Cnet comparison video

[queshy]

Check out this video. It's CNET comparing the MBA to the X300. Up until the last point I thought they were doing a great job...then they played the pricing game. They're claiming the lenovo is a better value because it's cheaper than the air! So biased! They didnt mention that with the X300 you can ONLY get it with the SSD! They also added a 3 year warranty (apple's is more expensive) for some weird reason. Check it out, you'll see what i mean.

 

[raremage]

The biggest discrepancy - and one that should have had a significant impact is that they used the 1.6 HHD for the performance testing, but used the 1.8SSD for price comparison - Apples to oranges comparison.

I'll just mention OSX vs. Vista in passing. When considering a laptop the OS has to be a factor, if for no other reason than how the laptop handles sleep when yu close the lid. I've never had consistent results with ANY version of Windows, while OSX handles it flawlessly every time. On the other hand, lack of application compatibility is a deal breaker for some. This is subjective of course, but is a factor in many buying decisions.

 

[killerrobot]

Good video. I think it did a good job of keeping it partial. Did the prices include taxes? That's the only way I can imagine both of those going over 3k - but maybe that's because I get education discounts.

@raremage -- I think your problem doesn't lie with Windows but with the laptop itself - different manufacturers look at the closing and opening of the lid differently, hence the varying results of the sleep mode.

 

[gcmexico]

I must say...

I don't want to come off as a fanatic, never thought I would actually post something like this...but those videos were made by Apple haters. I'm mean come on!! If you look at all those clips, when Apple doesn't meet their standards it gets a 3 but the comp only gets a 4. Why do you need the keyboard to text? it makes absolutely no sense to me, once you get used to the touch texting on the Iphone all those other phones look archaic.

On a side note, I have the MBA and bought the external superdrive, I have just used it once! I have a USB hub and need nothing else, can someone answer me why the Thinkpad has all those features? Does anyone own a Thinkpad, and truly believes they can't survive with all those extra features?

 

[steve31]

Mac osx=5 /Vista=2

 

[queshy]

The biggest discrepancy - and one that should have had a significant impact is that they used the 1.6 HHD for the performance testing, but used the 1.8SSD for price comparison - Apples to oranges comparison.

I'll just mention OSX vs. Vista in passing. When considering a laptop the OS has to be a factor, if for no other reason than how the laptop handles sleep when yu close the lid. I've never had consistent results with ANY version of Windows, while OSX handles it flawlessly every time. On the other hand, lack of application compatibility is a deal breaker for some. This is subjective of course, but is a factor in many buying decisions.

Yeah, it's so biased! They bash the air for a lack of features and say how the lenovo has an SSD...but then when they price them up they turn the "option" that Apple has offered into something negative!

In terms of the OS, that shouldn't be the focus of the video anyway since it seems to be hardware oriented...but I don't think it was fairly done at all. They didn't mention that the air can be had for <2000 yet the x300, in its barest configuration, is 1000$ more.

They should have compared apples to apples (no pun intended) i.e. SSD vs SSD. Also, why add the warranty? What does that have to do with deciding which hardware is "better"?

 

[bence8810]

That was ridiculous. He even pointed out, that the MacBook doesn't come with the Solid State Drive, and at the end, he added it to the price and the external DVD drive. What a loser...

Ben

 

[dukebound85]

i thought it was a good video. at the end, he was comparing the maxed out specs for each machine


dont get all riled up....

 

[raremage]

@raremage -- I think your problem doesn't lie with Windows but with the laptop itself - different manufacturers look at the closing and opening of the lid differently, hence the varying results of the sleep mode.

Hardware drivers is undoubtedly a factor, but how the system reacts to having the cover closed is a factor of the operating system software - it's fully configurable. Bottom line is sleep has always been wildly inconsistent in Windows. It's better in Vista (perhaps one of the few things that is right now) but it is still unreliable.

i thought it was a good video. at the end, he was comparing the maxed out specs for each machine

Ah, but that's the point - they compare the low-end air to the x300 for performance, and the top of the line for price, to give the x300 the win. If you're going to run the performance against the entry level Air, then the price drops to the $2K range, and the X300 the arguably loses the value argument.

There's long been a myth in the computer industry that Wintel systems are significantly less expensive than Macs, and when you peel back the covers and look at like specs, it just isn't true - the costs are quite comparable!

