X200s Screen & Speaker comments please

Am looking for someone out there who has an X200s European model with teh 1280 X 900 screen with the Webcam. Just wanted to know overall quality for every day computing on the run. Am a business user but do like to watch a few movies on the plane. Also does anyone know of a link where one can hear the loudness - or lack thereof - of the mono speaker. Some reviews say it's plenty OK for every day usage, some say it is really not good. I need to know for Skype conversations only. And I though the express card port is a great tool for back-ups ... where can one get a 64 GB or higher in Europe for reasonable price ?

 

If the 1280x800 screen is the same as the x200 one then it is pretty mediocre. It is fine for business and you could watch videos but it wouldn't be particularly great looking. The vertical viewing angles aren't amazing at all either. But for business use I find it to be just fine in usability.

Regarding the speaker...it is quite bad, but for voice it should be okay unless you need it to be at lower volume levels AND have clarity. I wouldn't want to skype inside a louder room, etc. Hope that helps some.

 

Jaredy. Thanks for the comments ... well I don't read too many good reviews on the LED screen of the X301 either & I don't particularly like glossy screens. I find them hard on the eyes after a few hours or when tired. Am still travelling on an old & slow Toshiba Portege R205 with 4/3 ratio and a very basic screen so I am assuming the X200s must be step up! Voice at normal level in a hotel room is all I need from the speaker. I see you are the owner of an ultrabase, does the whole think become very high to type on ? I will use the X200s as primary system and will need the dock to install programs via DVD burner & a 22 inch screen.

 

I actually type on another keyboard when I have the machine docked. I could try it for you once I am back home in a couple days, but I imagined it would be sort of weird to type on if your chair wasn't high enough. Then again OLD laptops use to be like 2-3 inches thick, heh.

 

Jaredy, can you comment on line noise through the headphone jack? I know the review here says there isn't any, but my X61s is very bad so I'd like a second opinion.

 

Speakers suck and the screen is alright. The speakers on the Asus N10 are by far better.

 

I definitely have noise on both the jack on the laptop and A LOT on the docking station. But I am also using rather sensitive IEM headphones...Etymotic ER-4p. So if you detected it on your x61s I assume you will hear some from the x200 unfortunately.

 

Same here with my Sleek Audio IEMs, so I guess I'll need to pick up an Indigo DJx. I really wish they'd take sound quality seriously and quit using that crappy integrated garbage in favor of a simple shielded daughterboard.

 

Oh nice, Sleeks . I normally have an external DAC so it isn't a problem. And I use an mp3 player on the go so I try to avoid the laptop's output at all times.

 

Thanks, nice Etys

Part of my upgrade to the X200s is an attempt at making it my primary desktop. I'll still have a server, and a media center at home, but I figure I'll be listening on it a lot. Now I need to decide if I want a USB DAC, or another Echo part.

 

And is the speaker on the X61 any better than the X200 at all? I think I read it's even worse ...Jaredy yes I think that makes sense that when you dock it, you use an external keyboard. I must say I do like the Imac keyboards... no clue if they work on PC though. I can't imagine typing on something very thick, would be very uncomfortable for prolonged use, I just wish the X301 had a much bigger hard drive. Just worried about that high screen resolution. I really dislike the Vaio series since I just have to strain my eyes to read anything. Do you have any idea on the legibility of X200s versus X301 would be ? Thanks

 

I haven't heard the X200 yet, but the X61 speaker is abysmal. I'd have a rough time skyping with it, and would seriously consider a bluetooth headset.

 

I'm not sure about the price in your country, but the x200 Tablet has substantially better speakers (stereo), microphone (dual array, noise-canceling), and display (AFFS+ LED).

I had an x200 as well and found the speakers, microphone, and display to be adequate, but no better. I do recall hearing that the x200s speaker is twice as loud (2 watt vs. 1 watt), but the quality won't be any better.

I also have a pair of IEMs (Etymotic ER-6i) and get a small amount of feedback from my x200 Tablet as well. However, I have heard far worse feedback on many other sources.


Also, for the ExpressCard I assume you mean that you want an SSD. At the moment, most of the ExpressCard SSDs are USB attached (slow) and small (<= 32GB). However, a few large (64 GB) PCI Expressed SSDs were just announced. This one from Verbatim is supposed to be $299 for a 64GB ExpressCard SSD and promises 125 MB/s read and 30 MB/s writes ( announcement).

 

Jonlumpkin what is the biggest advantage of a tablet ? Is it not much more expensive? Yes I read that about the speakers as well, that the tablet has good one compared to the rest ... but the tablet is very expensive in Europe, about the price of a X301. I would be the type of guy to loose the Stilus pen thing! I wonder why all manufacturer don't but decent mini stero speakers in all laptops. I don't like having headphones on my head just a preference when I talk on Skype. Since I am usually walking about, thinking, taking notes etc whilst in conference.