Thinkpads Forum

I know most users here are consistently satisfied with their X200's and X201's, and with good reason. Are there any users here who use the 12" screen (no external monitor) 10-12+ hrs a day? I've decided for sure to move to a smaller machine from my T400 and am debating between the X200/X201 tablets and the X301.

Unfortunately, neither fully fits what I'm looking for. The X200/201 model screens are on the small side for me (esp coming from T41, T60, T400) and since I'm set on a tablet the resolution will be a downgrade as well. The main reason I'm considering the tablets is the fantastic screens. X301 on the other hand has the perfect overall and display size, but I feel it's under-powered for what it is and having looked at the screen in person it's imo the one of the worst displays Lenovo has ever used. I do prefer the thinness of the X301 over the smaller footprint of the X20x.

Having said all this, I'd really like a good screen for a change and think the tablet might be nice for taking notes. Having never used one, I think I'd still prefer pen/pencil/paper so the latter is not a high priority. Would appreciate input from people who use their X200/X201(t)'s native display for several hours a day and general input on my dilemma.

Thanks.

ps: the X220t is very attractive, but I can't justify what it's price will be until it drops much later in the year or 2012. An X1 is supposed to release in a few months to compete with the MB Air, but given that it's to be Ideapad it'll likely forgo some features that are important to me.

I never used a tablet. But I am very interested in display panels and learned much here in the forums and on other web pages.

If you prefer a pencil, a classic notepad with pencil is in most situations better than a tablet. "I am writing down your phone number." -> you can do this much quicker with a pencil and write on anything than open up your tablet, click on "writing note" and take the note with the pencil you have to put from the notebook. There should be a tablet where you can paint with your bare fingers, although lenovo offers "multitouch" panels, but I am unsure if you can "finger paint" with them.

The tablets from lenovo have ips in their x6x series (I think) and va panels in their x20x series. Unfortunately tables also have to use another layer that take notice if a digital pen or your hand is doing something on them. This layer is bad for the display quality. But although being bad, the better underlaying technology (ips or va) do give you a better experience than the usual tn panels.

The T500, W500 have good (!) TN panels for their WSXGA+ displays. You should check them out. Once you remove the ultrabay disc, the 15 inch models are as heavy as the 14 inch models. If you are looking out for a good display in a modern notebook, you should try them out.

The x300 has the worst display I have ever seen. The current official lenovo videos of the T420, T520, W520 show a flickering display like I have seen on the x300, too! So beware.

vinuneuro - you can get X200s which is much thinner/lighter than tablet (not as thin as X300 though) and install AFFS screen into it - same screen they use on tablets.

fmilovanov wrote:vinuneuro - you can get X200s which is much thinner/lighter than tablet (not as thin as X300 though) and install AFFS screen into it - same screen they use on tablets.

While I think this is a great option for some, it doesn't address my concerns of screen size or resolution and in the process I'd loose the led backlight's brightness and lower power consumption. Nothing wrong with this, just doesn't work for my usage.

ssd_thinkpad, I want a smaller notebook. 15" screen is going in the opposite direction.

fmilovanov wrote:vinuneuro - you can get X200s which is much thinner/lighter than tablet (not as thin as X300 though) and install AFFS screen into it - same screen they use on tablets.

again, the X200s would need to start out with a WXGA panel rather than WXGA+ to physically fit the AFFS panel.   otherwise the entire upper LCD assembly needs to be replaced.   please note this when you suggest the above mod as it's a very important point.   thank you.

regarding using the tablet all day, i've used mine for hours on end when away from my workstation.   at 125 PPI it's not hard on the eyes at all.   TN displays with 140+ PPI are usually where people have eye strain - and more so with LED than CCFL it seems.

fwiw, my X200T has an LED AFFS+ pen-only frameless display (and quite rare, in fact).   it's used as a notebook ~90% of the time and a tablet ~10%.   i draw with it when mobile and away from pen/paper.   note taking isn't high on my list.

vinuneuro wrote:ssd_thinkpad, I want a smaller notebook. 15" screen is going in the opposite direction.

Only the 15 inch wsxga+ panels from the semi-actual T500 / T510 thinkpads have a good display - or they are the best.

Then there are the 12 inch tablets.

You have to decide between them if you want the best display.

ssd_thinkpad wrote:Only the 15 inch wsxga+ panels from the semi-actual T500 / T510 thinkpads have a good display - or they are the best.

T510 is 15.6" 16:9.   it uses a different panel than the T500.