Confusing lenovo canada question, please clarify!

Hi,

So we're all pretty excited about the x61 tablet...unfortunately, the lenovo site is extremly ambiguous! if you go to lenovo.com and select canada, they don't say anything about the x61! If you go to view all x60 (on the side) you can find it! But then theres like 10 different models of the x61 tablet, all of which are different prices, yet they seem to have the same features?!

Secondly, I read another post here about "visaperks.ca" - is that a legit site? It seems kind of sketchy - I've never heard of that website before.

Another thing that's weird is that in the x series machines they only have windows XP. I was able to find a vista machine in the "view all x60"...but it seems like they really don't support canada. It just seems really awkard buying something from that website (not like Dell where it's much more black and white). Should I have anything to worry about? Thanks!

 

Visaperks is a legit site. It is operated by VISA, not someone else.

I have personally ordered from visaperks and saved some coin

Right now it is much much much cheaper to buy from the American site because of the ****e American dollar. If you can ship to an American address (friend, family) I would recommend buying American.

 

Thanks for the confirmation!
I never heard of that site...but it saves around 500$ !!That's huge!!!
Up north we get NO deals like that!

I am absolutely intrigued by how low the american prices are---they're practically giving them away (when compared to the price here!).

I can ship it to a friend but then the problem is shipping it over the border...they'll tax the living heck off of it and it'll end up costing more.

Thanks for the advice!
Do you have any info with regards to the different models available? I still don't even know if I want to replace my 700m...the tablet functionality seems like such a great feature that I can take advantage of.

 

I ordered the X61 Tablet 7767A4U (the Top Seller model) from the Lenovo Canada site ($2200 after the visaperks.ca discount). Once you take into account the configuration, the prices are very similar to the US site. The reason the prices seem lower on the US site is because they are base configurations. The Canadian Top Seller model comes with the L7500 cpu, 1GB ram, 160GB 5400 rpm drive, the SXGA+ screen, an X6 Ultrabase w/ DVD burner, the 4965ABGN wireless & 3 year warranty. (as far as i can tell it doesn't come with bluetooth, WWAN, fingerprint reader or the turbo memory). A similar system on the US site costs $2100+.

Unfortunately, if you buy any system other than the Top Seller model the prices increase substantially.

I would limit "customizations" to the system to a minimum due to the inflated prices Lenovo charges for accessories / additions. I'm going to buy an extra 1GB ram from ncix.com.

 

I would advise looking at the visaperks.ca website to get a price and then phone lenovo to make your order. They will give you the visaperks website price and they can also tell you about any additional promotions.

 

Thanks for the advice?

SXGA+ is higher than 1024x768, right? I didn't see any that were SXGA+. Is that screen better for a tablet functionality?

 

XGA is 1024x768
SXGA+ is 1400x1050.

The Top Seller model I mentioned (7767A4U) is listed on the web site as having an SXGA+ 1024x768 screen. This is obviously a contradiction. I called Lenovo Canada support but she didn't know which it was. She escalated a ticket to the web team and they'll be emailing me later (hopefully) . I really hope it's the SXGA+ (1400x1050) because if it's not i'll be cancelling the order!

If you don't mind reading smaller text I would go with the SXGA+ because you get more screen real estate at the cost of smaller fonts and UI elements. Of course if you have trouble reading the text on the SXGA+ screen you can just increase the font size in the OS to a comfortable level. The XGA 1024x768 screen is ideal for the Multiview/Multitouch touch screen option because you need UI elements to be larger in order to be able to press them with your finger.

 

Great, thanks! I noticed that contradiction - it's a pretty big error. It seemed as if the models were identical yet priced so differently.

SXGA+ is clearly better overall, but will it provide a better inking experience? Will XGA be better for writing?
I wish their site was better organized. It seems really disrespectful on their part - the machine is around $2K and they don't even have a decently organized site.

Another thing...it says to "add ram", 1 GB is around 100$. Does that mean that the total will be 2 GB? And why do you have to pay them to install it?

 

I confirmed on the IBM site that it's the SXGA+. It also has bluetooth and the fingerprint reader.

 

So it's NOT 1024x768? That's good. It seems that you can get a pretty good discount w/ visaperks.ca

 

Lenovo Canada sells their machines only in preconfigured packages. Any changes to that configuration are made by purchasing additional items (such as an extra 1GB of ram). If you want them to install it it costs even more.

I would advise against getting additional RAM from Lenovo because it's overpriced. You can buy a 1GB stick from ncix.com or memoryexpress.com (PC2-5300 DDR2 SODIMM) for $59.99 and install it yourself.

 

If you want to compare the specs for each model, enter the part numbers into this page: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=HOME-LENOVO

It will give more detailed specs than are available from the Canadian Lenovo site.

 

thanks everyone!

I saw a video on gottabemobile and it looked extraordinarily easy to install ram - if the machine comes with 1 GB, is it 1 Dimm, or is it 2 x 512? Because there are only two ram slots. So is it just a matter of unscrewing the back, putting in the 1 GB stick, and then that's it?

 

Well in a thinkpad, aint the ram slots underneath the touchpad (not sure abt this).

Anyways, its 1Dimm for the 1GB RAM

 

Yeah but a lot of ppl have reported that the cheap memory doesn't work or is incompatible, even tho the specs match.

I 1-gig last year and had that problem myself on an older thinkpad. A waste of money. I ordered the lenovo ram and it's been fine.

 

Perhaps there were more compatibility issues with older notebooks vs new ones.

Regardless, corsair memory seems to be well regarded as good quality. You can order 1GB SODIMMs right now for $35.99 at NCIX. Here is a LINK. Try to order your notebook with 1 free slot. I just ordered 2 sticks of this memory for my X60s.