The Lenovo ThinkPad X300 made a big splash when it hit the market. It is supposed to be the thinnest and lightest ThinkPad notebook ever. Inevitably, it is being compared to Apple’s MacBook Air. While the X300 is nowhere near as thin as the MacBook Air, it is still pretty light weighing at most 3.5 pounds (depending on how you configure it). In addition, the ThinkPad X300 isn’t a stripped down notebook like the MacBook Air. The X300 includes an optical drive while maintaining its slim figure. Some say the X300 is therefore more ‘real-world usable’, than the MacBookAir.
Specs:
* Intel Core 2 Duo 1.2GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB
* 13.3 WXGA+ TFT (LED backlight) display
* Intel Graphics Media Adapter X3100
* Up to 4 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM
* DVD burner
* 64 GB SSD
* Bluetooth 2.0
* Wi-Fi, 802.11n
* three USB ports, VGA output, Ethernet
* Built-in camera
* starts at 2.93 pounds
* Dimensions: 12.4″ x 9.1″ x 0.73″ - 0.92″ (less than 0.73” at its thinnest)
Good:
+ light weight, but solid build quality (magnesium casing)
+ feels like a standard notebook, not stripped down
+ the display, which is LED backlit, is nice and clear
+ built-in speakers are nice and loud
+ quiet hard drive, thanks to SSD
Bad:
- expensive
- no option for a traditional large hard drive. 64 GB SSD is the only storage option.
- poor battery life (little over 2 hours)
- graphics performance is laughable
- no PC card slot or SD slot
- no FireWire port
The Lenovo ThinkPad X300 is for those looking for a full featured thin and light weight notebook. While it may not be as thin (or sexy looking) as the MacBook Air, you’ll surely be more productive with the X300. The ThinkPad X300 starts at around $2,400 and can quickly approach $3,000 depending on how it is configured.
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So, Apple’s Time Capsule has finally hit the streets. It comes in two versions: 500GB version goes for $299, and the 1TB version for $499 USD. In case you aren’t familiar with what the Time Capsule is, it is essentially a wireless, external hard drive that is capable of backing up all of your files and data on your Mac or PC. Specs of the ‘back-up wonder’ are as follows:
* 500GB or 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive
* Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2)
* Wireless security (WEP) configurable for 40-bit and 128-bit encryption
* NAT firewall
* Support for RADIUS authentication
* 802.1X, PEAP, LEAP, TTLS, TLS, FAST
* One Gigabit Ethernet WAN port
* Three Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports
* One USB port
* 802.11n wireless support
* Length: 7.7 inches
* Width: 7.7 inches
* Height: 1.4 inches
* Weight: 3.5 pounds
Good:
+ Easy to setup. Install software and plug Time Capsule into network
+ Can backup USB drives connected to Time Capsule
Bad:
- Single hard drive. No adding additional drives
- Can’t transfer existing Time Machine backups to Time Capsule
- Loud? Can hear the hard drive spinning
- Heating issues? Can get quite warm while backup is in progress
- Cannot prioritize network activity. May hog bandwidth during backups (especially on wireless mode)
- Can only backup one system at a time
The Apple Time Capsule seems to be quite expensive. In fact, I think it is expensive. Granted, the Time Capsule is wireless, but I don’t see why you would want to backup your files over the air. It’ll hog your bandwidth. You can of course connect the device via Ethernet, but at that point you might as well buy an external hard drive which would be alot cheaper. Unless you plan on doing your backups wirelessly during late nights (when network activity is low) or want the convenience of a ready-to-go package, then get the Apple Time Capsule. Otherwise, skip it.
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So, in case you weren’t aware of what the ‘Chumby‘ is, it’s a small computer enclosed inside a beanbag-like casing. It is capable of displaying the news headlines, stock information, email, and other Internet content through the use of ‘widgets’. It does all of this over a Wi-Fi network. The Chumby can act like a clock (or alarm clock) and also play games. The gimmick with the Chumby is that you can ’slap’ it around to navigate between widgets. However, before we get to the summary review, here’s the specs:
* 3.5-inch LCD color touchscreen
* 350MHz ARM processor
* 64MB SDRAM
* 64MB NAND flash ROM
* Wi-Fi connectivity
* Built-in stereo speakers
* Squeeze sensor
* Accelerometer (motion sensor)
* Audio support: MP3
* Two USB 2.0 ports
* Headphone output
Good:
+ Touch-screen LCD
+ Tons of widgets available (60+)
+ Capable of playing music off of a thumb drive
+ You can plug in your iPod and the Chumby will play your tracks
+ Photo viewing is admirable - you can invite friends to send photos to it
+ Software updates over Wi-Fi
+ It’s cute
Bad:
- Screen size too small?
- Mashing the Chumby to navigate between widgets is painful and slow
- Adding and managing a widget must be done on a computer, not on the Chumby
- Must be plugged into a power outlet - no rechargeable battery
- Screen is too bright to be used as an alarm clock - even in ‘night mode’
- You can’t pause podcasts
- Onboard keyboard can be hard to use
- No iPhone support
The Chumby costs $179.95 (including shipping) at Chumby.com. It is available in latte, black, and pearl (white) color. For what it does, I think it’s over priced. The Chumby needs to be constantly connected to a power outlet, which is a deal breaker for me.
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Before you buy that new cell phone, you might want to try it first. TryPhone.com allows you to test drive about a dozen phones (as of this writing), including Apple’s iPhone. Unfortunately, I find the actual phone simulator to be somewhat lacking. I tested some of the phones on the site and it just doesn’t feel very slick at all. TryPhone doesn’t include the smooth transitions in the actual phones when you press buttons navigating through menus. With the simulator, you just click and stuff instantly appears, like a web page. I know, I know, cry me a river, right?
Regardless, it’s a good indicator of the phones’ UI…as long as you don’t expect the fancy transition animations on the ‘real’ phones. I hope TryPhone gets more phones up to test drive.
Try it out.
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Via: Tech Digest
Reviews for the Apple’s latest “hot” gadget are finally hitting the Internet tubes.
Here’s a brief summary of the good and bad:
Good:
+ Thin and sexy, but still sturdy (as portable as it gets)
+ Full-size keyboard
+ Built-in iSight
+ Gorgeous 13.3″ LED backlit display
+ New Touchpad “gestures” are useful
+ Weighs in at 3 pounds
+ Eco-friendly construction
Bad:
- Intel 1.6Ghz Core Duo might be “too” slow (slower than its MacBook and MacBook Pro siblings)
- Intel CPU is not the more power efficient 45nm Penryn chip
- Cheap mono speakers
- No optical drive
- Only one USB port
- No ExpressCard slot
- No where near the 5 hour battery life Apple touts (average is around 3 hours)
- SSD hard drive could be cheaper
- Maximum RAM capacity: 2 GB
- Sealed RAM, hard drive, and battery (not possible to replace/upgrade, except battery?)
Despite the fact that the MacBook Air lacks an optical drive, the word on the street is that its “Remote Drive” feature works pretty well. Futhermore, rumor is that the MacBook Air’s battery is possible to replace, except it requires more work than ordinary notebooks. All you need is a Phillips screwdriver and crack the case open.
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