I can not rave enough about the Lenovo X201 small, fast, usable. I switched to the lenovo machine after using a MBP for the previous 4 years. But it really depends on what you need and want. I commute with my laptop, travel with my laptop, and generally like to carry it arround. I'm not willing to accept either of the choices that Apple has for me, excessive weight (MBP 15' or 17'), or last generation processors (MBP 13').
That being said almost all the developers I know use MBPs. Just not me. I was CPU constrained for the work I was doing, wanted to easily upgrade my hard drive, and spent all my time in OSX in XMonad anyway. So making "the switch" was simple for me.
EDIT - adding my one X201 complaint
No built in digital video out (W.T.F.) I'm sure this is to accommodate some suit who has to attach to projectors. But feels like the past. If you shell out for a docking station you'll get DV but otherwise you're out of luck. (This is not an issue with Lenovo's larger laptops like the T410 etc.)
I tried out a X201 and really liked it, but it has two other problems as well as the video out which were deal breakers for me:
- Low screen resolution.
- Very tall screen (especially for a 12" - due to the huge bezel) so it won't open comfortable in the back of an economy seat.
I ended up with the bottom of the range Vaio Z series instead (1600x900 res 13.3" screen that is more than an inch shorter than the X201, with HMDI and VGA out). I run Ubuntu in a VM 99.9% of the time. That setup is working really well for me and I actually like the keyboard at least as much as the IBM one.
Running Linux in VMWare player doesn't seem to be any slower in practice thanks to VT, and it has greatly improved the ease of installing, upgrading and backing up my main Linux installation. I don't even bother to back up Windows - if it goes wrong I'll just blow it away and do a clean install.
I can buy that this is a serious drawback for some users. Personally even at 1280x800 the pixel density is so high that I end up with my text size so large that having the extra pixels afforded by the x201s (1400x900) wouldn't buy me anything.
When I'm on the go, I'm mostly working in vim, or browsing the web. Neither of these activities stress my resolution (especially as an XMonad user). When I'm at work or home I have an external monitor that provides me with all the resolution I could ever want.
Supposedly you can get the X201 with 1440x900, but they're usually out of stock. Probably worth waiting for though, since 1200x800 is pretty weak. The X200 is easier to get in high-res, so if the screen is more important than raw horsepower that's an option too.
Another nice thing about the X20x, and Thinkpads in general, is the keyboard. It's well laid out, the key action is decent, it has a handy light that actually illuminates the keys in the dark. Also, there's no optical drive, so you get a fast machine that's also seriously small -- you can pick it up by pinching the top of the screen.
Also, We had a Tandy Coco when I was a kid, I've had enough of chiclet keyboards. I'll be happy when Apple moves away from that.
Heh, I'm not a suit but I do appreciate being able to connect to a projector. Since the X201 doesn't have a CD-ROM, a docking station is basically a prerequisite IMHO.
I love my X201. It's very light but has a full size keyboard. I tend to have problems with RSS so this was a major consideration.
I went for the SSD option which I think was completely worth it. Boot of a standard Linux distribution is extremely quick (around 10s).
Docks are incredibly underrated, and it's the one thing you'll probably never get from an Apple laptop.
If you can afford it, it's worth seriously considering buying a laptop with a minimum of 1 docking station (depends on your work situation - if you have an office and work at home, I'd suggest buying 2). They just save so much headaches and fumbling around with cords. Of the brands I've tried with docking stations (Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo) - I have found that I've had the best experience with Toshiba, and the worst with Dell.
For the past 6 years I've used Thinkpad T40, T41 and T42s exclusively. These models tend to have solid hardware support under Linux and FreeBSD including suspend/resume and wireless.
I've come to accept the fact that every couple years I do some serious damage to my laptop, so it's a huge plus if 1) I can replace parts myself and 2) I can cheaply and easily buy a replacement laptop if the thing is totalled. Both are the case with Thinkpads. The aftermarket is still healthy, I have no problem finding T40-T42s here for about $200.
Between repairs, battery upgrades every few years, and the few times I've had to replace a laptop wholesale, my cost of ownership is probably about $200 / year.
YMMV, but I've found this setup more than adequate for coding & browsing, and have no reason to upgrade to a newer model.
That being said almost all the developers I know use MBPs. Just not me. I was CPU constrained for the work I was doing, wanted to easily upgrade my hard drive, and spent all my time in OSX in XMonad anyway. So making "the switch" was simple for me.
EDIT - adding my one X201 complaint
No built in digital video out (W.T.F.) I'm sure this is to accommodate some suit who has to attach to projectors. But feels like the past. If you shell out for a docking station you'll get DV but otherwise you're out of luck. (This is not an issue with Lenovo's larger laptops like the T410 etc.)