New x120e

[azX32]

According to this review

"The bad: Throwback rubberized trackpoint eats up valuable space..."

Obviously the reviewer doesn't understand that for most of us, it just ain't a ThinkPad without that "throwback rubberzied trackpoint".

As far as eating up valuable space, as I recall the reviewer was complaining that the touchpad was too small. How exactly would eliminating the trackpoint make the touchpad larger?

[The Solutor]

Some bad news...

http://www.facebook.com/lenovo/posts/198773636806635

Official Lenovo Fan Site Hi Everyone! Liz from Lenovo ThinkPad Product Marketing here with some more information about where you can buy ThinkPad X120e starting next week. On February 15 it will be available in North America, China and other emerging market countries (such as Eastern Europe, Indonesia, Korea). Unfortunately at this time there are no plans to launch X120e in Latin America, Japan, Australia or Western Europe (including Germany and Norway). However, we do still offer the ThinkPad Edge 11" in all of those countries for those customers looking for a well equipped 11" notebook.

[Fakenjones]

Well today's the 15th, but I don't see anything on sale yet....

Anyways, for those looking to see the technology in action, here is links to info about a very similair dm1z.
Noticeably, it seems to be reported that the dm1z will have better battery life and heat levels vs the x120e
Combined with the fact that the x120e won't come with a Thinklight, I think the dm1z might be a contender here.
I've already ordered one. Now I'm thinking to replace my dead T60 with either another dm1z or a x120e.
What do you guys think?

DM1Z user reviews (very useful to assess the new platform for x120e I think):
http://forum.notebookreview.com/noteboo ... ssion.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-pavi ... 1z-59.html

My summary post highlighting useful dm1z research:

I did a fair bit of reading before ordering my DM1z, so before I clear out my bookmarks folder:
Cnet
Engaget
PCMag
LaptopMag
PCWorld
NotebookReview
MobileTechReview
WindowsforDevices

A youtube search is always good too.
Most of these are probably stated here, but incase we missed one. Plus its easier

And its competition Lenovo x120e on engaget.

Enjoy.

PS:
I recognize it may be considered blasphemy to mention a non-TP on these forums.
Let alone suggest that it may in some way excel even beyond the newest/latest TP.
But I think if you read through all the dm1z information, you should have a good idea of what the x120e could do.

[alcuin]

X120e now orderable. My est shipping date is 3/3.

[Johan]

There's a lengthy X120e-thread over at the Notebook Review forum where a recent post is pointing to the following very recent review: Lenovo ThinkPad X120e Review: AMD Fusion Infused posted by Hothardware.com. To quite a few points from their conclusion:

HOT:
* Outstanding build quality
* AMD Fusion platform
* Great performance
* Great trackpad
* Matte display

NOT:
* Fans Always Spinning
* No USB 3.0
* Battery bulge (with 6-cell)
* High-end is a touch pricey

Johan

[crystal castle]

I'll get one, but I'm not happy about: No SSD option. Bluetooth extra, separate warranty just for the battery.

[emtee3511]

crystal castle - "No SSD option. Bluetooth extra, separate warranty just for the battery"

Seems to me on the "no SSD option", you could probably do better anyway purchasing and installing separately -- you would have more choices (including regularly listed SSD's on the Forum) and you would pay less -- that's what I have done for my machines, except for the X301, which came with the 128gb SSD -- I used the HDD that originally came with my machines either as a cloned backup or to upgrade a different machine --

What is the deal with "separate warranty just for the battery" -- is it still one year?

[Colonel O'Neill]

Why would they make Bluetooth stock? What if a corporation ordering a batch of X120e's doesn't want to spend the money on Bluetooth? Same reasoning for the battery warranty.

The base (standard) battery warranty is one year, and you can upgrade to a three year battery warranty.

[emtee3511]

Colonel O'Neill - "you can upgrade to a three year battery warranty."

Question -- do you think it would be financially "worth it" to purchase 3 year battery warranty -- just asking for an opinion, as it would depend on each's individual's personal preferences -- I'm guessing the warranty would not cover normal degradation? and would only cover a dead battery? I'm not sure if I would choose the extra battery warranty or not

[crystal castle]

crystal castle - "No SSD option. Bluetooth extra, separate warranty just for the battery"

Seems to me on the "no SSD option", you could probably do better anyway purchasing and installing separately -- you would have more choices (including regularly listed SSD's on the Forum) and you would pay less -- that's what I have done for my machines, except for the X301, which came with the 128gb SSD -- I used the HDD that originally came with my machines either as a cloned backup or to upgrade a different machine --

What is the deal with "separate warranty just for the battery" -- is it still one year?

