MacBook Air vs. ThinkPad X300 vs. Portege R500:- Tough to select but bond with the best
With the launch of the Apple’s MacBook Air the ultra thin laptops are selling like hot cakes. In fact, ultra stylish and slim laptops are much in demand these days though it is also a proven fact that Air is not the only brand which is offering skinny laptops. Now the main question of concern is whether MacBook Air with its ultra svelte notebooks is actually very feature-rich and functional than the more conventionally shaped laptops? What about its contenders? As such I thought it would be better to compare the notebooks of top-notch brands with Air. I picked up Lenovo ThinkPad X300 and Toshiba Portege R500 from the galore of models. Now lets see how MacBook Air stack up against its contenders.
The MacBook Air, ThinkPad X300 and Protege R500 are the most preferred models from their respective brands. To get a better glimpse of their high-end functions I thought it would be better to summarise their applications:-
Connectivity to wireless network:- The MacBook Air and Lenovo actually took 2 minutes and 30 seconds to connect while the Toshiba took 3 minutes 45 seconds to get connected.
Sending E-mail and accessing a preregistered Yahoo mail:- I found Mac a little bit slower as it consumed about a minute to type an e-mail than on Lenovo and Toshiba. However, the full-sized keyboard of Mac facilitated me in fast and steady typing, while it is very tiring to type on the Toshiba notebook.
Connecting a USB Flash Drive, copying an Mp3 file or creating a folder from the Flash drive to the folder:- In this aspect the Lenovo ThinkPad scores much better mark. It takes just 2 minutes to perform the entire task while the other two models consumes as much as 3 minutes to perform the so called task.
Adjusting the volume, listening to an Mp3 file and Plug-in-in the headphones:- The main reason behind this test was basically not to use the operating system but the hardware. It has been found the MacBook Air is the winner in this context as the control menus was much easier and precise to use.
Deleting a folder and ejecting the USB Flash Drive:- The MacBook Air supplied a message instantly when I pulled out the flash drive while the other two laptops failed to do that. As such you can decide which one is better and comes equipped with all the high-end functionalities.
Clicking a desired link to enjoy a movie preview and adjusting the display:- The Air laptop had a brighter display and edged out in this task also as compared to the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 and Toshiba Protege R500.
Connecting the laptop to a projector:- In this aspect the Toshiba Protege R500 was very fast and steady. What is more I found it very comfortable to operate the functional menus.
Shutting down the laptop:- In this simple test also the MacBook Air was the clear winner. It just require 10 seconds to shut-down which was four times faster than Toshiba and Lenovo.
As a matter of fact, I would like to conclude the the Apple MacBook Air can be placed in the first position in terms of usability, while the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 can grab the second position and last but not the least the Toshiba Protege R500 the third. I feel MacBook Air has a clear edge over both the models due to various positive reasons as discussed earlier. However, it can also be stated that though Air topped the comparison task, the results varied from test to test. In some cases the other two brands also had advantages over the Air and as such its can be rated as Lenovo is highly durable, Toshiba is more compact and portable while Air was found to fragile. But, whatever be the case Air has been the clear winner and it depends on the buyer which model he or she should prefer and which model would suit all the requirements as all the three models MacBook Air, ThinkPad X300 and Protege R500 are best in their own specific functionalities.
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