x301 vs x201 Short Review

So a lot of people (me included) were not very happy to see the x301 discontinued.

Many felt it was just amazing to see how much Lenovo was able to get packed into a thin laptop ... but alas they decided to go the way of discontinuing the unit.

So i just purchased an X201 from Lenovo that just came in:

It is an i7 2.66
4gb Ram (32 bit wastes a bit of this ram)
Windows 7 Professional 32 (we need 32 bit for our in house call center software)
Trackpad w/ Touchpad (since the owner needs that feature)
Lack of DVD drive is big since we rent DVD's and as much as ripping them might work, when you are flying international and need a lot of Movies, it just isnt practical...



When the box arrived I was really excited, since I used to be a firm believer in the 12.1 size however when I opened this laptop up I was anything but SUPER impressed.

1. Fit and Finish, The x301 has a nice soft touch finish, which is gone on the x201
2. Keyboard, this keyboard isnt as nice to type on as the x301 something about the response just inst the same (maybe it needs to be broken in)
3. Volume Buttons - I know this is something small, but the x301 had a mute button that lights up when it is active, the x201 is software based.
4. Speakers - the x301 wins since the speakers are on top and the look bigger too.

Overall its a nice little computer ... the speed of the computer is nice... however the x301 with the su9400 processor boots faster since it has an intel ssd, which goes to show that the processor on a laptop can only go so fast... the SSD has made a HUGE improvement for the x301.

The only reason we cant get an ssd for the x201 is the owner kept messing up his SSD's ... dont ask me how... but i can only imaging how fast this thing would be with an SSD....

But since all we do on our laptops is surf the net, look at videos... and remote log in to our desktops (at which point the dekstop does all the work)

I am just glad I still have my x301 All time favorite portable computer...

 

Nice purchase! I just wonder if one really needs a Core i7-640M for the X201.

Good for you to hang on to your X301. It's a treasure, isn't it? I like my X201 for the build and convenience, but it just can't compare to the X301. Too bad Lenovo discontinued it.

 

Seems like you enjoy the little fit and finish touches that the X301 provides, to which I agree they are nice, the T410s I have has much of the same and I do rely on the lit up mute button a lot now that I have it. Whenever a web page opens with an auto roll video I panic that the audio is about to blast but a glance at the orange mute light quickly allays my fears by indicating I'm safe and mute is on. The rubberized finish of the palm rest areas is nice on the X301. Of course, that's what you get when you pay a bit more. The X201 can be had for much cheaper than the X301 ever could (base starting price at least) and you have to pay extra for all those little lights, buttons, optical drive and thinner lighter components that cost Lenovo more to source! The X201 is great in its own right and there are few if any 12" laptops that have an optical drive, just doesn't make sense for the form factor design, so can't fault it there.

 

I own X200, which I was told is almost the same as X201. My opinion is that the keyboard is really great. I don't agree on DVD - I would find it completely useless as ALL my videos and music are .mp3 and x264 compressed .mkv on the hard drive. Watching a video on a DVD drive will drain your battery much faster too. In fact, I think the only time in past 2 years I used a DVD is to copy Win install on the USB key. That's it. I vote for trashing all those crappy optical drives and getting original Win install as a downloadable option. If there's space it would make way more sense to me to add another HD bay. I'd even trade the optical drive on my m17x for a third HD bay!

It would be nice if we can get rid some more weight, that's for sure. Even if the price goes up a little.

 

^^^ I agree. I rarely use the optical drives on all of my machines, and do not miss an optical drive in the X201.

For the X models, Lenovo should focus on reducing weight and improving battery life -- and keeping prices reasonable.

 

For the price point the X301 was released (and stayed at for a LONG time) at, you really can't compare the two. Well, you can, but can't expect things like fit & finish, etc. to be the same.

Just IMO. Also, I LOVE my X301, and NEVER plan on selling it. I bought it brand new through Lenovo one year ago this month. Yes I did end up paying almost full price for it, but to me it was well worth it. It fits my needs perfactly, and most importantly it has a DVD drive which to me right there, sold me. We constantly watch movies on trips, and having to carry around an external DVD player just wasn't happening. (Also, too much of a PITA to download the movie to the machine, when with the DVD player all you have to do is just pop it in).

Glad to have you compare the X301 vs. the X201 though !

 

second hand X301 machines are hard to get, and those that are offered are usually quite expensive about the same price as a new X201 in USA.

