T61p Vs. X61 Tablet

For college use. Just wondering how much would I actually get to use the tablet features from the X61...since taking notes seems much faster typing. I would appreciate it if I get some nice suggestions in here...

 

If I was still in college, I would get the X61T. It all depends on what you are doing though, are you going to be running any 3D graphics intensive programs? If the laptop is just going to be used for writing papers, writing code, and taking notes, then the X61T would probably be more useful...but you lose the option having a built-in optical drive.

 

What about just an x61?

I have a T60, and while it's nice, I would go for the x60 if I could switch. The x gets superb battery life, is much lighter, and just generally more portable.

My school (Virginia Tech) requires engineers to have tablets. My roommate has a Toshiba tablet and he doesn't use the tablet functionality much.

 

it all depends on how computer dependent your school is...I go to a medical school where EVERYTHING is provided via computer...all notes...all lecture videorecordings..etc....there are many students who use a tablet to write notes down with...but I find it much easier printing it out and doing this on paper...or just plain typing it in to the notes section of powerpoints......therefore I ended up with the t61...I wouldnt want to lose the optical drive as I heavily rely on it

 

the x61t is a POS, I can't believe Lenovo unloaded this crap into the market. It has a plethora of build quality problems, and its slower than mollasses. I had a X61t now a T61p 4:3.

 

it is a well known fact that most people type faster than they can freehand. Try seeing how long it would take you to handwrite a 22 page term paper by hand.

You would never use the tablet functions unless you were in a situation where it was rude to type. College is all about typing.

Now, if you're in negotiations at a huge law firm like one of my cute girlfriends is, then it makes sense to take notes in a meeting without the clackety clackety. But that's the only time i can think of to use a tablet pc.

I'm running a maxed out T61P, I cannot trade the ultimate in business performance for something that lets me take notes slower than usual, and runs slower than usual.

 

That is one mans opinion, i have heard many other people who quite like the x61tablet.

Kebs has a point, however it does depend a lot on the classes you are taking. I would think the advantage of a tablet is that you can do both typing and pen input. I know in certain circumstances you need to draw pictures and the like while taking notes (think organic chemistry). I had the same debate myself, but when the t61p came out there was no contest. it was everything i could have asked for and more.

 

Whats the GPU on the tablet, though? because I'm looking for something that can handle some moderate gaming, nothing intense like bioshock, wouldn't even think about crisis, but I stay in school for 10-12 hours a day, so I'd like to take my mind off of all the books once in a while.

 

Oh, and also, can't I just get one of those pads with a pen? it'll be a LOT more to carry around than a 12" tablet, but it seems to me it can handle much more than just a tablet alone.

 

This is my first post on my new x61 tablet. I got it for the 1400x1050 screen in a "small" footprint. I really wanted a 10" with dual core, but apparently they don't exist. So, I settled on something a bit bigger but with LOTS more pixels.

Notes in class? My suggestion is small and light is better. If it weighs too much or won't fit on a desk, then not much point. Personally, I can write about as fast as I can type, but I doubt any computer could read my handwriting.

Everyone I've known with a tablet has largely given up on it. Those a business folks though, not note takers.

I'd ask folks who have a tablet how well it works for them. So far, I'm not very impressed with the tablet features. Otherwise the machine is fine.

 

Mek, laptop and a pen/tablet device? How is all that going to fit on a desk? Have all the desks in college gotten 5 times bigger since I was in school 15 years ago? I can't imagine putting anything more than a small laptop on a classroom desk.

 

Lol, thanks for the reminder...but I think i'm still gonna get the t61p though, i think i won't be using the tablet functionalities enough for it to be actually worth the sacrifices...

 

Many people have stated that the X61T is a piece of crap. Check out Tabletpcreview.com and you will see people are lined up to return this pos back to lenovo. You must call a spade a spade and it is obvious that Lenovo dropped the ball unloading this computer (akin to Ford's pinto) into the market. Its slow, and poorly built. Please do your research instead of stating that it is "one mans opinion." Numerous people have the same opinion, I have returned my X61t and half a dozen people have contacted me to try to find someway to return this back to Lenovo.

