Another Student Review of the Lenovo X61 Tablet (yours truly’s!)
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While you can’t beat reviews like the ones on GottaBeMobile and TabletPCReview–with video, technical specs, and benchmarks–this review is not really like that (except that my Vista score is a 3.4). It will be full of opinions because that’s what I do. You have been warned.
To summarize, I really like the X61. I think every student wondering what tablet to buy should stop wondering now and go order one. It will save you time and the chance of making the wrong decision. Sorry, buddy, but Kevin, the X61 is where it’s at. (See? I’m just full of opinions. I warned you).
Also note that I won’t have many X61 pictures for now since my camera is currently dead.
1. The Treo vs. the Razr (hu?)
I’ll first offer up the comparison of the Treo 700w to the Motorola Razr.
vs. 
The Treo rocks. It is powerful, it can sync with your exchange account, it can pat it’s head while rubbing it’s stomach (if that doesn’t make sense, don’t worry about it), it can open you excel spreadsheets and play your Pocket PC games. But every single college student I know has either a Razr or some for of the Razr made by someone else (like me, who now has a Samsung M610). 
Ever wondered why all your friends (and possibly you) own Razr instead of a Treo? Because they’re frickin’ small! This is, of course, assuming you’re a “normal” college student who isn’t back for their grad degree after being in big business for 5-10 years. I mean, no offense, you may have a Treo, but most of the young, 18-25 crowd like Razrs and it only takes a look around the college campus to tell.
So let’s go into more of why. I promise I’ll get to the X61 review in a sec. Like I said, they’re small, but also functional and will do everything a college student needs, with the benefit of being able to put it in your pocket and not bulge. They’re sleek and sexy. They’re easy and, frankly, cheaper. Plus, how many college kids have an exchange account set up for the mobile email the Treo offers? And the wireless broadband is nearly useless with how many campuses offer wireless everywhere, anyway.
I’m getting off track but I think you see my point. The college lifestyle is one of light and easy, rather than of big and powerful.
On to the X61. I don’t know if I really need to do the math for you, but the X61 = Razr, big bulky tablet = Treo. I don’t have a cell phone analogy for slates, but you get the idea. The X61 is the thinnest tablet I’ve seen that’s still a fully functioning laptop computer.
2. The Screen
If you follow this blog, you may have noticed I focus a lot on tablet screens. You can quote me now that I think the screen, the size, and price point should be the three things you consider first when buying a tablet. It’s the core of a tablet experience, so I focus on it.
I’m using the MultiTouch/Multiview screen. To clarify for people wondering what exactly that is, MultiTouch means it has an active and passive digitizer. The active digitizer is like a Magna Doodle, where you need the special pen to do anything on the screen; and the passive is like a PDA, where you can use anything to manipulate the screen.
When the digitizer pen is away from the screen, you can use your finger or stylus to navigate, but as soon as you put the digitizer pen near the screen, the passive touch turns off and you have no worries of your palm interfering with your writing.
The first thing I noticed I was how little parallax there is between the pen tip and where the cursor is. If you’ve used an older tablet, you may have noticed there seems to be a BIG gap between the display and the glass/plastic on top that makes it odd to click things at first. You want to click one place but your pen clicks a centimeter away. But, while it’s not perfect, this is much improved on the X61.
The pen on the screen has a great resistance to it. That could just be that it’s new and clean still, but I think it’s the softer touchscreen making a difference. I did have a problem with the digitizer not kicking in 100% at first after using touch, causing strange streaks while writing with the pen, but that seems to have gone away. Perhaps it was just breaking it in. It does take a while to train your brain that, even though you can touch the screen with your finger, it’s OK to rest your palm on the screen screen while writing.
Many have said the touch feature is nice, but unnecessary, but I’d say it adds about 20%-30% to my tablet pen/touch experience. In other words, I can do 20% more things with the touch feature that I couldn’t do with the pen alone. This includes things like:
- Scrolling with my free hand while holding the pen in the other
- Changing to the next song without searching for the pen
- Changing to the next song while driving
- Surfing the web
- Opening a program for someone while they’re holding my pen (think demos)
- Quick interaction with the screen while typing
I think software will really start to grasp the whole idea of touch and become more fat-finger friendly, but until then, it’s all the little things that add up. Personally, I really love it and have no complaints about the touch experience. No, I would never grab a PDA stylus and start writing with it, but it’s good for navigation.
3. The Keyboard
Like all ThinkPad keyboards I’ve every known, tried, heard about, etc., this is a wonderful experience. Normally, it takes upwards of two weeks to acclimate to new keyboard, but this one took me maybe a few minutes, like a breath of fresh air. The only key that threw me off is the backspace key (it’s itty-bitty as opposed to the normal double-key length). Nothing else has me caused me any problems, although I have small hands so smaller keyboards never bother me much.
On top of layout, the keyboard is very quiet yet retains a nice, tactile feel. The keys feel solid and defined without being hard to press. I have a very light touch to my typing and I have no difficulty pressing keys, even when reaching with my pinky.
4. The Battery
While I haven’t done the full-out tests, I’m getting relatively the same battery life as with my LE1600 (with the extended battery on both). About three hours with everything going or playing a movie, 4 with moderate use, and a tops of 5.5 hours or so with battery management and wireless off. I haven’t gone through to see just how much I can squeeze out of the battery by tuning off processes and being all minimalist. It’s not really my thing to go minimalist, but I’ll find out for you soon, I’m sure (on a day I forget my power cord).
This life isn’t quite as great as I thought it’d be, but the fact that I didn’t trade down going from the LE1600 to the X61 is great. You should expect pretty poor battery life at first while the computer breaks in and gets things indexed. It also sucked up juice when I only had 1 GB of RAM since it would spend ages spinning it’s wheels.