The problem is it's not even an option. What if I want it asap and don't want to replace the HDD myself?
Other manufactures include the battery in the warranty, I don't see why Lenovo wont.

Bluetooth is pretty old and common technology at this point and probably should be included. If you don't want it? Too bad, pay the few bucks for it anyway and disable it when you get the system.
I'm not an enterprise customer so I guess I have a different perspective on how the system should be configured and how the shopping experience should be.

[emtee3511]

"The problem is it's not even an option. What if I want it asap and don't want to replace the HDD myself?"
Well, that does make sense... I don't know why Lenovo doesn't have it as an option -- just one more business decision that is over my head...

[gear]

Colonel O'Neill - "you can upgrade to a three year battery warranty."
Question -- do you think it would be financially "worth it" to purchase 3 year battery warranty -- just asking for an opinion, as it would depend on each's individual's personal preferences -- I'm guessing the warranty would not cover normal degradation? and would only cover a dead battery? I'm not sure if I would choose the extra battery warranty or not

The 3yr battery warranty is $139, but in the fine print it says it's a one-time replacement only:

Battery Warranty provides coverage beyond the standard 1Yr battery warranty that comes standard on most mobile systems.

Features and Benefits:

Provides a single battery replacement for the term selected.
Replacement will be of the same size as is being replaced (if a Lenovo option battery was purchased it will be replaced, not restricted to the battery size that comes standard on system)
Replacement available without regard to defect.

A new 17+ 6cell is $99 on lenovo's shop, or less on other sites, so I think it's not worth buying, get a second battery instead (extra runtime possible, if a bit more weight and volume is not an issue).

I ordered a x120e today, and the estimated ship date is March 7th.

I don't know why they charged me an 'Estimated Sales Tax' of $28, it will be shipped to MA, I have never been charged sales tax in a few years of online shopping...

[The Solutor]

Why would they make Bluetooth stock?

Come on !! a bluetoota card will probaly cost to the manufacturer 1/2$, a worker that has to undersand where put the same BT card will cost a lot more.

There's no reason for not having the BT card as a standard other than the usual dislike of Americans for every technology developed on the "wrong" side of the Atlantic ocean.

[azX32]

It's not just the X120e. Bluetooth has never been standard on any ThinkPad I'm aware of - except the X300/301. I doubt the reasoning behind it has anything at all to do with foreign policy or cultural attitudes.

SSD as an option? Considering that they'd charge about as much for a 128GB SSD as they do for the X120e itself, I'd rather see a $20 option for a Thinklight.

[gear]

Thinklight would be nice in the dark, but I'm not sure that with the current thickness and shape of the lid, they can put it there.

Another useful extra option would be a fingerprint reader and TPM chip, I would pay for that.

[pianowizard]

I don't know why they charged me an 'Estimated Sales Tax' of $28, it will be shipped to MA, I have never been charged sales tax in a few years of online shopping...

Lenovo, Dell and HP always charge sales tax for online transactions. I bet Sony does as well.

[chanel]

Does the x120e take a standard size 2.5" SSD, or is it a proprietary size? Which SSD would you recommend if I wanted to install one in the x120e?

[The Solutor]

Does the x120e take a standard size 2.5" SSD

Yes it came with a standard HDD so you can use any standard SDD, BTW On the X100 I tried both an X25 M 160GB which is a very good disk and a value toshiba based Kingston one, with both the performance jumped a lot, and in so tiny machines I haven't noticed big differences between the two but with both the jump over the platter disk was huge. I mention just the boot time 60+ seconds with the (fast) HDD, 14 seconds with both the SDDs.

So base your choice on your pocket and your space needs and don't look too much to the benchmark, just don't buy a stone age unit and you will be happy.

I alsso suggest to not buy the SDD from lenovo, but put it aftermarket, the disks are usually the same units but the FW release are coming way faster and frequently for the retail units than the OEM one. And no you can't flash al lenovo branded intel disk with the usual intel FW, you have to wait the lenovo release.

[DaMaN]

Got one today too.

