Thinkpads Forum

I am looking for some advice on whether moving to an x220 is the right thing to do. Here's the story: I bought a T410 about a year ago. I really never liked it. The one thing I have grown to like is the keyboard, which I said bad things about there, but which after using a lot is really excellent. But, otherwise the form factor was never to my liking. So, I recently picked up an X201 -- it is basically new. I pretty much like everything about it except the keyboard, which really is kind of terrible.

So, I am thinking of just getting rid of both and trading up to an x220. I am nervous about the 16x9 as moving to 16x10 was traumatic enough. But, with both Win7 and Linux, it is easy enough to move the taskbar to the side, and most software has started to account for the limited space in the Y dimension. So, I guess the questions is, is the X220's keyboard basically the same as the T410, and is it a nice improvement over the X201? The graphics improvement would be nice, too for using with an external monitor. I don't know -- what's a nice keyboard worth?

having 2_X200, 1_X201t and a X220, and i can positively say the keyboard on the X220 is the best in the 12 inch laptop category, and it feels far better in the X220 then in the T410, even when they are interchangeable.

Regarding screen dimension, personally i feel that the 16:10 -> 16:9 transition wasn't that big of a deal, as the horizontal resolution of the LCD increased slightly from 1280 x 800 to 1366 x 768.

Also, with 9 cells, the X220 can get about 10 to 11 hour of battery time on battery saver mode, which is not possible with the x201.

x201 and x220 share about the same vertical size as the x220 16:9 display is 12.5 inch.

The x220 keyboard is possibly the same keyboard as in the T520 series. I don't notice that much of a difference between my x220 keyboard and the T520 keyboard, but in the x220 it even felt sturdier which means: better.

A keyboard is a huge advantage of a system. If there is a difference to the x201 - which I don't know - the x220 is a very good notebook for you.

ssd_thinkpad wrote: The x220 keyboard is possibly the same keyboard as in the T520 series. I don't notice that much of a difference between my x220 keyboard and the T520 keyboard, but in the x220 it even felt sturdier which means: better.

It is (the same). It might be a different FRU (since each keyboard manufacturer almost always gets their own FRU), but it's the same mechanical design.

The difference is probably due to support: the T520 has more internal space due to its size and cooling requirements, and while it's certainly quite good at supporting the keyboard, the X220's smaller size and very, very high component density means that there is very little free space beneath the keyboard.

Well, I picked up an X220T, and as much as I never liked the T410, and found the X201 clunky, this computer is fantastic. It feels, finally, like a Thinkpad and is a worthy replacement to my old T60. The only nit to pick is the 16x9 screen rather than 16x10, which there is plenty of space for, but I knew that going in, so I'll just have to get used to it.

I have an x201 and just got an x220 tablet. I don't have any plans to buy anything other than x series Lenovo machines.