thinkpad tablet android and refurbished

I'm thinking of getting the thinkpad tablet android version (2011). Main purposes is taking notes, should I go for it?
Also, what do you guys think of refurbished tablets, are they reliable?

 

As an owner of the 64GB model, my advice would be - stay away, unless you can get it for $150 or less, and use it primarily as eReader. While it's possible to make notes on it, it's not the great experience - quite slow, has palm rejection issues, software side is lacking (the included app is not good, but there is LectureNotes, Quill and a couple of others, but no great ones).

Reliability wise there are some issues too, but most frequent issues are easily fixable with some DYI. E.g. the power button WILL fall off in time (but you can glue it with epoxy preventively, tablet is easy to open), microUSB port is likely to break too (but you can avoid using it and get a Thinkpad Dock, which charges the device better and does not stress the microUSB port).

Perhaps the coming TPT2, and a range of other x86 Windows8 tablets that will show up next week, are going to be better (at least you can install OneNote, and even built-in Windows Journal is way better and faster than anything available for TPT at the moment).

 

Wow, why so harsh on the product? I was very close on getting a refurbed one until this post! Also, I know Tablet 2 and other windows-based tablets are around the corner, but I want something cheap. My laptop is still my primary powerhorse.

Regarding lecturenotes, I've got it on my Galaxy Note and it's excellent!

 

Lecture Notes saved me from buyer's remorse of a brand new TPT I picked up on ebay for $300 for my fiancee (while she waits for a good deal on a Vaio Duo 11). I cannot praise that software enough; once I find a way to export a pdf with relatively the same size and quality as when I imported it I think I'll be set. Inking never really lags for me, and [hardware] Palm rejection, in Lecture Notes at least, is great; the only software I have used that had issues with palm rejection is ezPDF, which is some of the clunkiest, crappiest pdf annotation software I have ever used. 4 clicks to erase, yay!

The TPT UI was very slow with Honeycomb, but it vastly improved with the Lenovo update to ICS. However, I don't know what to compare the TPT version of ICS to, since I had never used another Android device before. (On a side note: be sure to install a good File Manager, e.g. Android File Manager. I was cursing all night the first night of ownership trying to figure out how to get a pdf onto the tablet...) X(

I suppose if you could get one on the cheap, a Galaxy Note 10.1 is the best android tablet out right now. People say the faster internals make the difference between it and the TPT like night and day, and it has the advantage of a battery-less pen.

I'm honestly waiting for a deal on a TPT 2, and would not have bought the TPT 1 for myself. After all, having windows (office especially) in a slate is a very important selling point. However, I do not regret buying it, despite the inevitability of the power button falling off and having to eventually learn how to solder to fix it when it does. There are the ~$60 MSRP TPT docks on ebay and amazon for $15 right now, one of which I bought already, so at least I won't have to worry about the micro-USB port failing me. If I can ever justify the purchase of a TPT 2 given that I already own an X220T, I won't even sell the TPT 1, but will instead donate it to my fiancee's little sister until she buys a better slate or tablet pc than the X60T I donated to her.

Edit: When you've imported a pdf into a Lecture Notes notebook, that pdf gets laggy when scrolling, but no lag when inking.

 

great feedback. i'm sold on the TPT 1 and well eventually get it. I can't afford and do not want a windows tablet at the moment.