How comfortable x200 long periods of use

Now that I've picked up the w500 for one kid, now I have to get one for the other- just starting sciences/pre-med and originally was looking at a T400 for her, but she's seen my T61 from work and says its too big and bulky she may like the x200 but not sure if she'll miss the optical drive (I do have an external dvd drive at home ) or if the screen will be too small for long periods (not crazy about getting an external monitor)...12 inch is a chunk down from a 14.... what's the x200 like for spending long periods on it?

 

For me it is fine. However, you should see if she is comfortable just using the trackpoint as the only means of navigation for mousing. Readability is certainly not really an issue. Resolution is more of an issue though coming from a t400 I imagine.

You should have her try out a laptop at a local retailer though so she can get a feel for the resolution.

 

I moved from a T60 to a X60s a while ago and never looked back. Now I only use 12" laptops. They're very comfortable for me to work on for a long period of time, and very lightweight so I can travel easily with them.
One thing you need to make sure is that the DPI of the 12" you're looking at is roughly the same as that for your 14" to ensure that your daughter feels comfortable looking at the screen all day. If you don't know what DPI is then look it up in wikipedia.

 

I'm very comfortable using my x200 Tablet for long periods. Additionally, I am almost always use only the internal LCD. The reduced weight of the X series is definitely worth the minor tradeoffs in my opinion.

 

I just got an X200 a few weeks ago. I have a T61p 15.4" laptop as well and I really didn't have too much trouble going from that to a 12.1". I really love the small and light weight benefit of the X200 and the battery life is great too. I use my X200 for many hours and find it very comfortable.

 

I recently got my X200s about 6 weeks ago, and I find it a very nice size, even for long sessions.

My desktop monitor is 24", and my previous laptop was 15.4", and I still find 12.1" to be a very convenient and comfortable size.

 

I've used laptops from all major brands. I've had the x61, and I've got the x200 for about 6 months now. this is a superb machine. the only find I find usefull for very long hours is an external mouse. this is much more comfortable for me for long periods of use, but besides that I've used the notebook in airplanes, meeting, coffee shops, and it always a great experience.

 

I've almost got her convinced...but of course another item may be an issue - no trackpad...even with an external mouse ...

 

How is the screen on the X200s? I assume you have the WXGA+ screen.

 

Would you prefer T400 instead of X200s just because T400 is better choice for the future due to maximum amount of RAM (8GiB instead 4GiB) and discrete GPU if there is only one demanding application I use (photoshop, photo editting for personal use) and I would like to use this notebook for 4-5 years? Do you miss optical drive in your X200s and is 14" notebook much more comfortable for work then 12"? Thanks

 

The x200s supports 8GB of RAM (it's just prohibitively expensive at the moment). I'm not sure where you read 4GB, but that isn't accurate.

Additionally, in my opinion after 1-2 years a low end discrete GPU like the 3470 is basically integrated anyway so I'd just get the integrated now if you plan on keeping it a while.

To me an x200s would be much MORE comfortable than a T400 because it's 1/2 the weight while still being big enough to use. I also prefer not having an optical because it cuts weight down and I only need an optical on my laptop about once a month (a USB optical is fine for this).

To further state the point I had a 14.1" T40 before moving to the 12.1" x200.

 

I have read about it in psref ( http://www.lenovo.com/psref/pdf/tabook.pdf) and tech specs ( http://shop.lenovo.com/ISS_Static/merchandising/US/PDFs/x200s_datasheet.pdf) on lenovo web site and also lenovo offers only 2GiB modules for X200s according System service parts ( http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-70510.html) (there are 2 slots, so on assumption of max. 4GiB it would be understandable). But if I am wrong it would be better.

 

Also, most of the machines that can support it offer it (eg T400), since Lenovo is more than happy to take your money if you're willing to spend it on RAM now. The X200s only offers up to 4G.

 

I have found a post from a guy who upgraded X200s up to 8GiB RAM. Although lenovo doesn't support it, according this it seems to be working.