X200 Discussion & Issues/Critique

I think that everyone should get 9-cell battery. The battery life seem to depend from time to time, but I've seen it last about 7 hours on highest setting on battery. It goes over 12-13 hours on power saver option.

Other than SSD making slight noise (not too loud) occassionally, I did not hear the fan sound (other than my USB cooling fan - don't think I would even need this because I've been without it/and AC adapter for awhile).

I was at the library from 3pm - 11pm (my laptop was on whole time) and I did not notice any heats or noises.

 

What is your brightness when you get more than 10hrs of usable battery life?

 

I don't know about you guys but I love the 6 cell. I'm glad I got it with my topseller configuration. I mean I get about 4 hours of standard usage, which is enough for most people these days. I could be getting more on powersaver but never felt it was necessary yet. I wasn't a big fan of the 9 cell sticking out the back and I'm glad I held off. I may get an additional 4 cell in case I ever really need a bit more battery life but I'd never sacrifice the portability of this baby with a 9 cell sticking out the back.

 

How would it ruin the portability if you start to carry a 4cell as well? Unless you're just talking about the size of the laptop. But the weight would be just like having the 9cell (probably more).

But I agree that the 6cell is great for those who don't want as much battery life as possible. I would consider getting a 6cell as well if I wanted to grab a backup battery.

 

I think I had it on about 6 bars of brightness when it ran more than 10 hours. I think it could be brighten little more though.

But it lasts more than 6-7 hours on max setting anyway.

 

Well the 4 cell is never needed to me so far, I'd bring it along if I'd ever need it. 99% of the time, my 6 cell will suffice. So 99% of the time I won't have any extra bulk.

 

I want to ask about the GPS option. I don't know if I ordered mine with it, was just trying to see since I read somewhere it is free.. Thanks..

 

You only get it when you order a WWAN card from att or verizon.

 

So all I need to do is order the card from them and the GPS is already built in? Or did I miss out and can't get it without sending it back to them? Furthermore from my understanding is you don't need to pay for the service from AT&T to be able to use the GPS? Is there any truth in that? Thanks

 

I wish it were possible to get GPS functionality without the silly WWAN card that I don't want/won't use.

 

I got the X200 last week, and have ONE thing that annoys me the most - The Keyboard.

I own a T60 and my uncle has an X60. Both the keyboards have much better feedback, comfort and feel than the current x200. Pressing the BackSpace|Home keys etc feels a bit dead. It just doesn't feel the same.

Seriously, what happened to the best keyboard in the industry business. it surely isn't, in this case.

What does everyone else think here? I really want the old keyboard feel back. That was one of the reason I keep buying thinkpads.

Apart from that, the rest of the components are great. The size and power are great. But the keyboard is the key component to this system, oh deal, who ever approved this design should definitely go back and rethink.

Blah - Lenovo thinkpad division, do something plz.

 

What I am asking is, if I get the Wan card or order it now for example, will I be able to use GPS for free without paying for the service. Or is there or would there be a component missing because I didn't get it installed from factory...?

 

I think I read on one of the new T-series threads that mobile service is not required for the GPS to work. You'll want to confirm that though since I don't have a notebook to confirm this myself with. Oh and let me know for sure if you find out

 

I am not sure, but assuming there is a full fledged GPS chip that isn't locked out in anyway, you should be able to use it. You just need software like googlemaps or microsoft's mapping program, etc.

 

Can anyone who has recieved their X200 test out wether or not they have GPS ability after downloading googlemaps for example without the ATT or Verizon cards..Thanks

 

IBM and Lenovo have always used several keyboard manufacturers, some of them better than others, and I'd be surprised if it's any different with the x200. Perhaps you got the better manufacturer(s) before, but got a different one this time. Can you look up who your keyboard manufacturer is (I don't remember how to do this, but you can find out if you search)?

 

As you now, the T400 and T500 have keyboards that are interchangeable with T60 and T61 keyboards. There have also been a few claims, that the X200 is using the same keyboard as the T400 and T500, and thus it should be possible to exchange the X200 keyboard with an old-school T60 keyboard.

