Really interested in X61, but have some questions :)

[Sav]

Hey guys,

I am very interested in ordering the Lenovo X61 Tablet but I have some questions before purchasing, any help would be greatly appreciated.

1.) Are there currently any better promotions I could watch for besides the Father's Day $420 off sale? I am going to be a medical school student and the high tuition is leaving me with very little money to play with

2.) I hear they come LOADED with pre-installed garbage and they don't include a CD/DVD Drive. I'd like to avoid having to buy a USB CD drive when I have one on my desktop. Is there anyway I can do a clean install of Vista using my desktop's CD drive over the network onto my Tablet Laptop?

3.) Is there a way I can type in website while in tablet mode using the pen or maybe an onscreen keyboard or will I have to fold out the keyboard everytime I want to input a webaddress? Also can I use the pen to handwrite in forms like this one?

4.) Is the turbo memory worth it if I go with 2gb of ram? I mainly want to use it for class lectures (one note)



Thanks for all the help in advance !

[Trekk69]

See the review offered here, its a good one: http://www.tabletpcreview.com/default.asp?newsID=868

#2: The review mentions that the new X61Ts don't come loaded with as much bloatware as previous models. There have been previous posts are doing the clean install. I'd see how much junk is actually on first.
They do not come with an optical drive, but the X6 tablet base contains one.

#4: Turbo memory as been tossed around as some have said they've reported no change, while others have. The review discusses some speed increases on certain applications and processes after a while, but doesn't directly link them to turbo memory. However, 2gbs with Vista should be fine.

I know myself I'm waiting to pick one up sometime in August before school as well.

Hope it helps

[proaudioguy]

They do not come with an optical drive, but the X6 tablet base contains one.

The X6 base does not come with an optical drive. Mine is sitting here with a blank. You have to select an optical drive when you order the base if you want one. I figured I'd wait until the price came down.

[SFWrtr]

#1 Tip: There is almost always some sort of promotion going on. I cannot say whether the Father's day one is the best. Memorial day was better, but that helped with the X60's. If you decide to wait, realize that if you order online the machine needs to be built. This can take almost a month, though after the original rush, this will probably go faster. Don't wait too long or you may be taking lecture notes using paper and a pen for the first weeks of the quarter.

#2 The preload is reportedly almost all useful X61 utilities.

#2 part 2. No optical. You buy the X6 Ultrabase (a lightweight portable docking station) and your get an optical drive for that. If you are on a tight budget, a external CD/DVD drive is less expensive though less convenient. Note that machine comes with a program the reputedly makes a hard drive copy of CDs and DVDs so you don't need to take the optical drive with you. Don't know how good that is. Any one want to chime in?

#3 The answer is, you write the URL with the pen! No keyboard required. Writing recognition with Vista is so good it is scary, once you train it to understand your handwriting. You'll probably use one note for all your class notes. Say goodbye to spiral notebooks and folders.

You can also click URLs on web pages and in your bookmarks with the pen. If you get the multi-touch/multiview, you can use your finger instead (but not to write with). In portrait mode, the web on a tablet becomes a virtual magazine page.

BTW, Vista contains voice recognition. Enough said?

#4 The jury is out on turbo memory. I suspect at some point it will be worth it, though.

If you are going for 2GB of RAM (good idea), I suggest you check out buying the memory separately. Save $55 dollars and only get 512MB. 1GB SODIMMs from www.crucial.com are $47 right now, and will probably go down further by August.

Good luck!

[Antioch]

Well, I have to ask: if you get 512mb RAM (1-slot) is this removable or is it soldered to the board? Many manufacturers have 1 slot soldered and the other user swappable.

Thanks.

[smvp6459]

Both memory slots are removable.

[oleshvets]

Is there anyway I can do a clean install of Vista using my desktop's CD drive over the network onto my Tablet Laptop?

the most simple low tech solution is to by ide to usb cable off *bay for as little as $3, but is very inconvenient if you have only one drive. so get some old cd drive, install it in your desktop and route usb cable outside.

of course, you can always map network drives but thats more involved.

plus, 1gb of sodimms can be had for as little as 25$ after rebates, just check www.fatwallet.com/forums. there you will also find tips of getting 16% cashback on top of current sale.

good luck

[ymarker]

I have an xbox 360 hd-dvd add on hooked up to my pc. I just used that to do a clean install of vista x64 on the tabby.

[proaudioguy]

I have an xbox 360 hd-dvd add on hooked up to my pc. I just used that to do a clean install of vista x64 on the tabby.

You hacker