5. The “Feel”
This tablet is solid, sturdy, and well made…so far (as in, nothing lasts forever, but it feels like it will last longer than my Acers). With the keyboard so well made and the hinge without any weird clicks, noises, snaps, creaks, wobbles, or otherwise, I’m very satisfied with the feel of the tablet.
I can’t remember if it was Dennis or Warner who said this over at GottaBeMobile, but I agree: I thought that my Toshiba M200 was thin for a convertible tablet until I got my hands on this X61. The tablet is thinnest on the front side, where your wrists rest while typing, and thicker on the battery side. This makes the tablet appear thinner than it really is, which is never bad.
I thought the battery hanging off the back would annoy me, but it’s a major improvement over sticking a big honkin’ battery underneath it like many manufacturers do. There’s a great rubberized grip on both sides of the battery which is useful even though I don’t use it while standing up. Imagine all the times a student pulls their tablet out of their bag and maneuvers it back in. Grip is good.
6. The Buttons
OK, I’m a little disappointed there aren’t more function buttons, but I’m never satisfied. I wish there was a programmable function button I could use for turning off the screen or for muting the speakers, but I’ll live. All in all, it’s not the most efficient arrangement of tablet face buttons, but the fingerprint reader is in the perfect spot and the the multi-directional button works well.
A nice addition was the specific volume buttons, although I still have to search for them because I’m use to them being Fn+Up/Fn+Down. That’s a good problem to have, so no worries.
Some may be wondering how the trackpoint mouse is working after using the touchpad on all my computers for so long. While I absolutely hated it on the LE1600 convertible keyboard because after an hour my finger hurt from pressing it so dang hard, I now actually prefer the ThinkPad point over a touchpad. I don’t accidentally tap the pad while typing and I don’t have to take my hands off the keys to use it. Two thumbs up from me.
7. The Fan and Heat
While slates notoriously get hotter than convertibles, keep in mind that you don’t often use a slate in a way that will get it overheated, like vent-down on a bed. I have to adjust to that since my major usage is sitting in bed with my computer on a pile of blankets in front of me. Yeah, it gets hot when there’s no ventilation. The fan actually just turned on.
It’s DEFINITELY not as hot of a runner as MANY tablets I’ve owned, it’s just something to note. I’ve not had it get hot while sitting on a solid surface, so most “normal” users out there will likely be fine. I mean “hot” in the sense of touching the bottom and thinking, “Holy cow, that’s unusually hot.”
The room I’m currently in is perfectly silent except for the ceiling fan and the computer fan. The ceiling fan is the loudest, then the keyboard, and then the X61 fan. So, yes, you can tell the fan is on, but it won’t draw the attention of the people next to you in a quiet classroom/library. Something to think about while choosing a tablet. I’ll just say I always hear my friend’s Toshiba come on if I’m within 10 seats from him…
8. The Price
I’ve been watching the Lenovo site for the last…while…and it looks like they always have a sale going in some form or another (Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Fourth of July, Back to School…) of between $300-$500 off the X60 or X61. It’s a good reason why I have my X61 today. Right now, the sales price for the X61 is $1,589 USD from $2,059.
9. Quick Vent
<vent> Dear Lenovo: why on earth did you put the speakers on the bottom of the tablet? Sure, it might give the bass more oomph, but seriously. I have the volume all the way up if I don’t have my headphones on and it’s still quiet! Uhg. I’ll live, but you better be happy that I have a good pair of headphones. </vent>
10. Parting Thoughts
Anyway, If you do want to grab an X61 of your own, I highly suggest at least 2 GB of RAM and, like always, I recommend buying as little as possible from Lenovo. It looks like they’re charging double the price you should pay for RAM if you buy it with the tablet. Try to get 1 GB of RAM in the form of one 1 GB stick instead of two 512 MB sticks (it’s an option while ordering) so you only have to buy a 1 GB stick to insert later.
All you’ll need to get the same stuff for cheap is a tiny Phillips-head screwdriver, and “200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Notebook Memory.” You can either get it online (NewEgg is my personal favorite) or go to Fry’s and let them know this is what you need. You can also just say you have an X60 series ThinkPad and, yes, the X60 uses the same RAM as the X61 incase their database isn’t updated with the X61 yet.
Once you get the RAM:
- turn the tablet completely off,
- turn it over,
- unscrew the two screws covering the middle plate (likely containing your Windows validation sticker),
- pop up the currently installed RAM (push out on the two clips holding it down),
- insert the new RAM,
- push down until it clicks,
- and screw the cover plate back on.
It’s really, really easy.
Vista Home Premium will be fine if you’re just using it for school (it’s what I’m using and I’ve not had any regrets), and don’t even ask if I’ve notice a difference with the Turbo Memory yet. I have no idea if it helps much but the tablet is certainly springy.
And to conclude this long overdue review of the Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet PC, I think it’s the best tablet for a student that’s out on the market right now. Period.
BTW, my X61 is still engraved with ”IBM ThinkPad.”
Other posts that may interest you:
I’ve heard many good things about the X61T, but I hate to say I feel your review it is a little biased.
Why? Because most of us college students are .. um.. poor? 1500 for a computer is not cheap. Not to mention a computer that you cant even run games on, and has a 12 screen. It’s never going to be a “do all” computer which most students require.
Anyway, good review, but seriously, we are college students, not rich business men who only use their computers for basic email/web/word processing.
But don’t get me wrong, I love this site and love the reviews. Just this one needed a little more thought put to the users.
July 16th, 2007 at 10:50 pmHeya Tracy,
Thanks, Lavs
July 16th, 2007 at 11:30 pmTracy the iphone would be a slate.
