Brand New x41 - STOKED

Hi everyone, I just purchased a brand new x41 from eBay and I must say, "this laptop is amazingly nice!" I know that many forum regulars are already aware of the quality of this notebook, but I must flaunt about how incredibly happy I am with my purchase. All the way from the non reflective matte screen, to the small figure, to the 3.2lbs of portability, to the quick and satisfying keyboard, to the bundled IBM software which can easily customize and fine tune the users experience, this is easily the ultimate school/work notebook series on the market today. I could have spent the extra 700 dollars or more to buy a new x60s that delivers both much faster wireless internet and multitasking, (which I miss about my ASUS A8Jm that I sold back to my old company who use it for auto-cad) but the x41 meets my needs adequately as a student who would rather play online poker as a video game rather than heavy duty 3D computer games which are much more computationally demanding.

The x41 really is a joy to use, and I don't know if anyone can emphasize that enough when comparing it to other comparable notebooks. Even with much less space than that of the 14" widescreen A8Jm, I actually find myself typing much faster on the 12" non-widescreen x41 due mainly to its non-compromising use of keyboard real-estate, and also due to the superior tactile feel and responsiveness of each key. This is a truly amazing fact when a person physically compares the contrasted difference in width while looking at these two notebooks side by side. The depth of each stroke and key layout makes the typing experience pleasurable rather than cramped and completely avoids the "oh I can't wait to connect to an external keyboard," that a typical user would expect in a truly ultraportable laptop.

Right now as I'm typing, the build quality is noticeably superior to that of the A8Jm and feels much sexier to use and have around. The look of the x41 is subtly stunning, and most people have never seen a notebook so small and crisp looking. The entire notebook has a tough shale black finish to it and demands a feeling of strength that is typically unexpected in a machine so small. For many people's first impressions, including my own, the x41 was an instant an eye shocker.

As a writer, I simply can't wait to take it in my backpack wherever I go and quickly pop it out for whatever I want to jot down, or even to write an all out document using its 5 hour battery life (using the larger 8 cell battery, and soon I will have even more time when I add the optional extended life battery). Oh, and did I mention? If you're unorganized like me, this laptop is so small that if you regularly carry around a backpack, it can even double as a palm pilot for scheduling appointments and organizing a person's life. As a bonus, with its Bluetooth capabilities I can now set up my phone to sync in with my Day-Timer to receive notices when I have something to do in a few hours, or even check my Day-Timer on the fly to know my schedule in advance.

Needless to say, I am so far very satisfied with my purchase. My hope is that somebody who is on the fence making a decision between two laptops will stumble upon this mini-review and take the route of the x40,x41, or x60s over anything else out there which attempts to compete as an all out workstation. The lenovo x laptop line is simply the best.

 

I just purchased a preowned X30 (with 512mb of RAM, which should modernize it some) off ebay myself, and I can certainly say I am STOKED about it! It should arrive Monday...I can't wait! I just hope it's in good shape..the photos looked good. Anyway, congrats!

 

hows the heat compared to your a8jm? also, whatm ade you go for the x series in the first place? I last recalled you went for the A8jm to do autoCAD?

 

I tested an X41 at ibm, and an X60, and I must say that the X41 has superior mouse buttons and keyboard... The buttons on the X41 are larger, quieter and more lush (and they have the red markings which were dropped from the X60). The keyboard is much better because it has fullsize Ctrl and Alt buttons and larger spacebar - all of which were compromised on the X60 in order to make room for the worthless new windows buttons. They keys themselves are a different, higher quality plastic too on the X41. Finally, i prefer the richer black look of the X41 to the dark grey of the X60 interior.

 

All those things you mentioned i entirely agree with. Sinc eI got my x60s I have been able toincrease the functional use of my laptop enormously. The size and weight make it a no brainer to pull out and use where woith heavier computers it wa just to big a hassle.. I also tried the smartphone route but that is ridiculous trying to read documents on a phone screen or type in a useful manner. However I am waiting to make another change. Now that i have experienced the x60s I cant wait till the x60t comes out. I am a contractor and having the one handed functionality of a tablet available would be the icing on the cake. It will have to have wwan though and comparable battery life to my x60s before i will pull the trigger.

So Bunny with your inside IBM contacts , do you know anything about the tablet version coming out?

 

BuddieGuy, thank you for your post. This is good to read for people who don't want to spend the extra money for an X60 or X60s.

 

You have a great memory Goren, it's true that I came to these forums originally looking for a dual purpose autoCAD/school laptop. I have since then decided to sell the laptop back to the company I was working for and purchase an all out school based laptop in order to save on weight, have a non reflective office lighting optimized screen, and gain on substantial battery life and solid build quality that the A8Jm couldn't fully offer me. Needless to say, I will no longer be doing any autoCAD during school - especially on an intel 915 graphics chip! The company I was working for didn't fire me, but basically they no longer had any work for me to do.
Enter the x41.

When I purchased the A8Jm, I purchased it for it's unrivalled power in such a small form factor. As a student who puts my laptop in my backpack everywhere I go, this is a really important trait. And so the A8Jm was a kind of hybrid school/work notebook that attempted to satiate all of my needs. So now that I no longer have any 'need for speed' so to say, the x41 offers me so much more as an all out writing machine.

The heat on the x41 is definitely more than I would have expected as it really has so little under the hood, but then again, the laptop itself is so small that it's ridiculous to think that it wouldn't accumulate any heat with so little space inside for components. Compared to the A8Jm, I would say that this laptop has a warmer keyboard during extended use, but this can easily be avoided by fine tuning the performance settings using IBM's built in software. The one thing I won't miss from the A8Jm is the mouse-hand facing vent which constantly blew air warm at me while doing autoCAD, although we've had a hot summer here in Canada and I'm sure I'd be changing my tune in winter. The heat I mention in the keyboard truly is quite unsubstantial, and it's only when thinking about it that I notice there is any heat at all. Besides, this is completely avoidable by ensuring that the bottom vents are not blocked, and the table I usually write on has a spongy surface which definitely closes up the vents and is sure to heat things up much more than most users would ever experience. So now that I'm done finding a new laptop, it's time for me to find a new table .

 

Nope i'm not in the loop about an x60t

Perhaps bdoyle or abaxter... i'm sure they'll advise when possilbe - he was the one who first confirmed the wide-screen T rumor.