Since you have both a T60 and an X200, do you mind breaking out a ruler and measuring the outside dimensions of both keyboards (to see at least if the outside dimensions are equal)?

 

I ordered mine in early August. It took about 3 weeks for it to ship, at which point it went from Shanghai (fresh off the line I think), to Ohio in about 36 hours (most of the transit on Sunday!).

 

Was it end of august? and do you mind posting your spec? Think me and Supermans going crazy waiting for our x200. I think he's reaching 2 months.. I'm reaching 1 month lol

Side note: Supermans what was your spec? (don't mention the SSD i'm still jealous =P)

 

When your orders were delayed, was your order detail / statuspage (the www.lenovoorders.com/...) automatically updated with the revised shipping date or did you learn of the revised shipping dates in some other way?

The reason I am asking is that me and a friend have ordered two X200 machines through another friend in the US. The order is supposed to ship in a few days and no updates have been made to the status/order page at all.

 

^^ They don't update until they ship.

Real shame if the keyboard has in fact changed. I get my machine today so I will test it out! The jury is still out on the x61s and x200 for me.

 

I'm from Canada that site doesn't apply to us sadly... i have to call to check my status

 

WOOOOHOOOO. delivered! Just got to pick up the package at the front office. Hope this is the one!

 

No worries,.. done., they both are the same size, roughly 28.5cm wide. The T series keyboard looks a bit wider but thats just due to optical illusion.

Perhaps I can get a 2nd hand T61 keyboard and chuck it on the x200? Im not sure if that would work?

 

FRICK! I got my accessories (power cable and Lenovo USB Port Replicator) today, and the replicator only supports 1400x1050 resolution! Now I'll have to return it and order an X200 UltraBase instead. That was my save-a-few-bucks-move...gah :-/

EDIT! I talked to sales support, who claimed that the max VGA output resolution on the X200 is 1280x800, since that's the display resolution. I got rather annoyd with the guy, since he was so stubborn on that being the case. I talked to tech support afterwards, and even though he han't been trained on teh X200 yet, he was pretty sure that it supported 1680x1050 (my 22"), also through the UltraBase.

Anyone who can confirm this?

 

I used the vga out of my x200 on a 1600x1200 monitor...don't listen to tech support. Look up specifications for the chipsets/graphics chip. So yes it should do your widescreen.

 

Thanks!! That's what I wanted to hear!

Tech support was really nice, and tried to help even though they only help ppl with the machine in-hand. Was a positive experience just to talk to an American also... (being foreign myself I shouldn't say that, but the bad English just adds on the negative experience when the sales people show their lacking knowledge).

 

Good to hear that your experience with CS was good. I usually get Indians (and I will assume they are in India). The CS agents are very helpful and I usually can understand them fine. I usually speak slowly so that we can both understand each other over the phone. Higher up support is usually people in the US and they are usually very helpful as well.

 

I can't seem to find a clear list of supported resolutions for the X4500. I'm worried cause I have a monitor that's 1920x1080. I'm going to use the UltraBase for DisplayPort to DVI.

 

I imagine that it can do that resolution, however using the ultrabase for a digital connection is probably best .

 

I'm reasonably confident that the x4500 can support a 2560x1600 screen if you use the display port output. I don't know if it can two screens at once in this mode (X200 and Displayport, or Displayport and VGA), but I am 99% certain it can support a 2560x1600 display at least in 2d mode. Here is the datasheet from Intel, scroll down to "Support for High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), DisplayPort and DVI".

The only thing that I have tested myself is a dual display (extended left) on a 20" LCD at 1680x1050 through the VGA port (looked fine for Windows)

 

Here are my specs (configured over the phone, and quoted on 08/11/08, ordered on 8/12/08, left Shanghai at 2139 on 8/23/08, arrived at my door in Ohio at 1006 on 8/25/08)