July 16th, 2007 at 11:58 pmOk so first thing is first, to Kaycee: I am a college student, I work two jobs (1 full and 1 part) and take on average 17 credits a semester keeping my 3.94 GPA, while dealing with my boyfriend’s incessant drama. I’m graduating May of 2008 with 2 BS (Neuroscience and Molecular Biotechnology) which means I’ll have been going to school 4 years straight.
The point is that the only college students that WOULD NOT pay to have tech that would make their lives easier and GREATLY increase efficiency (even if they have to save, like I do sometimes) are those that: have an easy major, are just starting out, or are not serious about their career choice(s) yet. All of the above assume that the course work included non-intensive note taking. Not sure about anyone else here but I have taken classes that are symbol and note intensive. Anyone that has ever taken the Physics, Organic Chemistry, and Calculus sequences in their sophomore year can tell you that the materials center around a pencil and pad of paper for notes. In my sophomore year when I completed all those sequences (7 classes in all) I had about 35 composition pads FULL of notes.
So imagine having to sift through all of that to find 1 equation that you might find useful in another class. It’s insane and unless you have a really good memory (thankfully so) you’ll have to review ALL the books twice before you figure out a system of organization, and that is unacceptably inefficient for my schedule.
Ok now that that is over. Tracy, as I mentioned above about the nearly 35 notebooks full of notes- if I had to put together all the parts that were written in English, then it would only make about 7 of those notebooks, the rest were in symbolic language appropriate to the class. I bought a Sony VAIO SZ last May to help me out with note taking but I found out after only 2 weeks of class that it was 4lbs that I was hauling around needlessly. Higher division courses have little to no homework requirements so I find the more classes I take the less I’m using the laptop for school. Even if I have to view powerpoint slides, I find using my blackberry and leaving the laptop at home a much easier solution.
With all that said, I need a LIGHT tablet with lots of battery life (certain lectures last 4 hours, and with 3 lectures on a heavy day). I really don’t care about anything else, just something LIGHT that works with at least 3 hours of battery life. The ability to use OneNote and Firefox would be nice too but not necessary. Oh and I don’t want to use one of those tablets that you have to use paper with, to me that negates the point of trying to go paperless. Without taking price into consideration what would be a few suggestions? Is there anything I should look for specifically with what I have informed you?
Thanks in advance, Rafe.
July 17th, 2007 at 3:22 amKaycee - did I mention I’m not a rich business man or grad student? $1,500 for a tablet is a pretty good price, especially if it’s your only computer. No, it’s not as cheap as some you can get on eBay or some of the Gateways that are $1200. My first tablet was $1000 off eBay. But brand new they’re $1500 with the X60’s less than that, so used or refurbished they’d be even cheaper.
And the X61 is my only computer. I’m an engineering student. Are you saying most college students do more computing than an engineering student? I don’t have a powerful desktop I use for the big stuff. Plus, most of the “big stuff” requires special programs that I can’t afford to purchase so I use the computer lab computers. The X61 is Core 2 Duo and can run Aero so you know the graphics isn’t too dull. I’m not a gamer, but I’m betting most games could run on the low graphics setting, at least.
And I’m not quite understanding why the 12″ screen is a factor. Yes, it’s nice if you can grab a clearance CRT extra monitor like I found at Best Buy for $40, but I never really use it. I’ve used a 12″ screen in school for the last two years with no problem. What the 12″ screen does help with is weight and what I seriously had a problem with when I had my 14″ screen is it was a pain to carry around everywhere.
I did say I’d be full of opinions and I do have a lot of “I think” in there. But trust me that no company tab is covering my tablet, I didn’t get a discount, I am a normal college student, and I use the X61 for more than just basic email/web/word processing.
Lavanya - that depends on if you like to have the internet available during class. I usually turn it off because it’s distracting, which would get me about 4.5-5 hours usage in class. I don’t like to turn the screen brightness all the way down, but if I had to, it could get closer to 5-5.5. I’ll have to try it.
NSCRN2B - haha, I thought about that, but that would be insinuating all the other phones could do all they iPhone could do and that the thin, buttonless form factor was the major cool part about it. It’s getting there, though.
July 17th, 2007 at 7:07 amRafe - I’d look at the Fujitsu P1610. It has about 3 hours battery life with optional extended battery that I’m guessing would get it up to 5-6 hours. With the regular battery, it’s only 2.2 lbs and still has decent pen functions. http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=P1610
Too bad the NEC Versa Litepad is no longer. It was a slate that was only 2.2 lbs. Now most slates are around 3.5 lbs. The MotionComputing LE1600 would be my other option at 3.2 lbs.
July 17th, 2007 at 8:19 am[...] Tracy Hooten of The Student Tablet PC has penned a review of the Lenovo Thinkpad X61 Tablet PC and she starts out by warning that she’s full of opinions. She’s right. Mostly her opinions point to a …. [...]
July 17th, 2007 at 8:50 amRafe,
I don’t think a laptop would solve any of your issues. I think maybe you should spend your money more wisely so you could drop one of your jobs. Get rid of your boyfriend because he seems to be an anchor to your greatness. You should also narrow your focus on school and work on ONE area of study, you would be a PHD in one of them and be ready to jump into a rewarding career if you had a little bit of focus and discipline. I’m glad you have an excellent memory, but maybe you should work on it so you don’t need 35 notebooks full of notes…
No charge for the advice, I hope you can turn your life around and achive the greatness you seem setout to achive.
