The Screen, Keyboard and Mouse
The X300’s screen is an interesting study since it has both very good and very bad characteristics. It is very good because its resolution is a high 1440 x 900 (compared to a resolution of 1280 x 800 for most 13.3" laptop screens) and it uses a non glossy matte material. It is very bad because its luminosity is low when using the battery and the viewing angles are not good.
The screen is not well suited for watching DVDs but works well for office applications.
The Keyboard
The keyboard is of good quality and responds well when typing. It is water resistant (a channeling system evacuates water) and complete. There are numerous shortcut keys and buttons that are dedicated to controlling sound. A ThinkVantage access key is at your disposal, as well as a combination of keys for turning on the Thinklight (a light placed on top of the screen that lights up the keyboard).
One drawback is that the Fn key is to the left and not to the right of the Ctrl key. You get used to it, but it is much more practical when the Ctrl key is to the far left side on the keyboard.
Trackpad and Trackpoint
The X300 has two mice options: a classic Trackpad, which is a little imprecise and small, and the excellent Trackpoint. The Trackpoint’s mouse pointer system, which is a Thinkpad trademark, is very precise and must be used when you want to continue typing while moving the pointer on the screen.
Design Improvements
The X300’s design features an average-quality Webcam and the Thinklight, which lights up the keyboard. There is also a fingerprint scanner to the right of the Trackpad and some indicator LEDs. The X300’s stereo-quality speakers are good for a laptop, but their placement just below where your arms usually rest is not ideal.
