The X series has caught my eye. Have a few questions..

Well I think I have decided that I am going to sell my T61p. The machine is great and works perfectly but is too much for my needs. In my hunt for a different machine I started to look into the Thinkpad X series ultraportables. Its funny, since a year ago I wouldn't have even considered looking at the X series but now I have a much better idea of what I need. I thought I would be doing some photo editing, playing games, watching movies, listening to music etc on my laptop but I am not doing any of these things.
The main things I am looking for is a machine that is inexpensive, has a good Wifi card, is light, great battery life, durable and can mainly surf the web and type documents with ease. Its' sad that this is all I am doing on the laptop now, so lame :cry:
So as usual I research everything to death and enjoy the process in a sick kind of way.

I have some questions and I need all of your help...

1.) I am mostly going to buy a refurb machine from Lenovo Outlet or buy a machine on ebay(got to be careful here). I would like one to come with a minimum of a 1 year warranty but more would be nice. I am not looking to pay for an extended warranty. The x200 looks like a great machine but I think the X61 would fit more into my price range, unless ofcourse I can somehow get the x200 for a crazy price. So if you had a choice which machine would you go for and why, the X61 or x200?

2.) Would the tablet version be better for me? I am done with college, so the only writing I would do maybe be a how to document, or write a random to do list and such stuff. I am thinking that the tablet would be great for surfing the web in bed, plus it looks so cool. I never had anything like it and I might actual use it if I had the capability.

3.) Can you use the tablet to write thread in this forum or in web forums in general without a keyboard?

4.) I see that the tablet has a single swivel hinge. Is this a potential weak spot? Can this hinge become loose and the screen flop around? Regular Thinkpads are known for their great hinges, which I can attest to with my T61p.

5.) I am a little confused about the screens that were offered with the X61. I know there was the normal XGA screen(1024x768), but am a bit confused by the others. Does the screen that is multitouch have multiview as well or are they 2 seperate screens? Does multiview mean that the screen is IPS? Are any screens offered IPS for the X series? I know that there was also a high res SXGA screen as well but I also read about a Ultralight screen(185 nits). I can't find this screen in any spec descriptions and don't see it mentioned on thinkwiki. What is the deal, what are all the screens you can possibly get with the X61 and X200?

6.) Which machine is lighter, the regular version or the tablet version?

7.) Which machine has better battery life, the regular version or the tablet version?

8.) Is it worth getting the Xs series over the regular X series? Is the weight/size and battery life worth it for the Xs series?

9.) Can someone tell me the increase in features for Tablets from XP to Vista to Win 7. Which one provides the best functionality for tablets?


Any help would be great. I have read a lot of reviews but am looking for more information. I will hand out reps for good help. Thanks

 

How much are you looking to spend? You can get an X200 with dock on ebay for < $700 with cashback, a pretty good deal IMO.

 

2.- IMO, I don't think the tablet version would be worth the huge price premium for you.
6.- The regular version is lighter, and the "s" version is even lighter.
7.- Depends on the configuration. The regular version uses Intel medium-voltage P-series processors, while the tablet uses the low-voltage processors.
8.- Also keep in mind that the X200s has a nicer screen. Ultimately, you have to consider how important those factors are to you to see if it is worth it.
9.- Windows 7 is supposed to have much better tablet support and functionality, although Vista is an improvement over XP.

 

1) I like the X200 due to reduced weight, cool running, and larger keyboard. However, the X61 is nice too.

2) I love my tablet. The sceen is great, it's versatile, and fantastic for annotations, reading, and browsing.

3) I am using the TIP (Tablet Input Panel) to translate ink to text right now. It works great, but a keyboard is faster for long form.

4) The hinge is obviously weaker as its so complex. However, it has proven quite resilient so far.

5) The X61, and X61s was only offered with XGA panels of the standard TN type. Every tablet display is FFS [IPS variant], the SXGA+ is probably the best.

