Lenovo ThinkPad X300 review

Performance
Although the screen isn't perfect, we're happy enough with Lenovo's decision to use LED technology as the super-slim lid reduces weight and lowers energy demands. This emphasis on power frugality runs through the rest of the X300 as well.

The processor, for instance, is an ultra-low-voltage unit that's so new that originally even Intel couldn't tell us exactly what it is: it showed up as an L7100 in Device Manager, but Intel has informed us the CPU is actually the SL7100.

(For those who like tech specs, it's built on the 65nm Merom core with 4MB of L2 cache and uses a 800MHz front-side-bus. The package size is just 22 x 22mm, with a 2mm height - this, combined with a 12W TDP, is one of the reasons the X300 is so small.)

Helped along by 2GB of RAM, the SL7100 pushed the ThinkPad to a score of 0.68 in our benchmarks - a total more akin to a 1.6GHz processor. That's still half the speed of the very quickest laptops, but for most uses the X300 will be more than fast enough: it's processor-intensive tasks such as video editing that will show up the L7100 CPU in real life.

We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the speakers, too. Clearly, they're never going to pump out much bass, but whether you're indulging in late-night gaming or listening to music they're up to the task thanks to clear reproduction and no distortion.

Movie soundtracks sound just as good, and even away from the mains the ThinkPad has no trouble playing DVD films. (Don't tell anyone, but we quickly forgot we were meant to be analysing the quality and just started watching the movie.)

The hard disk/SSD debate
The final core component worthy of note is the hard disk. At launch, the X300 will only be available with a 64GB solid-state-disk, which means in practice that, after Windows has had its way, and setting aside Lenovo's hidden recovery partition, you'll be left with around 40GB of storage space.

Clearly, for a lot of people that's not enough, and if you do need more space then hang on until April when Lenovo will be releasing a new batch of X300s with SATA hard disks inside.

There are some obvious benefits of solid-state-disks in ultraportable laptops such as this, though. First, reliability: no moving parts means less chance of failure, especially from knocks.

Manufacturers also claim a speed advantage thanks to inherently faster transfer rates, and though we don't dispute this we're yet to see a big difference in our real-world benchmarks.

Undeniably, though, a solid-state-disk also uses less power than its hard disk counterpart, and that means it doesn't generate as much heat. The end result: better battery life.

Battery life
The choice of long-life components undoubtedly helps Lenovo to extend the X300's battery life, and, even with the smallest three-cell battery in place, we were pleased to find the laptop lasted just shy of four hours under light use: 3hrs 58mins, to be precise.