T61 or X61 tablet ?

[wearetheborg]

I am trying so hard to detemine which (if any) to buy.

I have a dell precision M90 (17 incher, 9lbs), which is great. However, I travel occasionally, and the hotels I've been to dont have a safe. As a result I end up carrying the laptop everywhere, and I hate that.

So I was thinking of getting a smaller laptop. I really need at least SXGA+ screen resolution.
Here are the candidates:
T61 : 15.4""WSXGA+, 2 Ghz,Nvidia140M,
5 year depot warranty: $1285

T61p: 15.4" WUXGA, 2Ghz, NVIDIA Quadro FX,
5 year depot warranty: $1485

X61 tablet, SXGA+, 1.6Ghz LV, integrated graphics,
4 year depot+accident protection: $1560

This is after tailormade and fastcash and coupons.
Trying to decide which way to go. The main selling point of the tablet is its lesser weight, not too keen on the tablet feature. But the T61s are so much more powerful....
Will the extra 1.5lbs really make that much of a difference ?

Any opinions ?

[snife]

You've not specific whether it is a 14 or 15 T61, i'd be less inclined to recommend the 15" model for frequent travelling, however, the difference between the X61 and T61 14" is negligable imho for transporting purposes (makes a difference for holding but thats not really a consideration as youd only really hold one of them while using).

What I would say though is that the Tablet features are great for using on the move (like when stuck in an airport seat for hours on end or on the airplane).

Unless your doing really CPU intensive stuff (high end graphics etc) the CPU difference wont really be an issue as long as the system has enough memory and a decent HDD, you really need to decide whether you require discrete graphics and an optical drive, if you dont then i'd personally recommend going with the tablet.

I'm switching to the X60 tablet as i'm going to be doing a bit of travelling soon, i'll keep my T60 15" for watching videos etc in my hotel room but use the tablet as my main machine which i carry with me. (i'm not sure what type of hotels your staying in but I always just leave my laptop lying out in my hotel rooms and i've never had a problem).

[qviri]

But the T61s are so much more powerful....

Do you need the extra power?

[ryengineer]

I have a dell precision M90 (17 incher, 9lbs)

Your emphasis is only on weight, so all I can say is, T61 (14.1 or 15.4) is going to be lighter and X61t much more lighter if you're coming from 9 pound dell.

[wearetheborg]

I'm switching to the X60 tablet as i'm going to be doing a bit of travelling soon, i'll keep my T60 15" for watching videos etc in my hotel room but use the tablet as my main machine which i carry with me. (i'm not sure what type of hotels your staying in but I always just leave my laptop lying out in my hotel rooms and i've never had a problem).

Sorry, both T61's are 15.4"
I've heard horror stories about laptops getting stolen in hotel rooms, heck even the hotels say not to keep valuables in the room.

Can one watch videos fine on the tablet ?

If you're taking both the T60 and the tablet with you, why not ditch the tablet ? Does the extra 1.5lbs make that much of a difference ?

[JaneL]

Can one watch videos fine on the tablet ?

I haven't done it, but I don't see why not. You'll need to get the video on the HDD unless you're planning to take the Ultrabase or an external drive with you.

I have a T60p and an X61 Tablet. If I was traveling, there would have to be some compelling reason for me to take the T60p over the tablet. In fact since I got the tablet, I've almost stopped using the T60p. The tablet is just so versatile, lightweight and handy.

[mattbiernat]

Will the extra 1.5lbs really make that much of a difference ?

It depends how portable your laptop must be. If you are expecting to carry your laptop while you walk for an hour or so then every 1.5lbs counts. If you just need a laptop to take from home to work then the weight becomes less of a problem.
Second issue you need to decide on is whether you need the CDrom drive.
Third issue is whether you really need that extra power of T61. If you do then I suspect you will be doing graphic intensive work or gaming - in that case larger screen will be much better option.
So overall if you need a portable machine take the tablet. If you don't need so much portability take the T61.
Both should be more than enough to work smothly with vista and most office aplications.

[wearetheborg]

I forsee using te laptop almost exclusively for programming.
I do not need the CDrom drive (I already have an external dvrw).
And I do forsee walking for 1-2hrs with the laptop while on trips.

[bhtooefr]

I'd lean towards the X61t in that case, then.

(Of course, if Lenovo would just put the 1400x1050 screen (and maybe discrete graphics, but I doubt that'd happen) in the X61 and call it, say, an X61p, I'd love it... but they're not, so I'm getting an X61t.

Also, playing with a demo X61t that IBM sent to my company, I do find that I actually use the tablet functions.