Hi, I'm thinking of buying either lenovo thinkpad x220 or apple macbook pro 13".
I really love both thinkpad and macbook pro series, and I really don't mind getting any one of them.
I just want to receive a perfectly working machine without having to exchange for another one or fix something.
After reading threads here, it seems like not many people have received their x220 without any problems at once. It looks like almost everyone has at least one small issue.. either it's just a few buttons or something that requires a replacement.
It's easy to find friends with macbook pro, but none of my friends own x220.
So I can't really get much information from people around me, and this is pretty much the only place I can ask this question.
Is it unlikely to receive a perfect x220 without any problem?
If so, I guess I will just go for macbook pro.
It already takes couple weeks to order and receive x220. I really don't wanna wait for another few weeks to have it exchanged in case something is not working fine
For macbook, I can easily take it to the apple store and have it exchanged.
Thanks in advance!!
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My friend, I just received my X220 a few days ago after it travels few thousand miles from US to Finland.
A part from minor issue with sound card not detected by Skype, I didn't face any problem with my laptop. The sound card issue have been resolved by updating new driver update for the connexant sound card.
So if you still into X220, I would say go for it. Good luck! -
http://forum.notebookreview.com/len...uld-i-get-x220-plus-some-other-questions.html
I was also very close to getting the MBP. But, I ended up ordering a X220 without having ever seen a Thinkpad and :
a) NO problems
b) I LOVE this notebook
I don't know what the odds actually are, but I think that if you order the X220 (with the I5 processor , you'll probably have a 95% chance of being problem free! -
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mochaultimate Notebook Consultant
The people who do NOT have any problems, aren't going to post here about it, are they?
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lovelaptops MY FRIENDS CALL ME JEFF!
First, I just ordered an X220, so you will know my perspective. I do think there is a better chance I will need to return this computer (not so most Thinkpads, past and present) simply because this is the highest volume model Lenovo has ever sold and I think they rushed it to market sooner than they should have and are trying so hard to keep up with demand, they are not focusing quite enough management attention to dealing with a few issues the early models had.
What I do feel 100% confident of is that Lenovo will solve any of the driver/BIOS issues fairly quickly and completely, and none of the ones reported render the computer remotely unusable. That said, why buy a computer that may need updating or even replacing when you can buy a MBP 13 and have a greater expectation of "perfection" on the first try, as well as a store to bring it to for return/exchange?
The answer is that these are two substantially different computers and most people will greatly prefer one or the other, depending on their needs and uses. The MBP is a fabulous computer, as long as you run it in its native OS, OSX. When you run the MBP in Windows, via Bootcamp, you get a nearly 50% drop in power and battery life (making the already more energy efficient Thinkpad hours ahead in battery life) and even the famously great touchpad loses all of its special functionality. The MBP screen is better when it comes to color spectrum, but if you need (or want) infinite viewing angles, the IPS screen of the X220 is the only way to go at this size class. The keyboards are like night and day. Both receive much praise, but the Apple is a "chiclet" style and the Thinkpad is rather legendary for it's traditional concave keys. Perhaps the biggest difference of all is weight: the X220 is a almost 2 lbs lighter than the MBP 13. Oh, and then there's price: if you know how to buy the Thinkpad, with the many coupons and buying methods, you can get the X220 for about $800, vs. a minimum of $1,100 for the MBP, but probably more to make it comparable in features to the X220.
If you're still on the fence, here's another good reason to buy the X220: you can try it out to see if you like it and return it for a full refund if you don't. By policy, both Lenovo and Apple charge a 15% restocking fee for returns, except if there is a defect. Since the X220 has some known problems (relatively minor and on their way to fixes via BIOS and driver changes), you can almost certainly return it if yours has any of these "defects." If by the time you get yours, they have licked all the issues and yours arrives perfect, well then you got the computer you wanted all along.
