Thinkpads Forum

Hey all,

I haven't posted in FOREVER, but I am in a bit of a quandry and you guys/gals have always helped me out in the past. I just got an X61 Tablet and I love it except it's a bit heavy and I don't use the tablet functionality at all. I am a stickler for keeping my computers looking new ...so it irks me to touch the screen. I know, I sound a little OCD Anyways, I have been considering buying an X61s and selling my tablet, but I have some misgivings.

I like the screen of my X61T. It's bright, the colors look great, and the viewing angles are also great. However, I had a 14" T60p for awhile and I thought the display on that was pretty good too. So, before I pull the trigger on an X61s I want to know if anyone has side-by-side pics of the X61s and x61T for me to see, OR, if someone has experience with both the S and the Tablet that input would also be greatly appreciated.

FYI, I am mainly using my lappy for school and business ...sitting through eight hour lecture days of Executive MBA classes ...business trips (I do like movies on the plane) ...and of course roaming around my various offices around Orlando.

Actually, if anyone is in the Orlando area with an X61s PM me and maybe we can meet up for a beer and compare lappys

Thanks!

May lappys specs ...MV/MT screen, BT, 4935 agn, 7200k 100GB HD, Ultrabase, 1 GB RAM

IMHO the X61T is the best X series, even if you forget about the tablet functionality (using the pen shouldn't really mark the screen and tablet functions do grow useful if you use them), being able to get SXGA+ is the biggest thing for me, the IPS displays are obviously good and outdoor readability is much better (although that might not affect you in your clean room ) )

That said, I am using an X60s on a daily basis at the moment and the screen is acceptable to me, I do appreciate the benefits of IPS displays but i'm not a display snob who refuses to use anything else and often swap between the 2. Its not as bright, its not as visible in sunlight and the colours aren't as good but for normal office or multimedia usage it is decent, if you are into graphics or photography then these aspects are probably more important to you and you should stick with the tablet.

Thanks for the response snife you make very valid points. I am definitely leaning more toward keeping the tablet for the reasons you mentioned and these:

1) I like being able to swivel the screen. Its handy when showing others whats on your screen. I find I do it a lot.

2) Watching DVDs in slate mode is pretty cool and it's a space saver on a plane.

3) The touch screen is pretty handy with powerpoint when viewing slides.

As far as the SXGA. I had that one ordered to begin with but eventually switched to the MV/MT because I didn't want to wait two months to get it. I'm glad I did especially after reading all these bezel issues along with the lack of availability of the high resolution screens.

My bezel is solid ...my screen is pretty ...and I definitely have nothing to complain about. However, I still wouldn't mind seeing an x61s first hand.

If I could order an X61 or X61s with the SXGA+ LCD, I would throw this X61 tablet in the trash! And YES, I have one of the "my bezel is popping off the display" machines. I hate it. I am very angry at Lenovo for shipping these machines, and I know I am going to be even more angry when it comes to repairing the problem. It is a slap in the face, and one I am not likely to forget.

That said, I really like the tablet feature, even though I do not use it very often. I dislike the hinge, as it is no where near as "solid" as my X31. I would not hesitate to pick up my X31 and carry it around by the LCD, but I would never think of doing that with this X61. And the screen wobbles! I realize this is a difficult thing to perfect, but I did not expect it to be this bad. If you want the tablet, then I realize you will put up with this. But I do not like it.

Furthermore, I dislike the extra dimensions and weight. I really wanted my new machine to be smaller and lighter than my X31, which the X61s would be, but decided that I could no longer live with the clearly inferior LCDs provided as options. A serious disappointment, almost on par with this crappy bezel problem. I personally believe that Lenovo did this on purpose to try and push the tablet on people. Or maybe they felt that with the extremely limited supply channel, they really did expect tablet owners to be more demanding for the SXGA+ monitor. Don't know, but it still irks me.

Finally, I REALLY dislike this "battery in the rear" design. The X31 had the battery up front, which counter-balanced the LCD weight. The design was brilliant. Now, with the battery in the rear, the balance is all wrong and it feels like the machine is going to fall backwards whenever I am using it in my lap. I have to hold the machine down with my palms on the palmrest, which I find undesirable. Plus I could swap batteries on the X31 in seconds with ease. These new batteries are a pain to swap.

