IdeaPad U300s priced at $1599

OMG. It's true. The U300s really thinks it is as good as the Apple MacBook Air.

See Dynamism - Lenovo IdeaPad U300s

Overpriced in my opinion.

 

That's absolutely insane. The U400 gives you an ethernet port, 35w TDP processor, ATI graphics, extra usb port & optical drive for around $950. I just discovered the new U series last night and am looking forward to the U300 and U400 reviews. $1500 for the 300s, especially when it's still got a lousy 13" 1366x768 screen is crazy.

J&R shows the i5 model with 128GB SSD for $1200

 

Let's hope those are just temporary prices. I was expecting it to be more around the sub-$1000 range.

 

I found it on amazon and it was an OK prize, specially for the SSD

Amazon.com: Lenovo U300s 10802BU 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Graphite Grey): Computers & Accessories

$1199.99

I think that the price will be a lot different between websites, so we should check the lenovo.com site for the official price.

hope this helps!

 

I think you would be best off with the U400. The U300s is obviously not for you. The U400 will always be a better value than the U300s since it does offer all of that for less. Its not about value though, the U300s is a premium product at a premium pricetag.

The comparison between the U400 and the U300s is sorta like the comparison between the Thinkpad X220 and the MacBook Air. They both are ultraportables, but they aren't direct competitors. The X220 has more performance, more ports, longer battery life, better ergonomics, cheaper, but the Air is the Air. From the perspective of what you get for your money, the Air is complete crap, but the people who buy it aren't interested in value.

Likewise, those who choose the U300s over the U400 don't think like you do.

btw, I see a lot of different prices, I wouldn't say its overpriced until something more solid exists.

 

I beg to differ but I am interested in why you say that. Do you have one of the new MBA 13" machines?

 

@Pseudorandom.

Yeah I can agree with that. I can see some appealing points in the Macbook effect too, but I'm just not able to ignore the price difference.

The U300 also looks like it'll be basically the U400 minus the optical drive and slightly smaller body. I hope that will be priced more reasonably too. We'll have to wait until November.

 

Lets look MBA13 vs X220.

Compared to the MBA13, the X220:
-is cheaper
-has more ports
-is faster
-has longer battery life
-has a removable battery to adjust battery life/weight, or boost battery life even further
-is better built
-is more durable
-has a better keyboard
-has a trackpoint
-has a matte screen
-runs cooler
-has better support options
-is more upgradable

Compared to the X220, the MBA13:
-has a higher resolution screen
-can be used with OS X without violating the OS X EULA
-has a better touchpad
-is slightly lighter
-is thinner
-has an Apple logo

The X220 is offers more for your money, but that doesn't mean the Air is a bad machine, it just isn't targeted toward people who think about price and value.

 

Intel based the ultrabook design on the MBA, and the U300s is the first Lenovo ultrabook. But Lenovo will always list the rrp high but then give you discounts on that, not sure why since most people already knows it is the not the real price.

 

Lets not. The comparison was supposed to be versus the U300s.

There are some aspects of your list that aren't true. For instance, citing the X220 runs cooler than the Mid 2011 MBA is not true. I can see you aren't totally up to speed.

The X220 is a fine machine. Like a lot of the ThinkPads these days, it isn't without its quirks and deficiencies. For instance, the IPS panels with defects. I also like the design of the T410s and T420s better than the X220. The T420s is more my caliber with the Ultrabay.

Every machine on the market has trade-offs. The U300s and X220 do. So does the MBA and I'm talking the latest MBA not the crap models. The mid 2011 model has addressed many design and feature issues.

 

Order a machine at Dynamism - Lenovo IdeaPad U300s and let me know what they charge your credit card.

 

Sorry about that, they run about the same temperature. I don't see anything else on my list that were wrong though.

I never called them crap. Just crap value.

I did the MBA13 v X220 because you asked for justification for my post that stated that compared the U300s vs U400 situation to the MBA13 vs X220.

