Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Review Discussion

The Lenovo ThinkPad X200 is an update and evolution of the ThinkPad X61 12.1" screen ultraportable and, as the name suggests, borrows a bit from the design cue of the much praised ThinkPad X300 ultra-slim laptop. To be sure, the X200 is not as expensive nor as cutting edge as the X300, the high-end features and supermodel thin X300 outdo what you'll get design-wise with the X200. With that said, the ultraportable X200 certainly has a lot to like about it, offers better performance than the X300 and has a more reasonable price. This review will delve into the features and updates the X200 has to the previous X61.

Read the full content of this Article: Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Review

 

Wow, review already????
Any news about the W500 Andrew???
More on the GPU, Intel claims 3x as fast as the X3100??? Man, they got beat by AMD this time.
Nice review, thanks alot

 

Seems like there were a couple of NDAs for July 15, it just turned 12:01 eastern time.

 

Looks like a great for machine for those needing an ultraportable notebook. Unfortunately, mine is showing no signs of old age.

 

Oh I so want this... paycheck please come quickly! (oh and be for sale soon)

 

10 hours of battery life? Ok, count me in, if its around the same price range as the X61, I am sooooo in on this thing.

 

The W5 will be announced around the beginning of September, along with the X200s and X200 Tablet. I haven't seen the W5 yet so can't really comment on any thoughts with that.

Wow, what an oddball, you actually wait until you *need* a replacement. That's just so prudent, it's un-American.

 

Beginning of September????? Aw that sucks! Just as I expected the mobile workstation model will come out later...

lol, I thought NBR admid got special discount????

 

Very impressive. And is that a centered screen bezel I see there? ^_^

 

5 finger discounts dont work too well when people already know you have something

 

Very nice, but I don't see a (yet) major reasons to upgrade from current ultraportables.

Unless you want the battery life....oh, the battery life is amazing to say the least.

Anyone who thought that ultraportables couldn't cut it need to stuff this laptop in their mouths and believe it now .

 

Yeah
And the new magnesium alloy casing now makes it even stronger, hopefully the T, R and W will have the something. Thinkpad is gonna kick butt.

oh, so you got special price already? . I'm jealous

 

Dude, the X200s, that'll get even better battery life than this one. What'll that get on the 9 cell, like 12 hours at the low end? Sick and ridiculous, considering my similarly sized Asus cannot break 2.5 hours of battery life.

 

Wow, just awesome technology, thank you for the review.

 

Wait...that actually has a "normal" processor...not an ULV??? Wow...

 

Damn! I never was must interested in ultra portables before, but this really sparks my interest!

My T61 may be getting company soon!

 

Thanks for the review. Do you know what the x200s will be? Is it mostly a change in the display specs?

 

Oh, don't even get me started sister.

I actually look at new notebooks all the time. I came fairly close several times to picking up a FlexView T60 cause I so miss the screen on my T42. I've kind of been smitten with the HP dv5z as well. It's cheap with a good screen, two of my biggest requirements, but I'd like to see one before committing. Despite the fair to middling quality of the screen on my R60, it more than meets my needs and I don't really use my notebook enough to justify spending lots of money on it. It don't cost anything to keep my R60.

I've found hypnosis works pretty good.

 

Interesting notebook. The only bit I miss in the review is slightly more detailled information on the noise levels. "Amazingly quiet" is somewhat relative. I'd also imagine that a 7200 drive in such a small case is audible.

 

I think I'm in love...

Great review, Andrew.

 

I can't believe how ugly this thing is. gotta buy x61 now before its discontinued

 

An impressive balance between performance and economy. It looks as if the new Intel hardware has got the idle power consumption under control, or maybe it is the Lenovo tweaking that delivers the economy.

What rating, how big and heavy is it?

John

 

What? It's basically the x61 stretched into a widescreen.

 

I'd say both. ThinkPad's have offered really good fuel economy usually, but credit must also be given to Intel here for slashing the TDP of the Core 2 Duos by 10W, which is nearly a 30% reduction in power consumption.

 

The bezel around the screen is huge, compared to the X61. Just take a look at the second pic in the review.

 

The screen bezel is huge, that was my first thought as well. I guess there's the excuse that the keyboard is now full-size, but the new notebook is much bigger than the X61 while offering pretty much the same screen size. And no optical drive.

 

I need an ultraportable for September, and basically see three options: Get the x61s, get this x200, or wait for the x200s. I don't mind either screen and will be taking this to take notes in class everyday. Does anyone have any thoughts? And apologies if this question has been asked a million times.

 

There is a lot to like about the X200. I like the new coating on the keyboard and the return of the colored mouse buttons, the web cam and 5-in-1 media card reader option, the increase in CPU and Graphics power and last but not least, the impressive battery life.

The only two things I do not care for are the huge and unattractive bezel and the bigger footprint compared to the X61.

 

so when can get the x200 cant wait!!

