Thinkpads Forum

I purchased an X300 last week and just took delivery of it. It's a nice notebook and is built really well. I like the sleek design, light weight, high resolution screen, fast SSD, great keyboard and inclusion of a trackpad. However, I'm not sure if I have made a good decision in purchasing this as I just discovered so many criticisms about this laptop all over the web. I'm afraid that I may have overpaid for this device at $2500 when everyone is raving about the X200 (which I specifically do not want due to the lack of a trackpad and a smaller screen but the full performance and excellent battery life are very tempting).

chrisc28 wrote:However, I'm not sure if I have made a good decision in purchasing this as I just discovered so many criticisms about this laptop all over the web.

don't worry so much about what other people say.   does it fit your needs?   are you happy with it overall?

i've read thousands of complaints about almost every thinkpad i've ever owned dating back to 1995.   i still rely on myself to make the ultimate decision though.   the X300 isn't perfect but as of today i don't see any reason to get rid of mine anytime soon.

keep in mind that forums are filled with negative comments because people typically use them as a means to complain or solve a problem.   so, that's exactly what you'll read the most: complaints and problems.

after all, that's why you came here, right?   welcome to the forum.

The X300 is a premium product with premium features targeted at a specific market segment, and so the price ... the X200 is an everyman's thinkpad (compared to the X300, ofcourse) that offers a good mix of portabilty/features/computing power.

The moment we buy a machine, it is old. You are always going to see new machines in the near future with Intel/AMD rapidly shortening the time to produce and market their new processors. If you like the machine and if it fits your needs, don't regret the purchase - that will only lead to speculation and never-ending buyer's remorse.

All this said, the new X200 will not be available for another month officially and then there will be shipping delays due to insane demand. If you need a machine NOW and the X300 works good for you, you made a great decision ...

ps: also keep in mind that the X300 will also retain its value better the X200 if you plan to sell it later on and upgrade to whatever is available at time.

The X300 is also in a completely different class, including an optical drive while still retaining light weight and compact dimensions. Add a larger, higher resolution screen and better build and material quality and you have two products that really don't directly compete.

For me, the X200 is on my shopping list, but that is because I really don't need an optical drive and tend to replace my machines too quickly to spend the money on top-of-the-line.

asiafish wrote:The X300 is also in a completely different class,

Just because it's 1 grand higher than the others, doesn't mean it's in different class. The 64GB Samsung SSD itself cost $1,500 (Source: Lenovo Parts page), that's half of what you are paying. And that's also the reason why Lenovo won't release X300 with a regular HDD.
It's 2008, how hard is it to fit a dvd drive in a 13in notebook?

kunfuchopsticks wrote:Just because it's 1 grand higher than the others, doesn't mean it's in different class.

the X300 has:
- better build quality
- higher quality materials (carbon fiber lid, glossy lower LCD trim, s30-like volume keys, etc.)
- an LED display
- an SSD
- an integrated DVD burner
- the thinnest profile of any thinkpad before it
- one of the lightest weights of any thinkpad before it

the X200 is built much like the X61—good but not overwhelmingly great.   the X300 is built much like the TP 600: like a small tank, only thinner.

it's really a model you have to see in person to appreciate.   photos and descriptions online are nothing like having the actual product in-hand.

Yes, I'm sure it's a much nicer built machine.

Here is my reasoning:


We know for a fact that the 64Gb Samsung SSD in the X300 costs $1500as a separate part. Separate parts have higher mark-up, so it probably costs $1300 OEM to have it included in the system when ordering. If the X300 didn't have the SSD, so subtract $1300 baseprice of X300 ($2500), you get $1200.

So the true price of the X300 with no SSD is $1200. Now, that is same as the list price of the X61.

You are saying there are a bunch of build quality advantages of X300 over the x61. There is an issue here now.


Either Lenovo is not charging to have better build quality or they are charging the same price for significantly lower built quality in the X61 line. Which is it? It's the latter.


From this, the X300 is not of higer class, but others are lower in quailty but still priced same as X300. From business standpoint this is better stradegy than to charge more for better quailty for just single line. The consumer sees this as "You get what you pay for" (Higher class of machine) when in reality, it's the other way around as you can see.

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kunfuchopsticks wrote:

asiafish wrote:The X300 is also in a completely different class,

Just because it's 1 grand higher than the others, doesn't mean it's in different class. The 64GB Samsung SSD itself cost $1,500 (Source: Lenovo Parts page), that's half of what you are paying. And that's also the reason why Lenovo won't release X300 with a regular HDD.
It's 2008, how hard is it to fit a dvd drive in a 13in notebook?

Fitting a DVD into a 13" laptop is easy, but making that DVD-equipped laptop only 3/4 inch thick is a revelation.

kunfuchopsticks wrote:Yes, I'm sure it's a much nicer built machine.