6) The regular version is lighter. But, the tablet is still quite light (my x200T is 3.80 pounds w/ 8cell & SSD).

7) The tablet gets identical battery life as the 's' variant assuming identical battery choice. Both are better than the standard due to the Low Voltage CPU.

8) See above. The difference is larger for the x200s due to the LED display (thinner, lighter, more efficient).

9) Vista is much better for tablets than XP. 7 is better still. Main improvements are pen flicks, superior pen based navigation of Explorer, and a vastly improved TIP [I'm using it now and it's great]. This is a fantastic read about Tablets and Windows 7.

 

1. I would choose the X200 for the same reasons as jonlumpkin has mentioned. The only reason I would get an X61 over an X200 is for the price and the small size.

2. I have the X61 Tablet, and it's pretty nice. I'll definitely use the tablet function for schoolwork, but I don't think it'll be worth it for you.

3. Yes you can. It does a surprisingly good job of reading my chicken scratch, although I do have problems with 1's and I's...

4. Haven't had any problems with the hinge, though I've only had my tablet for a few months now.

5. Don't know about the X200, but the X61 Tablet comes in XGA (which I have) and SXGA+ (which had some problems with bezel separation, if I remember correctly). The only IPS screens in the X-Series are for the tablet version. And if you didn't know already, the IPS screen is AMAZING. Maybe worth the premium just for that

6. The regular version. Its dimensions are also slightly smaller.

7. Don't know what kind of battery life the regular one gets, but I assume the tablet gets the edge thanks to its low voltage processor.

8. I think it would be. Since all you'll be doing is surfing the web and writing documents, the LV CPU on the s version should be sufficient. You get the benefits of better battery life and lighter weight as well.

9. Can't help you there; all I've used is Vista for tablet features

 

In my opinion, the recent lenovo series X200/300 are some of the best ultraportables they've ever made -- myself, I wouldn't consider getting an X61 instead, even if it was cheaper.

I also like the X200s (not the one with the Celeron cpu) over the X200 -- lighter, longer battery life and higher res screen beat out the faster cpu in the X200, unless you really needed that. But I wouldn't pay a huge premium for it. However, it seems like the price difference between them has narrowed a lot.

I don't know what price range you're looking at, but even new they're not so bad (with the USPNOTEBOOKS coupon, a base "enhanced" X200s is less than $1,100 at the moment).

 

Thanks everybody for the help and interesting comments. I think I have setteled on getting a tablet. It is too cool and seems fun to play with. I have never had one and I think that it would be really nice to read things on the web from it. I do this quite a bit and I would be able to just hold it in one hand as a tablet and read web pages. Pretty cool in my opinion, I am excited. Almost like a more powerful Kindle. I am defenitely getting one with at least Vista on it and maybe I will upgrade to 7 for the tablet functionality it provides.

So, I have been searching for the right model with the right specs etc. The X61 tablet seems quite a bit cheaper than the X200 tablet(by several hundred dollars). I would probably go for the x200 tablet over the x61 tablet if price wasn't a factor, but the price is very important for me. I am really looking to spend about $600 to $700 for the machine. Since cost is an issue I am searching the Outlet and ebay and have found some options.

I had a few questions on the brightness level(nit value) of the X61 tablet screens. Could someone tell me what they are? Also what is the brightness value of the X61s screens?

