Looking for a small IPS laptop - thoughts on X220 vs others?

[qviri]

Hi all,

I'm looking into getting a portable (~12") laptop with an IPS screen in the near future. I'm mostly looking for the screen, light weight, good battery life, and a webcam. I'm currently using an X31 and a T60p so I'm not that particular about the CPU or general performance; support for 8 GB of RAM for the future would be nice, as would an SSD. I'd prefer a traditional layout keyboard with a good feel and a good trackpoint, although I imagine I would be able to get by with a wireless mouse in the absence of the latter. Build quality to last five years or so would be preferable . Budget is around $700-800, and I'm looking to buy used.

I'm looking at the X220. The X230 adds nothing I'm particularly interested in, at a higher price point and with a non-traditional keyboard layout, so I see no reason to go with it over an X220. The only thing that gives me pause about the X220 is the highly mediocre resolution. I would prefer something around 1440*900 or so, or possibly a little higher - for reference, I'm used to and like the T60p's 133 dpi UXGA screen and it seems a little sad Lenovo can't equal it six years later.

I've seen mentions around the internet of ultrabooks with higher-res IPS screens. Does anyone around here have any experience with any particular models, and can weigh in on how they stack up to the X220 by the criteria above? I'm not holding out for a Thinkpad-quality trackpoint but would prefer not to go with an un-serviceable creaky thing either.

Any particular recommendations?

[RealBlackStuff]

You should be looking for an X200 or X201 with AFFS modded LCD.
There's one in the market forum, well within your budget, which would fit your requirements perfectly: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=105369

[ZaZ]

There's only two recent notebooks I can think of that could meet your resolution requirements and are even close to your budget - the Samsung Series 9 and Asus UX31A. The Samsung offers HD+ resolution while the Asus is FHD. These are ultrabooks, which have their limitations like no upgrades, batteries locked inside the case and sub par trackpads/keyboards. I don't know that you'll find a sub 14" notebook with an IPS screen with above HD resolution for $800 or less. Microsoft was selling last years Series 9 at their store for $800, but they ran out quickly and I don't think it was available in Canada unless you want to make a run for the border.

The X200s is a fine machine, but WXGA isn't any better than HD resolution wise. I don't know why people get their panties in a bunch about going up to HD+ resolution. On a typical internet page, it'll net you about three extras lines. If you want to view documents side by side that seems a better reason to get excited about it, but most people in my experience don't do that and I'm guessing coming from a X31 with XGA, you didn't do that much.

The X220/X230 are fantastic notebooks. If you can get the X220 for less I'd do it as the X230 won't offer you much. I've used both the X230 and T430. While Lenovo has moved some of the function keys and that may upset some, the keyboards themselves are quite good in my opinion.

[pianowizard]

If you don't mind TN, get an X200s with 1440x900 though it would be hard to find one with a webcam (external webcams are very cheap though). Not only it has a higher res than the X220, it's also about half a pound lighter, and you might find it easier to get used to its 16:10 than to the X220's 16:9. The X201s with 1440x900 would be even better but it's quite rare and is above your budget.

If you can convince yourself that 1366x768 is okay, then get the X220. I personally find it not only too low-res but also unacceptably heavy for a 12-incher, though your X31 is even heavier and lower-res.

There are some very interesting ultrabooks out there but all of them are drastically different from the Thinkpads. Buy one only after you have tried a few in person, unless you feel that you are a very adaptive person.

If you ever come across a sub-$200 Panasonic Toughbook CF-Y7, you should seriously consider buying it. It's not IPS and it doesn't take 8GB of RAM, but this nearly-5-year-old model remains one of the most impressive ultraportables.

[qviri]

Thanks for the replies!

I do want the IPS this time around. I had overlooked the X200 at first because it didn't ship with IPS and I am not a particular fan of the "speed stripes" antenna design above the screen, but it's starting to make some sense to get that with an IPS and the mediocre resolution for $500 rather than getting an X220 with a mediocre resolution for $800. I might miss the flexibility of having the digital video port on the X220 but I don't need it right now.