These are both excellent choices, but in many ways they are as different as two comparably sized laptops can be. I don't think anyone believes Lenovo won't fix the "infant" problems with the X220, but I wouldn't blame you for not buying it if you want to maximize the chance that it will work perfectly, right out of the box. Apple has long owned the crown for initial quality, and I suspect it always will Good luck. -
Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow
Buy what you need with what you have. If the x220 suits you better, then order it. Maybe you can find a site to get it but typically preconfigured models are more expensive than CTO but CTO will take longer to build and ship.
Don't let others opinions sway your decision unless there is a known issue acknowledge by Lenovo. -
There were at least two other threads recently with this exact same subject. You might try reading through the responses in those to see if you learn anything helpful.
Short version of my response: The only problem I have with mine is the mSATA not working, but Lenovo has promised that will be fixed in a BIOS update in July. Other than that, it's by far the best laptop I've ever owned. -
Why don't you look at the glass half full? It's a better way to live.
The two main problems I had with my machine when I got it were the annoying fan and my mouse buttons were not working well. The BIOS update fixed the fan. I called support and had a keyboard at my door the next morning. The call and replacing the keyboard took a couple minutes a piece. -
also does anyone know if the problems people experience with the x220 are also present with the tablet version? i'm probably going to buy anyway but i just haven't seen too many posts about the tablet version so im curious -
lovelaptops MY FRIENDS CALL ME JEFF!
I have to say that it was the opinions of others that enabled me to feel comfortable ordering my (in transit) X220. What better advice can you get than from those who own and use the product daily?
Finally, in deference to the OP on this thread, I have an ongoing rivalry with my wife - an Apple-holic. I don't like the company's public and private behavior, I think most of its products, while very well designed and made, are dramatically overpriced and I think their aim is to suck everyone into the Mac/iPhone/iTunes vortex and they now have the financial and market power to become a genuine monopolist - which always ends in the consumer being worse off. That all said: I spend countless hours dealing with problems with my Windows computers and my Android phone while my wife does, well, pretty much anything she likes because she never has problems with her Mac or her iPhone! I can't fault anyone who wants their gear to just work and hold up, to be practical, highly reliable tools, not the objects of a hobby. Sometimes, when both my phone and my laptop are acting up, I look over at my smiling wife and think, "hmmm....maybe she's on to something here. -
I've had my X220 for almost a month ... best laptop purchase I've ever made (and I seem to buy about one a year). I have been a long time Mac user as well, but I love the IPS display on the X220 so much, I'll be parking my MacBook Pro. I thought 12.5" was going to be too small, but am amazed at how comfortable it is to use -display seems bigger than 12.5" - maybe it's just a good fit with the resolution and the quality of the display.
I have the i7 version so I assume I have the throttling issue, but I've never seen it throttle when I'm using my every day apps - Photoshop CS5, Lightroom 3, and even some gaming.
Absolutely no problems with the fans - no noise, whining or pulsing.
Have a smallish issue with my USB 3.0 port sometimes not detecting my external USB 3.0 Hard Drive, but this may or may not be a Lenovo issue - not a dealbreaker for me.
It's hard to beat the X220 for portability, performance, and value -- especially if you're comparing it to the MacBook line. -
The X220 uses a very low-end IPS screen and achieves pretty much the same viewing angle results as a higher end TN screen like those found on the MBP in addition to having worse color reproduction than the MBP. -
Please do your research before claiming ridiculous things. -
You lost all credibility there. Not all TNs are created equal, just like not all IPS are the same. The x220 IPS screen is no where in the same league as even the cheaper IPS desktop monitors.
The color isn't inverted on the MBP screen at an angle, the color is actually still superior to the x220. Both show fading at an angle. -
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Thank you for proving my point, AboutThreeFitty, much appreciated.
I don't know what you classify it, naus, but that seems unseeable for me (when you tilt the screen backward instead of forward). Viewability concerns positive and negative deviation angle of the screen from the horizontal and vertical axes. If the MBP has high quality LCD, I would buy it in a heartbeat. -
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"From-below" vertical viewing angle is still better on the MBP imo than on the x220. That is the angle one uses when you place the laptop on your stomach in bed.