 

That may be your experience..and anyone can cite a website as a source on their behalf...out of a 180 people in my graduate school....i would say a 100 people have exactly the thinkpad x61t. They all rave about it....i am the odd one out with a t61...but then again, i do not prefer taking notes on a screen. Call me old fashioned, but I rather print my notes out and draw on them with an ink pen.
In the world of tablets, lenovo is the king. I personally hate tablets and think they are useless...but i have to admit that the x61t is the tablet I were to get ....if I was ever to get a tablet

 

it's slow? uhm...has anyone heard of a clean install? all thnkpads are slow out of the box until you do a clean install and get rid of lenovo's bloatware

 

This may be your experience/opinion but the X61t being the king is not true. You have never owned a X61t and are going off third party information. I have owned this computer. I guess I am the only one that had my bezel come unglued. I had 3 system board replacements in the first week I owned the thing. I have done a clean install and it was still very slow. Opening ArcMap was an painful task. Not to be mean but you have no relevant experience with this computer since you have never owned it or experienced the problems that go along with it. Those of us who have actually had to use this computer know that it is far from perfect or the "king." Even a mod here is trying to return his X61t.

 

I am a very satisifed owner of a x61t (SVGA+). I do not have any bezel issues. The system ran perfectly fine out of the box so I did not even need to perform a clean install. I know you had a bad experience with your tablet but that doesn't imply that everyone else will be equally unfortunate.

I've owned a T60 before I got my x61t and I'm really glad I upgraded to the tablet. I can really notice the difference in size and weight during my ~1 hour commutes. The battery life is about the same with a 8-cell in the x61t vs the 6-cell + 3-cell Ultrabay in the T60.

I highly recommend the tablet if you don't need to game and you may be taking any science/economic courses (equations, graphs, etc.). If you don't need to draw, the x61 is a great choice a well.

 

My girlfriend has it and I have used it plenty times. I have seen it dropped plenty of times as well. out of a 160 people in my class, over a 100 people have it since our school recommended getting exactly the x61t.

It sounds like you had a lemon. Not owning it necessarily does not mean I have not experienced it

 

I guess all the people in the 10+ page long Bezel-Unglued thread all got lemons as well? Its great that you have interviewed 100 people about the x61t and every single one of them has been happy with it, but the risks at this point outwiegh the reward. All I know is Lenovo has bought back mine and a lot of other X61t's because of the quality issues with these computers. This is a fact, I have never heard of these issues with the Fujitsu etc.

 

You're misrepresenting the tabletpcreview.com forum mood. The consensus is definitely that everyone loves it despite the small problems.

 

freezing+slow+BSOD+lcd coming apart from bezel+random restarts+rotation sensor not working correctly+lies from Lenovo stating the unit had an express card slot= Small Problems? what are big problems then?

 

while all of this diversion down the "I am the only person on the planet who knows anything and if you disagree with me you are stupid" lane I think it would be prudent to get back on topic.

Mek,
I think the choice of the t61p would be a great one if you do not think you will use the tablet functionality much. I would however warn that there has been a considerable delay in shipping for many people and lenovo has taken the 15.4" version off of their main site. (I have read that some have been able to order through education portals) In any case good luck.

 

Your personal problems aside. Please don't prevent others from buying one of the best notebooks available. From the tabletpcreview.com site there is a feature like the one on notebookreview.com that compiles the random opinions of a number of people:

http://www.tabletpcreview.com/price...D=0&productFamilyID=999&display=opinionDetail

FYI it's on the left of the homepage. Just click on the notebook you're interested in then choose the user opinion tab.

 

hey buddy do some research

Nobody is preventing anyone from buying the X61t I am just saying do your research:

http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=9621

http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=9904

http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=8282

 

Yeah, we know smoothoperator - there are problems with turbomemory. Just disable it until they come up with a fix.

 

OK, here's one man's opinion. I've had my x61t for about 2 weeks. I've had no issues with the hardware, only Vista. I've finally got vista and xp installed on two separate partitions and can dual boot with each. I've never had an operational failure of any kind. My only blue-screen was when I screwed up the sata driver when installing xp.

That aside, I REALLY LIKE the 1400x1050 sxga+ (or whatever it's called) screen in a 12" form factor. My bezel is fine, everything else is fine.

But I can say that I absolutely would NOT buy an X61t with a standard xga screen. You can get smaller lighter and just as fast for less money if all you want is xga. Actually, I would never buy xga. I use my computer too much to try to cram everything into 1024x768.

Clearly we're all entitled to an opinion, mine is that I like my x61t. I'm sorry others have had a bad experience with theirs.

 

good luck with your bezel, hopefully lenovo has fixed that problem

 

Thank you all.

And tobius, I am aware of the delay in shipping issue, and I'm doing it through the education. Thanks again for the warnings.

I'll just go get the t61p, I don't think I'll utilize the tablet functionalities enough for it to be worth it.