Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet Review

To compete in the tablet market, Lenovo offers a touch-screen and Wacom-enabled version of its 12-inch ThinkPad X200. Lenovo has a standard Wacom-enabled X200, as well as a two-finger multi-touch version for a $125 upgrade. With a starting retail price of $1,909, it is priced almost $500 under the Dell Latitude XT2, which is its primary competitor. In this review we put the standard and touch-enabled ThinkPad X200 Tablet head to head, to see how well they perform in ours tests.

Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet with Multitouch Specifications:

• Windows 7 Professional
• 1280 x 800 WXGA with MultiTouch and Wacom LED Backlit (Matte finish)
• Intel Core 2 Duo SL9600 (2.13GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 6MB Cache)
• 4GB DDR3 RAM (2GB x 2)
• 160GB Seagate 7200.2 Hard Drive
• Intel 5300AGN, Bluetooth 2.0, AT&T WWAN
• Intel X4500M Integrated
• Built-in web camera
• 8-cell 11.1v 66.2Wh
• Dimensions: (LxWxH) 11.6 x 10.1 x 1.04-1.31"
• Weight: 4lbs 3.9oz
• Retail Price: $2,579 ($2,199 Street)

Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet Specifications:

• Windows 7 Professional
• 1280 x 800 WXGA Sunlight Readable with Wacom LED Backlit (Glossy, Anti-glare)
• Intel Core 2 Duo SL9600 (2.13GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 6MB Cache)
• 2GB DDR3 RAM (2GB x 1) (Benchmarked with 4GB)
• 160GB Seagate 7200.3 Hard Drive
• Intel 5100AGN, Bluetooth 2.0
• Intel X4500M Integrated
• Built-in web camera
• 8-cell 11.1v 66.2Wh
• Dimensions: (LxWxH) 11.6 x 10.1 x 1.04-1.31"
• Weight: 4lbs 1oz
• Retail Price: $2,464 ($2,084 Street)

Build and Design
The design of the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet is all about business, with no superfluous frills. The color scheme revolves around black, with the screen lid and bottom painted with a rubberized black paint and with the inside being lightly textured black plastic. Following the trend of function over form, Lenovo includes an externally mounted WWAN antenna, palmrest rubber bumpers for when the screen is in the slate position, and quick access buttons along the lower edge of the screen. From tech-geek standpoint it is also nice to see that Lenovo didn't hold anything back when they planned the port layout, using all available space for ports, expansion slots, and internal component access. On the bottom the design is fairly busy, with two access panels for the hard drive and system memory, as well as numerous rubber bumpers for a solid grip on flat surfaces.

Build quality is excellent, with a great match of a sturdy magnesium chassis and durable plastic panels. Chassis flex isn't present anywhere, feeling solid in your arms in its slate position or sitting like a notebook on your desk. Keyboard support is very good, with only a small amount of movement on the right side of the keyboard above the hard drive bay. This wasn't noticed unless you really squeezed it in that spot. The upper half of the notebook feels very strong, which is important for any tablet that might be gripped along the screen edge. The plastic bezel feels firm under a tight grip and even under strong pressure doesn't transmit any force into the screen edge, which can cause color distortion.

A potential weakness of any tablet is the single pivoting hinge design, which also happens to be one of the first components we look at when we review any convertible tablet. Lenovo uses a 360-degree pivot mechanism on the X200 Tablet, which allows you to spin the screen in either direction. To go along with this feature, they also provide a visual indication of which direction you need to spin the screen to get it back to its default orientation. The hinge itself feels durable, with firm locking points in each of the three positions. When it is tilting the screen forward or back, it feels as strong as a standard notebook. When fully open it has some slight wiggle, which seems more like flex near the attachment point then play in the clutched hinge.

The X200 Tablet offers easy access to the hard drive and system memory through two access panels. The large panel on the bottom of the X200 exposes the two RAM slots, while the thinner access panel on the edge lets you slide out the hard drive.

Screen and Speakers
Lenovo uses an In-plane Switching display (IPS) in all versions of the X200 Tablet, but incorporates a different covering and backlighting method for each version. IPS displays are renowned for their color accuracy and superior viewing angles, which is a must if you are viewing the screen from many viewing angles. In the two models we reviewed, each showed the identical screen part number, but looked vastly different when put side by side. The touch-sensitive layer put over tablet screens almost always gives the display a hazy look, but this was the first time we saw both versions side by side. Below in the screen comparisons shots, the model on the left is the standard X200 Tablet, while the one on the right is the multitouch version.

