Thinkpads Forum

I'm looking for a machine to use when travelling - Skype, email, catching up on the news, this sort of thing.
A netbook such as Acer Aspire One costs around $300.
Is it worth spending an extra $150 or so and getting the X100e?

X100e:
+ performance
+ ergonomics
+ build
+ support options
+/- battery life
- heat

netbook:
+ battery life
+ price
+ heat
- performance
- ergonomics
- support options (if that matters)

I'd say if replacement cost due to theft is a concern, and long battery life is important for use during the actual travel, get a netbook. If you want a more comfortable machine with better build and support, get an X100e.

You can also consider low-end portables with better ULV processors than the Neo used in the X100e (e.g. the UL20 series). This will add a bit of cost, and be a bit better than a netbook in terms of performance, still offer good battery life, and only be somewhat worse than an X100e in terms of build and ergonomics. It all depends on what you want.

I have both the X100e and the Acer Aspire One, as well as an IdeaPad S10 -- all three of which are similar in size and weight.

Of the three, the X100e is my favorite -- small travel size, very sturdy build, and easy-access for upgrades (I have added ram and SSD) -- also have access to Lenovo's System Update -- The X100e also "feels" like it processes faster than my IdeaPad S10 and my Acer Aspire One -- but no ThinkLight --

Next on my list would be the IdeaPad S10 -- again small travel size, sturdy build, and easy-access for upgrades (added ram and SSD) -- but no trackpoint and no Lenovo System Update

For my uses (email/net surfing/youtube) the Acer compares favorably with my X100e and my IdeaPad S10 -- but access for upgrades is not as user-friendly (have to take the machine apart) as well as no trackpoint or system update --

I think the average user would be happy with the Acer Aspire One for the money -- but for a ThinkPadder, the small difference in price is worth it for the X100e -- just my personal opinion I'm sure others here will jump in...

edit: @jvarszegi -- you are right, I forgot about the heat -- the X100e does get rather warm

Sleepless wrote:I'm looking for a machine to use when travelling - Skype, email, catching up on the news, this sort of thing.
A netbook such as Acer Aspire One costs around $300.
Is it worth spending an extra $150 or so and getting the X100e?

I think it's like comparing a motor-scooter with a smart car, the former may fits well your needs, but the latter is a car, a confortable car I have to add.

The x100, especially the dual core version can be used as roadrunner and also it has the power to be used at home (paired whit a good monitor) as main computer.

A netbook is ligter and smaller and can be a lot of cheaper, I payed a samsung n-150 (no BT, no wwan) 199 € and the dual core X100 (bt and wwan) more than 600 euros.

So I will use the samsung when I do a risky travel/job, but I'll carry the x100 on the all the other occurrences.

P.S. If you want a netbook stay away from the acer ones, they are too fragile and their keyboards are usually crap, the N-150 is incredibly well built and its keyboard is not too far from a thinkpad's one.

X100 on sale right now
Lenovo ThinkPad X100e $50 coupon via LogicBUY


http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=87123

Personally I would prefer the X100e (any processor configuration) over any netbook by a mile despite the extra cost. The single core would be most cost effective if you have no real computing needs other than the web. As the others have pointed out, battery life and heat would be the trade offs. An Atom 450 CPU netbook really does have a long battery time after trying one out for a week. Not sure about other brands but I tried an HP5102 and that thing blew out hot air constantly. With the discount the X100e is probably in the same price range and I would take the X100e single core due to more power, bigger screen, battery threshold management, and other Lenovo tools. But HP does offer some amazing tools of their own for their "business" netbooks including McAfree encryption, face recognition, and other neat stuff. I checked out an X100e at a store this past weekend and the bottom does feel very warm. Not scorching but warmer than I would have expected for a machine that sits idle on display. In fact, I ran YouTube on adjacent notebooks until the salesman got irritated and they were lukewarm compared to the X100e.

The S10 I checked out too and its a nice looking sleek machine. I hate glossy screens but on the S10 with the casing it made it one of the better looking netbooks. If a netbook would serve my needs I would actually consider the S10 over Toshiba (which apparently has a very popular netbook line). Acer IMO has quality issues ie cheaper components inside or at least that is their reputation it seems. I have never used and Acer so cant say if it is true.

I think you need to take the infromation suggested by the good people here and go into a store and decide for yourself.