Thanks
July 17th, 2007 at 9:31 amOk seriously I have to comment on this…Rafe it is your choice to do what you do. 2 jobs and etc. Some people have other obligations and just can’t afford it. I personally couldn’t. I have to feed a baby (5 mth old), pay for my tuition and books, and housing while still taking a full course load. And there is no such thing as an easy major. That is a very insulting comment. If I told you I found your majors easy wouldn’t you find that insulting. (P.S. I already have a B.S. and M.S. in physics and working on my neuroscience degree now.) So instead of making comment on how someone thinks it’s expensive try to see it from where they are coming from too.
M
July 17th, 2007 at 9:31 amTracy– An excellent review! I want an X61 too!
Kaycee– Those who buy $500 computers from Dell, Gateway, etc… end up with $500 computers from Dell, Gateway, etc. and very little else. Don’t think for a minute that you’re going to be doing heavy gaming on those systems or anything else beyond wordprocessing and email.
Tracy is right– $1500 is very reasonable, but $2000 is a more realistic price for tablets if you really want to get a good return on the investment.
Regards, Aaron
July 17th, 2007 at 9:52 amVery nice review, Tracy! I agree, a little more expense is worth it for the X61…I mean, I know college students who are paying $100/month for cable, which means $1200/year! It’s up to you to put where your priorities are…
You may find my X61 notes and review interesting.
July 17th, 2007 at 9:57 amI got my x31 early July, love it! I get about 6 hrs batt life w/o areo, about 5.5 w/ areo.. shrug
One thing I’m wondering if you have this same problem. At the bottom of the screen its separating from the base.. almost like its bubbling or some adhesive is giving way. Its rather annoying. Other than a few other complaints I’m sending it to service to get taken care of, I’m really happy with it.
I’m also taking donations to pay for it
July 17th, 2007 at 10:24 amMy wife and I are both nursing students. I work TWO jobs at two different hospitals. I am also double majoring, BSN and BS in Biology. I am in no way rich, nor do I have any kind of “free-time.” About two years ago I became fascinated with tablets. We already had a great Dell home PC. I started out with a Gateway 285E I got off of Ubid for $500. Best purchase I ever made. Immediately I upgraded the ram to 2 gig and never looked back. It served me rather well. I don’t have time to play games and I hardly ever watched a movie. So I started noticing I had features I didn’t need or needed to change. Then my wife got interested as well. She saw that my backpack was much lighter than hers. When we studied together I was able to pull up previous notes in a flash compared to her sifting through a file cabinet that we affectionately call “the hole.” So when she jumped in, she did her research, made a decision and we both bought Fujitsu P1610’s. Granted we both had to save. But the decision was much more informed and tailored to our needs. We didn’t need to game, watch dvd’s or really do a lot of note taking. Otherwise we needed a full on computer with internet, decent memory for the ton of reference books you need on the fly and “some” note taking. Now that I am back in some regular classes outside of nursing I had to shift back to a more solid academic platform. Something I take a lot of notes on, record lectures and make lots of power point presentations. So, I sold my P1610 and bought the Lenovo X61. I couldn’t be happier. I think they have orchestrated a fine balance of form and function. If I was just beginning academia, this would be the tablet that carried me all the way through as opposed to stepladder approach. In Tracy’s review, I think that’s the point she’s trying to make.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:38 amUnless you buy from ebay, in which case you can buy for much much cheaper (assuming you don’t get ripped off).
In any case…Kaycee, yeah I’m a poor student too. I had to literally beg my parents to fund my TC4400 just a month or two ago, which I bought for 1k Canadian, which is like 900 bucks US.
But think about it this way. How much are you paying for tuition? Books? Food? Housing? Other fees and costs?
Add that up and the 1.5k turns out to not matter that much in the grand scheme of things, especially if you divide that cost over a four year period.
Given the fact that tablets are so much more useful for the average student than the typical laptop, the extra 500 bucks that you may have to pay over the typical 1000 or sub 1000 price of regular laptops…well, just gimme a break.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:46 am[...] over at The Student Tablet PC has posted another review of the Lenovo ThinkPad X61 [...]
July 17th, 2007 at 11:23 amGreat review as ever Tracy. You’ve certainly got the comments buzzing :o)
July 17th, 2007 at 12:27 pmTracy, I’ve been looking in in vain for comments/reviews regarding any sacrifices made going to a Tablet with a MultiTouch digitizer as opposed to the Wacom digitizer — in terms of pressure sensitiviy. Am I correct in the belief that there is no pressure sensitivity? If so, do you find it to be a negative in any way, ie, for drawing, sketching, etc?
July 17th, 2007 at 12:34 pm[...] Tracy Hooten of The Student Tablet PC has penned a review of the Lenovo Thinkpad X61 Tablet PC and she starts out by warning that she’s full of opinions. She’s right. Mostly her opinions point to a …. [...]
July 17th, 2007 at 1:06 pmAccurate review Tracy - I have had the X60 tablet for half a year, and love it to death. Looks like the X61 is pretty much identical, with a few updated internals.
RE: your point about the speaker on the bottom… may I suggest that this is the ideal placement of the speaker on a convertible, given the potential for serious magnetic interference with the Wacom digitzer field? The near-lack of parallax we’ve noticed on our ThinkPads (compared to a Toshiba, for example) may be a result of the far-away placement of the speaker.
My point: if there was one feature that had to be bumped in order to ensure thin/small design, low parallax and digitizer interference issues, etc. - I am glad it was the crapification of the speaker. The thing is sufficient for system interface sounds, and would be fine for the occasional YouTube viewing if they’d only cranked the speaker power a bit.