The multitouch version looks faded and dimmer, even when both displays are set to the exact same brightness. One thing that becomes very clear is the non-touch X200 Tablet has one of the best screens we have seen in our office since the Flexview-era Thinkpads. Color saturation is excellent, contrast is through the roof, and black levels are excellent. Compared to my T60 with an IPS panel and CCFL lighting, the newer LED-backlit X200 display is much brighter and visible outdoors in full sunlight. Another interesting feature is the glossy but anti-glare surface. This display has a special coating which significantly reduces the amount of reflection you see. The only way we even saw anything reflected back at us was to tilt the screen back completely and get one of the overhead lights to bounce off of it. I personally wish other manufactures tried to do something similar. Viewing angles are nearly perfect, with colors staying accurate to the steepest angles. The only thing that changes is outside of the 10-15 degree "sweet spot" you can notice the screen dim slightly; other than that it looks perfect.

The Wacom support on each X200 Tablet was very good, with high accuracy once the pen was calibrated. Out of the box each model was pretty good, with a 2-3mm deviance from directly under the tip of the pen. Each screen surface was smooth to move a pen across, but the finish on the touch-screen model seemed to edge the glossy one out. For drawing or direct manipulation of objects on the screen the Wacom screens are very hard to beat. For slightly less accurate, but easier to use input, the touch-screen model offers excellent two-finger multitouch support. Finger presses were recognized quickly, with no lag or forceful press needed. I wish the screen supported more fingers like the T400s, but with the Wacom support included on both models, I can't complain much.

The onboard speakers are lap-firing, mounted directly below the palmrest. When situated on a flat desk surface they sound clear but very tinny. For video-conferencing or VOIP needs they work very well, but are lackluster for music and video. If you plan on using this tablet for multimedia, a pair of headphones is highly recommended.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The ThinkPad keyboard really deserves its own class when it comes to comfortable and durable business-grade keyboards. The X200 Tablet continues this trend with a full-size keyboard that is great to type on. The 12" widescreen size allows for a 100% size keyboard, no exceptions. Keyboard support is very good, with only one minor soft spot noticed on the right side above the hard drive bay. Under normal typing you would never notice the spot, but if you grip the tablet from that side you notice some give in that area. Individual key action is springy and precise, with great tactile feedback. Each key gives off a very mild click when pressed, which may get louder if you are a very forceful typer. Overall if you can get past the rather short palmrest, it is a very comfortable computer to use when typing.

Since this model has very little real estate south of the keyboard Lenovo went with a pointing stick only, just like the X-series models before it. If you have never used a pointing stick before it takes a bit to get used to, but once you get the nack of it is a very precise way to control the cursor. Sensitivity is great, with a wide range of adjustment possible in the driver menus. On occasion the mouse might move on its own for a few millimeters before it auto-adjusts on occasion, but that is fairly common with most pointing sticks on the market. As with notebooks with touchpads, you are still free to use an external mouse if you chose to go with an alternative input device.

Ports and Features
Port selection is very good when compared to other notebooks and tablets in the same size range. The X200 Tablet offers three USB ports, VGA-out, LAN, modem, and audio in/out jacks. Expansion slots include an ExpressCard/54 slot and 5-in-1 SD-card reader. When compared to the Dell Latitude XT2, the only features missing are a FireWire port and eSATA connection. For additional ports as well as an optical this model also offers a docking station connection on the bottom.

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Performance and Benchmarks
System performance was excellent on both models we tested, and since the scores were nearly identical, we merged both of the results. Compared to the Dell XT2 with its 1.8" hard drive, the X200 Tablets offers a standard 2.5" drive that helps to keep system lag to a minimum. Going with the faster hard drives, Lenovo also offers faster processor options. New to the Windows 7 versions of the X200 is the the 2.16GHz Intel SL9600 processor. Compared to the 1.4GHz SU9400 processor offered in the XT2, the SL9600 provides much greater speeds with little impact to battery life. In our tests the X200 Tablet was able to easy cope with 720P and 1080P HD movie decoding, and even handle some older video games such as Half-Life 2 with some settings tweaking. Synthetic benchmarks also showed that system performance was on par with the 2.4GHz P8600 equipped X200 notebook. For users looking for a mobile workhorse, the X200 Tablet seems to be a great option.

wPrime Processor Performance Benchmark (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 Overall Performance Benchmark (higher scores mean better performance):

Synthetic Gaming Performance using 3DMark06 (higher scores mean better performance):

HDTune Hard Drive Performance Benchmark:

Heat and Noise
During our tests we found the X200 Tablet to run fairly cool and quiet. Fan noise during our tests was minimal, with the fan staying at below whisper level under stressful activity. Under normal use the fan stayed off for the most part, only coming on in short bursts to bring air through the chassis. The cooling system seemed to handle system temperatures very well, keeping the chassis cool to the touch even after the system was on for most of the morning. The external temperatures shown below are listed in degrees Fahrenheit.