So lets compare X220 vs U400 vs U300s vs MBA 13 2011
-X220 is easily the cheapest of the four, starting at $800. U400 starts at $950, U300s idk (probably 1200+), MBA 13 is $1300+
-X220 and U400 are probably the fastest due to Standard Voltage CPUs.
-U400 has a discrete Radeon. The rest have Intel integrated. X220 has an ExpressCard for eGPU. MacBook Air has a ThunderBolt for an eGPU, though I don't think there are any eGPU solutions for TB yet.
-X220 has easily the longest battery life with any extended battery option. I would expect the U300s to have the best battery life out of the four if we ignore the extended batteries for X220.
-We don't know about screens yet, but the X220 has a good screen, and the MBA13 screen is probably the best of the four if you ignore/like the ability to use it as a mirror.
-X220 easily has the most ports. U400, then U300s, then MBA. Unless you really like that Thunderbolt on the MBA.
-I'm willing to bet that the X220 is the best built and most durable of the four.
-U300s is thinnest at 14mm, followed by the MBA at 17mm, U400 at 22mm. X220 is about twice as thick as the rest at nearly 35mm and even thicker with slice battery.
-U300s, MBA13, and X220 with 4 cell tie at around 2.9lbs. U400 is 4.4lbs (its heavy enough for weight to be a deal breaker, or an excuse to spend more for the U300s ). X220 with 9 cell is 3.6lbs, slice takes it to 4.5lbs I think, its not on the spec sheet.
-All laptops have SSD options. the MBA13 and U300s only have SSD options. X220 and U400 both have a restriction of 7mm drives I believe.
-MBA13 has the best touchpad and (probably) the worst keyboard. X220 has the best keyboard and definitely the worst touchpad. I would expect the U400 and U300s input devices to fall somewhere in between for both. Only the X220 has a Trackpoint.
-Only the X220 has a docking solution, removable battery, milspec testing
-Only MacBook Air can run OS X without violating the EULA. It also is the only one with a glowing Apple.

A few observations from this comparison.
-Despite being very thin, the ultrabooks aren't that much lighter than a traditional ultraportable. The U300s and the MBA13 are about half as thick as the X220 and weigh about the same. The U400 is really heavy, though that may be more to do with the fact that it has the largest screen of the 4 laptops.
-Traditional ultraportables have become very cheap as of late. I think the Toshiba R830 base config is also well below $1kUSD.
-Traditional ultraportables beat ultrabooks in nearly all areas except thinness.

 

Well, it's obviously to make the uninformed consumer think that he's getting such a big discount if he buys from Lenovo.

 

Unfortunately that is not a good way to sell. But this how the tier one computer companies roll, which is slightly dishonest.

 

Good list psuedorandom. You forgot one thing...

The X220 is fugly !!!



Just teasing man. I have five generations of ThinkPads.

 

Jeez U300s at 1599, that Acer ultrabook at 899....I'd rather buy a MBA for the sake of getting an ultrabook, the only viable true ultrabook for the 999 price range...

x220 is not an ultrabook, so I don't know why people compare it, ultraportable yes, ultrabook; not in my book.

We were selling U260s for like 799 before they got discontinued at my workplace...330UM FTL.

 

Unfortunately we see similar practices from all kinds of companies and in all kinds of products from clothing to paper towels to peanut butter, but inflation & zenbooks don't mix well in the same thread.

The U400 is kinda like a wannabe ultrabook. It's still about 4.3lbs, so says the spec sheets and the Arrandale TimelineX and Asus U series 14" models were 4.5 so nothing special there. But at that weight, U400 (300 & 300s too?) only has a 4 cell battery. The U400 is beautiful though so it clearly qualifies as zenbook material. 4.3 pounds is still acceptable and it doesn't skimp on useful features too badly sot it just needs its terminology modified slightly. It's a notebook lacking a VGA out which HDMI should have covered. However the screen and battery life may be areas of concern.

IMO at this point, the only real MBA competitor is the Asus UX series, more like an Air clone but without Thunderbolt. 11.6" and 13.3" models, all aluminum body, SSD, i5 & i7 ULV, 1600x900 LED display for the 13", 2.5 or 3lbs and it even has the wedge shape. Costs $1200 US for the 13" i5 256GB model.

 

Where are you seeing the UX31 with the 256GB SSD for $1200? The lowest price I've seen is $1449 at B&H.

