Thinkpads Forum

I have times when I would really value a very small netbook. However I am very, very, attached to having a trackpoint; I find touchpads to be terrible and annoying. It seems like the closest Lenovo has to what I want is from the X series, but those are a lot more expensive than I would care to pay. The cheapest X series on the lenovo website is $850 right now; I'd like to see something more in the 300-500 range (where the Asus netbooks usually are).

Do any other manufacturers have netbooks with trackpoint (with or without a touchpad)?

I know that of course the Thinkpad X series is a lot more machine than an Asus netbook, which is why the price is so much higher. I would happily pay less and get less powerful hardware - as long as I get a trackpoint. I know the classic "fast, cheap, light - pick two" mantra of laptops and I want light and cheap - but with a trackpoint.

If anyone has found a good candidate, please let me know.

Two words: second hand. You should be able to find second-hand X-series ThinkPads that fit comfortably in your budget that are still powerful enough for everyday tasks. What's your usage scenario?

I only know one relatively modern small laptop with a pointing stick: the VAIO P-series. http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/10/sony ... es-review/ Maybe others can offer more options.

twistero wrote:Two words: second hand. You should be able to find second-hand X-series ThinkPads that fit comfortably in your budget that are still powerful enough for everyday tasks. What's your usage scenario?

I was actually just thinking of that. I was even looking at the lenovo outlet for X series thinkpads and found a few deals for less than $400. I was just wondering if there were any others out there that I should be considering.

My main goal here is to have a lightweight system (which I will eventually put Linux on most likely) for my spreadsheet, word processing, and presentation functions. I have my Thinkpad T510 that does my heavy lifting (which is why it now has 8gb ram), but it is a bit of a hassle to haul around regularly.

So basically my wishlist is
*cheap
*light
*trackpoint
*good battery life
*built in wifi

Used would certainly be an acceptable option.

I only know one relatively modern small laptop with a pointing stick: the VAIO P-series. http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/10/sony ... es-review/ Maybe others can offer more options.

Hmmm. I've never been a big fan of Sony, but I'd be willing to look into it. I don't suppose any brick-and-mortar stores carry them, do they?

I have a thinkpad x120e for $297, new from outlet being delivered today. I would consider it a netbook since it's 1.5 ghz single core and 11.6in screen. So yes, lenovo does make netbooks with trackpoints and they are under $300 if you get lucky.

Actually, I don't think the VAIO P-series is in production anymore.

i say look for an x120e, i got to play with one and i was very impressed with the quality and size. i ended up going with an x200s though due to the better processor and higher resolution screen. but the X12x series are getting extremely cheap.

twistero wrote:Actually, I don't think the VAIO P-series is in production anymore.

I took a quick look on ebay (obviously not an authoritative search, but an easy one) and only a couple of p series VAIO systems came up. They were used, and going for almost $500*. I could go through the Lenovo outlet and get a new X120 with a warranty for less than that.

*at least, that was the asking price. I didn't see any bidding action on them. It may be that their owners are pricing them too high to sell.

I have the Sony VGN-P699E with the 256gb SSD. I've had it for several years and like it a lot, but use it seldom -- I use the thinkpads in my signature instead. I keep the little "pocket pc" on my desk, and updated running Windows 7 Home Premium, and have taken it out a time or two in the first year I owned it.

Although it's a really neat little machine, it's processor is the Intel Atom Z540@1.8ghz, so even on the SSD, it's not speedy -- fast enough, but not 'snappy' -- It runs Windows 7 Home Premium without problem.

Bottom line on the Sony Pocket PC -- it's on even par with my ThinkPad X100e (which also runs 128gb SSD) and my IdeaPad S10 -- downside of the X100e is heat, but hasn't seemed to slow my machine down, and no thinklight -- downside of the S10 is no trackpoint/no thinklight.

Not sure how much you are interested in the Sony Pocket, but I sold one here on the Forum a year or so ago. If you put a WTB in the Marketplace, that purchaser may be ready to sell -- if I remember correctly it had a 128gb SSD -- but that reminds me of another downside of the Sony -- I don't think (but not sure) it is as user friendly as the ThinkPads or IdeaPads -- changing ram and hdd/sdd is not intended to be done by the user -- if you are a true geek **which I am not ** you may be able to access and upgrade -- but if your geekiness is like mine/below average, then the ThinkPad or IdeaPad could be your better purchase.

I swear I posted similar question back in 2006 and ended up got myself several TP240/x and X24's.