 

this is a rather disingenuous remark as windows boot up speed is primarily weighted toward disk performance and much less reliant on CPU speed. IOW, the cpu is not the bottleneck here and you didn't exactly max that out. stick the same SSD in a x201 and the x201 will outperform your x301 in every benchmark and likely have bettery battery life too as long as both cpus are throttled down to reduce power draw.

the 6cell+3cell bay battery is too kludgey for me too and ironically sacrifices one of the consumer attractions of the model which is the DVD drive (i don't have any use for it and find mounting ISOs far superior)

the x301 is a beautiful (and pricey) machine and not really geared to the same customer as the x200/201 series. and comparing a two year old model to a x201 reveals the x301's shortcomings and does [the 301] a disservice...something which you don't really talk about in your 'evaluation'.

i wouldn't mind owning a x300/301 but not willing to pay the extra premium given what is out there with the current x20x series. and when i'm on the move, i'd reach for the x201 every time even if i had a x301 in the stable. it's a perfect combination of small size and battery life w/o sacrificing performance.

ironically, if lenovo does go to a 16:9 display, i'd probably look at a 13" form factor if i wanted wxga+ and lenovo has a big hole in that part of the market now that the 30x series is out of production.

 

Exactly. That's what I always do: take the X201 for trips, especially one-day field trips in the area.

 

That is so true... I love this laptop and considering I only paid like 850 for it from Microsoft is awesome!

 

I agree with what you are saying.... I think the x201 would run circles around my x301 with the SSD... however we do not use any processes that need the additional CPU...

I think I am partial to this computer because of the price I paid... the x201 ran us 1300 with all the bells and whistles.

 

i was out of the 'thinkpad scene' when the x300 debuted...probably a good thing (for my wallet) since it looks extraordinary in all the pics that i've seen and it exudes top notch design and finishing and likely won't be something Lenovo will ever do again in such a smaller form factor.

i'm curious as to what Lenovo reveals next year in the Ultraportable dept. i've never used any laptop other than a Thinkpad but some of the HP models are giving Lenovo a serious run for the money.

 

I think they just launched a new idea pad... which is a 13.3 .... but one thing I did notice on the x201 is that it has more ports, and input options than the x301...

 

Well and a much better CPU.

 

The thing I liked about the x301 was the 1440x900 resolution on a 13" display. The x201 is only 1280x800 I believe. Now, I wouldn't want the pixel density any higher than that on a 12" screen, so that's where the appeal for me was with the x301--slightly larger screen, but not all the way up there at the size of the T-series. When the x301 went on sale right before they were discontinued, I came close to picking one up. But I ended up spending all my money building a new desktop instead.

When it comes to laptops, I definitely like to keep things simple and light. With that said, the optical drive is just one more thing that can break. I'd rather not have one. Usually anywhere you go these days, you can find a high speed internet connection, and with that, there's always plenty of good stuff to watch on Hulu. I wouldn't want to tote DVD's with me--plus half my movie collection is blu-ray. As for the airplane flight, that's what scotch whisky and xanax are good for.

There are some x200s's on the outlet right now. I'd be curious to hear from anyone that could offer a comparison among the x200s and the x200/x201 and x301.

 

The X301 "had" a 13.3" panel with 1440x900 resolution at 300 nits. The X201 has a 12.1" panel with 1280x800 at 200 nits. The X201s "had" a 12.1" panel with 1440x800 at 220 nits.

The X301 display is great. On the X201s, I find the WXGA+ resolution a bit too dense for the 12" physical size. The X201 display is just alright for work -- nothing hot about it.

 

right, because it would be completely mad to run an entire F1 race team on X301 systems, wouldn't it?

Lenovo - Vodafone McLaren Mercedes - Downloads

look at all those underpowered X301s... oh, the humanity!


(this sarcasm brought to you by someone who has owned an X300 and two X301s and felt none of them were underpowered for their intended use. )

 

I am sure Lenovo will come out with an even smaller machine than the x301 in the coming years. Everything gets smaller over time.

I am sure it will be right on par with a Macbook Air.

 

LOL! Well I wasn't sure about the "old" SU9400. I used overclocked SU4100 (@1.7GHz) and found it just fine for most things (even gaming but it started being a bottleneck there). What I like on X301 is that it has extra space on the left and right of the keyboard.

Oh and I don't think all those are X301, this one at least looks little different http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/img_lib/landing_pages/2009/F1/_V9F9770.jpg - it has a metal hinge support. As for display, X200+AFFS looks pretty neat.

 

That looks like a T400. Note the display bezel, the amount of space on the sides of the keyboard, and etc.

That said, I will admit now that I'm using my T500 quite a bit, jumping from a 15.4" WSXGA+ to a 12.1" WXGA is kind of a shock. I like my screen real estate when writing(especially since I stack my current project on one side of the display and research materials/notes on the other) and have actually taken to dragging the T500 around as I like the resolution.

the X30x would be a wonderful machine in terms of resolution/display size terms, but the prices and rarity keep me from considering one just yet. If I was really serious I'd sell the T400 and X200 and jump to an X30x, but don't really feel like doing that right now. Also, since the X30x doesn't have any sort of storage expansion slots(SDHC or ExpressCard), that makes it somewhat unsuitable; I store all my work on an SD card as well as an ExpressCard 'SSD.'

