x200 release

I've been looking at Thinkpads for a couple weeks now, preparing to buy a portable laptop for college. It seemed that I finally found the right laptop for me! (x61)



But with the affordable x200 on its way, it kind of mixes things up a bit.



All I've heard is "August" for the release date. Can anyone elaborate?



And when it is released, how available will it be?



Is there any advantage of sticking with the x61? or is the x200 the best option?



Thanks much in advance

 

I'm in the same boat (considered an X61 for college next month), but I'll be waiting for the X200. It will be available for order on August 5th, although who knows when it'll actually ship. I think the first day at UT-Austin for me is August 27th, so it'll be cutting it close, but I can't bear to buy the "old" model when the "new" one is so close. Surely I can survive a week or two without a laptop.

The only real advantage of the X61 is the smaller size (due to a smaller bezel) and the lower price, but the better integrated graphics and battery life, as well as the lower temperature, new Centrino 2 architecture, and widescreen format make the X200 worth it to me. I doubt there's a "bad choice" between the two, though.

 

I just purchased an X61 (regardless of the slightly faster CPU on the X200) for one major reason - smaller size/greater portability. The widescreen model (x200) is bigger and heavier than the X61... and that uber-wide bezel makes the thing look really bulky.

On the upside for the x200 is the faster CPU and slightly better integrated graphics card. Questions beg answering: is the 8600 CPU that much faster than the 8300? Also will you be playing heavy gaming on your x200 that make it necessary to have that "better" video graphics adapter?

I thought about that myself and then concluded that it would be best to save more $$ by getting an X61 than getting the latest frill particularly because the X200 (in its present configuration) isn't that much of a step up from the X61 anyways. It certainly will be in a year or longer, but not at the present time.

Just a couple of thoughts.

 

Are the prices of X61 at the bottom right now, or they can go down a bit more after the release of the x200? I'm talking about new computers from Lenovo not refurbished, outlet, clearance deals etc.

 

I reckon the pricing's as low as it will be.... until one day Lenovo just decides to remove the X61 series from their site and move the rest of the existing stock to their outlet stores. I highly doubt they'll announce and have some "fire-sale" of any kind.

Just look at the T61 14" (4:3) as an example. One day they were on Lenovo's site sold as configurable units, then gone the next - no warning no announcements. Whatever stock they had (pre-configured models) was moved to the outlet stores --- and those laptops disappeared (sold) very quickly after that ... and not at any fire-sale prices either.

So moral of the story - get your hotcakes while they're still warm.