Lenovo ThinkPad X301 review

While Apple's MacBook Air generated all the headlines in January 2008, the far more impressive ThinkPad X300 emerged a month later as the more accomplished ultraportable, with better features and ergonomics.

With the ThinkPad X301 little has changed: the chassis and specification are practically identical. Lenovo has used a newer Intel low-power CPU to extend battery life, and although it's quicker, it isn't a huge leap forward.

The 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo SU9400, when coupled with 2GB of RAM, managed a score of 0.78 in our 2D benchmarks, which is fine for office tasks and web browsing, but intensive applications will prove a struggle. It's around half as quick as the Sony VAIO VGN-Z31VN/X, which scored 1.45.

Lenovo's low-power components result in excellent battery life. The X301 achieved 6hrs 31mins in the light-use benchmark and just over two hours in the heavy-use test - and Lenovo offers an additional three-cell battery that fits in the optical drive bay and theoretically increases battery life by 50%.

Connectivity is handled by draft-n wireless, Bluetooth and an HSDPA modem, while an 128GB SSD offers reasonable space alongside fast access times and improved reliability compared with mechanical disks. The suite of ThinkPad software and a TPM module will please business users.

The X301 feels supremely sturdy for a 13.3in laptop and the 1,440 x 900 screen is well protected. The keyboard is comfortable enough for extended typing sessions, and the familiar trackpad and trackpoint combination is just as good. The X301 is also blessed with more ports than the MacBook Air, including three USB, Gigabit Ethernet and a DisplayPort out.

All of which make the ThinkPad X301 the ideal choice for business users: it's well built, lightweight and battery life is good. The one fly in the ointment is that Sony's VAIO VGN-Z31VN/X offers all of this with more power and in a more tempting package, which makes the X301 difficult to recommend.

Author: Mike Jennings