So, if Lenovo would kindly provide the SXGA+ LCD on the X61 or X61s, I would immediately buy one, and dump this X61 Tablet!!! Then I would go out and purchase a used slate machine off uBid or eBay for the times that I want to use the "slate" mode. I like the "pen / slate" ability, but I do not like the tablet design. The hinge is a weak point, imo. The extra size is the opposite of my desires. The extra weight is disgusting. I bet I could but the X61s AND the slate computer for about the same price I paid for this stupid tablet. ( Can we sense customer dissatisfaction? )

Lenovo: Please give us a respectable screen on the X61s. How long must we suffer?

When/if LED backlit displays on X6_s become a reality, I wouldn't wait long before buying it.

Yikes ...sorry to hear about your bad luck with the X61T. I agree with you from the standpoint that if they made an X61s with a high res, or IPS screen of any type, I would not have hesitated and bought one of those instead of my tablet. I too prefer two hinges to one, but like I mentioned earlier I really like being able to swivel the screen and that offsets the very slight wobble I experience. If I was in your situation I would return my tablet for the one with the MT/MV screen. Mine is solid and the bezel is a non-issue. Lenovo definitely had a reason for pulling their SXGA models of the X61 tablet from the website and I'm guessing what your experiencing is why. As far as the weight thing. It is is pretty bulky with the 8-cell, but I haven't experienced any tipping in my lap because of it. However, I am buying a 4-cell battery to reduce size when I want my lappy to be as light as possible. Finally, the weight is only half a pound more I believe and the bad [censored] screen justifies the extra weight in my eyes ...I love those pristine viewing angles.

With the 4C battery the X61T actually is quite OK regarding balance and feel. However - battery life is short(er) of course

jnorman39 wrote:Thanks for the response snife you make very valid points. I am definitely leaning more toward keeping the tablet for the reasons you mentioned and these:

1) I like being able to swivel the screen. Its handy when showing others whats on your screen. I find I do it a lot.

2) Watching DVDs in slate mode is pretty cool and it's a space saver on a plane.

3) The touch screen is pretty handy with powerpoint when viewing slides.

As far as the SXGA. I had that one ordered to begin with but eventually switched to the MV/MT because I didn't want to wait two months to get it. I'm glad I did especially after reading all these bezel issues along with the lack of availability of the high resolution screens.

My bezel is solid ...my screen is pretty ...and I definitely have nothing to complain about. However, I still wouldn't mind seeing an x61s first hand.

Whoa, I guess I missed the option that allowed you to purchase the DVD drive for this machine? I was under the impression from reading reviews and then ordering it online direct from Lenovo that you could not get this option unless you ordered the Ultrabase with it. Do you have a DVD drive built into your X61? There's not even a slot or empty bay on mine that would support this. Maybe you do have the Ultra Bay and that is what you meant, but I can see where watching a DVD in slate mode would be great for long flights when the person in front of you leans all the way back and there's no longer room for the machine to be comfortable.

In any event, the touch screen for me is a non factor right now but I tried it and it worked. It's a new machine for me so maybe I'll have use for it down the road.

The whole Bezel thing has been confusing me. I do not have this issue with my machine, and hopefully will not.

As far as the dvd watching I do I must clarify that I'm not playing an actual dvd when I watch dvd movies because, as you said, the x61 tablet doesn't have an optical drive built in. I do have a base station with a dvd-rw at home but I don't take it with me when I travel. What I do to watch dvds on flights is rip the dvds I want to watch into iso files using alcohol120, or dvdfab platinum and then I mount them using Daemon tools to play them. If you have an X series Daemon Tools will become your new best friend ...check it out:

http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/announcements.php

Daemon Tools creates a virtual optical drive that you can mount cd/dvd images with making your computer think it is actually reading optical media when in fact it is just reading an image on your hard drive. It's pretty sweet, and once you get the hang of it you won't need an optical drive again