Thinkpads Forum

I'm a web designer/developer and have decided to purchase an ultra-portable notebook to extend my productivity. I've had a few notebooks in the past and they have all (I can proudly say) been Thinkpads. Their professional aesthetics and high-quality construction drew me in initially and kept me coming back. It has been a few years since I've had a notebook and I'm eager to see how Lenovo has continued in the work that IBM started.

As a small and powerful machine, the X201s seems to fit my needs - I primarily work with Adobe [CS4] software (Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, etc.), and might run XAMP for localized code testing. I'm also considering getting into C# programming so there may be some compiling. I wonder if there is anyone here who make use of the X201s as I plan to? If so, how does it hold up? Are the integrated graphics enough for design work? Does a heavy workload burn through a 6-cell battery quickly? How is your productivity on the 12" (1440x900) screen (I'm coming from a 24" (1920x1200) screen)? Any information you can provide would be much appreciated.

By the way, I expect to upgrade an i7 unit to 8GB RAM and an SSD, so all the better if someone has the same/similar specs. And, for that matter, if there is a better make and/or model ultra-portable (12-13") for this application please feel free to suggest it. Thanks!

And, as the poll suggests, I have been considering a MacBook Pro, so if anyone here happens to have any thoughts on the 15" i7 I would greatly appreciate it (try not to be too harsh )!

Coswyn wrote:How is your productivity on the 12" (1440x900) screen (I'm coming from a 24" (1920x1200) screen)? Any information you can provide would be much appreciated.

I'm a software developer (not a web designer) using Microsoft Visual Studio family tools and all I can say is the vertical resolution is the most productivity affecting parameter. I'm used to have 20" 1600x1200 monitor most of the time and/or 15" 1400x1050 notebook display (both IPS). Todays options of having 900 vertical pixels only does not help much and it is impossible to use it as a main development machine. Debugging a large C# project having multiple server services on a small display resolution is just nightmare.

For ultra-low display resolutions like ThinkPad X31 have (12" 1024x768) I created special windows layout having the code editor visible only using the smallest readable font (Courier New 8 ) while the other windows are pinned and auto-hidden. You have to hover mouse pointer over a window caption to popup it. This is probably the only way how to "work" on an ultra-low display resolution but the productivity is almost catastrophic I use it for presentations because I'm limited by LCD/DLP projector resolutions which are commonly XGA/WXGA anyway.

Since current T or W series no longer provides 1200 pixels vertical resolution (I'm not considering W700 model because it is not a portable machine from my point of view) I'd go for an ultra-portable machine with highest possible display resolution. Yes, it can not replace the main desktop machine but having a second light and small machine is handy.

IMO its not a logical choice for the sole fact the screen is way too small unless you get the UltraBase and hook up a real display. Get the W700, W500 or something like that. I cant see the x201 as for anything but business and a person who does lots of traveling and meetings and needs to reduce weight.

GrandMasterKhan wrote:IMO its not a logical choice for the sole fact the screen is way too small unless you get the UltraBase and hook up a real display. Get the W700, W500 or something like that. I cant see the x201 as for anything but business and a person who does lots of traveling and meetings and needs to reduce weight.

I've been thinking about it and I agree, a larger notebook is better. 12" is too small for my needs, 13" is doable, 14" is ideal, and 15" is doable as well. I consider the W510 is a bit of a clunker for me (the T510 as well), which writes the W701 off as an option as well. I've been considering the T410/s, but I have two serious issues with it: (1) the screen resolution is on the low side - WXGA+ (1440x900) is acceptable for a 13" in my opinion, but a 14" should have WSXGA+/HD+; and (2) the construction quality is below that of previous T-series ThinkPads (particularly when IBM ran the show). If the next 14" T-series model Lenovo produces has a higher-resolution display and construction quality comparable to the T43p (my last ThinkPad) or X301 then I will seriously consider it, but until then Lenovo will not get my business.

Los Suns!