 

[BongoBanger]

i thought it was a good video. at the end, he was comparing the maxed out specs for each machine


dont get all riled up....

Exactly. Incidentally, PC World have rated the X300 as the new king of the ultraportables with a score of 77. The Air gets 71 which keeps it out of the top 5.

 

[beatzfreak]

Cnet's Thinkpad "beefed up" pricing is wrong.

$2900. is for the base model with 1 GB of RAM.
This does not include the DVD drive or the integrated wireless WAN.

 

[Mykbibby]

I am so sick of CNET. They are trying to be "fair and unbiased", but instead they are simply putting everything Apple down. It really is starting to piss me off. Todays new phone, the LG Glimmer, got a higher rating than the iPhone (so did the Voyager). They simply are stacking up features and not weighing some features as more important than others.

Now check out this doozy of a video by the worst of them all, Molly Wood.

http://www.cnettv.com/9742-1_53-32557.html?tag=bubbl_4

Ya, you stick with the ugly boyfriend Molly, because you have no chance with a guy like Apple

 

[BongoBanger]

I am so sick of CNET. They are trying to be "fair and unbiased", but instead they are simply putting everything Apple down.

Not so. They have good reviews of Apple products, they just recognise the qualities of other manufacturers.

It really is starting to piss me off. Todays new phone, the LG Glimmer, got a higher rating than the iPhone (so did the Voyager). They simply are stacking up features and not weighing some features as more important than others.

Sorry, you're being subjective here.

Ya, you stick with the ugly boyfriend Molly, because you have no chance with a guy like Apple

Ah, now I see why I couldn't take your comments seriously.

 

[dukebound85]

I am so sick of CNET. They are trying to be "fair and unbiased", but instead they are simply putting everything Apple down. It really is starting to piss me off. Todays new phone, the LG Glimmer, got a higher rating than the iPhone (so did the Voyager). They simply are stacking up features and not weighing some features as more important than others.

Now check out this doozy of a video by the worst of them all, Molly Wood.

http://www.cnettv.com/9742-1_53-32557.html?tag=bubbl_4

Ya, you stick with the ugly boyfriend Molly, because you have no chance with a guy like Apple

so let me get this straight, if apple doesnt win every category for best product, they are biased against apple......

i bet if you did the reviews, apple would appear golden in comparisonto every other manufactuer

i thought it was unbiased as they compared the features of the laptops. what more can you ask for? and its not like they said the air was bad, but rather the x300 packs more features which it does....

seriously, the only reason people pick the air over the x300 is
1) made by apple
2) has osx
3) looks very slick

all comes down to preference...

 

[PDE]

so let me get this straight, if apple doesnt win every category for best product, they are biased against apple......

i bet if you did the reviews, apple would appear golden in comparisonto every other manufactuer

i thought it was unbiased as they compared the features of the laptops. what more can you ask for? and its not like they said the air was bad, but rather the x300 packs more features which it does....

seriously, the only reason people pick the air over the x300 is
1) made by apple
2) has osx
3) looks very slick

all comes down to preference...

I'm sure nobody here would object if the Air had all the features the Thinkpad has while keeping a similarly beautiful design....we're just suckers for design and prioritize it.

If Apple could just include an ethernet port and an extra USB port most people would shut up. Why was that so incredibly difficult??

 

[Mykbibby]

So all of you who are telling me I'm being biased towards Apple agree with the comparisons made? You think that having an extra USB port and ethernet would be more important than OS X? I must say though, that the Optical Drive being in the Thinkpad boosts it's rating up, but it should be a 4 for both of them, considering the Thinkpad runs Vista, and the Air runs OS X. And for the guy that said I am propelling everything Apple to the top, just because its made by Apple is simply not true. I hate Apple's mistakes (Apple TV 1.0, iPod Classic, 20 dollar app fee for touch, Crappy Webapps, etc.), and shout out against them when I have the chance. However, when they do stuff right, such as the Air or especially the iPhone, it really peeves me when sites like CNET rate the Glimmer and Voyager higher than the iPhone. To them having Mac OS X is of the same importance as not having MMS, when it simply isn't. I hate not having MMS, but having Mac OS X outweighs this my a long shot. Again, the Macbook Air having OS X is of the same importance as not having a media card slot. What good is the media card slot if the OS is crap? What good is the extra USB port if Vista won't recognize the peripherals? What good is the DVD burner if you can't make something worth burning? This is the type of thing that gets overlooked on CNET, and must be stopped.