As an addendum to my last post, you better think carefully whether you can actually work with or use a 10" screen for more than a few hours. It's absolutely too small IMO. Sometmes I felt if it were for Internet only an iPhone would be far more convenient and just as effective.

GrandMasterKhan wrote:As an addendum to my last post, you better think carefully whether you can actually work with or use a 10" screen for more than a few hours. It's absolutely too small IMO. Sometmes I felt if it were for Internet only an iPhone would be far more convenient and just as effective.

Thanks for all the responses.
Indeed, I found 10" to be an ergonomic disaster when trying to do anything for more than a few minutes.

I noticed you have and X61 and an X61s. What is wrong with using them as travel machines? Joking, but unbridled consumerism and mortgaging the future away is what got us into the financial crisis and the current fallout. lol.

GrandMasterKhan wrote:I noticed you have and X61 and an X61s. What is wrong with using them as travel machines? Joking, but unbridled consumerism and mortgaging the future away is what got us into the financial crisis and the current fallout. lol.

Good question! They are both X61s, by the way.
One of them is broken, too expensive to fix (more than a new X100e!), I'm keeping it for the spare parts, the other one is used by my spouse.

I previously had the Lenovo S10 netbook, which I took with me while travelling. While okay to do email and browsing, I never liked using it for more than an hour or so, mostly because the screen size and resolution were just too small, as well as the odd layout of the keyboard (little too small there too). With my X100e, I can pretty much work on it all day, Word, Excel, etc. I don't have any issues with the screen (once gamma is correctly adjusted) and the keyboard is a joy to use. My vote for the road warrior, definitely the X100e.

Cheers,

Another thing to keep in mind with the 10 inch Acer Aspire One is the resolution of 1024x600 which is where you get the tiny screen. I was very surprised and very pleased with the 11.6 inch 1366x768 resolution of the x100e making it a lot more usable. The newest Aspire One (751h) comes with the same size screen and same resolution, so you might want to look into that.

At the store, the X100e and X201 were sitting side by side and the screen size of the X100e seemed much better IMO. Unfortunately I'm over 6 feet tall and the models are at about waist level and bolted down so hard to get a good viewing angle. Kneeled down, the X100e seemed kind of fuzzy but with adjustment I would rather have the X100e display hands down. 12.1" WXGA on the x201 seemed hard to get used to IMO for anyone using WXGA+ on a 14.1" WS like I use now. They should just take the guts out of the X201 and put them in the X100e IMO.

The 10" screens on netbooks are a joke. Like peering into a toy. The HP5102 I returned was actually WXGA+ LED. While crisp and high resolution, it was way too small but I have seen the lower resolution Acer's etc. and IMO horrible to use for anything other than browsing the Internet.

Finally got my shiny red X100e - exactly two weeks from order to delivery. Great ergonomics. I can actually work on that thing for hours, as opposed to a 10" Acer which would usually increase my stress levels after a few minutes.

Thanks all for the useful feedback and advice.

Wow, a red one. Bold statement of fashion? So post a review. + and - and your take on it. Would help others considering the x100e.

Sleepless wrote:Finally got my shiny red X100e

I'm jealous...

I had to choose between black dual core or red single core. Here in Italy a red dual core is unavailable. So I choose the former.

Maybe in the near future I'll buy the red housing and I swap it.

It's not cheap but the x100 red is so... sexy

Sleepless wrote:Good question! They are both X61s, by the way.
One of them is broken, too expensive to fix (more than a new X100e!), I'm keeping it for the spare parts, the other one is used by my spouse.

What's wrong with it?

Motherboard failure? You can get a replacement for $250 for the single-fan version, it looks like. 42W7766.

LCD failure? Not too far over $100.

bhtooefr wrote:What's wrong with it?

Motherboard failure? You can get a replacement for $250 for the single-fan version, it looks like. 42W7766.

LCD failure? Not too far over $100.

Broken LCD. But it's the UltraLight display - 13N7092. They are very expensive.

OR maybe looks like a big eraser?

"bhtooefr wrote:What's wrong with it? Motherboard failure? You can get a replacement for $250 for the single-fan version, it looks like. 42W7766. LCD failure? Not too far over $100."

Sleepless wrote: "Broken LCD. But it's the UltraLight display - 13N7092. They are very expensive."

@Sleepless -- If you still have your 'broken' X61, check this out -- very economical: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=95637