It's hard to compare PC and Mac hardware because part of the Mac value proposition is Mac OS X. If you're not going to run that I would have to ask: why buy a Mac?
Anyway as for comparison of tech specs:
- The X1 uses a higher power CPU (up to 2.7 GHz dual core i7, the 13" MBA tops out at a 1.8GHz dual core i7);
- The MBA has better battery life;
- The MBA has a higher-res display;
- The X1 can have 8GB of memory and the memory and HD are, I assume, user-replaceable (I can't recall if they're soldered on or otherwise not replaceable on the MBA);
- Size/weight (MBA is almost a pound lighter);
- The X1 seems to have 1 USB 3.0 port, which is nice. The MBA has Thunderbolt;
- SSD storage on the MBA goes to 256GB on the MBA, up to 160GB on the X1, although this may well be user-upgradeable;
- Pricewise the MBA I think does edge it out, which is kinda amazing. The X1 with i5/128GB SSD currently specs out at about $1700. Price will vary considerably with offers and coupons.
I have the 1.7/256/13" MBA and love it but I run OSX not Linux on it.
Specs:
Some people have no desire to use OS X, but the Air is an extremely nice piece of hardware at an awesome price. Except possibly for some ridiculous luxury models in a totally different price range, nothing similar is available from other manufacturers yet.
And no, the X1 is not even remotely similar. I don't understand why this article seems to think they make for a good comparison.
I brought a Mac as I wanted a POSIX compliant operating system with a good battery life and flawless and fast suspend. Linux was unable to provide that for me.
However, I require 8 Gigs (for running VMs) and OSX (because I have trouble tolerating anything else), a ~250 Gig SSD and at least some 1400x800 pixels. That leaves me with a crazy expensive Macbook Pro 15". If it wasn't for the screen resolution, I'd go with the 13" MBP. If it wasn't for the memory constraint, I'd go with the 13" MBA. And, well the OSX requirement constrains me to Macs, obviously.
If I do this, this will set me back some 2700 bucks. I wonder if that is just bad luck in my requirements or actually carefully planned by Apple Inc.
I also wonder what the same machine would cost if it were not from Apple. (I'd add: 5-7h battery life, Sandy Bridge processor)
Like you, I enjoyed OS X and the fact that everything worked so well. But it came to a point where MBP's hardware limitations just got too much (no dock so I had to plug and unplug peripherals 2-3 times a day, battery not swappable so 5-6 hrs was the maximum I could get, no way to have two hard drives (SSD + HDD) without voiding the warranty etc) and I decided to switch.
So far so good, the flexibility and build quality are great. Lets see how long before Windows 7/Debian start to become annoying though ;)
It nearly worked, though. I wish you the best of luck.
Couldn't resist pointing out that I have a 4GB MBA, and I have yet to encounter any memory issues whatsoever. I have run some hefty software on there - e.g. photoshop + iWork + Pages all at once. Granted, it's not the same as VMs, but it seems that the ultra-fast SSD makes swapping a non-issue. Maybe someone who does run VMs on an MBA can chime in?
Which is to say, 4 Gigs are fine for a VM every now and then, but not for everyday use. At least not for me.
Some of these apps are built into windows (but not with the same modern feature set) and most are available for free, but OSX seems to have hit a good selection of apps that you can use out of the box.
Edit: Also that I upgraded/time machined from my 2008 white MacBook to my current generation MBP on Lion without loosing any performance, apps or data was a remarkable time saver.
You can achieve something similar with Windows 7 and a Linux VM and some file system mirroring tool (VMWare sharing or Dropbox or something). But nothing beats OSX for slickness.
Every part in the MBA has Linux drivers, which isn't surprising in any way, since there are no magical parts made by unicorns in there, just the typical combination of generic PC components you will find in other laptops. What sets the MBA apart is the way the body is constructed and how it holds all the stuff inside together in such a small enclosure.
MBA is far from ideal Linux machine - Apple's EFI implementation is well known to be crappy to the point Linux kernel developer mjg59 routinely blogs about it. Power management sucks - for example - it runs hotter, battery dies in 2-3 hours tops. On my X220 I can get 6+ hours and it never gets hot.
[EDIT]: Check this out http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1810275 for the pain involved. In comparison my X220 had one minor issue that occurs under heavy load but can be easily fixed.
I had a Macbook (White) from Fall 2010 that claimed could only have 4GB of ram but was able to install 8GB successfully.
[1]: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Air-13-Inch-Mid-2011-...
The MacBook Air is a different beast in this respect because it doesn't have any RAM slots. What you buy it with is what it has, forever, unless you're much more comfortable wielding a soldering iron than most people.
Every manufacturer has a few lines of lemons. Apple for instance had a few generations of iBooks where the graphics chip would come loose (since it was placed unprotected under the wrist rest), everyone who I've ever known with a plastic MacBook (5+ people) had the front plastic crack, one generation of MacBook Pro 15" had an issue where the LCD would randomly turn on with every other row of LED lighting turned off (so it looked like stage lighting), and then of course the classic "mooing" MacBook.
This is why anecdotal evidence is difficult to take to heart - it's always black and white.
I love my Lenovo t400s. I went around the world with it, dropped it, smashed it, and just did terrible things to it. And yet, it keeps on chugging along. My t400s is like a car that never wants to die. The consumer in me wants to upgrade but I can't find a sensible reason to do so.
It's like my mother: always present, reliable and stable. It's the only piece of hardware that ever made me smile.
I'm a lenovo fan fo lyfe!
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macboo...
Or do the Germans get the Air with i7, while US gets it with i5?
2. If he's going to claim the battery life is better with extended battery, he needs to add it into his estimated weight as wel (which I don't believe he has.) Seems like at that point the X1 would be close to twice as heavy as the MBA, at least 1.5x.
Of course batteries add to the weight, I just mentioned it because sometimes you just need those extra hours, just like some people specifically need 8GB of RAM.
Agreed that you sometimes need those extra hours. But to be fair you have to count their weight as well; you can double the usable life of a MacBook Air with an external battery if you need to but it also doubles the weight.
I really wish Lenovo would get its act together with its product lines, because it's nearly the only company besides Apple that makes hardware I can love, but it really takes time to unpack the logic behind its product lines. The other company is Sony and it has similar problems.
The low-end configuration of the U36SD is about $400 cheaper than the low-end X1 or 13-inch Macbook Air, too, as well as having a better processor than both, although this comparison focuses on the high-end, so that's not too relevant.
I got the same X1, but with base 3 year warranty and no upgrade on HDD for $1,449.27 CAD, and you can easily put in a 120gb Vertex 3 for an extra $260.
At least here in Canada we've got RedFlagDeals.com that always has an ongoing discount thread for lenovo, and sometimes you can get way better discounts than above.
"In this article I'm trying to compare two portable laptops..."
and then in the following paragraph
"In my comparison I will try to fully spec three comparable laptops"
Edit: On a side note; good thing that the MBA is coming out competitively priced here but even if it was a bit costlier than it's competition, I wouldn't mind paying that little extra for making me not pull my hair out using my computer.
http://www.ppp.ch/fileadmin/francais/Politique_developpement...
128 gb SSD. Core i5 ULV. and 13 inch screen outperforms an X1 and X220 primarily in terms of usability and is within 100 dollar price range. X220 has fantastic battery but is not ultraportable...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69V1XkZ-FeQ
It's still that crappy plastic PC feel with the stickers on it.