1 44C5183 SBB 5-1MEDIACARDREADER+MODEM $0.00
1 44C5186 SBB INTCORE2DUOPROCT8600(2,4GH $0.00
1 44C5190 SBB 2X2UL.CON.II ANT.,WWAN,CAM $0.00
1 44C5194 SBB INTEGRWIRELESSWIDEAREANETW $0.00
1 44C5197 SBB THINKPADX200SER.9CELLENH. $0.00
1 44C5206 SBB 160 GB HDD,5400RPM $0.00
1 44C5216 SBB KEYBOARD US ENGLISH $0.00
1 44C5249 SBB LAPACK US ENGL $0.00
1 62P6054 VBB INTEGR.BLUETOOTH PAN $0.00
1 42V8173 VBB MS WIN VISTA BUSSINESS 64 $0.00
1 42X6306 SBB 2GBPC3-8500 1067MHZ1DIMM $0.00
1 42X6324 SBB INT.WIFILINK5100 $0.00
1 43Y3215 SBB GWV BUS.64 US ENG. $0.00
1 43Y5779 SBB TRACKPOINT $0.00

I have since turned it into a tri-boot rig (Vista Bus 64, XP Pro, and Ubuntu 8.04). Vista and XP work great, although I am still having some driver issues with Ubuntu (I think this will be fixed with the 8.10 release).

The one thing I am still trying to optimize is the boot process for Vista. It loads quickly (about 40 seconds), but it spends the next few minutes filling up RAM with the SuperFetch cache, this slows down everything in this time (but Superfetch is effective after it gets full). I know I can minimize this problem by never shutting down, but standby slowly chews battery and is unacceptable for more than a few hours, and hibernate is slow now (about 60 seconds each way) and will be unbearable when I upgrade to 4 GB of RAM. I would like to simply delay the SuperFetch caching by about 15 minutes, so that I can start a few applications (e.g. Firefox, Tbird, Office, etc.) if I just want to do a quick session on my machine.

 

The Thinkpad Tabook specifies that all new Montevina Thinkpads with digital video output support a maximum of 2048x1536 on both VGA and Displayport interface.

However, a member on thinkpads.com has confirmed that his X301 is able to drive his 30 inch monitor at 2560x1600 through the digital displayport connector.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=67691

Gives me hope that I will be able to run 2560x1600 with my X200 (via dock), when it arrives.

 

That's what I thought. I don't always trust spec sheets blindly. Intel says the GMA4500HD can support that resolution, and until somebody tries it and says it doesn't work, I maintain that it most likely will. 30" would be nice, although I am curious about the ability to drive two large screens (1920x1200 or better) simultaneously (1 via VGA, 1 via Displayport, no display on x200).

 

I'm curious about that... once i receive my x200 i can answer that question for you.

I bought the ultrabase and i have two 24 inches... waiting to see if it works...

 

I think it is fairly normal for the HD to make some sound. I wouldn't call it "whizzing", but it does make a seek sound, and the platters are always spinning. All hard drives make noise, but the x200 fan is sooo quiet, that the HD is all you hear.

If however, you can still hear the hard drive in a moderately noisy room, then I would say something is probably wrong with your HD.

 

I have a several years old APC inline notebook surge protector that looks very similar to yours. I used it with my T40 for years and it works just fine with the x200. The 2 pin cable goes into the surge protector, which in turn plugs into the brick, and then on to the laptop. My protector also has built in ports for a phone line, although I rarely use this feature. I mainly just use the protector as a weight to hold my second plug in point on my desk (i take the AC adapter with me and leave the protector at home with an extra 2 pin cable).

 

I never had this problem until now, but fingerprint reader was not available when I had to swipe it in order to log in. Just one time. I ended up typing my password, but it took longer than it usually did.

I rebooted and it was back to normal status, but Client Security asked me to enable fingerprint reader by typing my password.

What could've been wrong?

I didn't do anything that would have caused this problem.

 

I wanted to update you guys on my use with the x200:

Some of the rubberized paint is starting to come off on the corners of the lid. This is probably due to me throwing it in my backpack without a sleeve (before I got the zeroshock III) and tossing and sliding it around. Not really a big deal, just my thinkpad isnt as pristine .

 

Just so you don't worry too much - the rubberized paint coming off the corners has always happened and is not unique to the X200 Of course it won't happen if you use a sleeve.

 

How do you take out eraser powder? It went inside the Insert key. Do I have to open the keyboard?

A flying ant went inside once already (came out).. they must really love it.