ASUS UX31E-DH72 Zenbook 13.3" Notebook UX31E-DH72 B&H Photo

 

Well I was looking at this when I wrote that but I misread, my mistake.

It's $1349. Gentech is actually selling them for that price and if you use their 3% cash discount then you can get it for just over $1300. Not bad at all.

http://www.gentechpc.com/showpages.asp?pid=1105

 

Right now I think the best ultrabook is the Toshiba Z830, assuming it comes out starting at sub 1kUSD since Toshiba managed to make it significantly lighter along with thinner compared to the R830 instead of just thinner like it seems a lot of ultrabooks are.

As for battery life concerns about U300s/U400

The MBA13 has a 50whr battery and similar specs to the U300s and gets 6.5hr. I believe the U300s battery is 48.8whr so it really comes down to who can extract more battery life out of each whr. Min/whr for the MBA13 is 7.8, but Lenovo manages to squeeze 8min/whr in the X1 (240min/30whr) using a Standard Voltage CPU rather than a ULV one. If what Lenovo learned on the X1 applies to the U300s, I would expect U300s min/whr to be significantly better than the MBA13 and easily make up for its slightly smaller battery, if min/whr is 8.5 for example, battery life would be nearly 7hr. Thinkpad T420s min/whr is 6.9 and the U400's should be similar since they both use SV CPU, 14inch screen, etc. The T420s uses a 44whr battery, with its 48.8whr battery, assuming similar min/whr, U400 should get around 5.5hr battery life.

tl;dr. I wouldn't be concerned about battery life on the U300s, not through the roof X220+slice style, but most likely better than the MBA13. U400 is most likely good but not great.

Ultrabooks are the new segment in ultraportables, the X220 represents the traditional ultraportable. I think it helps things in context better. The MBA13 isn't an ultrabook, but its thrown into comparisons anyways.

 

Best? Have you ever had a Toshiba? I know lots of people that would never ever buy or use one again.

Nothing with a 1366x768 screen will ever make "Best" in my book. I would also be shocked to see the 13" Z830 below $1000.

I do think their design is interesting. I like the backlit keyboard. I like the full ports and their placement on back. I don't like the fan on bottom.

 

The new Portege/Tecra are actually really nice from playing with a R830. Too early to tell reliability though.

I stated it was the best mainly from weight, since most of the ultrabooks weigh the nearly same as thicker traditional ultraportable (MBA13 and U300s weigh as much as the X220 despite being half as thick), the Z830 is 2.5lbs (compared to the R830 at 3). Toshiba claims it will start under 1kUSD, which probably means 999.99.

 

Is there such a thing as value when one is comparing notebooks in the vanity category?

To defend Apple a little, there are some aspects that do add to the cost of ownership that do go unnoticed, specifically the edge to edge glass screen and the superior customer service. Good customer service could be worth $150 alone

 

Hmm, I just found this from early September.
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook Hands On - YouTube

Around 1:20 guy talks about the prices. He says ~$850 for U400, $800 for U300 (it's listed on Lenovo's site as U300e now) and $1200 for U300s.

Though it doesn't give the CPU/SSD combinations, those prices are much more in line with the competition.

Here's another video, this one from Lenovo. Gives a better idea of its size and looks beautiful!
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s: Behind The Design

 

Everyone is still going to try catch up to the air....We will get there...
X200 is in a different class...... Can directly compare to the U300s

As for the U300s.... people need to wait a bit until lenovo has it on sale with those crazy codes.

Just now i read about a "sale" on a x120e for 529 @ deals2buy (pretty good site for coupons and stuff)

my machine is about the same, with 4gb ram instead of 2gb and a 250hdd compared tot he "deals" 320gb drive. everything else si the same...

i paid $478 shipped...

Im sure well be able to pick one up way under 1k once Lenovo FINALLY puts it up for sale on their US site... i will be waiting

 

For the record, the i7 256gb model of the U300s is listed at $1449.99 at most retailers. I bought mine for that price at Newegg. I had it on order from ABT.com for less (same model), but it was delayed indefinitely.

 

It appears to be delayed indefinitely everywhere right now. Perfect timing. Ba Humbug.