And the Lenovo does not seem to be able to handle black bars well at all. The black bars on the MBP is jet black when watching a letterbox movie. On the x220 the black bars are glowing when viewed from a slight side-by-side angle, as one would when watching a movie with other people together.
IPS like all technology has better and poorer variants. I'm just not impressed with the vaunted IPS panel on the x220. My two year old Sony TV with those hated TN panel runs circles around the x220 in terms of viewing angles. So not all TN panels are hopelessly bad. I feel for typical usages, the TN panel in the MBP is just as good as the x220 and that they each have their different weakness. It's really the implementation of technology that matters the most. -
But yeah, call me unimpressed. I'm just glad I bought my x220 from a vendor with an excellent return policy. Perhaps I'm just spoiled by my still competitive older tech (HP 2730p and MBP) and was expecting more from something new. -
I think another issue may be with the backlighting. My MacBook Pro 13" is probably just average in terms of backlight consistency yet I see nothing but black with a black background. On my X220 I can see the backlighting causing a gray area along the bottom edge of the screen and a little bit on the sides.
I think the next step beyond this are actual light leaks where there are flares of light along the bottom edge. On my first X220 there is one in the lower right corner. If I lightly squeeze the lid in that area it gets significantly worse. That makes me wonder if they over-tightended the display or something. It's not noticeable except when booting or with a dark background though. The ghosting/burn-in however is really pushing it.
When I first turned on mine I thought they gave me a standard display even though I ordered it with an IPS. When I found out that it was indeed an IPS I thought if this is their premium display I'd hate to see what their standard one looks like. I've seen others wonder whether or not they actually got an IPS display. Not a good sign. It should be obvious.
Lenovo has constant sales and coupons on the X220. They are pushing out a ton of these so it's no surprise that quality control is lacking. There seems to be a lot of variability as well so it can really go either way. My second X220 has a better IPS display than the first with better viewing angles and little or no light leak. Neither one is really what I expected from an IPS but if I had received the second one first I think I would have had a more positive reaction.
My recommendation to anyone considering an X220 is to wait for the best possible deal and go into it with somewhat lowered expectations. Do get the IPS as it's still going to be better than an X220 without. Just understand that it's low-end as far as IPS displays go. That way you will be less likely to be disappointed or maybe even pleasantly surprised. Overall it's a neat little laptop. -
MBP 13 inch are tougher than X220?
While i like the MBP laptops a lot (i had a MBP 13 inch before it was stolen), there is no way that the MBP 13 inch laptop are physically tougher than a X220. Don't let that thin sheet of aluminium cover on the screen fool you. -
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1. I am confused so Apple had a 13 inch MBP before Unibody design? I mean having had 5 MBP of various versions, i never seem to recall a MBP 13 inch prior to unibody.
2. See in mechanical, structural and material engineering, the term 'toughness' or 'tougher' have quite a different meaning to what you are trying to do in your flexing test. If i was talking about the flexing test and the screen case 'stiffness', i would have said something like the 'MBP has lower screen case stiffness as compared to the X220 machines', which i did not and as such please don't confuse yourself on what is actually said and implied.
@naus, before you make such a comment and jump to your conclusion, you should take sometime to digest what is actually said. It is also slightly strange that you and jcm3 are both confusing yourself on what 'toughness' and 'stiffness' means.
@jcm3, since you are really interested in proving a point with your various measurements, here is a good test you can do if you are up to it, on both your MBP 13 and X220 (a word of warning this may cause some permanent physical damages to the MBP hinge).