 

[gcmexico]

Wow!

I am so sick of CNET. They are trying to be "fair and unbiased", but instead they are simply putting everything Apple down. It really is starting to piss me off. Todays new phone, the LG Glimmer, got a higher rating than the iPhone (so did the Voyager). They simply are stacking up features and not weighing some features as more important than others.

Now check out this doozy of a video by the worst of them all, Molly Wood.

http://www.cnettv.com/9742-1_53-32557.html?tag=bubbl_4

Ya, you stick with the ugly boyfriend Molly, because you have no chance with a guy like Apple

**
you just proved my point, thanks!! I never knew CNet was so biased

 

[Zmmyt]

I think it was a good comparison.

But the OS makes the MacBook Air at least a 25-pointer.

 

[PDE]

So all of you who are telling me I'm being biased towards Apple agree with the comparisons made? You think that having an extra USB port and ethernet would be more important than OS X? I must say though, that the Optical Drive being in the Thinkpad boosts it's rating up, but it should be a 4 for both of them, considering the Thinkpad runs Vista, and the Air runs OS X. And for the guy that said I am propelling everything Apple to the top, just because its made by Apple is simply not true. I hate Apple's mistakes (Apple TV 1.0, iPod Classic, 20 dollar app fee for touch, Crappy Webapps, etc.), and shout out against them when I have the chance. However, when they do stuff right, such as the Air or especially the iPhone, it really peeves me when sites like CNET rate the Glimmer and Voyager higher than the iPhone. To them having Mac OS X is of the same importance as not having MMS, when it simply isn't. I hate not having MMS, but having Mac OS X outweighs this my a long shot. Again, the Macbook Air having OS X is of the same importance as not having a media card slot. What good is the media card slot if the OS is crap? What good is the extra USB port if Vista won't recognize the peripherals? What good is the DVD burner if you can't make something worth burning? This is the type of thing that gets overlooked on CNET, and must be stopped.

I agree with you about the OS, but these guys at CNET are not capable of doing a proper evaluation of the OS - they just can't do it because they don't have the expertise. CNET has been lousy for years - I never even bother anymore, except when somebody posts things like this here.

 

[illian]

sry i don't care if the air wins or not..but is this the way you do tests over there? i just felt like is was watching a show for school kids...bling bling..wtf?

 

[queshy]

Although we like OS X, I'm sure there are lots of people out there happy with windows...so OS arguments aside...I still can't get over how they use the low end MBA for comparing features yet the high end MBA for comparing prices! Uh, hello, logic? Where are you?

 

[Mykbibby]

Although we like OS X, I'm sure there are lots of people out there happy with windows...so OS arguments aside...I still can't get over how they use the low end MBA for comparing features yet the high end MBA for comparing prices! Uh, hello, logic? Where are you?

That really didn't make sense... its probably just because an Apple product losing generates more interest and traffic then an Apple product winning. Its like an underdog upset... UCLA out in the first round of NCAA is more interesting then them winning. Its funny though... Apple's technically the underdog...

Curse you CNET... rigging everything the wrong way.

 

[Mykbibby]

Although we like OS X, I'm sure there are lots of people out there happy with windows...

Windows, yes. Vista, no...

 

[illian]

Although we like OS X, I'm sure there are lots of people out there happy with windows...so OS arguments aside...I still can't get over how they use the low end MBA for comparing features yet the high end MBA for comparing prices! Uh, hello, logic? Where are you?

why do u care? the whole thing was stupid...no one wins. build quality is great (air and lenovo).if i don't need a dvd burner etc why would i buy the lenovo...if i do need all the stuff lenovo is just the right thing to buy!

ah but one thing...with 1.6 cpu and no ssd the air has a better battery lifetime!
you're right about the os...i own an air but also use vista on my pc at home..runs great had no problems at all.

 

[iDAG]

I think that this dude just hates Apple. The notebook comparison was just stupid, but guess what? The iPhone vs. the LG Voyager, the iPhone lost by a point! This dude sucks.