Lenovo ThinkPad X300

An astonishing piece of design that brings something entirely new to laptops: a 13.3in screen, full-size keyboard and optical drive in a chassis that weighs less than 1.5kg. The only drawback is that price.







So here it is. The few leaks about the X300 have only served to heighten the sense of expectation as Lenovo produces - arguably - the most notable laptop of the last five years. And PC Pro has the first full review.

So what makes the X300 so darned notable? Certainly, in photographs this doesn't appear any match for the lusciously designed Apple MacBook Air, with the traditional sober black ThinkPad look being very much in place.

And, in terms of footprint, it's not that much different from the ThinkPad T series: they measure 313 x 255mm, this measures 317 x 226mm.

The crucial stats appear elsewhere: the X300 is just 22mm thick and weighs a mere 1.45kg. Yet it still includes a 13.3in widescreen TFT, a full-size keyboard and an optical drive.

The optical drive means it can't be compared to the MacBook Air; the high-resolution widescreen and no-compromises keyboard pushes it into a different realm from Sony's TZ series and the Toshiba Portégé R500.

Make no mistake: this is a new form of laptop.