No PCMCIA / ExpressCard slot ?

[Puppy]

I can't believe there is no PCMCIA or ExpressCard slot.

[erik]

agreed.   this is a bigger deal to me than the lack of a true dock/ultrabase.

[radioactif]

Get used to it

With WWAN, GPS, WiMax and UWB built-in, what would you need it for ? Right, Memory Card reader, but you're as well off with a USB reader imho.

I regret far more the lack of a base, whiwh a lot of people need and/or appreciate.

[qviri]

With WWAN, GPS, WiMax and UWB built-in, what would you need it for ?

Sound card...

[mfbernstein]

Get used to it

With WWAN, GPS, WiMax and UWB built-in, what would you need it for ? Right, Memory Card reader, but you're as well off with a USB reader imho.

Firewire, e-SATA, or any other form of fast external storage? USB is slow and UWB (real-world) is even more so.

[Leeper]

I thought the same thing when I first played with the unit but after a couple days I can't really see myseld needing a slot. With WWAN on board and the extra USB ports I don't really miss anything.

[erik]

Right, Memory Card reader, but you're as well off with a USB reader imho.

find me a USB compactflash card reader as fast as the delkin cardbus UDMA-6 adapter in my X61 and i'll let you live that statement down.

besides, a USB reader means one more thing dangling off the side of the unit and one more thing to misplace or lose.

[Puppy]

With WWAN

Unfortunately, no mobile provider over here use any standard technology for mobile Internet. Common miniPCI 3G internal cards doesn't work. They have special hardware (PCMCIA or ExpressCard) only.

[sugo]

Absence of PC/Express card slot can be a deal breaker for some business users, who need smartcard to VPN to corporate network.

[JaneL]

Absence of PC/Express card slot can be a deal breaker for some business users, who need smartcard to VPN to corporate network.

I wonder what percentage of smartcards used for VPNs are PC/Express cards compared to things like SecureID tokens.

[radioactif]

Note from Moderator: Snipped excessive quoting.

Unfortunately, no mobile provider over here use any standard technology for mobile Internet. Common miniPCI 3G internal cards doesn't work. They have special hardware (PCMCIA or ExpressCard) only.

WWAN may be as useless for me as it is for you, but I think that Lenovo will release a HSDPA/GPS option for European markets...

But do you mean that in Czech Republic, you use both 3G and WWAN ?

[radioactif]

Note from Moderator: Snipped excessive quoting.

find me a USB compactflash card reader as fast as the delkin cardbus UDMA-6 adapter in my X61 and i'll let you live that statement down.

besides, a USB reader means one more thing dangling off the side of the unit and one more thing to misplace or lose.

I am not an expert in this, what is the difference in speed in %age ? (No trick, it's a real question).

[Puppy]

But do you mean that in Czech Republic, you use both 3G and WWAN ?

We have some 3G services but on non-standard frequencies only. That's why you need special hardware.

[erik]

I am not an expert in this, what is the difference in speed in %age ? (No trick, it's a real question).

45 MB/sec for UDMA and 30 MB/sec for USB and expresscard.   so, an 8GB UDMA CF card would take 00:03:00 to copy over UDMA or 00:04:45 to copy over everything else.   it might seem minor on paper but it's a noticeable difference in use.

but, since the X300 doesn't have a card port and the SSD is only 64GB, i wouldn't be able to use it on location as photo storage without an external USB reader and USB HDD.   this is yet another case where the "no compromise" thinkpad requires compromise.   the first case seems to be the lack of true ultrabase/port replicator.

the X300 might be the next s30.   we'll see.

[bill bolton]

Firewire, e-SATA, or any other form of fast external storage?

There's a 1GB LAN port, so fast external storage is certainly possible if you pick an appropriate NAS solution.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[Ken Fox]

I missed the absence of a PC or Expresscard slot when I read the early reviews of this laptop.

With the caveat that I've never seen one of these in person, it seems like this machine is designed for someone other than me. I don't care for the widescreen format, and wouldn't use a notebook in this size class if I wanted or needed an onboard optical device. Although we will all end up using SSDs sooner or later, the technology is obviously not "cost-effective" at this point in its development, and I'm happy enough with 7200rpm notebook hard drives, which have not yet let me down going back to my first 60gb 7K100 (which still runs and which I still own).

To me, small and light can be taken too far. I remember playing around with an ultra small Sony Vaio a couple of years ago and feeling like it would be too small to comfortably use. The reduced size of the X6x vs. the X31/32 series, coupled with an increase in powered USB ports, seemed to me to present advantages without disadvantages.

This new X300, however, seems to present advantages such as included optical storage that are of no use to me, a wide screen that I would not want to use, and reduced ways for the laptop to access and use external devices. After the geewhiz factor wears off, I think I'd rather have my X60 back.

Hopefully Lenovo will continue to offer an X6x like machine for those who prefer that sort of laptop over the direction they seem to be headed in with the X300 series.

[Schuyler]

Sound card...

Exactly.

I use my laptop to DJ and record, so the portability is a great asset, as is the wide screen format. But I need to be able to use my Echo Indigo sound cards. That and I honestly cant stand to listen to the crap pumped out of the integrated sound cards on not only TP's but any laptop.

[Radioguy]

Considering the kind of work you do and the equipment needed, I wouldn't think an ultralight would be necessary. A T or R series seems more appropriate for that. Just my two cents.

With WWAN, GPS, WiMax and UWB built-in, what would you need it for ? Right, Memory Card reader, but you're as well off with a USB reader imho.

besides, a USB reader means one more thing dangling off the side of the unit and one more thing to misplace or lose.

Exactly. A USB reader, especially when used for ReadyBoost can spend a lot of time in that port and is at risk of being bent back and straining the port sticking out as it does. Inline card readers are far more preferable to me.

I regret far more the lack of a base, whiwh a lot of people need and/or appreciate.

Gotta back you there. The ExpressCard slot would be nice, but ExpressCard is possible to design in via a dock, and there have been some slimline docks in recent history.

[mfbernstein]

Firewire, e-SATA, or any other form of fast external storage?

There's a 1GB LAN port, so fast external storage is certainly possible if you pick an appropriate NAS solution.

Cheers,

Bill B.

Thanks, good point. Though NAS tends to be vastly more expensive than the other options.