Lenovo ThinkPad X300 Ultraportable Notebook

Name: Lenovo ThinkPad X300 Ultraportable Notebook - Page 2
Brand: Lenovo

by Jeff Bouton — Thursday, April 17, 2008, 12:45 PM EDT

Design, Features & Build Quality

Page 2: Design, Features & Build Quality

Designed to be ultraportable, the ThinkPad X300 has a very small footprint, measuring a mere 12.5" x 9" x 1 1/8", and weighing in at 3.6lb, as tested. Built around Intel's Centrino Pro platform, the X300 is outfitted with an efficient Intel Core 2 Duo SL7100 processor running at 1.2GHz, with 4MB of L2 cache and an 800MHz FSB. Complimenting the processor is a single 2GB DIMM of PC2-5300 (667MHz) with a maximum 4GBs available across two DIMM slots. The main attraction with the ThinkPad X300 is its 64GB Solid state hard drive which offers extremely fast read speeds with lower power consumption vs. traditional drive technology. This one component should have a big impact on overall performance.

Another power friendly option is the 13" LED backlit display. The matte finish screen may not have the same elegance as a glassy finish screen, but it is no less clear and easy to read. LED displays offer comparable performance to traditional displays while using less power, making it a logical choice for a system touted as energy efficient. Mounted atop the display is an integrated camera and microphone while a LED light sits to the right for illuminating the keyboard in low-light situations.

For input, the ThinkPad X300 sports a full-sized spill resistant keyboard along with Lenovo's UltraNav point device which consists of the TrackPoint pointer mounted at the center of the keyboard as well as a TouchPad. To the right of the TouchPad, Lenovo provides a FingerPrint scanner that can be configured for basic log in needs. At the front left and right corners are two small stereo speakers for audio playback while the left edge provides access to a headphone and microphone jack.

On the right side of the system is an ultrathin DVD burner which can be removed to make room for a 3 Cell LiPolymer Battery to extend the overall battery life of the system even further. We should note that this is an option during system configuration, but Lenovo does not recommend both as the DVD is thin and delicate and not designed for frequent removal. The left edge provides access to 2 USB ports while the rear edge offers a third. There rear also includes an RJ-45 port for Gigabit Ethernet with a VGA port sits adjacent to the power connector. Finally, adjacent to the Ethernet port is a switch that manually toggles power to the wireless connections integrated into the system.

While Lenovo does appear to have a lot of features packed into a small system, there are a number of features missing. Most notably missing was any FireWire, Memory card reader or eSata connections and the system is not designed to fit a docking station. There is also no PCMCIA slot or Express Card 34/54 support.