 

Not quite sure what you were getting at with the "had" in quotes. But in any case, I am fond of the 16:10 aspect ratio of the x301 and the x200. I haven't looked at the x201 much.

On the x200s, I definitely wouldn't want the 1440x900 option. You're right in that it's just too high of a pixel density for a 12" screen. They just dropped the price on some x200s machines on the outlet site--about $700 for a brand new system. It's tempting.

 

The X301 and X201s product lines were discontinued.

 

Talking about 13" screens, I was recently looking at the Toshiba R700/705. Looks like an interesting machine with a matte screen (which for me is essential). I really really wish Lenovo would bring back the 13" model. But I can also perhaps understand the dilemma. Having both a 12" and a 14" model makes things difficult because there is the problem of eating into the sales of either the 12" model or the 14" model or both, which would be a less-than-optimal scenario for Lenovo.

So, I guess, if I want to keep faith with the ThinkPad line-up, then I will probably have to opt for the T4x0...

Btw, I recently spent a few hours with a X201 at a Lenovo shop here. It came with 2GB RAM, with a 320 GB HDD (5400 rpm) and an i5 processor. While the machine was responsive and incredibly light, the novelty quickly wore off. The 12" screen is just not my cup of tea.

 

so the screen resolution is too small for you lines of flight? R400 is a great machine. I would imagine the next refresh of the 14.1 inch thinkpads would mean the demise of the 16:10 inch LCD.

 

Yes, unfortunately, it is indeed too small, which is really not cool, since I loved how light and convenient the X201 is to cart around.

Yes, the R400 has been very kind to me thus far so I will keep it - especially having had the keyboard experience optimized (as you already know).

But there is still the question of my spending my recent and welcome windfall. I am only waiting because I am scheduled to travel to the West soon and may be able to pick up a CTO. I will opt for the T410 and will probably not be able to wait for the Sandy Bridge issue.

Cheers!

 

if you are getting the T410, then make sure you get the nvidia optimus one, so that you can use 4 LCD...

 

Yes, of course. This time since the budgetary restraints are not so tight, I will be able to CTO a decent and contemporary machine (though the contemporary-ness of the machine will not last too long!).

Btw, I posted for some advice on two machines which I have been tasked at work to identify for a couple of my senior colleagues. Here is the link.

Maybe you and all others knowledgable could make some suggestions?

Thanks

 

I would just ask if you've already got a R400 you like, why get a T410?

 

It is hard to suggest something to buy when there is a budget constraint, since i am not all familiar with the pricing of laptops in India.

But maybe you could ask your friend to get a X200 instead, so that they stay around the 900 USD budget.

 

Well...I have given some extra cash to spend on whatever I want. Like a gift. I have nothing else to spend the money on. So, I thought I'd buy another laptop.

I have already been given a monitor from work for use. I have also been given a NAS from work and I bought a dock for the R400 already.

Initially, I was very enthusiastic about a X20x. But having recently played around with one, I found the screen size to be too small for comfort for me, which is why I am looking to the T410. I was also thinking of Toshiba's R705. But I think I would prefer a ThinkPad.

 

Thanks. I wish I could arrange for the X200/201 from abroad. But this is for work and the timeframes are tight.

 

Toshiba R705 uses a different style keyboard, so you should try it before you buy it. It is very similar to the X301 in design concept, and it is priced competitively. This begs the question, why Lenovo is still leaving many Thinkpad enthusiasts in limbo regarding the successor to the X301.

 

I kindly suggest, with your gift fund, you explore something completely different, not Lenovo, not T410.

 

Like what?

 

Why not save it for when you really want something? The T410 is slightly lighter, but I don't see it as a big upgrade over the R400, my opinion of course.

 

I know what you mean ZaZ and yes, you are quite correct when you say that the differences between the R400 and the T410 are minimal in the greater scheme of things.

But...I have to spend the money relatively quickly. It's not like I can salt the cash away for a later day. I don't quite know what to buy.

It's a rather odd situation to be in!

Edit: I actually don't have a backup machine (aside from the 15.4" Acer that is doing duty as a desktop), so...maybe if I got the T410, one of the two Thinkpads could function as a backup.

 

Yes, I noticed the chicklet-style keyboard on the Toshiba. But it is the 13" factor that is catching my eye.

Ditto on your musings about what Lenovo is going to do about the 13" category.

 

i asked my friend whom have used this machine, he said be careful of the hinge on this toshiba machine, they are not as strong as those one found on the X301.

 

(Message removed by moderator)

You need to post your ad in the marketplace per forum rules.

 

What? It's not at all ambiguous - there isn't a successor to it.

 

Bad news for McLaren F1 team.

 

i should have probably made my rant a bit clearer, i was referring to whether Lenovo would ever releasing a 13.3 inch laptop whether it is in the X or T series.

Even a T300s would be nice....