Lenovo is marketing the X300 as the PC answer to the Macbook Air. At 1.55kg, it weighs nearly 200g more than the Air, but what is lost in flair is gained in functionality, as the X300 has a DVD writer fitted, three USB ports and an Ethernet port – the Air has no drive or Ethernet and just one USB.

The X300’s CPU is a new addition to Intel’s range. Called the Core 2 Duo SL7100, it marries a 1.2GHz clock speed with 4MB L2 cache and a frugal 12W TDP. This is combined with a GM965 chipset, with integrated X3100 graphics, 2GB Ram and a Samsung 64GB solid-state drive.

The solid state drive ensures quick boot-up times, reflected by a notebook record of 12,461 in PCmark05’s hard disk section, and good battery life. Apart from the function and control keys being in reverse order, the X300’s large keyboard is superb for typing. A track-point and trackpad serve for navigation, but the latter is squashed between the mouse buttons.

The rubberised chassis has little flex to it, despite measuring just 27mm at its thickest point. The matt-finished 13.3in (1,440x900 pixel) screen is also pleasing to work with and the stereo speakers produce a reasonable sound. An HSDPA slot sits just beneath the 4,000mAh battery, which powered the X300 to four hours and five minutes in our productivity test – just a little longer than the Macbook Air managed.
Distributors: Ingram Micro, Interface, Livingston