That said, there are some interesting codec/EQ packages that can do software amplification. Check out Media Player Classic, for example: I’ve used its internal gain controls to pump the occasional audiobook into the backyard during garden work. Of course you aren’t left with great quality from the ThinkPad’s teeny-weeny speaker, but it can produce when properly motivated
July 17th, 2007 at 1:27 pmTracy, I’ve been looking to buy myself a new X61. But they’re much more expensive in Europe. I’m currently using a Toshiba Portege M400. The only thing I complain about is the warranty (that’s something you should definitely spend some extra on): in theory it’s NBD on-site, but it’s often next week (or I have to send it to them)…
@Kaycee: what’s the problem with a 12inch screen? I have a resolution of 1400×1050 which is more than most 15/15.4 inch laptops, plus it’s so much lighter
The hard-core gamers out there, will never be satisfied with the graphics of a laptop. They want the latest SLI config or something. For some more casual gaming the X61 will suffice (as longs as you have enough memory).
July 17th, 2007 at 1:42 pmM - I kinda disagree…I think there are some easy majors out there…don’t ask me to name them though because I’d just get in trouble ^_^.
Benjamin - Good point. It just seems an extra layer of insulation would at least make it possible to put it on the side. I say I love the tablet because it really doesn’t gripe me that much, it’s just that if I had to gripe, that’s what I gripe about on this one.
NSCRN2B - I’ve gone through most all types of tablet out there so, yes, if I can keep others from doing that, I would be happy ^_^.
Wedge - Hm, no, no bubbles on this one. That sucks though for you. Best wishes for a speedy recovery! And I’ll have to see if I have the same battery performance hit with Aero although I really like it on ^_^.
Andy - Dang, that’s pretty sweet. Is that webpage a default, relatively easy thing to do with OneNote 2007 or is that after oodles of tweak time?
ALL - Alright, so let’s call this one a draw and say all decent tablets are about the same price and forget about how who is paying for what. If you already got over the bar for affording a mid-priced computer, this particular tablet is a good one.
July 17th, 2007 at 2:43 pmyvilla - The X61 Multitouch actually has a Wacom digitizer on it, so there is no sacrifice with pressure sensitivity as long as you’re using the tablet pen. The touch digitizer does not have pressure sensitivity, but I can barely keep a straight line with it anyway, so I would never draw/write using my fingernail or a PDA stylus…^_^
July 17th, 2007 at 3:01 pmGreat review! I have one on the way. Did yours take them a month to build? I also got the 500 dollar off deal but once I specked it up approximately equivalent to yours (w/ an accidental warranty and the ultrabase) I was looking at 2500 after tax. This is a pretty penny to be sure, but I think it will be amazing and well worth it. I’ve never had a tablet but I’m a EE student and I think it will be invaluable to note taking and the like. Its ironic that you compared the treo and razr as you did because I had an MDA and switched to a razr (couldn’t afford the data and it was too fat). And am switching from a 17in desktop replacement dell behemoth to this amazing tablet. Thanks for the review.
July 17th, 2007 at 4:33 pmRafa: I’m basically doing the same major as you (BS Neuroscience & Biology).
I’m just curious about how you will be implementing your tablet into your academic workflow?
Also, do you intend to transcribe those stack of notes onto your new tablet or will you just use it solely for upcoming lecture notes?
Being able to refer to a concept a year or so from now seems pretty handy especially if one is doing a research thesis.
BTW, it sort of sounds as though you aren’t too keen on laptops/tablets in your last few paragraphs. Do you intend to use your tablet to make text & lecture notes, etc as integrated as possible or are you just using a it to cut down on the amount of paper you use?
July 17th, 2007 at 4:37 pmMy God… isn’t a tablet that does not produce heat? I hate pen and love the concept of tablet pc. But carrying a 3.4 pound tablet pc in my work office is not fun at all and produces heat when I’m under stress sigh…
By the way, thanks for your nice reviews!
July 17th, 2007 at 4:45 pmInteresting. By speaker on the side, do you mean actually facing directly out the side or curved over the front (a-la-Fujitsu) or across the back (a-la-Toshiba)?
Methinks the speaker that faces and fits into the side of this tablet, i.e. beside the USB ports, is a tiny one that is even softer than what we’ve got now. Then again, how does Fujitsu do it?
July 17th, 2007 at 7:39 pmWhat are the viewing angles and text like for reading versus the LE1600 you left? I am in the process of mabye switching from the LE1600 to the x61t. My main issues are I read a ton and don’t want to sacrifice the screen of the LE1600. In hindsight would you prefer the SXGA vs the Multitouch you rec’d?
Thanks for the excellent writeup!
July 17th, 2007 at 10:21 pmA-la-Fujitsu would be nice, but not a-la-Toshiba. Are the vents above the USB ports speakers? I’ve not heard anything come out of those, even with my ear up to it.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:38 pmPete - The screen is wonderful when it comes to viewing angle, even after having the LE1600. It’s not quite as bright at high angles (>150 degrees) but it doesn’t wash out and go negative like most screens. I’ll just say the difference was not noticeable enough for me to remember to mention it ^_^.
In hindsight, I’d still get the multitouch simply because I like the size of the text with XGA on a 12″ and I really like the touch. When I look at my brother’s M200, it seems uncomfortably small anymore.
July 17th, 2007 at 11:16 pmOh no, I phrased it wrong - I mean the hypothetical speaker beside the USB ports would be a tiny one. Of course there are none there.
July 18th, 2007 at 6:39 amHah, OK, I got ya. Had me wondering.
July 18th, 2007 at 7:08 amGreat review Tracy…thanks for all your good work.
X61. I can’t imagine paying 1.5 and living life without an optical drive. My friend Dan has the smallest Apple laptop…really small and light…and it has onboard optical drive that is barely there, so I know it can be done. Playing CD’s and DVD’s IS a factor and loading up an exterior drive is a big no. Also, the boxy screen (almost every other mfr. is going to widescreen) keeps me away from the X61. Widescreen is useful, even when in portrait mode.