I think X60/s and X61/s are still decent machines for all the things you mentioned in the original post and you can get one for under $100 on ebay. A $50 SSD and maybe some memory upgrade will give them good performance as well.

Well, since its a lot easier to shop for someone else than for myself I agree with teetee and vote for the X60 or X61 over the x100anythings -- I only have the X100e (single core) and it's 'cute' -- I like it, but our family uses several of the X60 and X61 with SSD's and 3gb ram -- they are VERY snappy -- and like someone else said -- they can be found at a price that makes up for no warranty.

I think a x60/x61 series notebook would be perfect for you. It is light and thin enough to carry around without much of a problem. My x61 tablet is my primary work machine. Runs like a champ.

PM sent to lparsons

One thing to remember is that X60/61 is larger than x1xx series. The reason of course is that X6X has 4:3 screen while x1xx is widescreen.
If you are looking for a nebook then x100e or x120e is way to go, if you want a portable thinkpad and dont mind something a bit larger then x60 fits that describtion.

X61
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz T7300
Chipset: Intel 965 Express
Memory: 2048MB DDR2 PC5300 (2x 1024MB)
Hard Drive: 7200RPM 100GB Hitachi (HTS721010G9SA00) SATA
Screen: 12.1" 1024x768 LCD
Optical Drive: LG GCC-4247N DVD/CDRW (Through X6 UltraBase)8x DVD-ROM
24x CD-R
24x CD-RWX
GPU: Intel X3100 Integrated

Thinkpad X120e
AMD E-350 with AMD Radeon HD 6310 Graphics (dual-core CPU at 1.6GHz and dual DX-11 SIMDs at 500MHz)
4GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM (1333MHz, 2 DIMM)
Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
11.6" WXGA HD anti-glare LED Backlit display (1366x768)
320GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
802.11b/g/n, Gigabit LAN
4-in-1 card reader and 0.3-megapixel webcam
6-Cell Li-ion battery
Dimensions: (W x L x H) 11.1" x 8.2" x 0.6"/1.2"
Weight: 3.3 pounds (with 6-cell battery)

So although X61 is 2.0 Ghz, its an older CPU. I would bet that AMD Fusion which is quite new and at 1.6 Ghz is not much slower or same speed. Also the AMD graphics would blow away intel integrated graphics. Before you buy X6X make sure that it's graphic card will be able to handle windows 8.

Thank you for the comparison, I had overlooked that the X series would be physically larger with their 4:3 screens. From my experiences with the R32, I can vouch that indeed the integrated intel graphics can be a bit of a disappointment.

However, Windows Vista/7/8/23 don't matter to me. I'll be running Linux on this.

Probably the next biggest frustration I am encountering though is the lack of a thinklight on the x120e. I do use the thinklight on my T510 quite a bit and would be disappointed to not have one on anything else. Are there new models more similar to the x120e that do have it?

mattbiernat wrote:One thing to remember is that X60/61 is larger than x1xx series. The reason of course is that X6X has 4:3 screen while x1xx is widescreen.
If you are looking for a nebook then x100e or x120e is way to go, if you want a portable thinkpad and dont mind something a bit larger then x60 fits that describtion.

X61
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz T7300
Chipset: Intel 965 Express
Memory: 2048MB DDR2 PC5300 (2x 1024MB)
Hard Drive: 7200RPM 100GB Hitachi (HTS721010G9SA00) SATA
Screen: 12.1" 1024x768 LCD
Optical Drive: LG GCC-4247N DVD/CDRW (Through X6 UltraBase)8x DVD-ROM
24x CD-R
24x CD-RWX
GPU: Intel X3100 Integrated

Thinkpad X120e
AMD E-350 with AMD Radeon HD 6310 Graphics (dual-core CPU at 1.6GHz and dual DX-11 SIMDs at 500MHz)
4GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM (1333MHz, 2 DIMM)
Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
11.6" WXGA HD anti-glare LED Backlit display (1366x768)
320GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
802.11b/g/n, Gigabit LAN
4-in-1 card reader and 0.3-megapixel webcam
6-Cell Li-ion battery
Dimensions: (W x L x H) 11.1" x 8.2" x 0.6"/1.2"
Weight: 3.3 pounds (with 6-cell battery)

So although X61 is 2.0 Ghz, its an older CPU. I would bet that AMD Fusion which is quite new and at 1.6 Ghz is not much slower or same speed. Also the AMD graphics would blow away intel integrated graphics. Before you buy X6X make sure that it's graphic card will be able to handle windows 8.