Can LG make a better Macbook Air than Apple?
Posted on 05. Dec, 2011 by Albert Madison in Laptops, Laptops
The LG Xnote Z330 Ultrabook features an 8mm thick display bezel. Image: LG
The comparison between Apple’s 13.3-inch Macbook Air and the newly unveiled LG Xnote Z330 13.3-inch laptop are unavoidable. Just look at the new Z330, it’s got the same general look of the preëxisting Apple ultra-portable laptop.
According to LG the new Xnote Z330 ultra-portable laptop is the companies Ultrabook offering. Ultrabooks, if you’ve lived under a rock for the past few months, are basically laptops that are really thin and feature Intel Sandy Bridge processors. Some features that the Ultrabooks we’ve been shown thus far have featured include Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processors, SSDs, and generally sleek designs. A lot of the PC vendors have already unveiled or even launched their Ultrabook class notebooks that compete head-to-head with Apple’s super-slim Macbook Air.
Image: LG
The new LG Ultrabook is probably the most like the Macbook Air of all the Ultrabooks we’ve seen thus far, LG has surpassed Asus’ Zenbooks even. However no matter how much style LG bummed from Apple the companies new Z330 is thinner and lighter according to the companies measurement and weight claims. The Z330 is supposedly 14.7mm thick and 1.21kg in heft; according to Apple their 13.3-inch Macbook Air is 17.2mm thick and weights 1.35 kg. If the measurements are precise the LG is 10% thinner and 15% lighter than the similarly sized Macbook Air, the LG wins in portability.
Another area the LG plans to upset Apple and many other Ultrabook class laptops is boot-up, LG claims their notebook can start-up from a cold state in under 10 seconds thanks to OS optimizations and the included SATA3 6Gbps SSD’s. Apple makes no precise claims on boot-up time, but the speed has been clocked by reviewers and it’s not under 10 seconds for the stock Macbook Air’s (you can get aftermarket faster SSD’s than the ones Apple sells that can vastly improve boot-up times).
Image: LG
As a computer the processor and RAM specifications for the LG are pretty much in-line with Apple and the other Ultrabook class laptops. The LG can come with either a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core Sandy Bridge processor or a 1.7GHz Intel Core i7 dual-core Sandy Bridge processor. SSD storage options include 120GB and 256GB, but have no fear you can expand storage with external hard drives that connect through USB 3.0 (you’ll need to supply your own USB 3.0 equipped external HDD, of course). To wrap the main features up the full line of Z330′s ship with 4GB of DDR3 RAM, Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated GPU, USB 3.0, full-sized HDMI, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n (up to 150Mbps), Bluetooth 3.0+HS, microSD slot and Windows 7 Home Premium.
With its specifications can the LG Xnote Z330 beat the comparable Apple Macbook Air? LG says pricing starts at 1.7 million won and goes up to 2.6 million won for the top-tier model, compared to the 13.3-inch Macbook Air the LG models are more expensive. Apple’s South Korea website lists the two 13.3-inch Macbook Air configurations with the following prices; 1.65 million won (Core i5, 128GB SSD, 4GB DDR3) and 1.99 million won (Core i7, 256GB SSD, 4GB DDR3).
Until there is a proper review published for the LG Xnote Z330 it’s impossible to say whether it’s a better notebook than the 13.3-inch Apple Macbook Air.
Like the 13.3″ Macbook Air the 13.3″ LG Xnote Z330 will be sold in two major configurations, a Core i5 based config and a Core i7 config. with each getting their own model number. Check out the specifications for both models below:
| Models | Z330-GE55K | Z330-GE30K | |
| Display | (resolution) | 13.3 ” HD LED backlight display (1366×768) | |
| Processor | Dual-Core Intel Core i7-2637M 1.7GHz | Dual-Core Intel Core i5-2467M 1.6GHz | |
| ( Turbo Boost 2.8GHz,4MB Cache) | ( Turbo Boost 2.3GHz,3MB Cache) | ||
| System Memory | 4GB | ||
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 3000 | ||
| Storage | SSD 256GB (SATA3 6Gbps) | SSD 120GB (SATA3 6Gbps) | |
| Intel RST (Rapid Start Tech.) | 7 seconds within the Resume | ||
| Comm. | Wireless | Intel 802.11bgn 1×2 ( up to 150Mbps) | |
| WiDi | Intel WiDi (Wireless Display) Ready | ||
| BT | 3.0 + HS (High speed) | ||
| Slot / USB | Micro SD / USB 3.0 | ||
| Operation System | Windows 7 Home Premium (64bit) - Japanese / English optional | ||
| Size / Weight | 315 x 215 x 14.7 mm / 1.21 Kg | ||
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