- XGA regular tablet screen
- XGA mutiview/multitouch tablet screen
- SXGA tablet screen

 

All of these numbers are from the Tabook:

x61s Regular display - 150 nits
x61s "UltraLight" display - 180 nits
x61 Tablet XGA regular - 185 nits
x61 Tablet SXGA+ regular - 190 nits
x61 Tablet XGA Touch - 150 nits
x200 WXGA CCFL - 200 nits
x200 WXGA+ LED - 250 nits
x200 Tablet WXGA CCFL - 190 nits
x200 Tablet WXGA LED SuperBright (mine) - 285 nits
x200 Tablet WXGA LED Touch - 230 nits

I personally would recommend an x200 Tablet, but a well configured model is going to start at $1400 unless you find a really good deal. The best deal right now is probably the 7449-8JU from ProVantage for $1542.24 (LED SuperBright, SL9400, Cam, Fingerprint, Bluetooth, 160GB 7200RPM, UltraBase & DVD+RW, 5100, 8 cell, XP Tablet [install Win7 RC], and a 3 year warranty). However, I certainly understand that you may not want to spend that much.

 

Thanks jon,
As soon as I said that I was going for the X61 tablet, I find a ton of posts mentioning the bezel separation issue. Thanks to giangdude who mentioned this up above, I would have never thought to look it up. There are a TON of people who have had this problem. This seems as widespread as the T4x desolidering problem. I read posts by people who bought their machine new from Lenovo as little as 10 months ago having this problem. And no this does not only effect the SXGA+ machines though those are more prone to it due to their use of the thiner screen over the XGA screens. Many people had their bezels replaced 2 or 3 times by Lenovo to have the same problem repeat again. Since I am looking at machines on ebay and reburb machines, I think I have a greater than average chance of running into this problem. I didn't see these kinds of problems mentioned for the x200 tablet though, but it is still new and will take time for any bugs to shake loose, if there are any.

So, overall this stinks ....

I think I have given up on the X61 series entirely, my instinct tells me there are some serious design issues there. Now I am looking only at the X200 and X200 tablet. The price of the tablet is too expensive for me, so maybe the X200 is the best I can get? Not sure. Maybe I should wait for the prices to come down? Its not like I need the laptop tomorrw, since I have a functioning desktop, but it would be nice. SIGH...

BTW - jon, I downloaded and looked at the latest tabook, but only saw info for the latest machines, nothing about the X61.

 

I didn't see any deal that good. Can you give me an example link?

 

Does anyone know the weight difference between the x200 with the largest battery and the T400 with the largest battery?

 

The tabook knows!

 

T400 9 Cell - 5.4 lbs.
T400s 6 Cell (45 WHr) - 3.90 lbs.
x200 Tablet 8 Cell - 3.80 lbs. [I weighed mine, official is 3.88]
x200 9 Cell - 3.61 lbs.
x200s 9 cell - 3.05 lbs.
x200s 6 cell (56WHr - nearly equivalent battery life to x200 9 cell) - 2.71 lbs.

Therefore, the difference is 1.8 lbs, 820 grams, or a 33% reduction in weight.

 

I have gone for a X200!!!!! I am excited to try it out. I never had an ultra portable before. I always had 14 and 15" laptops. Thanks everybody for your help.

 

Congrats~ Your back will thank you for choosing a light notebook

 

Yeah, I think so. BTW, in your sig you say you get 6.8 hrs with a 6 cell. Did you have to do a lot of tweaking to get that amount of battery life? If so what are you doing?

 

The only tweaking I did is a clean installation of Vista and a bit of management with unnecessary processes and services.

Tasking between OneNote, PowerPoint and PDF Annotator, I can easily last 6 hours of lecture a day (3 classes + breaks in between) on a single charge. This is done with low brightness and wifi off (except for breaks when I check my email and surf a few sites). Some days, I can average around 7.3 hours before the computer hibernates.

For "real world situations" or what I like to call "slacking off mode", you can get around 3.5-4 hours watching video and surfing the web @ medium brightness and with wifi on.

 

Can't wait for some more X200 to come up on the Outlet website.

 

They come and go very quickly. I am surprised by how fast they went with the most recent batch.

 

Thanks. I will try with my uses. I wish the machine had come with a 6 cell battery, but it only comes with a 4 cell. If I use my notebook, my wifi will be on 99% of the time but I don't watch streaming video once in a while and don't listen to music much either.