X201 Tablet, any known issues?

[FragrantHead]

I'm thinking of buying an X201 Tablet. I have no use for the tablet functionality, the sole reason would be to avail of the IPS or PVA screen. The alternative would be an X220, but I have a preference for the older style keyboard and 16:10 screen.

Are there any known issues with this model? I'm thinking of things like cracking palm-rests, overheating and so on.

The choice would be between an i5-560M or i7-640LM processor. The i5 is clocked higher (esp. the graphics), the i7 has more cache. The TDP of the i5 is 35W vs. the i7s 25W. Any known overheating issues with the i5? Large effect on battery life?

I read some people have issues with the camera. I have not much use for the camera nor fingerprint reader, but as they cost next to nothing, I'd take them unless they cause system issues. I read something about touching the display lid around the camera causing some laptop to reboot, but I can't remember where I read it nor about what laptop.

My Thinkpad T30 is coming up to it's 8th birthday. I have a T410s, but been so put off by the screen that I'm still using the old machine.

[ZaZ]

The alternative would be an X220

The AFFS mod would be another option if you don't mind getting your hands dirty or messing with your warranty. I can't speak to the X201t, but my X200t runs cool and works great.

[sarbin]

to support FG's experience, my x200t/affs+ is a joy to use also.

[FragrantHead]

Thanks guys, but I do mind getting my hands dirty and voiding the warranty.

[penartur]

I'm thinking of buying an X201 Tablet. I have no use for the tablet functionality, the sole reason would be to avail of the IPS or PVA screen. The alternative would be an X220, but I have a preference for the older style keyboard and 16:10 screen.

X220 pros: light, thin, fast, RapidStorage, sturdy, more available battery options, longer battery life, slightly higher screen resolution, slightly larger screen area (66.8sq.in. vs 65.8sq.in.), higher screen horizontal resolution, larger screen width, more suitable for movies.
X201t pros: convertible, slightly higher screen vertical resolution, slightly larger screen height, old keyboard.
If "convertible" is not a huge advantage, i'd took X220 without a doubt. Yes, 16:10 screen might be better for you... slightly... and older style keyboard (especially small Delete) is better, but these advantages are quite subtle, while X220 offers some real advantages, such as new fast and energy efficient platform and better mobility because it is a laptop.

[FragrantHead]

Thank you, but I'm well aware of those tradeoffs. Does anyone have hands-on, long term experience with the X201t? Does anyone use these in a large organization who could comment on reliability? Alternatively has anyone been lurking in X-series forums enough to be aware of recurring issues, like the breaking palm rests of the T4x0s series?

I tend to keep machines long term and I got lucky with the T30. It did have issues, the memory slot issue and a fan failure, but nothing I couldn't fix or workaround myself. The T30 was an outgoing model when I bought it; this is another thing I hold in the X201s favour.

[Oliver26n]

I've had my x201 tablet (multi-touch, i7) for almost a year, never had a single issue with it. I use it daily and have to say that it's the single most reliable laptop I've ever had.

[Daniel Bakker]

I've been usign a X201T for about half a year now, and I'm very satisfied with it. definetely no hardware issues at all (no cracking/overheating/random rebooting), hardware and build quality is just great, as one should expect from a thinkpad. the only thing that isn't working flawless on this tablet is windows. you know, the standard windows bugs...

my only hope for that one is windows 8, should also be easier to use on a tablet. but I stopped hoping for a flawless windows version since I upgraded to vista.

[FragrantHead]

Well, whaddya know, there is at least one guy who has the exact problem with the i5 CPU I was afraid of:

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-Ta ... d-p/358595

I thought it odd that Lenovo would stuff a 35W TDP CPU into a notebook sold with only a 25W CPU for the longest time. You never know whether it was just bad thermal paste or something like that, but a tech supposedly changed his motherboard to no avail.