Finally, do you actually do all your notetaking on the X61? Or is it occasionally nice to take notes on it, but the bulk of notes go to paper.
THANKS!!!
July 18th, 2007 at 8:32 ambuy.com has it for $1100, but no specifics are listed. http://www.buy.com/prod/lenovo-laptop-computer-topseller-x61-t7300-2-0g-1gb-120gb-12-1-xga-wl/q/loc/101/204681856.html
July 18th, 2007 at 9:23 amTracy,
Which battery do you have?
July 18th, 2007 at 9:57 amThanks, Al. The only time I take notes on paper is during my internships because I’m dealing with some confidential stuff and they’re a little hesitant to let me put all my notes and information on my own, unsecure computer. A bulk, if not all, of my notes during the semester are on the tablet. If I take notes anywhere else, 9 times out of 10 they’ll be lost in a month since I don’t do much in the way of filing.
The one and only time I wish my tablet, whatever tablet I have, had a CD/DVD drive is when I first get it and I’m installing Office from a CD or when it crashes and I need/want to clean the hard drive (only happened once). I really don’t use CDs anymore. I’d much rather watch DVDs on a TV screen because then other people can watch too. All my music is digital already. Of course I would gladly get a tablet with a drive if they offered it, but it won’t stop me from getting one just because they don’t. It is stupid they haven’t figured it out yet, but if it means it’s thinner and lighter because they don’t want to do it yet, then I’m fine with it for the meantime.
Also, the X61 has an “ultrabase” that attaches to the bottom of the tablet like an extension, making it still portable, but just thicker and heavier. I ran out of money so I didn’t get it, but if you really wanted a portable, built-in optical drive/dock/extra hard drive, there is a work-around solution for $100-200 more (depending on sales).
July 18th, 2007 at 10:01 amRob - I have the extended battery (8-cell?) that sticks out about an inch from the back.
And about the battery, I’m going on a flight today so I’m going to test just how much juice I can squeeze from this thing. It looks like I might get 7 hours of run time if I play my cards right. I’ll report once I find out.
July 18th, 2007 at 10:05 amGreat review Tracy, I usually find that subjective opinions like this are more useful than benchmarks, tech specs, etc. One question - is the touch screen similar to a pda/palm screen (i.e. “squishy”) or is it more like the displays on bank machines, where there’s no flex whatsoever?
Also, you say it gets kind of hot - have you measured the temperatures with notebook hardware control or something? I’m lucky with my “ancient” Sharp TN10W - never feels hot even on bare skin, and I can use it in bed and the the CPU never gets above 40C or so.
July 18th, 2007 at 10:10 amSeesquared - It’s not glass, but it’s not sqishy like a PDA. The touchscreen LE1600 is like the bank screens where it’s glass-like, but X61 is…well it feels just like how a normal, non-glass tablet screen feels. I can’t remember which tablet you have, but it’s very similar to the squish factor of the M200 except when I push hard there aren’t the strange, colorful distortions. How’s that for an answer ^_^.
Hm, when I say it gets hot, I did mean when it’s sitting on a bed without ventilation. Let’s see, I’ve had it plugged in all morning charging for my trip with it running on low (screen on screensaver mode) and it is…barely lukewarm. It’s definitely ventilated enough so when in battery saving mode, the fan can keep up.
Perhaps I should have just said, “a majority of the vents are on the bottom of the talblet, so you can’t set it on anything squishy if you don’t want it to run hot.”
July 18th, 2007 at 10:35 amI use an x41 right now, but I just had the opportunity to play with my mom’s new x60 with the multiTouch screen. I agree that the passive digitizer adds significantly to the tablet experience. It is very intuitive to be able to point to something on the screen to click it without needing to fumble around for the pen. The MultiTouch screen is the primary reason I have been drooling at x60’s and x61’s (that and the dual core processors…I have a lowly Pentium M)
I enjoyed the no nonsense review of how the system will hold up in practical settings. I use my tablet nonstop on campus. I find the current prices to be a bargain compared to what I paid for my x41 when it was new. I have not regretted the somewhat expensive investment at all. The thinkpad tablets are worth every penny they charge for them.
July 18th, 2007 at 12:41 pmTracy - I am interested in the specs of your machine and the final price you paid b/c I am trying to figure out how to get one of these. I can sell my LE1600 but then it looks like I’ll need a decent amount to make up the difference. What I’m seeing on Lenovo’s site puts me at about $1650-$1800. Feel free to email me if that would be better for you. Thanks.
robert dot rahm at mu dot edu
July 18th, 2007 at 2:34 pmTracy - good review. I’m wondering if you’ve experienced any of the BSOD problems that lots of other X61 tablet users have experienced? I waited over 6 weeks to get my tablet because of Lenovo’s manufacturing/shipping incompetence and now that I have it, it’s just about the most unstable computer I’ve ever used. I love ThinkPads and won’t use anything else, but I’ve had this thing for 5 days now and I’ve had 10 BSOD’s. Calling in to Lenovo is worthless, they can only suggest completely reloading the software (not sure why since it BSOD’d right out of the box with nothing added by me). Anyways, I’ve reloaded it twice and even updated all the drivers according to Lenovo’s website and still problems remain. I even disabled the Turbo cache and it actually BSOD’d while I was doing that as well.
