X220T vs X201T for note taking - College "university".

I hate to ask this cause I know there is somewhere a thread that has this but
I haven't found it in context that I need.

As some of you know my Neisse is heading off to college. The first plan was to give her my beloved x300. However even though my x300 is nice it isn't a tab. I have had both the x200t and the x201t so I do have tab experience but I didn't use it as one would in class hour after hour.

So this is what I need to know please. For note taking in class the x201t is 16:10 giving a wider screen/higher in portrait mode to write on. The x220t would have a far better screen but you lose an inch of real estate . I have a x220 just not tab and I regularly wish I had a 16:10 screen. Wider just does nothing for me. So she can expect hour after hours spent taking notes etc

I have a client that just got his x220t, The thing I noticed when I played with his x220t is like mine there's no screen latch and the owner did say he sometimes "felt" like there was screen bounce. Meaning that while writing on the screen it "feels" like its stiff floppy unlike the x201 which the latch clips down and holds the screen. When I wrote on his x220t I did notice something but without having my old x201t to directly compare I don't really want to go on record and say its screen bounce but its "something".
Looking at the side of the screen you can't see it. It could be just in my mind since I have had tabs since the x60t days and the latch just seems like a "smart" thing to have. The fact that one isn't there could be playing mind games on me. She may not even notice.

Other than note taking are their other things I need to consider for her between the two? Also I config'ed one up on the Lenovo site but there's no TPP just reg onsite repair options so if you drop it or it gets damaged there wasn't an option to add that. Is this a call in sells thing?

Thanks guys.
ym

 

I had the X200T for a year. Loved it. It kept me so organized and ahead in class. Even on the 16:10 screen I wished it was a little taller ("wider" when in tablet mode). I can't imagine writing on a 16:9.

The quality between PVA and IPS screens probably won't be much. I loved mine. I can't comment on the latch though since I do not own a X220T, but the latch on my X200T worked flawlessly.

One thing to note is that the X220T Intel HD3000 is light years ahead of the graphics chip in the X200T. If you're hooking up to multiple monitors/playing some games, the X220T is probably the way to go. But IMHO, the price of the X200T vs X220T makes the decision pretty easy. I would get the X200/1T because it will be a better writing experience. With the saved money, you could probably get either a Vidock or external monitor or maybe even the ultrabase (or maybe all if you're willing to do some serious eBay digging including the laptop itself). That would make college life oh, so sweet. BTW, stick with pen only. The touch experience on the last gen laptops is pretty lacking and pen input only screens are clearer and cheaper to boot.

EDIT: I actually had the X200T, X300, and X301 while I was in college. I loved my X200T far and away the most.

 

She's not much of a gamer. We are also talking about the x201t which I can still get one new. If it was x200t vs x220t then I think I would have to go with the x220t. I actually like that x200t better than the x201t since I don't use the trackpad. For her since she has never had a thinkpad the trackpoint is going to be something new to her so its nice to have the trackpad as a backup.

Thanks for posting.

 

Yeah, I knew you were talking about the X201T, but the X200T is basically the same from a hardware standpoint (without the trackpad upgrade of course).

If she is a trackpad kind of person, get the X220T. The X201T trackpad is pretty small. BTW, if she takes after you and becomes a Thinkpad lover, she'll notice the screen wobble on the X220T. ;-)

EDIT: One more thing to note; an SSD would be a major plus. Besides the obvious speed benefits, durability plays a role since I found myself moving the tablet quite a lot during class (getting the proper writing angles, moving it on my lap, etc). A SSD would not suffer the least bit while moving. So if your budget is restricted, my recommendation would be to go with a X201T with SSD upgrade (a slower but large-capacity would probably be better than a super fast small-capacity one if money is an issue).

 

I would consider a SSD drive however with her iTunes alone would be more than a 128gig has space for. that's kinda the trade off. really fast access or alot of space. Corporation clients are just so much easier to plan and deploy for than a teenage.

ym

 

Honestly, for note-taking in college, having the touch keyboard with OneNote (or similar program) was much more important for me than a touch tablet. Only caveat being that if you're in a program that has intensive diagramming, e.g. engineering or math or the like, the tablet would be much much better as it's just not that easy to create diagrams and models on the fly with just a keyboard and trackpad. Also, durability and weight would be important. HTH