X70 Most Wanted Feature

Lenovo designers and engineers are probably already working on the next generation ultraportable, this poll is for you to vote on the one feature that you would most like to see available.

 

Please move the mini-pci express slots to other locations rather than right palmrest, and make it SXGA+ LED backlit.

 

SXGA and LED would be my top choice. I don't really care about widescreen on an ultraportable screen since I don't watch a lot of movies on my laptop.

 

SXGA+ is going to be awful tough on the eyes at least for me anyway. I sometimes have that issue with my R60, particularly when I am fatigued. I voted for the trackpad. I really like the X61s I am using right now, but I am not a pointstick fan though it is usable. I wouldn't mind widescreen either.

 

I am a trackpoint fan and still agree a touchpad should be there.

FIrst choice is LED sxga+ display though.

 

Unfortunately the poll does not allow multiple selections. Also, LED backlight and resolution should be 2 choices, not one. Anyway, here's my take:

LED Backlit: Yes
Higher Resolution screen: Optional
Wide Screen format: No
Optical Drive: No
Trackpad: Definitely NOT
DVI Video Output: Yes, but only if VGA is removed

Others:
-Solid State HDD
-eSata

A couple of my thoughts...
If the X60 goes widescreen, there will no longer be a choice left for standard AR ultraportable. I've had a widescreen ultraportable and the widescreen AR was useless for anything but watching movies, which I did only a few times while flying.
For the amount of times that I use an optical drive it makes no sense to a)charge the money for it and b)waste space
The trackpoint is far superior to a trackpad IMO. I would hate to see a redundant pointing device on an ultraportable. It would be a huge waste of space to have 2 pointing devices.
DVI output is on the way out and will be replaced with DisplayPort. DVI/DisplayPort should only be on the notebook if the VGA port is taken off (again, we don't need redundancy taking up space and weight). The notebook needs to be able to connect to VGA projetors easily but this can be accomplished with a DVI->VGA or DisplayPort->VGA adapter.
Adding an eSata connector for use with a fast external HDD would be very nice.

The single biggest improvement to the notebook will be seen by simply adding the option for a SSD. Battery life will improve ~20%, performance will improve drastically, heat will be reduced substantially, noise will be all but eliminated, and perhaps most importantly, reliability will be improved greatly.

 

I'd like to see BETTER build quality. make the screen lid and the bottom case fit 'dead on' please. no flex for me.

And please cover that darn screen cable...

 

I never used an X series for more than 5 minutes, but just by the looks of this poll, it seems pretty safe to say that the current X series laptops have crappy screens.

 

Ah I forgot to add "Roll Cage" and "Solid State Drive" to the poll.

Personally, I would want 1280x960 before SXGA+ resolution. Everything would be too small and I do not like having to hunch over. As for the wide screen, I think it would be nice for people who want it to have the option but without some sort of device that raises the screen 12" (wide) screens, they cause a lot of hunching over as well.

An optical drive would be beneficial TODAY but I have the feeling that by the time we are seeing the X70 they will be used even less.

The Trackpad would be most unwelcome as I have mine permanently disabled on my T60 anyway. I prefer the "telepathic" feel of the trackpoint. Trackpoints are far superior for working on large spreadsheets on a small screen as well.

DVI is a must, preferably with the ability to run a 30" monitor off of it (dual-link). They can get rid of VGA since DVI to VGA adapters are tiny anyway.

SSD would be a great option as soon we will be seeing them in the 80gb+ variety I hope. A light weight roll cage would solidify the X series' position as the ultimate travel notebook.

ALSO: I intentionally did not allow multiple selections as we would all like to see a bunch of these great technologies on our machines; I wanted to force a difficult choice ;-)

 

how about making the tablets thinner and lighter, with a smaller footprint

 

mechanical volume control ring on the side of the laptop. I think every laptop should have it

 

just a lower price and longer warranty lol

 

My top desired feature: ability to drive 2+ monitors from the ultrabase
My 2nd desired feature: higher resolution screen

 

mmm 6-7 hours battery life like on panasonic y7/y5

 

Agreed! It's not called an ultraportable for nothing. Take stuff off, not add stuff.

Anything to make it lighter, and thinner, plus less power hungry.

 

I voted for the screen option, but Linux/No-OS would be another thing I'd like to see as an option on ThinkPads.

 

slot loading optical would be nice

 

How about this:
ExpressCard 54 slot instead PCMCIA.
DisplayPort. I do not expect that DVI will be ever in Thinkpads. I have heard numerous manufactures complains why they do not want to put DVI in notebooks. On the other hand, that is why they have created the DisplayPort.
Ability to use T/R series docks (including the one with PCI Express slot).
PCI Express cable connector x1-x4 (the external connectors standard is ready). Then I could connect an external video card and maybe even Audigy
Or at least that the next super dock could accommodate two PCI Express cards at least x2-x4.
eSATA would be also nice.

 

I know I will get flamed for this but I have heard that the next generation model will launch next summer with a WS display--similar to the M1330.

 

What are your sources?

 

His imagination?

 

I would really lika them to put in a 12,1" UXGA screen (1600x1200)... For some applications it would be really nice, even tough i problably would use 1280x1024 for the most of the time.

And absolutly NO widescreen. I cant understand whats it good for on such a small laptop.

 

I think all it needs is a higher resolution and some weight loss. and maybe a webcam.