Here is my reasoning:


We know for a fact that the 64Gb Samsung SSD in the X300 costs $1500as a separate part. Separate parts have higher mark-up, so it probably costs $1300 OEM to have it included in the system when ordering. If the X300 didn't have the SSD, so subtract $1300 baseprice of X300 ($2500), you get $1200.

So the true price of the X300 with no SSD is $1200. Now, that is same as the list price of the X61.

You are saying there are a bunch of build quality advantages of X300 over the x61. There is an issue here now.


Either Lenovo is not charging to have better build quality or they are charging the same price for significantly lower built quality in the X61 line. Which is it? It's the latter.


From this, the X300 is not of higer class, but others are lower in quailty but still priced same as X300. From business standpoint this is better stradegy than to charge more for better quailty for just single line. The consumer sees this as "You get what you pay for" (Higher class of machine) when in reality, it's the other way around as you can see.

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I can assure you that Lenovo pays nowhere near $1300 for that SSD. Try $650 or $700. The X300 is quite a good value if you want or need an SSD, and is overpriced if you don't.

Given the prices I have seen that Lenovo sells the X300 to corporate buyers, I think the wholesale SSD price is even lower than $700.

The new Sony Z series did catch my eye though. This laptop is available for pre-order. At 3.42 pounds, it packs a 13.3 screen (probably better than X300, since it is hard to get worse) a Blu-Ray drive, and a discrete graphics chip.

The amazing feature of this laptop is that it can contain 2 x 64GB SSD. Raid SSD -- I can get used to that. It also has features that Lenovo left out - a HDMI port, a ExpressCard / 34.

This is what happens when I send my X300 in for repairs -- I start drooling over other laptops.

chrisc28 wrote:I purchased an X300 last week and just took delivery of it. It's a nice notebook and is built really well. I like the sleek design, light weight, high resolution screen, fast SSD, great keyboard and inclusion of a trackpad. However, I'm not sure if I have made a good decision in purchasing this as I just discovered so many criticisms about this laptop all over the web. I'm afraid that I may have overpaid for this device at $2500 when everyone is raving about the X200 (which I specifically do not want due to the lack of a trackpad and a smaller screen but the full performance and excellent battery life are very tempting).

x300 was excellent when released and the price was good. I think even now there is no thinkpad that can match it overall, but if trackpad is more important to you than trackpoint then maybe you haven't made a good decision, look at the new vaio z laptops with a beautiful 1600x900 screen in a 13" case and switchable graphics card with a full speed up to date processor and 128 gb ssd drive. If think you made a wrong decision than I'm sure you can sell the x300 to me for $1800 or so

runixd wrote:

chrisc28 wrote:Note from Admin: Snipped excessive, nested quotes.

It's probably different in the US, but in Australia, Sony Vaios are very expensive and carry a crappy warranty coverage (1 year local) although they generally have a good mix of features. For the price I paid, my X300 will still be $1000 less than the Vaio Z's highest end model when it eventually hits the market here in late August and I can't get corporate discounts for Sony.

The other reason I had to get a notebook now is because uni starts again in 2 weeks and I can't hold out for whatever new models may hit.

chrisc28 wrote:

runixd wrote:

There you go then, you answered your own question.

runixd wrote: There you go then, you answered your own question.

Yeah, it does seem so. However, I do feel sad that Intel's timeline doesn't match my schedule, leaving me to take drastic measures. If only all the seemingly perfect devices can be bought now. Huge sigh. I guess I should ignore the market for a while and return sometime early next year when the next wave of devices come along and be happy with an X300 to satisfy my needs for now.

^^You seem sad...

I would be real happy with an x300!

generalachoo wrote:^^You seem sad...

I would be real happy with an x300!

Actually after a few days of use and travel with the notebook, I am loving every piece of the X300. Even though the screen quality could be slightly better, it is already much improved from my old HP nc6400's WXGA+ screen which was overly grainy and dim.

The release of the X200 does not invalidate the X300. If anything invalidates the X300 it is the price.

Had the laptop been perfect, it would have been OK, but it is not perfect, and has the following flaws:

1) No PCMCIA/Express card slot
2) No docking port
3) Stuck with a crappy slow 1.2GHz CPU
4) Stuck with an overpriced low capacity 64GB SSD

3) and 4) can be addressed in the future, within the X300 framework. In fact I am surprised that they haven't been yet. 1) is relatively minor, considering the plethora of connectivity options available. 2) is shockingly major (for a product considered "premium") and no stupid USB dock can be considered a worthy alternative.

On the other hand, it has a few big selling points:

1) Built-in optical drive
2) Amazingly thin and light for the size
3) Bright, high-resolution screen

IMO, at the moment, the X200 is a better buy, unless you really need a built-in optical drive or a touchpad or the higher resolution, and you need them on-the-go (because the X200 docking station allows you to have all these at least as part of the desktop solution).

If 3) and 4) were addressed and the price went down (which it would, after 4) is addressed), the X300 would become much more attractive to me.