W701: detailed first impressions

[xiphmont]

Hi xiphmont,



I hope this helps,

Finally checked (didn't take a screencap) but PC Wizard says:

Manufacturer: LTN170CT08L01
Product ID: LEN406A

[xiphmont]

@ xiphmont: now that you had it for a "while" can you post some updated opinions? Any issues, whether you got used to the size and keyboard and whatever else you think would matter.

Update: I'm very satisfied with the new machine. There are improvements I could wish for, but nothing yet that makes me consider trading in for something else. The only thing that could at some point potentially tempt me is DreamColor2 (the W701 has a pretty good TN, but it's still just a TN. I've also noticed that pixel walk flicker is a little worse on the left side of my screen as opposed to right. No idea why). DreamColor2 is still vapour for now, and I expect that had I waited and gotten an HP boatanchor, I'd spend all my time wishing that, except for the screen, I had gotten the Thinkpad instead. Every other aspect of the Thinkpad is as good as it could get. Maybe someday there will be an S-IPS upgrade :-) I'd pay money for it.

The machine is still big, but I've completely stopped noticing the size. I don't feel silly getting it out at the local favorite coffeeshop even sitting next to the netbook users. Although one girl has actually said to me uninvited 'that's a really big laptop'. Now I can actually use the 'that's what she said' joke next time it comes up at work. :-)

I got the new (older style) keyboard and installed it. When it first arrived, I was pretty skeptical it was actually going to make any difference in the feel of the machine. Even the old 'stiffer' keyboards still seem kind of thin and floppy when they're not installed in the machine. I used a little bit of micropore tape on the back (being careful not to defeat the grounding sponges) to deaden it a tad more, and installed it. I was actually surprised that it makes a very noticable difference in the machine feel, even for someone like me who doesn't touch type. The keys feel a great deal more consistent, they're much quieter, and no weird creaking as a few of the keys depressed (the spacebar on the original keyboard had a very weird feel at the edges). It lends to the perceived solidity of the machine, though I never had worries about the actual solidity.

I'm primarily sticking to Linux (Fedora), so I can only report on that in detail...

Only a few issues so far, just the typical software bugs that can take a little while to shake out in drivers for brand new hardware:

1. Suspend only works if the xhci (usb3) driver is either blacklisted or removed before suspend/hibernate. xhci is brand new, not too surprising it doesn't suspend properly yet.
2. The wacom support just got moved from being an external module to being an X input device. It has a bug where the cursor sticks as soon as you lift the pen, instead of when the
pen is lifted all the way past the proximity threshold. This is the most annoying current problem.
3. The color sensor isn't supported under linux but the profiles read in Windows work in Linux fine. So that's not an 'issue' for me.

The backlight buttons bug I mentioned before is fixed in the current F13 updates. They work out of the box now.

Monty

[xiphmont]

The real reason to get a W701: More room for stickers than *any other notebook*.

[peon01]

Hi xiphmont,

I did order my W701.
Good news: I caught the Father's Day sale for another approx $500 discount.
Bad news: I caught another of those "we don't have good screens" gap so delivery date was estimated at end of July
So I guess I have plenty of time to buy some stickers