July 18th, 2007 at 4:38 pmRob: I just ordered this weekend, loaded system. No docking station or optical drive, since I have no need. Total price: $1447.85 with the following specs: 7764CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM 08/16/07 $1,447.85 $1,447.85 7764CTO CTO THINKPAD X61 TABLET SERIES 27R0300 VBB INTEGR. FINGERPRINT SENSOR 42R9189 VBB INTEGR.WIFI WL 3RD ANTENNA 42V8010 VBB MS WIN VISTA BUSINESS 42X0661 SBB MW VISTABUS32 US ENGLISH 42X0464 SBB 12.1″MV SXGA TFT L7500LV 41W2060 VBB 1GB PC2-5300 667MHZ 1DIMM 42X0133 SBB KEYBOARD US ENGLISH 42V9152 SBB 160 GB HDD,5400RPM 42V8193 SBB INTEL TURBO MEMORY 1GB 62P6054 VBB INTEGR.BLUETOOTH PAN 42V8177 SBB INT.WIRE.WIFI/LINK4965AGN 42T6684 SBB THINKPADX60 TABSER8 SL 41W1787 SBB CPK NORTH AMERICA 27R1769 SBB PSTN CABLE 42X0511 SBB LPACK.US ENGLISH 42T6786 SBB BLUETOOTH W/ ANTENNA 42X0750 SBB CLEARPLATE:WLAN+BT 42X0757 SBB FCC LABEL 42X0732 SBB GEO LABEL US,WLAN,BT 41W1982 SBB LOGO PLATE 42X0727 SBB MT 7764 SYSTEM LABEL 42X1359 SBB MECH MISC PARTS 42V7973 SBB MS LABEL (VISTA BASIC) 42X1232 SBB NEWINTELLAB_DUALCORE/CEPRO 42V8063 SBB MS WAU ENGLISH NA-U MODELS 42X0548 SBB PACKAGING 42V8300 SBB 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 667MHZ
July 18th, 2007 at 5:54 pmDaniel: Did you buy direct from Lenovo?
July 18th, 2007 at 6:40 pmAnd do you have the touch screen Daniel?
July 18th, 2007 at 6:45 pmmadcow, disable your turbo memory until intel+ms+lenovo fixes that problem at least that’s what i did…
i’m joyfully screen-typing on the bed with no pen out (with practice, this becomes faster than penning :p)
July 18th, 2007 at 6:54 pm@me,
I did disable the turbo memory as recommended by some when I searched Google for the problem. The thing still has BSOD. It had a BSOD when I tried turning off the turbo memory even. I also have BSOD when operating both on battery and on AC power. I search everyday for new drivers from Lenovo since the System Update software is worthless and doesn’t find the updates even when I have some drivers that are 2 revisions old.
July 19th, 2007 at 4:10 am[...] [Updated: 20 July] Another short review on the Thinkpad X61 Tablet PC up at The Student Tablet PC site, this time from a college student’s point of view, link here. [...]
July 19th, 2007 at 7:55 pmI just want to say that I am a college student and I bought a X60 during my first year of college. I saved up the money and decided if I was going to buy a tablet I was going to go all out and get something that was good quality and last me a while, so I looked at the IBMs, which I discovered was now Lenovo, and but an XP based tablet. I upgraded to vista and it runs like a beauty.
I was a little worried about gaming on the laptop, because it was going to be my main computer, but there are plenty of older games that I enjoy playing that run on my X60t. Well some newer games run, but on low of course.
During the summer I worked at a computer store and saw that we started to carry a few tablet PCs. I had seen the HP TX1220 tablet shortly after I got my IBM and felt a little bad about spending the extra money when I could have gotten the same thing in the HP for ~1200. Though after I saw it, I was happy I got the Lenovo.
If you can put in the extra money, I’d definitely recommend going for it.
July 19th, 2007 at 10:28 pmmadcow - I’ve had one or two BSODs in the while I’ve had it. While I thought it was odd, I actually hadn’t thought about it as a bug. At least I know what it is it if starts doing it more frequently. I’ll keep an eye out for fixes.
Rob - I’ll email you everything later today.
July 20th, 2007 at 2:09 pmRob, Yes from the Lenovo website… using the SPP member site and then adding a coupon that took off more. No I didn’t get the touch, because I wanted the higher resolution.
July 21st, 2007 at 11:40 amTracy - Thanks, I’ll be watching for it.
Daniel - Where did you get a coupon??? What is the SPP member site?
July 21st, 2007 at 7:17 pmJust wantedt osay I didn’t mean to offend anyone. I am not talking about 500 dollar computers or anything like that. I’ve bought a new C-140X for around 1350 with shipping, but that was absolutely all I could afford. College is expensive, none of which are avoidable. A place to live, books, printer, computer, food, tuiton. It all adds up. I’m just saying most students maybe can afford 1000, maybe a little more, but when you take the x61 and add on some extra features, it gets a little to pricey for most of us.
I’m not out to accuse anyone of being rich or not having had to work for it, but just trying to be realistic that it can’t be the ultimate computer for all of us. The screen is too small for to clearly see what I am doing. I have good vision but it’s still just too small. It’s a great computer, no doubt there. Just not perfect for every single student. We’re all different, our needs cannot all be met by one computer. And thats all that I meant, nothing more.
July 22nd, 2007 at 7:12 pmmadcow - OK, I’ve had three BSOD’s in the last 12 hours and it’s driving me bonkers. We’ll get to the bottom of this…
July 23rd, 2007 at 7:20 amThis is a question for Tracy or anyone else who’s used an X61. Is the writing surface (in tablet mode) horizontal? With the lid closed it looks like it slopes downward toward the front, so I assume in tablet mode it sloped too! Assuming this is so, has anyone found this to be annoying? Tolerable? (I’m right-handed and anticipate using an X61 mostly in tablet mode, in portrait orientation [either end, depending on the situation].)
July 24th, 2007 at 11:37 amNow I’m concerned. I just ordered an X61 and I’m seeing these posts talking about the BSOD. Has anyone else been having this problem?
