* Much higher resolution: 1440x900, up from 1280x800. This brings it from the 13” class to the 15” class. I’ve always wanted a light 13” notebook with a 15”-class screen resolution, and Apple just released one.
* SSDs only. The old Air base-model’s 1.8” hard drives were unbearably slow. SSDs have always been the only sensible option for the Air, and it’s nice that they’re now the only option.
* Two USB ports instead of one. This matters more than you’d think.
* An SD-card reader (13” only). Useful if you often needed that USB port for a card reader, although this isn’t a great photo-management computer.
* Ports that are perpendicular to the desk and aren’t behind a flip-down door. So you can probably use any square-ended MagSafe adapter you already own to charge it without hanging the corner off the desk like with the old MacBook Air.
"""
My Lenovo x200s from like two years ago has a 12.1" 1440x900 screen, an SSD (option when I bought it, I did not, but the option was there), three USB ports (though I tried to plug in a bus-powered external drive today and the two plugs it had did not reach the spread of the ports on the laptop, thankfully it worked fine without the second plugged in), and an SD card reader. Just sayin'.
Not sure how much this matters, but the Lenovo is also using Intel Graphics, how well does it work on external monitors? Can it power a 2560x1600 30 inch monitor?
I'll give you the 12.1 inch screen though, I'm jealous of that. I would like to see it even higher resolution.
I'm just saying on paper hardware specs are not everything. I'd much rather have usability than a faster machine with more ports and options available. That's why I buy what my friends dub as overpriced Apple hardware.
> Not sure how much this matters, but the Lenovo is also using Intel Graphics, how well does it work on external monitors? Can it power a 2560x1600 30 inch monitor?
They 13-inch air and x20[01]s are very similar. Thinkpad advantages might be gig-e, vga port, thinkpad keyboard (if you like it), and possible i5 in the 201, and its built out of normal parts. To match the air's battery though, you have to get the big one, which bumps weight up to about 3.5 pounds, and the thinkpad costs more. The air does have nvidia graphics too.
I'd be tempted by the air if I hadn't bought the thinkpad a year ago, which to me, is the ultimate advantage it has.
It has a few huge improvements:
* Much higher resolution: 1440x900, up from 1280x800. This brings it from the 13” class to the 15” class. I’ve always wanted a light 13” notebook with a 15”-class screen resolution, and Apple just released one.
* SSDs only. The old Air base-model’s 1.8” hard drives were unbearably slow. SSDs have always been the only sensible option for the Air, and it’s nice that they’re now the only option.
* Two USB ports instead of one. This matters more than you’d think.
* An SD-card reader (13” only). Useful if you often needed that USB port for a card reader, although this isn’t a great photo-management computer.
* Ports that are perpendicular to the desk and aren’t behind a flip-down door. So you can probably use any square-ended MagSafe adapter you already own to charge it without hanging the corner off the desk like with the old MacBook Air.
"""
My Lenovo x200s from like two years ago has a 12.1" 1440x900 screen, an SSD (option when I bought it, I did not, but the option was there), three USB ports (though I tried to plug in a bus-powered external drive today and the two plugs it had did not reach the spread of the ports on the laptop, thankfully it worked fine without the second plugged in), and an SD card reader. Just sayin'.