Thinkpads Forum

New tabook is out (X301 makes its first tabook appearance):

http://www5.pc.ibm.com/us/me.nsf/webdoc ... tabook.pdf

Also:
- Service and Troubleshooting Guide
- Hardware Maintenance Manual

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... chineind=0

- David

Thank you! I have been waiting for days for the x301 tabook and HMM.

Um ... no increase in battery life. The bad news: the LCD is the very same TMD panel FRU 42T0476 as in X300. Many users here expressed disappointment on that LCD.

Are there already any reviews on the X301 (especially concerning the battery life of 3 cell vs. the two 6 cell variants vs. 9 cell), as it has already been some time and I still can't find a hands-on test of the X301...
I am still very interested in getting one, although I was kind of disappointed by the "upgrade" from the X300 to the X301 - I had hoped for a little more than that...

"9 cell"? "two 6 cell variants"? where be such mythical creatures?

mou wrote:Are there already any reviews on the X301

Here's a review (just posted yesterday):
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops ... -x301.aspx

I haven't come across any other reviews yet.

- David

akao wrote:"9 cell"? "two 6 cell variants"? where be such mythical creatures?

Sorry, I might have been a little too unspecific:
"basic" compartment: either 3 cell li-poly or 6 cell li-ion
bay: 3 cell
-> 3 cell, 3 cell + 3 cell, 6 cell, 6 cell + 3 cell
Thanks dderkits for that site.

Well, the battery life doesn't seem too great - I had expected a little more from a laptop that uses ULV CPU, SSD and LED for backlight. That makes the decision to spend $3000 on this very hard...

mou wrote:Well, the battery life doesn't seem too great - I had expected a little more from a laptop that uses ULV CPU, SSD and LED for backlight. That makes the decision to spend $3000 on this very hard...

fwiw, my X300 would get over 5 hours on the 3-cell main + 3-cell bay battery under normal use.

Keep in mind that battery life measurement is very subjective. Different review sites do their battery-life tests differently. The screen brightness setting, the wireless-related settings, and the load on the laptop during the test can all have huge impacts on battery life.

To be safe, I would compare battery life measurements only within that review site and across only those reviewed laptops that have been subjected to the exact same test procedure.

I don't usually do that, even. Instead, I look at how the review site configured their battery-life test procedure (the more details they give, the better), and I consider how well the reviewed laptop did based on the battery load they subjected it to. This is where multiple reviews of the same laptop come in very handy, since one can see battery life across a variety of test procedures.

It's definitely too early to conclude that the X301 has a battery life problem.

That Lenovo didn't add any sort of SD slot to the X301 is probably my biggest concern at this point. Also, I think that I might want to wait until Lenovo starts using the new Intel SSDs (I have no word on if/when they will ... but I hope they do).

- David

thanks for the info erik! and dderkits is absolutely right about testing procedures - it is too early to make reasonable assumptions on battery life... i would have welcomed an sd card slot, too, but i think i can live without it (and might have to carry a small card reader around then)

dderkits wrote:
Here's a review (just posted yesterday):
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops ... -x301.aspx

- David

According to LaptopMag, using the same wifi surfing usage pattern:

ThinkPad X301: 3 hours 29 minutes
VAIO Z530: 5 hours (intel graphics mode)

Both laptops have their version of 6 cell battery.

I was so ready to get a X301 ... not anymore. Even my 4 years old T42 can last 4 hours with WiFi on a 6 cell.

In the review, it says:
"An optional three-cell battery ($120) slides into the optical drive bay to provide approximately 3.2 hours of extra juice."
For this reason, I believe that they are testing the battery life using a 3 cell battery.

The review also states: "We enjoyed rich colors and wide viewing angles while watching our Dark City DVD" They must have been completely blind or there is different panel than X300 have (which I doubt).

cchsiao wrote:In the review, it says:
"An optional three-cell battery ($120) slides into the optical drive bay to provide approximately 3.2 hours of extra juice."
For this reason, I believe that they are testing the battery life using a 3 cell battery.

I wish you are right. However, first page of the laptopmag review says "... weighs in at just 3.4 pounds with a six-cell battery and an 8X DVD burner. ...".

It looks like the reviewers must have misconfigured the machine or believed it has a 6 cell when there is actually 3. The X301 cannot possibly have shorter battery life than the X300.

hopefully not as i just ordered one...

mou wrote:hopefully not as i just ordered one...

I can swap my X300 for your X301 if you feel that the X301 has a shorter battery life because my X300 can definitely achieve 4.5 hours on normal use.