July 24th, 2007 at 11:53 amDima - no, it’s not annoying at all. Since you can turn the tablet to where it’s sloping either way, it’s not an issue and can actually help with glare and writing angle, but the slope is no more than what normal notebooks and such provide due to binding. It’s just very thin so any slope is accentuated in pictures. It’s definitely not like the one Gateway with extended battery that’s like writing on an empty 1″ binder. That one’s noticeable.
Mike - If I were you, I’d be hoping it’s a problem with every single X61 out there if there must be a problem. Those type of problems are fixed, and fixed fast, with maybe an easy to find/download patch. Now, say it only happens to 2% of the X61’s but you draw a “lucky” number. Then you get stuck fighting with tech support figuring out what’s wrong then possibly having to send it in.
The fact that so many are reporting it is music to my ears, especially since my machine has it.
July 24th, 2007 at 1:48 pmRegarding the BSODs: Did you apply this update from the lenovo site? http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-67820.html
It’s an updated driver for the Intel Turbo memory and it specifically addresses BSOD. I haven’t tried it myself, since I’ll be getting my x61 shipped in 3 weeks…=(
July 24th, 2007 at 2:22 pmI zonked out last night so I didn’t get a chance and it looks like I’ll be busy tonight as well. Anything BIOS related I always put time aside for, so maybe tomorrow night I’ll try it.
July 24th, 2007 at 3:41 pmIs the fingerprint reader standard on this bad boy??? Those readers sure are nice!
July 24th, 2007 at 9:21 pmTracy - Didn’t know you are in Austin too and a Microsoft MVP for Tablet PC. Pretty impressive.
Rob - Check out fatwallet.com and search the forum for Thinkpad. You’ll find what you need.
July 25th, 2007 at 4:27 pmTracey, nice review.
Could you please elaborate on the screen? I’m after a tablet that I can draw on, so the precision and parallax are very important.
You have said the parallax effect is quite small, but can you quantify that in some way?
Also, although you are probably not an artist, as an engineer you likely have to draw diagrams etc, freehand. How have you found the screen for drawing purposes?
July 25th, 2007 at 8:45 pmHi Tracy
if you want some pictures of the x61, you can get someones here: http://www.tabletpccorner.net/content/view/2888/31/
Best regards
July 26th, 2007 at 3:29 amNice review, definitely.
If I could, I’d like to ask author for an opinion.
I am thinking about buying a tablet PC now. I wanted something that is light, portable, and can substitute regular PC in most daily tasks. As I also dabble in computer graphics, I would very much like it to contain Wacom digitizer. Money is also a factor.
I admit with shame that I have always been a gamer and old habits die hard, hence for me it would be nice if I could play a couple of my older games on it. It is a bonus feature, useless, counter-productive, I know, but nevertheless I’d like to have it. Enemy Territory, Deus Ex, nothing fancy.
The final contenders were : - Toshiba M200 - Tochiba Tecra M4 - Lenovo X61
The first one is middle weight, a little heavy for a Tablet PC, but bearable (I’m big and strong guy), has GeForce graphic card, nice screen resolution (1400×1050) and I can buy used one for under 800$. I’ve heard that the screen is so-so, it is relatively thick and battery life sucks.
The second one is 14″, big, heavy and thick, but could be used as a desktop replacement. Hey, I could even play Doom 3 on it! But still, it doesn’t exactly qualify as light or portable, and battery life is a bummer.
The third one is the lightest of three, affordable (100-1200$), thin and seems to have decent battery life and nice screen. Gaming might be limited, however (aww… not even ET?) and resolution is not all that great (barely 1024×768).
My questions to you as a person that has had at least two out of three are :
as a user of both, could you compare M200 to X61 in terms of your personal impressions of screen, battery life, and (this is not measurable) user comfort? Which one do you prefer? Why did you go for IBM instead of Toshiba?
since you’ve mentioned that you draw a little, which of these tablets is better suited for drawing, digital painting and such?
what would be your opinion/suggestion to my dilemma? Personally, I will probably choose either M200 or X61, only can’t decide which one…
Now, I know I am asking a lot, so if you don’t have time for this, don’t bother. But if you could clarify at least some of these points for me, I would be very grateful.
Barts
July 26th, 2007 at 4:56 amDaniel - As an engineer, I can appreciate a quantitative approach to things ^_^. Looking at the screen from the highest angle possible (face right up the the screen and at an angle), I would say there is no more than 1.2 mm of difference between the pen and cursor. This is when the cursor is normally directly under the pen while looking at the screen dead on. Other tablets I’ve used have closer to 1.5-2 mm separation.
As for the digitizer itself, it’s no better or worse than any other Wacom digitizer. It’s the pen and the screen that makes the difference between tablets. Glass screens have a different feel than plastic, and coatings add a different feel as well.
When you run your finger over the X61 scree, it feel very much like paper, with the same friction. It won’t feel just like paper when you’re writing because the pen is not distributing anything on the screen like with paper and pen, but very similar to a high quality rollerball pen on smooth paper.
Pure glass screens like the MotionComputing slates or course feel like glass and have a smoother finish. There are screen covers though that can change the feel of the screen, such as my personal favorite, the WriteSHIELD. As a note, the Toshibas usually have a plastic screen with a coating similar to the ThinkPads.
Barts - I’ll ask my brother if he has ET and if he does, I’ll install it on my X61, just for you ^_^. He has the M200, by the way.
Well, the battery on the M200 will be no more than 3 hours if you get a used one, and the Toshiba line isn’t so reliable after two years in general (my brother’s hard drive just crashed, for example).
Since you’re leaning on the X61 and M200, I’ll talk on those. While you’d probably enjoy the Tecra for a couple months, once your gaming needs outruns the tecnology, you’ll likely get tired of a bulky tablet since you’re wanting something light and portable to begin with.
Which is bet