Since it obviously doesn't come with OS X, in a very important way the IdeaPad doesn't match the Air at all. I know I'm not alone when I say I'd gladly pay a lot more than $100 for OS X over Windows.<p>I understand Lenovo can't just include OS X, so is that why we are so willing to give the product a good review? Why is this the consumer's problem? The bottom line is that for most consumers, the Air with OS X is a much better buy than this IdeaPad. Isn't the point of writing reviews to help consumers make the best decision for them, not to assign "effort" grades to OEMs?<p>Edit: Here is an example to illustrate what I mean by "effort" grades. In at least some parts of the US there is a practice of assigning grades in physical education classes based on how much effort the student has given in the class, instead of how well they actually perform. The rationale is that it isn't fair to penalize someone for not being born with certain physical gifts.<p>If you review laptops this way, then you won't penalize Lenovo for including Windows instead of OS X, since that is beyond their control. [1]<p>My point is this doesn't make sense if you are actually trying to help someone pick the best product. If you're picking players for a professional sports team, you don't want to use those "effort" grades alone to do it. So I have a problem with all these reviewers who grade PCs on a curve, as Gruber would likely describe it. Granted, that would make a lot of review sites pretty boring as Apple wins comparison after comparison, but isn't it more important to be accurate than exciting, especially when you're trying to help someone decide how to spend $1000 or more?<p>[1] Then again, shouldn't Lenovo be penalized for not having a good OS of their own? Or is that expecting too much of them?
Is the title accurate? From the linked page:<p>"The bad: Our more expensive configuration offers no discount from a comparable MacBook Air, and leaves out some basic ports and connections."
If you look at the full review, then go to the 2nd page, you'll see that the MB Air smokes the IdeaPad on all the tests despite having only an i5 vs. the IdeaPad's i7 in the test configuration.<p>3x faster multimedia bench, 2x faster itunes encode, and 34% longer battery.<p>Also the IdeaPad looks more like a Chromebook, for what it's worth.
Sounded like a great replacement for my X201, until I saw that there's no TrackPoint. Disappointing. After some reading, it sounds like they're only included on the ThinkPad series. I've been quite dependent on the precision, and don't bother with a mouse or touchpad anymore.