Convertibles - Lenovo or Dell...?

[loyukfai]

Typing this on an X61T which I have been planning to replace. Thought about the Helix, too many fans, quirky and pricey for a last generation device. With Lenovo getting so innovative with its keyboard layouts, may as well get something else my next box from someone else.

The Venue 11 Pro looks interesting. Not as powerful as the Helix, but Lightroom and VM are probably the most demanding software I run these days. It even has replaceable battery which the Helix lacks. Uses Synaptics instead of Wacom though.

Any suggestions or comments? Do you think Lenovo will turn it around with the Broadwell refresh?

Cheers.

[Ibthink]

Other alternatives could be:
- Thinkpad S1 Yoga: Seems to be a more balanced device than the Helix, not as pricey and also Haswell instead of Ivy-Bridge
- Fujitsu T904: Seems to be a very finde Convertible, but also very expensive and 13" (maybe a bit big)

[twistero]

The Synaptics active digitizer used in Dell's Venue Pros are quite bad in its current state - just go to Tablet PC Review's Dell sub forum and take a look. Not a good choice if you need the stylus for art work.

[loyukfai]

Thanks.

Glanced over some of the posts about Venue/Synaptics. Some say there will be a new batch of stylus solving the problem, true? Artworks, not so much, but OneNote is one of my favourites.

Having seen the latest crop of detachables, I prefer them to the rotating hinge models. Understandably there will be compromises (e.g. top heavy with keyboard dock), but the weight saved in tablet mode is quite attractive.

(BTW, Fujitsu does make a waterproof detachable, the Q704. Expensive though.)

One thing the X61T has is very good colours. Hopefully my next box will have it also.

Speaking of which, all these seem to lack a high speed extension interface like Thunderbolt. So there's no high speed DAS, graphics card expansion capability, and possible problem with 4K video camcorders?

Cheers.

[loyukfai]

Reviews begin to trickle out for the various models of Venue 11 Pro, including one from Notebookcheck.

While it has some nice design features, like removable/replaceable battery and different docking and keyboard options. It also has some significant shortcomings (at least for me), like poor colour fidelity despite using an IPS display, and share the same opening angle limit while docked to the keyboard as Helix (although, perhaps barring a significant design breakthrough, will remain the case for such "top heavy" models?).

The new batch of styli seem to be getting out as I write this, though the verdict remains to be seen.

Considering the above and given that currently it has no local availability, I'm leaning towards waiting for the next crop of machines (i.e. w/Broadwell).

One thing I would like to solicit more opinions - what do you think about (easily) removable/replaceable batteries? I used to consider it important, though in reality mine are only replaced once every 2~3-years. And the latest ThinkPads have also gone the way of not-so-flexible...

Cheers.

References:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Del ... 000.0.html
http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/dell/60 ... blets.html