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTgkCnRP1Qnw8tQUiHLxm7uBr7sbdHwEdVa-piywBoVqxailS1wUQ&t=1
Finally, for those people whom have no idea what they are talking about, Lenovo brought out the IPS monitor in X220 not because they want to manipulate the sales through IPS's reputation (which by the way is not even mentioned when you order the laptop through their online system, the IPS monitor are just referred to as Premium HD monitor). But rather a lot of Thinkappders were installing the aftermarket IPS LCD in their X200 & X201, so Lenovo made it convenient for people to get the IPS factory installed in the X220 (and they can also get some financial benefit from it). -
For $50 Lenovo is offering you a better screen than found on most laptops offered today. The notebook itself is fairly inexpensive too, barely more than a netbook at the base price. I'd call that fairly impressive. What's a MBP or MBA going to set you back? They're fine machines, but significantly more expensive.
Personally, I think the IPS X220 is a response to the iPad, but that's me. -
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in terms of built quality, which one do you guys think is better made? MBP or X220 ?
not the OS, just the hardware itself and its built quality in general.
also, MBP is about 500g heavier than X220 with 6 cell. Would this be a huge difference..? -
As a personal anecdote, it seems to me that MBP users have a more severe case of cognitive dissonance than others, and that includes naus, who still insists that MBP screen is better than that in X220. To be completely honest, I doubt you have even tried out an X220. Either way, best of luck with your MBP. It doesn't change my mind about the X220, as I'm happy with it, and others should be as well.
As a side note, X220 is engineered better than MBP. If you think the throttling issue is bad on the X220, you should try it on the latest MBP. The thin aluminum body is very bad for heat dissipation, making the CPU running at close to maximum TDP most of the time, so throttling occurs at very frequent interval. For the X220, throttling occurs only in highly intensive scenarios. Let that me my last point before leaving this thread. -
I'd love to hear more about this Sony TV with TN panels. As far as I've known, most TV produced within the last 5 years either come with PVA or IPS panel. It really sounds to me that you're not too familiar with LCD technology at all, pardon the bluntness.
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500 grams may not be a huge difference if you are coming from a larger laptop, but if you are used to small form factor machines, then usually you can tell the difference.
Obviously, if like a have a laptop that looks good, then MBP is the way to go. But if you want a laptop for just work and you abuse your laptop a lot, then X220 is the way to go. Also, the X220 are easier to upgrade than the MBP. -
I think the arguments comparing the MBP and X220 are only going to keep going in circles.
They are both really nice laptops. The 13" MBP was my alternate choice when I bought the X220 (I had one of the original 12" PowerBooks, and loved it). It comes down to which OS you want to run, then a matter of budget, and finally the big one - Personal Preference. No amount of arguing here is going to convince a die hard Mac fan that the X220 is better, and vice versa.
I picked the X220 because it was lighter, because I've decided to run only Windows 7 machines for now. I'm perfectly happy with the looks of the X220, but will say the MBP wins all the way when it comes to style. As for being sturdy or robust ... I'd say they are comparable. My X220 has already taken a dive from the nightstand to the floor, surviving quite nicely. My 15" MBP has a nice dent from a similar fall (but damage depends on how it lands).
As for the display argument - really don't give a rat's u-know-what about the technical back and forth. They are both nice, but my X220 IPS display makes me very happy -
This is a big problem - you can actually cut yourself:
One nice thing about Apple is they give you 2 keyboards for the price of one:
You cannot connect even 2 slim devices to it:
Their OS is IMHO obsolete - especially window management sucks, trying to position 2 windows side-by-side is a major pain:
http://myego.cz/img/mbp/mbp-windows.jpg
vs
http://myego.cz/img/mbp/thinkpad-windows.jpg
Depends what you need - ThinkPad is great for work. MBP is good being looked at.
I think latest MBP represents everything that is wrong with Apple. -
In any event here are some crappy photos of the ghosting/burn-in on mine. It looks worse it real life as you can actually read some of the ghosted text and title bars but you get the idea...
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You're comparing a 1280x800 and a 1600x900 display. Of course you're going to be able to fit more on the 1600x900 one. -
I don't get why all of you guys detracted from the main thread topic so much. It's not a question of X220 vs. MBP... Both of which do have their pros and cons...