Ships on 3/8

I am contemplating what memory modules to buy to go from 1X2GB to 2X 2GB.

Does anybody know what kind of ram ships with it?

or

where the approved memory list is for this notebook?

[Zoomzabba]

made me think so i had to look. looks like crucial memory was ready as well as kingston

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts. ... ad%20X120e

http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configu ... it1=Search


anyone have experience with kingston's sodimm heat spreader? i've read some stuff about tight fit in Macbook Pros and was curios if a x100e has previously been attempted. x120e applicable memory below.

http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/khx_sodimm.asp

[elray]

There's no reason for not having the BT card as a standard other than the usual dislike of Americans for every technology developed on the "wrong" side of the Atlantic ocean.

I'm not sure where you dug that little rhetorical gem up, but I submit you couldn't be more wrong. Not only would you have a very difficult time finding any American dismissing a technology for being invented elsewhere, more typically we seek and prefer foreign makers.

[Zoomzabba]

here is an updated x100e/x120e manual with all the new part numbers and specification. couldn't find by browsing the Lenovo Support site, be a simple google got me to it.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 74252.html

[The Solutor]

I'm not sure where you dug that little rhetorical gem up.

Just observation of the facts, the examples are countless, from GSM to Hyperlan, from nokia, sonyericsson whatever brand of phones to bluetooth and DVB-T.

Going back to BT it was accepted in America only when the end users started to understand how much useful but was never backed/supported by the industries (and somehow still isn't) do you remember that xp lacked a proper support to it for some 4 years ? Do you think was just a distraction ?

The approach is a bit different on the fashion / luxury market, but that market is fairly different: GM doesn't care much if Ferrari or Porche are selling 1000 car/years in the US, but intel care a lot if 10 million of devices are powered by LTE or by Wimax...

[sarinder]

The X120e sales page on the Lenovo website (US) has a link to a factsheet which shows all the configurations available

http://shop.lenovo.com/ISS_Static/ww/wc ... asheet.pdf

These include the following hard Drives:
250/320 Gb 5400 rpm
160/320 Gb 7200 rpm
128 Gb SSD

Upgrade to SSD on most other Thinkpads in US seems to be $290.

Been waiting to upgrade my X41 after the demise of my my Mtron SSD and they won't sell it in the UK!!!
I would not have changed but the Mtron transformed the X41, and they no longer seem to be around.

[gear]

Got one today too.

Ships on 3/8

I am contemplating what memory modules to buy to go from 1X2GB to 2X 2GB.

Does anybody know what kind of ram ships with it?

or

where the approved memory list is for this notebook?

The integrated memory controller should support 2x4GB DIMMs, as in the HP Pavillion dm1z http://www.anandtech.com/show/4187/hp-d ... n-the-road.

Why would Lenovo limit max ram to 2x2GB, when it ships with Win7 x64 ?

[DaMaN]

I would love to go 2X4GB, how can I validate that before making an investment?

[Zoomzabba]

The Brazos architecture supports 2x4GB in single channle, no guessing if Lenovo's Bios will.

*amendment*
Lenovo has a 4GB DDR3 SODIMM
FRU no. 55Y3717 for the
0596-CTO
0611-CTO
0613-CTO


let's hope this rings true for an 8GB configuration.

[Johan]

About the maximum amount of RAM in the x120 there seem to be a bit of contradiction between the x120 datasheet claiming ..."4GB maximum memory: DDR3, 1333MHz (runs at 1066MHz) with 2 DIMM slots" which is in contrast to the tabook informing that: "Max memory = 8 GB, PC3-8500 1066MHz DDR3, non-parity, dual-channel capable, two 204-pin SO-DIMM sockets".

Strangely, the Crucial laptop memory upgrade configurator for the x120e lists 4 GB as being the maximum amount as well? If, however, this is not true, and if the maximum capacity of the x120e is 8 GB, then the 4 GB Crucial part would be CT51264BC1067 and cost around $50, making it roughly $100 to max. out the x120e with 8 GB RAM.

I haven't been able to find any official Announcement Letter for the x120e... so I wonder if they are no longer being published...

Johan

[Colonel O'Neill]

It probably supports up to 8GB, but can only be preconfigured with 4GB.

[chanel]

Interestingly, the 8GB max claim in the Tabook also has a footnote (footnote 7) next to it, but I don't see any explanation of what footnote 7 is... what page are the footnotes on???