 

My needs would be(all of'em might not be possible!!!)
1) Optical Drive
2) Touchpad
3) Widescreen

 

LED Backlit: Yes Definitely!
Wide Screen: optional
Optical Drive: unnecessary
trackpad: unnecessary
Video output: unnecessary

 

"And absolutlie NO widescreen. I cant understand whats it good for on such a small laptop."

For a developer a widescreen is a perfect format.

 

I have mixed feelings about this. I'm not sure I want that for my X series box, but definitely for my T. If the overall linear dimensions don't change, I'd be in favor of that, but I would not want the box to be bigger overall just to handle a screen that is physically wider.

Absolutely love the widescreen for developing, you are right on Renee.

 

They should go with DVI on the unit and VGA as an option on the ultrabase since most projectors have DVI anyway. A led LCD would be nice to, but the res should stay the same and they should bring the multitouch/multiview back with the SXGA+ option.

 

I'd get an X series if it had a higher-res screen. That's pretty much the only dealbreaker for me.

 

I disagree slightly - most *new* projectors have DVI. This means using any older projectors (still common in many places) is a problem and will require that you have a converter with you (and if you don't you're screwed!).

Also, I think one of the most common uses of projectors is in schools. And even though many of the school's projectors will have DVI, the connection at the A/V unit (podium at the front of the classroom or theatre) only has VGA connection. At least this in my experience at 4 different universities.

Anyway, who uses their x-series as a HTPC to watch hi-def movies on? This has to be a minority.

IMHO, having DVI output would be a serious disadvantage for these reasons.

 

Hmm... I'm a software developer myself, and I personally like 4:3 displays better. I much rather have a display that can show 1280x1024 then one that can show 1440x960. Even tough the later have a higher total amount of pixels, I like to see more lines rather then more columns.

In my experience, if you have two equally big displays, say 19", the 4:3 display always have less columns and more lines, and the widescreen display always have less lines and more columns.

For the rest of it.
*trackpad: Not for me. The main reason why I stick to Thinkpad is the trackpoint...
*Optical drive: As long as it doesn't make the laptop any thicker they may put in anything they want. But I don't find it necessary...
*Video output: same answer as for the optical drive...

 

I would like to see LED backlit screen + dedicated graphics...

 

Here are things that would RUIN the x series for me: widescreen, touchpad, optical drive (unless they magically made it weigh nothing and take up no volume). I voted for DVI, but what I really meant was "any digital display output" and on top of that "on the ultrabase, but not on the laptop itself." I think vga should stay as the only thing on the laptop, but for the love of god, just add a digital display out of some sort to the ultrabase. LED backlight would be great, solid-state harddrives will be great once they're practical, and I could take or leave a resolution increase, but having a higher quality LCD in general would be good (better colors, viewing angles, etc.)

Also, maybe my number one hope these days: the ability to call lenovo billing and reach a manager when you need to without waiting endlessly for a callback.

 

I guess it depends on what you're doing. I generally have a lot of stuff running, and I will run a development tool in "4:3" next to something else.

 

Higher resolution screen and SSD would be most wanted features.

 

Everything is perfect but the screen. If the screen was top quality, then ThinkPads would take over the market, especially with the prices Lenovo is charging nowadays.

 

I don't have a problem with the screen quality (although you can definitely find better ones), but a 1280X1024 resolution would be great to be able to fit more on the screen.

Not really worried about SSDs as you can replace the hard drive yourself. As for widescreen, it only makes the notebook wider and hence bigger. The size the X-series (non-tablet) has at the moment is perfect IMO. Yesterday I tried out a Toshiba R500 and while it is very light and thin (but fragile) it was noticeably wider than my X61, due to being widescreen. Depth was the same.

 

For me I wouldn't trade the trackpoint on a ThinkPad for any trackpad in the world. I don't like the trackpoint that Dell uses on their business line but the Lenovo ThinkPad's are a different story. I never use the trackpad on a ThinkPad and in fact just completely disable it from use so that I don't bump it. Going to a Dell m1330 that was the one feature that I missed the most. Maybe some people are just more used to trackpads or something but for me it's a proven fact that I can navigate at least twice as fast with a trackpoint in comparison and that makes a big difference if you're trying to do something online very quickly such as placing orders for an item that will be OOS in 3 minutes lol. The trackpoint allows you never even to have to take your hands out of the keyboard typing position.

 

How about all of the above!

 

For business apps the screen is fine. But for media the screen really is pretty bad. Watching movies is kind of a chore - very poor contrast ratio and viewing angles. I really hope Lenovo steps it up for the next version

 

I tend to put different programs "behind" each other, tabbing through them. Also, my main developing language is C (approximately 80% of the projects I'm involved in), and I really like writing the code in ConTEXT. So I don't get a bunch of toolbox-windows at each side like you would in VisualStudio or NetBeans.

On the other hand. More and more of the projects I'm becoming involved in are C#.Net projects. And for those projects I'm almost forced to use VisualStudio (Nothing wrong with that. VisualStudio is one of the best IDEs I ever used. Even tough it's memory and CPU consumption is over the roof to high). And when using VisualStudio, a widescreen would actually be good for getting a wider textfield in between the toolboxes on each side.

But I would only accept widescreen on the X series as long as they keep the size of the footprint. (e.g making it a little wider and less deep.)