Can anyone confirm if either or both of the X200 and X220 have the soft rubbery lid finish like my X31 and T60p? Kind of hard to google this detail though looks like the X220 does.

The UX31A is the model I was vaguely recalling after seeing it discussed elsewhere, thanks for naming it! It looks nice but as a recent model starting at around $1000 it's looking unlikely I'd be able to get one for $800. It also looks like only the 1920x1080 model is IPS and I'm thinking that in a 13" I'd rather 1600x900. From numbers it doesn't seem like much but that 100-130 vertical pixels over the 768 or 800 resolutions might be nice. The Samsungs along the line of an NP900X3C might do the job, but I'd have to play with them first, plus there's still the price issue.

Has there ever been a 13.3" Thinkpad with an IPS screen, or has anyone ever transplanted other manufacturers' IPS screens into an X300/X301 or similar? I wouldn't mind getting something a little larger than the 12" without going to a 14", but I want the IPS as well.

Still a bummer I can't get a 12-13" 1400x1050 IPS Thinkpad with a cherry on top!

pianowizard - I actually saw one of the CF-Y*s in person, not sure if it was the 5 or 7 - my boss in 2007/2008 owned one. It was impressive, but I recall not being crazy about the keyboard, and the touchpad always struck me as a little... unusual . Certainly a laptop of its own kind!

[ZaZ]

Still a bummer I can't get a 12-13" 1400x1050 IPS Thinkpad with a cherry on top!

Actually, you can. The X60t and X61t tablets offered optional SXGA+ IPS LCDs, but they're heavier due to the tablet parts and the touch surface attached to the screen effects picture quality. A few people have successfully transplanted a SXGA+ LCD into a standard X6x, but it's quite an involved process that requires among other things, making a new LCD cable. Unless you're willing to spend more money, I don't see you getting IPS and HD+ for $800, which I think makes the X220/X230 your best option for a new notebook at this moment. Last years model of of the Series 9, NP900X2C, was the one Microsoft was selling for eBay. Maybe you want to check to see if any showed up on eBay. The X200, X220 and X230 all have the rubberized lid for a surer grip.

[qviri]

Ah, right, I remember dreaming about a X6*SXGA+ Frankenpad at one point. Might do the job hardware-wise, I might try looking for one... Thanks for the Sammy model numbers, will plug them in too.

[Ibthink]

Can anyone confirm if either or both of the X200 and X220 have the soft rubbery lid finish like my X31 and T60p? Kind of hard to google this detail though looks like the X220 does.

Yes, both of them have this finish. All T/W/X have this finish, only R/L-ThinkPads don´t have it.

[pianowizard]

I do want the IPS this time around.

Some laptops have very good TN screens -- would you consider those? Within your price range, the Sony VPC-Z1 series (13.1" 1600x900 or FHD, internal optical drive, barely over 3 lbs) is one of these. The MacBook Air (13.3" 1440x900, just under 3 lbs) is another. I have come across a few TN screens that were so good that I thought they were IPS.

[Puppy]

The MacBook Air (13.3" 1440x900, just under 3 lbs) is another.

I've seen that and the screen looked crappy at the first sight. Some of ThinkPad 15" FHD T/W5x0 TN panels are close to acceptable, at least by contrast ratio.

The only good options are the Asus and Samsung now. I'd wait till next year hoping that better (non-TN) and high-resolution screens becomes more common. Unfortunately I don't think Lenovo will join the club

[qviri]

Thanks for the recommendations, pianowizard. I'll see if I can track down the Sony, and I'll take another look at the MBA. Do you know if the 11.6" MBA has a similar screen? (A friend has one so it might be easier to compare outside of the busy glare-rific Apple Store environment.)

I'd wait till next year hoping that better (non-TN) and high-resolution screens becomes more common.

That's part of the reason why I'm hoping to get a cheaper machine to tide me over if something better does become available.