Disappointing macbook air, review compared to thinkpad x61

January 15th, 2008

Well.. Steve Jobs claims MacBook Air as the world thinnest laptop, look at the thickness from the picture, it is really amazing, but seriously, people care about the smallest laptop, or the lightest laptop, why they care about the thinnest laptop.

I looked at the spec of the macbook, here is what it said, and compared to thinkpad x61 (as you can tell, I am a biased PC user, but I also use mac):

• Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6ghz - the x61 model started with 2ghz (also with 1.6 ghz low voltage)
• 3 lb, - x61 model weights 3lb 10 oz, 10oz difference is not that big
• 80gb  HD, that is way too small, - x61 gives you option to upgrade to bigger hard drive, or you can replace yourself,  x61 uses  standard SATA HD.
• 0.76′ thick, -x61 is 1.4″,  that is half of the thinkness, cannot deny this is amazing
• ports for other devices, this is something MacAir really bothers me, it has only 1 usb port, 1 micro-DVI port and 1 headphone. that means if you have more than 1 USB device, you will need to carry a big USB hub. And if you have a miniDV which uses 1394, you are out of luck!! - x61 has 3 USB 2.0, 1 1394
• Starting price $1800, - x61 started from $1050, if you want the 1.8ghz MacAir, you have to spend more than $3000. This is crazy!

That said, judge yourself,  if you have a few thousand bucks to burn,  MacBook Air will sure get you enough attention. An alternative option is to buy a leopard and install it on your Thinkpad, what you lose is the shiny LED screen and a multi-touch trackpad. That is what I am using..
then compare to my favorite brand IBM thinkpad X61, I don’t see compelling reasons for people to jump ship

Entry Filed under: General