current x201 owners: Do you love the touchpad?

I've been using thinkpads (X41 and my current x200) with the trackpoint and couldn't been happier.

But I am wondering on the usefulness of a touchpad on such a small notebook. I see that in the X220 for example, there is an option to order with or without the touchpad.

are you using the touchpad? not using it? like it/dislike it? looking to hear especially from trackpoint diehards like me.

 

i would think long-time users of thinkpads probably use the trackpoint most (or all) of the time. it's what i used from the get-go and even though i have the touchpad enabled on my x201, i rarely ever use it.

the size of the touchpad is largely immaterial to me, imo the trackpoint is still the most precise way to move the cursor.

 

The size of the trackpad on the x201 is puny compare to anything out there. It is about the size of netbook, personally I would not use the small trackpad unless I absolutely have to. I used small trackpad on the s10 and s10-2, the size are workable, but I would not say it is a pleasurable experience using it (the s10-2 trackpad is just ok, but the s10 is way to small.) If you are a trackpad person, I would not recommend it at all.

 

I just got my x201 and while I do use an external mouse (Logitech Nano), especially when I am moving around/ traveling, I have found myself using the touchpad. Yes it is small, but then I like small movements. One point - I just discovered that the touchpad has this pinching to shrink and the opposite movement to enlarge the contents of the screen. It was a novelty for about 5 mins.

 

I primarily use the touchpad on my X201, but I do use the trackpoint on occasion. While it has a small surface area (compared to most other laptops), I still find it quicker moving the mouse cursor with the trackpad - and I've just migrated from using a Macbook Pro 13" as my main laptop, which itself has a mammoth touchpad.

I've owned and used notebooks in the past which were equipped with tracksticks and touchpads (including a T400), but even on those I primarily used the touchpad.

 

well i guess if you ever used any netbook then you wouldn't really question the usefulness or the size of touchpad on the X201/s. It really depends on personal preferences, if you are use to the touchpad then most people would stick to the touchpad (unless they get use to the trackpoint very fast). It maybe small but it is still usable.

 

I'm not (yet) a Thiunkpad owner (I plan to buy an x220).

The big deal for me with a trackpad is two-finger scroll. If you browse the web or read documents or source code, especially reading longer documents/forums, two finger scroll allows you to move through the document quickly and find what you're looking for.

I have an Asus EEE 901with the Elantech trackpad, and scrolling is just effortless, moving both up and down. I don't even have to to think about it.

I also have an Acer Timeline 1830T. Some of these (including mine) have ALPS trackpads, which just do not work for two-finger scroll. That is, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and it's always laggy, to the point where I've learned not to use it.

(Tried different drivers, tried Ubuntu, tried adjusting how I moved my fingers -- no luck. ALPS just makes a terrible trackpad.)

This makes a great deal of difference to my enjoyment and efficiency.