First X200S Review?

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-x200s.aspx

 

Interesting review. The 9 cell battery life for web browsing (10:37) is pretty impressive (although I get more like 8:40, rather than the 7:37 the reviewer claims hours with my x200). The main thing that surprised me is how bad the x301 is with the 6 cell, 3:29 is awful for a machine with an LED and low voltage processor.

I still maintain that the x200 is a better buy than the x200s, as it provides more battery life than I realistically need, but the x200s will certainly make sense for many due to its great battery life and low weight.

 

Ya, the x200s really only offers more battery life (on top of already great battery life of the x200) and a better screen (you can scale your icons!).

I don't think it justifies the price premium for the "masses" considering the lack of connectivity options that the x200 has/will have.

 

Ugggh, why didn´t they look more into the screen quality!! that's the single most important aspect I was looking for in the review. I hope nbr hurrys up with their own review.

 

For me the cost is justified by the weight savings. I will need to carry 2 of these machines with me for extended periods of time so if I could go with 2 X200S with 6 cell vs 2 X200 with the 9 cells I save almost 2 pounds of weight and a inch in length because of the batteries.

No question the X200 is a better buy but the X200 does have its benefits.

 

If they only offered the WXGA+ screen on the X200. That might make me consider dumping my R60. Thanks for the link.

 

X200 with a 9 hour battery (9cell) weigh 33% more than the X200s with a 9 hour battery (6cell). That's a huge difference in weight. Not to mention that the X200 with the 9 hour battery becomes bulky as hell (with that horrible, huge back protrusion).

I wouldn't call $300 USD a "large premium", since for this price you are getting a LED screen, top cover roll cage made of carbon, and expensive low voltage CPU (dramatically more expensive than regular voltage cpu). It really costs more to produce.

 

I would have preferred a LED or regular WXGA screen over the WXGA+ personally.... main thing for me is the weight and bulk savings.

 

Just a reminder that the "large premium" of the X200s vs. the X200 won't exist for much longer. All Lenovo products are sold at full price when initially introduced and shortly thereafter are subject to their permanent "sale" pricing at various % off. Look at the page for the x-series on Lenovo.com right now - every notebook with the exception of the X200s has its MSRP crossed out with a "sale" price below.

The 4-cell battery life of 3:30 (without trying to conserve power at all - I assume at full brightness) is AMAZING in my opinion. We can plan on double that with the 6-cell which is still flush with the rear of the notebook! That is as good as the outgoing X61s with the huge 8-cell battery. This is a real achievement by Lenovo and I'm very impressed.

@noam23: have you ordered your X200s yet?

 

Not only did I order, it already shipped and arrived.

Only problem is I'm located outside of the US, hence it was delivered to someone in the US that will come visit me next week...

 

I would not assume that the 4cell is with full brightness. Look at how they give their other numbers. If you turn up the x200 with full brightness it certainly wont get almost 8hrs.

 

Something you need to consider is that the X200s @ 50% brightness, is similar to the X61 @ 100% brightness.

 

On page 3 of the review they say "While the X200s features the optional ThinkVantage GPS Enabler that lets users track their movements using Google Maps, it lacks an integrated mobile broadband option (as does the X200)."

Does anyone know what he is talking about? I've never seen such an option on the X200S?

 

+1 I went with the X200s over the X200 mainly due to the LED backlight screen and increased resolution with WXGA+ that isn't available with the X200. The extra battery life is a nice benefit, but the screen was the game changer for me. But admittedly if it wasn't available with the SL9400 processor, I might not have gone with the X200s.

Thanks for the review link, cairo604! Can't wait to see a review of the X200s here on NBR!

 

I am reasonably confident that there are two misprints in that statement. The x200s has neither integrated mobile broadband or GPS. The x200 has BOTH, because if you get integrated mobile broadband (Verizon/AT&T) you get GPS integration by default, but the card is required.

 

I could have sworn that one of the discussion members (i believe it was Xchirc) on NBR that had received a similar unit did not have those black hinges that we are seeing on Laptopmag's review and NBR's review. I mean even though its a minor concern for me, I would love to have the black hinges on my Thinkpad X200s when i order it along with the WWAN options.

 

True, Provantage ships the X200s with metal hinges, not black. Lenovo probably rushed out with the first shipment and compromised a bit on the small parts... still not such a big deal, some may even like the metal look.

 

ooh.. so would I, but we don't know whether it's a silver or black hinges!

 

good news for me, but still it's not a big deal hehe

 

Does anyone know why the x200 with the 4 cell battery is 1.4" thick and the 9 cell battery is also 1.4" thick, whereas the x200s with 4 cell is 1.1" thick while the 9 cell is 1.4" thick? The lid on the x200s is thinner but both systems use the same batteries so how can the thickness change between batteries of the two systems? Source: http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&star...ok.pdf&usg=AFQjCNEb5UrodMp5jmSVdAX3HbzpumLLzQ

 

I think that has to be a misprint. Both the x200 and x200s are thinner with the 4 cell than they are with the 6/9 cell. Both of the larger batteries raise the machine about 1/4" in the rear (they have secondary rubber pads on the battery, that prevent the pads on the notebook from being engaged). This compromises the clean and square look of the notebook, but may actually be advantageous in daily usage. In addition to the increased life, the bigger batteries create a mild incline for the keyboard, and provide a good texture and pseudo carrying handle for the x200(s).

My x200 with the 9 cell is 1.4" at the rear. I don't have the 4 cell, but I am pretty sure it would drop the system down to 1.1" or 1.2" if it were used. The x200s should be a shade thinner (0.1" to 0.2") due to the LED screen.

 

The winner for the WORST x200s (although it could be for the x200) review is....

>>DELETED LINK<< as recommended by Jackboot.

 

Yeah I saw this garbage earlier and thought it wasn't worth the link. Honestly I've read previews about the X200s with more insight than this so called "review". There is nothing to indicate he actually had the X200s in his hands.

 

Ok, seems just in time before the weekend, some other reviewers got their X200s:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/16/lenovo-thinkpad-x200s-reviewed-its-worth-the-splurge/
http://thinkingonthemargin.blogspot.com/2008/10/lenovos-thinkpad-x200s-10-hours-of.html

Edit: Ignore the Engadget stuff, it's just the laptopmag review.

 

hmmm, not really a review, more like an ad for some PDF software.

 

Yeah, internet sucks nowadays. Only some stuff copied from another site, small comment added, ready is the new "article"...
Sorry for that

 

Don't click on that link and give the "reviewer" money for page views. That isn't a review - it is some text designed to capture search engine crawling to get page views for a "X200s review". Horrible.