Lenovo ThinkPad X120e Review Discussion

The TrackPoint is one of the primary reasons I chose the X120e over competitors' offerings. I'd much rather have a TrackPoint than touchpad gestures, particularly in smaller notebooks with smaller touchpads.

 

Did you order from Lenovo? How long did shipping & handling take?

 

I placed my order on 02/24/10, received Lenovo's shipped confirmation on 03/03/10, got the UPS tracking number on 03/04/10, and received the package this afternoon, on 03/10/10. Total time, exactly 2 weeks, 1 for system build and 1 for shipment--almost exactly the same as back when I ordered my T500.

 

I can't imagine a trackpointless thinkpad. It wouldn't be a thinkpad then, but merely a laptop with thinkpad written on it.

btw, on the topic of more room for gestures, remove the touchpad mouse buttons like on the x220. I find that most people use the trackpoint buttons anyways when using a Thinkpad touchpad.

 

With using the x120e and other thinkpad laptop I try to disable the trackpad if I could. The trackpoint is a superior input device when compare to trackpad.

 

I ordered on the 2nd of March and shipping date was said to be March 15 and 4-6 days shipping. It shipped on the 7th and arrived on the 10th. So 8 days total.

(Only problem is, I'm not in the US, and will only get this brought here in May.)

 

I just bought a Thinkpad X120e. I love it. It's waaay better than my beautiful Toshiba NB305.

Forgive me for asking some newbie questions:

1. What does the middle button of the trackpoint buttons do?

2. My system supposedly came with bluetooth. How do I know if it's there and how do I turn it off when I don't need it?

Thank you.

 

1. The middle button is used for scrolling with the trackpoint when held down.

2. You should be able to use the Fn+F5 combo (not sure if it is the same for the x120e) to check your wireless radio status for wi-fi and Bluetooth with Access Connections. If you have a Bluetooth antenna, there will be a status report for it when you do the key combination, as well as an option to turn it on or off.

Enjoy your new ThinkPad!

 

Congratulations I really like my X120e too, it's a great complement to my T500.

1.- It's just like middle-clicking using a scroll wheel, or alternatively, it can be set to be used only for scrolling (used with the trackpoint). You can view/set this behavior by pressing Fn + F8 and configuring settings in the UltraNav tab. There's a whole plethora of settings for both the trackpoint and touchpad.

2.- Press Fn + F5, as meemer mentioned. Alternatively, you can go to Device Manager (search for it in the Start Menu) and see if it's listed there. If not, you should probably contact Lenovo and let them know that you ordered it with BT but your X120e does not contain the module--a few users had that issue with earlier X120e laptops.

 

I move out of a Toshiba NB205 so I'm in a similar boat. I actually miss a few things about the Toshiba keyboard. I think I preferred the slightly less mushy key press and the location of the page up and down buttons. Sill, this one is nice because it's really full size. The extra power and screen resolution are huge pluses! I miss the Toshiba track pad and I think the screen colors were a bit better. Size wise these two computers are all but identical save for the 1/2 extra on the side of the Thinkpad.

By default the middle button is set up for scrolling. You press it and then use the nub to scroll screens. It can also be set as a middle mouse button if you have the need (I do on my other computer).

 

Thanks for the response. Unless I miss something, Fn + F5 only lets me turn off all radio stuff. I haven't found a way to turn off bluetooth only. Just want to save battery life when I don't need to use bluetooth.

I am loving this machine. Except for the battery life, it destroys my Toshiba NB305 in just about every way.

Some of the professional reviewer's criticism of this machine range from weird to absurd.

Laptop Mag marked it down because of the heat issue and "mediocre" video playback. I haven't experienced any of these problems. My X120e runs waaay cooler than my NB305. Video playback on my machine is flawless.

Cnet dude doesn't like the IBM trackpoint. It's one of the main reasons I bought this machine. It's easier and more productive to use than the the touchpad thing.

Any mention of this machine is not complete without talking about the wonderful matte screen.

Here is a side-by-side picture of the X120e and NB305. Note how distracting and washed out the glossy screen of the NB305 is.

 

After pressing Fn + F5, expand the "Individual Control" section below. That should let you toggle individual wireless radios, although I can't verify because my X120e only has WiFi.

 

Does anyone know how the new S-205 compares to the X120e?
Thanks!
Mike