ThinkPad X100e NetBook!

Ugh, the headphone jack is in the front. Good specs, good price, but the headphone jack in the front will make listening to headphones with it a pain.

 

I have been considering the U150. (I have never owned a lenovo) Just saw the speculation about X100e which seems very close in specs to U150,

Can someone briefly explain the differences between thinkpad and ideapad? These machines seem strangely the same to this neophyte

 

Since the X100e isn't out yet, no one can tell you definitively whether or not it is a real ThinkPad or something like the SL series, but in general:

ThinkPads are built for the business market with better long-term support like parts availability, hardware maintenance manuals, driver releases well after the product lifecycle has ended. This is because many large businesses only replace their employees' computers on a cycle of 3-4 years, and they need to be able to continue to use and update them during that time.

ideaPads are built for the consumer market with short-term support to match the consumer's ADHD level of interest in bling and must-have-latest-and-greatest.

 

the true thinkpad should be robust and has an all black no frill exteriors, while ideapad is all about the bling and fancy touch sensitive controls that you don't need. In addition, thinkpads depending on the model has an internal magnesium rollcage (R, T and W series) or external magnesium casing (X200) or a mixture of magnesium, carbon fiber and fiberglass casing (T400s and X301)...

SL series has all plastic and no magnesium rollcage of any kind, this is also why it is much cheaper and in my mind inferior to the other thinkpads.

Ideapad should be all plastic and no internal magnesium rollcage.

 

Yes, they (Lenovo) sadly are milking the brand ThinkPad which was long time established as quality products, for all it is worth. Seems like a stupid decision to dilute ThinkPads by introducing some stupid new "consumer friendly" NETbook.. like this thing. Anyways i won't go on a rant about this since i'm pissed off as it is.

 

Jane and "lead org", many thanks for your prompt replies. By your remarks, it seems obvious that you both feel that the X100e would provide better value if price isnt much higher. But rumors have both price and specs being very comparable, except perhaps for processor. How can Lenovo squeeze this model in between the X200 and the U150 I wonder? (Isnt a picture showing the X100e even with a touch pad???)

before I stumbled upon the U150 via netbooked, i was going to 'drop anchor' with the Acer 1810T. you both seem to be great fans of Lenovo, so it seems obvious that your advice is in favor of X100e over Acer?

With all that said, why doesnt Lenovo have more market share? It seems to attract purists like yourselves. If there were a premium for the Lenovo name, I uynderstand. But $75 for a U150 over Acer 1810T isnt that much if the build is that much better

Thanks again

 

To me the build quality with real ThinkPads like the one in my sig and the newer netbook-like ThinkPads can't be compared, to me the quality in Lenovo netbooks is the same as the quality would be in Acer, Asus, or other ones.

 

You misunderstood - I like ThinkPads.

 

Personally i don't like the consumer laptops be that the Acer 1810T or the Lenovo Ideapads, i only like Thinkpads period. Before Lenovo bought Think brand from IBM, i never bought any Lenovo laptops, as they were mostly for the Chinese market and not for sale directly to the international market. Think branded product is what brought Lenovo to the international market, this is also why Lenovo bought Thinkpad and Thinkcentre brand from IBM in the first place. This is also why IBM allowed its logo to be used by Lenovo, after the Think brands were acquired by Lenovo, which better elevate the company status and brand name awareness throughout the world. Some people still think Lenovo and IBM are the same company.

Regarding, Acer having a larger share of the global market than Dell or Lenovo, it is more to do with their more aggressive marketing and higher volume of sale in the low price laptops and desktops category around the world. Acer also have a lower cost overhead per unit sale as compared to the other 3 competitors in the tier one computer market (HP, Dell, Lenovo and Acer = are the four tier one companies). If you haven't noticed that Acer Aspire One is selling by the bundle around the world.

if you have a look at the most viewed laptops list on your left of your screen, you would notice that people are very interested in the al cheapo Acer machines that they have in the product line up, this is also what makes the most amount of money for Acer, keenly priced laptops and desktops. While you don't see many Acer machines in the corporate. So basically Acer curves larger share of the consumer market than its windows running rivals. While Lenovo, Dell and HP battles it out on corporate market segment

Also, Lenovo's equivalent consumer laptop is more expensive than that of the Acer's (Thinkpad is a business laptop, so it is a different category), is due to the lower volume of sale and greater cost overhead as compared to Acer. Netbooks are mostly manufactured by a selected few manufacturers like ASUS, Foxconn. For all we know Lenovo Ideapad could be made alongside the Acer's Aspire One by the same contract manufacturer, since Acer sells more, the price per unit of product is cheaper, which translates to cheaper final price for the consumer. Build quality on these netbooks are all the same for the same chassis design, so just go with the cheapest, the only difference will be the software package, warranty support, some minor features and the exterior design. But hardware and quality of construction wise, they are probably 95% similar.