The OP was simply wondering whether or not he would receive an X220 without a problem or not, based on his experience with reading previous problematic threads. Well I must reiterate- only people with problems will come to these forums and the like to complain about their laptops. The majority (plenty) of people are happy with receiving perfectly fine laptops. This needs to be kept in mind while reading threads. So if you feel like the X220 is right for you, I say- go for it. -
so you are saying to tell other people to take lid of the equation, and then go on to say that the X220 base is nice and solid. Using that logic and your proceeding statement, then basically you imply that MBP and X220 is the same in terms of mechanical attribute.
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I have had problems with the displays (see above images) but my eSATA SSD was recognized in the i5 X220 so that was a relief. Lenovo are working on a BIOS update for it. Nothing to be done about the poor quality of the IPS panels though. I'm pretty bummed about that. I'd still get the IPS panel over the TN one given the choice. My i7 X220 arrived with the bezel popped off which is an odd thing to miss by QC. I haven't used my i7 X220 enough yet to see if I have the throttling and fan issues. -
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If you want to hear about problems go to Apple Discussions. There forum is no different than ours, OCZs, Intel's, etc.
If you have a problem you go to a forum to check on it.
My X220 has had only one problem and it was a DOA internal camera. Called and 24 hours later a tech showed up at the house and put in a new camera. All fixed. Great machine. I love it. -
E.g. changing window size in OS X means trying to position your mouse over an extremely small bottom right corner. Mouse cursor does not help you either, it will not change.
How much better and ergonomic is this?
OS X 10.6 is obsolete comparing to Windows 7. And latest Apple HW aim is "to look pretty", rather than being great to work with.
Do you really think this "Save As" dialog:
Is better than this?
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You can install Linux on both, me thinks...
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From what I've seen from my brief time playing with demo units, the X220's lid is a heck of a lot more resistant to pressure than the X40's was, so it's an improvement over at least some of its predecessors. -
You cannot connect even 2 slim devices to it:
That's one of my biggest issue with the Macbooks. I have a MacBook and I could never connect two devices to it without using an extension cable. When I decided to get a MBP, I discovered that the USB sockets on the MBP are even closer together than on the MacBook, and then I ran into a huge issue that I won't repeat here, so I did a plain install (no Bootcamp) of Windows 7 on it. (I've been using Windows 7 for about four months now.) -
My gripes with the X220 hardware is that the IPS display is not that great (as far as IPS displays go) and the screen flexes more than I'd like. I'd still recommend getting the IPS display as it's better than the TN display and the price premium is very small. Supposedly the X1 is better built but it has it's share of compromises when compared to the X220. There are enough issues like mSATA, throttling, fan noise, flicker, ghosting, light leak, etc. that indicate this is more than just "people only post when they complain" syndrome. Some of these can be fixed with firmware updates and Lenovo has acknowledged they are working on some of these issues.
I'm sure there are significantly more good X220's out there than bad. It's just that there are enough issues to warrant lowering expectations a bit when purchasing. -
I would be skeptical about the idea that only a small number of people are affected by problems with the x220 because of the 'People only post when they complain" syndrome.
The reality is that for every person who bothers to post a complaint, there are many more who either suffer in silence or sit on the sidelines waiting for others to do the complaining.
Having said that, I am sure Lenovo will fix the problems with the x220 - particularly the throttling issue which appears to causing the most concern. Also, as you can read from these forums there are many people who have no problems at all with their x220. -
There are several unresolved problems with the X220, although Lenovo claims to be working on resolving them (except for the IPS issue).
See here:
Unresolved X220 issues - Lenovo Community -
After seeing that the ghosting problem that seem to effect a lot of owner, I am kind of worry of getting the computer. I hope the problem get sorted out soon.
Is it unlikely to receive a x220 without any problem?
Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by is0922, Jun 24, 2011.