I've always been a laptop guy, but recent exploratory expenditures have introduced me to the mysterious world of ThinkPad Tablets.
Introducing the 2007 X61 Tablet 7762-95U that I acquired in the forum's very own Marketplace. It now lives happily as a drawing tablet for the resident artist, a valued upgrade over a plugin digitizer surface. Unfortunately for this model, its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. While 1400x1050 is the highest resolution any 12.1" ThinkPad came with, and it's IPS to boot, the Tablet layer is bonded to the LCD glass with some pine sap based adhesive that slowly leaks out, leaving air bubbles in its place and a sticky mess under and around the bezel, gumming up the buttons in the process. Even worse, left untreated, it can get between the LCD's internal layers too. It's a nasty process to take care of, but I'll get to it someday.
On the left we have: Exhaust ventilation, USB 2.0, VGA out, Ethernet, PC card slot, SD card slot, and pen slot.
On the front: Lid latch on the bottom half.
On the right: 1394, 2x USB 2.0, headphone, mic, 2.5" slot (still waiting on my cover from China), Modem, barrel 20V, Kensington.
On the back: The battery.
And below.
All the input devices of the X61 Tablet.
There is no ThinkLight on the X61 Tablet, despite the marking.
The reversible hook.
Now let's introduce this bizarre device known as the S1 Yoga. It can do some neat tricks, like retracting its keys so you don't press on them in Tablet mode.
Like the X61 Tablet, it has an IPS screen for high viewing angles and color reproduction. This particular Yoga has the 1080p LCD, a valued upgrade over the garbage 768p resolution, but not as good as 1440p.
On the left: Rectangle 20V, weird proprietary dock connector, USB 3.0, headphone / mic.
On the front: Nothing.
On the right: Pen slot, power, volume rocker, auto rotate, SD card, USB 3.0, mini HDMI, kensington.
On the back: Exhaust.
Below: Nothing. The entire bottom cover comes off with 10 screws and some prying. There is a small internal battery worth about 2 hours of runtime that should be disabled through the BIOS before servicing the device.
This is one of those rare ThinkPads with LEDs in both the lid and palmrest logos. Additionally, the Lenovo logo is engraved into the solid magnesium lid cover.
The keyboard is a narrowed Island style / Precision / 6 row monstrosity, lacking such classic features like browser back and forward, integrated numpad, media keys, dedicated volume keys, and a proper function row. The Fn Lock feature is an ungodly useless innovation. The Yoga at least makes up for the lack of dedicated volume keys somewhat by having a dedicated volume rocker on the side. Take that, entire-rest-of-the-xx40-lineup.
I've done some sensible key remapping, such as making PgUp and PgDn the Browser Back and Forward like they're supposed to be, Printscreen to Menu key, and making F8 and F9 the new PgUp and PgDn.
Interestingly, the power button has a delayed actuation, so you don't accidentally trigger it in Tablet mode, and the autorotate button only functions in Tablet mode.
There is also a superkey on the lid.
The keyboard lights up.
The S1 Yoga comes from the factory with the most god forsaken design decision Lenovo could have ever done to ThinkPad that is the one-button clickpad. I have swapped it with a 3 button Synaptics X250 unit, that is different from previous trackpoint buttons in that all three buttons are hinged at the bottom, which is not a problem. The X250 unit is amazing.
Another factory problem with the S1 Yoga is its image retention "ghosting" issues, discussed extensively on Lenovo forums.
SD cards stick out slightly from the Yoga's slot.
Here's a fun comparison image. The S1 Yoga is thinner than the X61 Tablet's battery.
The Yoga is so thin that if its not on a laser-flat surface, its little rubber feet are too short to grip and it slides around like a greased pig.
My ThinkPad is best ThinkPad because glogo!
Now let's put the Yoga next to the T420.
As they're both widescreen form factor laptops, they take up similar space on a desk. Nothing gets as compact as the X61 anymore.
For sliding in a bookbag, though, the Yoga wins. Ultrabooks are unbeatable there.
Chunk, chunkier, and chunkiest.
Nothing should bend more than this...
One more fun fact: The X61 Tablet's pen works perfectly with the Yoga's digitizer, both are Wacom devices, however the X61's pen is too big to fit in the Yoga's slot. My Yoga is currently missing its pen.
Full size album links:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/17bq3yhjy/
https://imgur.com/a/SvakWBd
Small size album link:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/ruxug8da/
Take a look at our
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message
Tablets! S1 Yoga, X61T, and bonus T420
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Re: Tablets! S1 Yoga, X61T, and bonus T420
ROFLTPFanatic wrote:The Yoga is so thin that if its not on a laser-flat surface, its little rubber feet are too short to grip and it slides around like a greased pig.
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