FYI i am not saying X100e is better than Acer's equivalent, i never made such statement, what you buy is up to you. You should make your own informed judgement regarding purchase matter

 

Now I really want the x100e to come with a dual-core Neo so that I can be the ethnic family that moves in to your all WASP neighborhood and drops the real estate value of your Thinkpads.

You're whining about the build quality of a machine that hasn't been touched yet by anyone outside of Lenovo based on the misconception that the Neo and CULV fall under the same netbook category as the Atom.

 

lol. or you may *raise* the value of my X200s... : )

 

Real estate value? No, in fact this may even increase the value of our real ThinkPads, and FYI, the Neo and CULV processor class IS netbook, how can't it be? Neo also translates to "new", representing AMD's "new" solution. Those processors aren't much better than Atoms, and just because it's dual core doesn't mean it's so much better.

 

seems to me like a weak x200s.
i personally don't mind especially if its sold for <$500, but at the specs you mentioned i doubt it.

 

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:S30

This isn't the first Thinkpad netbook, lol.

 

That is a pretty nice looking thinkpad.

 

That's some serious full-size keyboard fitting business. Narly.


So, my personal confusion with x100e specs:
Why 5 hour battery life? That's pathetic when you are trying to make something with emphasis on portability.

 

this thing is sick - i want one!

i currently have an x41 tablet and an x200s. i use a t61p at work, and i have had a t500, an x60s and an x61 in the past. seriously, i am loving the x100e!

i start my masters program in august. instead of taking my work x200s with me to class, maybe i'll get one of these and throw an ssd drive in there... but i really prefer the speed of the x200......

still a killer machine at a great price.

 

Getting an x100e when you already have an x200s doesn't make a lot of sense to me (unless you want to keep your work and school laptops independent). The x200s is faster, lighter, more durable, and has a better keyboard than this x100e could even hope to have.

The x100e really seems like a good option for somebody that can't afford an x200(s) or wants a portable solution to augment an existing T500, w500, w700 or similar 15"+ laptop.

 

this will sound like nonsense to many but because they changed the keyboard on it i will never see it as a true thinkpad.

 

jon - good point and you're right - i would feel nervous taking my $1,500 work computer to class with me... what if i have to leave the class? i dont want to have my work machine stolen which is why i may get the x100e to replace it... this is just a thought for now... hell, i may just buy an ssd drive to put into the work machine and take it to class but be *EXTRA* careful with it.... (read: taking it into the bathroom with me if i leave the classroom) ROFLMAOOOOO!

appleusr - i agree 100% which is why i want the unit in front of me to test it out. the chicklet style keyboard is a phase right now many machines are going through - apple did it, then some other company, then toshiba and now lenovo.... i want to type on one for at least 2-3 minutes to see if it's a 100% comparable to my current x200s or any of the other lenovo/ibm units i've used in the past.

lenovo keyboards are the best.

 

that was made by Acer for IBM, this is start of the manufacturing outsourcing trend of the laptop industry for IBM. After Lenovo took over from IBM for the Thinkpad line, Wistron (the manufacturing spin off of Acer) slowly became the major producer of Thinkpads.

http://www.emsnow.com/newsarchives/archivedetails.cfm?ID=21387

 

so do you see it as the Apple of your eye.......

 

OH SNAP - YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD ROCK?!?!?!?!?!?!

a 17" netbook.... HOLLLERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR LENOVOOOOOOO!!!!!

l0l... that would be great for school.... i need something with a huge screen but extremely light..... and it could literally have the similar specs of a netbook but with maybe a little more horsepower....... not gpu wise, integrated is fine for school...

the specs of my dream machine: (essentially its basically a macbook air but 1/6th of the price!)

17" netbook:
AMD CPU (something with a fast bus, not this intel atom 667mhz bullcrap)
4GB ram
160gb disk (doesn't matter, i'd swap out for ssd anyway)
integrated gpu is fine
~3 pounds

a webcam i dont think is necessary for schoolwork but fingerprint reader would be great.... i log into many websites via fingerprint now on my hp and im getting quite used to it i obviously dont think a model like this would be $400 but even at $600, it would be great...