 

A bread crumb fell inside my keyboard. I'm wondering if pouring a cup of water into it would do the trick, but thern I here story's of people doing that and the internals getting wet even though they are not supposed to..

 

Are you NUTS ? I know that the new Thinkpads have drain holes, but there is NO reason to pour a cup of water in one on purpose. I had an old Dell get totally destroyed because some idiot spilled a Coke on one. Just buy a can of compressed air and try and blow the breadcrumb out.

 

can any 4/6-cell battery owners share their real-life battery life?

e.g. when surfing the net (wifi-on) and normal word typing?

 

Just can't stop eating those burgers in front of your new x200

 

After using the X200 this is what I've noticed.

As much as I love the soft exterior top, it's rather annoying when you get fingerprints on it, and it doesn't come off with a simple wipe, I have to use lens cleaner and microfibre cloth to do this.

I hoped I could live with the bloatware, but I'm afraid not, and they're not very useful either and I'm sadly going to have to do a clean install.

I've been having some problems with the wireless. I have a feeling the Wi-fi 5100 card is not very good, I would have easily paid more for the 5300 but I got a topseller configuration so that was not an option. I feel like Access Connections does more harm than good. For one, is just overly complicated, once you use it once, there's no way of using Windows to connect anymore unless you disable and close AC, and then it just relly doesn't do the job very well. In a few of my classes, I noticed other people connecting fine but I was unable to connect to my university wireless network. (They were using Acers, Macs, HPs, what did I pay so much for a Thinkpad for?)

Screen, could be a bit brighter for outdoor viewing, but otherwise I didn't mind not having an LED screen which I thought I'd miss. However there is that video playback issue people are talking about which is rather annoying.

The power cord is ridiculously short, I need to find a longer replacement. I wish it was a 3 prong like most other laptops. I had 3 prong cords all over my house so I could just go and plug that in without reaching and crawling to find the plug or powerbar.

The Fn and Ctrl key placement... I understand Lenovo has a heritage, but it's been a rather difficult switch. The worst part is, I spent so much energy focusing on getting used to my Lenovo keyboard that when I go home and dock the machine, I have to get used to a regular keyboard again!

The trackpoint. I love the trackpoint. I just wish they made the classic dome in the plastic finish like the other two caps. I love the shape but they collect dust and dirt really easily which I didn't like.

The fingerprint reader works better than I thought it would, however, for some reason if I don't use it within the first 10 seconds the login screen comes up, it won't work anymore.

Hmm that seems to be it for now. Otherwise a solid machine.

 

Actually, there was a bug crawling on the screen and me being stupid grabbed the napkin about 10 minutes after eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwich to take a swpie at the bug. Then I see some crumbs on the keyboard that had fallen from the napkin. I flipped the laptop upside down and that got most of the crumbs off, but one remained stuck inbetween the keys. I tried to blow it out with condesned air but that made it go underneath the key. So the only way to get at it would be to remove the keyboard or pur water into it and hope the bread comes out one of the two water holes on the bottom..

 

@roxtc:

I highly recommend against doing a "clean install" and instead use Lenovo's powerful Rescue & Recovery software. Boot into R&R, choose "factory restore" and do a "custom" restore. This will allow you to de-select any programs and utilities that you do not want installed. After it is finished, you will have a factory installation of Windows without any bloatware or Thinkvantage utilities that you don't want (like Access Connections) and with all correct drivers installed. The process takes no time at all. BTW, I agree that Access Connections is more convoluted than the simple windows wireless software that just works. You may find that your wireless connections with the 5100 are better after scrapping Acess Connections.

How long is the power cord? Would a 6-foot extension be longer? I don't have my adapter here to check.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10228&cs_id=1022801&p_id=1307&seq=1&format=2

 

I don't really know why the Fn Ctrl issue is such a big one...it isn't very hard to get use to it. I go back and forth all the time. It just takes some active consciousness about what keyboard you're using . And the intel wifi 5100 is just fine. What issues are you having? I disabled all the thinkvantage programs except the power management and security program for the fingerprints.

 

Take the keyboard out and clean only that. Or pop the keys off. Don't pour water into it.