 

Sweet. I like it lots! But still waiting for an "X100" . C'mon 8.9" screen and 1.8lbs....

 

Amazing performance for a 12.1. I'm not sure if I missed it, but I didn't see a price tag on the review model.

Looks like AMD's got Intel beat pretty badly with the new IGP.

Also wondering how long the NBR staff have been sitting on these new laptops.

 

The battery life is amazing, but I am totally against the idea of using wide format on the already small 12inch screen.
Plus, the LCD frame looks too wide for to me.

 

Andrew,

Thank you so much for this fantastic review, especially the 3dmark test. It's great to see some numbers for the Intel X4500HD; I've been really curious about how much better it could perform on top of the X3100.

I saw the announcements late last night, and now a review today. Truly fantastic. I cannot appreciate this website enough.

 

Wow, Lenovo actually shrunk the T61 down to a 12" widescreen. Amazing. I don't remember seeing a better 12 incher.

I don't care about the wide bezel, as long as it has the integrated webcam, fine by me.

Perhaps they should've used the new ATI graphics, though.

Thanks for the great review, Andrew!

 

I'd wait until mid-August to see what deals are out there, and by then we should know a little more about the X200x as well.

Aug. 5th is when they'll be up for order.

We don't have a price tag yet, most units we can keep for a couple of weeks, sometimes up to a month if the company we're dealing with is generous!

It's small, with the power cord and brick included it's ~ .5lbs (sorry, not sure of the kg). Input is 100 - 240V and output is 20V.

 

Great review, but personally I want to wait for the T400 and X200 Tablet introductions. With the X200 starting at $1,199, I hope the T series also won't be very expensive.

Anyways I wonder how the X200 will perform with 4GB of 1067MHz DDR3 memory and SSD drive. I mean how much faster it would feel, and how much longer battery life (due to SSD)...

Some questions:

1. Do all the new ThinkPad R/T/X/W models have the same soft-touch (rubber paint) finish on the external cover and palm rest as the X300? Do they all have LED backlighting?

2. How thick and heavy is the X200 UltraBase, and where is the 2nd battery charger in the article picture? Will the same UltraBase work with the X200 Tablet?

3. Is an AT&T HSPA WWAN option available?

4. Is the SD reader the same as in previous ThinkPads, where the card is inserted flush into the slot and has a push-to-eject spring-loaded design? Conversely, does the optional 5-in-1 card reader look like some recent notebooks where the card can only be inserted part way and thus sticks out of the slot (with this design you just pull the card out without any push-eject mechanism)? This may explain why you can have a modem, because the 5-in-1 reader may not protrude as deep into the interior chassis space. *IF* this is the case, I would opt for the standard SD card reader so I can just leave the card in the slot even when travellng. I would've appreciated being able to read other card formats though...

 

I found my next notebook....

 

I'm surprised. I thought the GM chipset (GMA x4500) wasn't going to be released until next month. Has that now changed?

 

The form factor for the x200 could easily accomodate a 13" LCD, but they stuck to 12" in order to avoid competing with the x300.

It's got slightly faster processors than the x61, better IGP graphics, brighter screen, and full size keyboard. In all other respects, it's the same as or worse than the x61.

Bigger. This really hurts. Isn't this the #1 aspect of ultraportables? Also, keep in mind that 12" widescreen is actually a bit smaller (sq. in.) than 12" 4:3. Laptops should be getting smaller and make more efficient use of space. The x200 steps backwards on both counts.

The bezel is huge, also the first thing I thought of. What a waste of space.

 

Is it true that the LED-backlit screens on the X200 and X300 are so thin that they had to put more of the various antenna and webcam components on the bezel frame surrounding the screen as opposed to behind the screen, thus leading to the fat bezel?

 

The large bezel allows a full size keyboard, which is not a bad thing.

 

This review unit doesn't have LED screen, so no, I don't think so.

 

Awesome review. The battery life is absolutely fantastic. Looks like Intel is beating AMD in the power efficiency dept.

But why no optical drive?

 

I'm pretty sure, as Han said, that the X200 does not have an LED backlit screen. Thats only the X300, I think.

 

The LED backlit will be an option for the X200 in the near future I'm sure.

 

Really? I figured that they wouldn't have it, or at least, not until the X200s comes out. I mean, if the X200/X200s get LED backlight and SSDs as options, what becomes of the X300? It seems as though the X300 would be superfluous in comparison, since its so much more expensive too.

 

I was surprised about the no touchpad. I like the touchpad more than the track point. But, I guess I use a mouse more than either so maybe it doesn't matter.

 

very nice machine.
gooe review.

 

There isn't enough space for a touchpad - look at the amount of space left under the mouse buttons - theres no way to fit a decent sized touchpad and buttons under there. You could get a EEE sized touchpad (1.5" x 1") but not one thats actually usable or befitting of a ThinkPad.

 

wait, it's thicker than the X300 and loses the optical drive?
no thanks