X300 does not provide a significant advantage over the AirBook. I will admit that replaceable batteries are important. However, the AirBook is sexy. So, if they were comparatively priced, I’d expect the AirBook to win.

However, the cheapest AirBook retails for £1,199 while the cheapest X300 retails for £1,997. Honestly, I think that the battle for the thin-and-light laptop category has been won, hands down.