Battery Life
Battery life was very good on each system, but the non-touchscreen version of the X200 Tablet was able to take a big lead in this department. Both models were equipped with the 66Wh 8-cell battery, which extends out the back on the X200 chassis. A smaller 4-cell battery option is available, but I don't see why anyone would want that besides for aesthetics. On the standard X200 Tablet with the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and Windows 7 on a dynamically-switching power profile, it got 8 hours and 48 minutes of runtime. Average power consumption during the test was between 6.5 and 7 watts. The touchscreen version didn't do as well in this test, getting only 5 hours and 32 minutes of runtime, while consuming between 10-12 watts of power.

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Conclusion
The Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablets we reviewed performed very well in almost all categories. Battery life was excellent with the 8-cell battery, reaching 8 hours and 48 minutes on the sunlight readable version, and 5 hours and 32 minutes on the touchscreen model. Screen quality on both models was phenomenal, with the sunlight readable display being one of the best screens we have ever seen in our office. Not only was it useable outdoors, but color saturation was high and viewing angles were perfect thanks to the IPS panel.

Overall performance was very good on both models, with little impact to battery life or system temperatures. Considering the low starting price compared to the Dell XT2, the ThinkPad X200 Tablets are a clear winner. For its amazing screen, great build quality, and excellent battery life we are also awarding the outdoor viewable X200 Tablet with our Editor's Choice award.

Pros:

• Beautiful IPS displays
• Good performance
• Excellent battery life

Cons:

• Touchscreen display doesn't look as good as non-touchscreen model
• Only two-finger multitouch support

Related Articles:

• Lenovo ThinkPad T400s Touch Review
• Lenovo ThinkPad X200s Review

 

Just curious, what is y our thoughts on the Lenovo Windows 7 preload? They have been advertising pretty hard lately on the limited bloatware, drivers to increase boot/resume time etc.

 

Excellent review! I've been fantasizing about a possible X200 touchscreen tablet for months, so I'm glad Lenovo made the decision to design one.

I know a lot about laptops, but not a lot about tablets and touch screens, so please excuse my ignorance. Does the regular Wacom screen means it's "single-touch" enabled? And does that mean you can use both a stylus (included?) and your finger?

I really want the multi-touch, but from your review, the screen quality isn't that great. How does it compare to regular, ordinary, non-LED laptop screens? I own a T60 with Flexview, so it'll definitely be a downgrade for me, but the sunlight-readable glossy screen looks very promising, especially since I do a lot of photography and photo editing.

 

Never mind. I understand that the outdoor-viewable screen is just a regular (but stunning) non-touch screen. It's funny how in your side shot, the multitouch screen is actually brighter and has a better side viewing angle. (Update: I realize you swap the two laptops around in that photo. The left machine is the multitouch, because you can see the giant red dot for the Simpe Tap at the top of the wallpaper.)

Edit: To confirm, ALL the screens can be "touched" by your finger EXCEPT the new outdoor viewable screen? Or is the new multitouch screen the only touch-enabled one? The Lenovo website is misleading, because it says:

"Touch screen: Simplify work on the go by using your finger (or digitizer pen) to smoothly interact with on-screen applications. Enhanced finger-touch sensitivity makes it a breeze to enter data on forms or sales sheets on the go. And for even greater usability, step up to the optional Enhanced Multitouch panel and opt for a hands-free tablet sleeve."

So it reads as if all screens are "touchable", but if you upgrade to the Enhanced Multitouch, you can touch it with two fingers.

 

On the US website for configuring the X200 Tablet it shows the 2.16 CPU available on the main page but when one enters to customize order there is only the 1.4 and 1.86 CPU available. Here you mention a 2.16 CPU, where were you able to get this 2.16 CPU from?

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...001BF1:&smid=329576204C9E42289967E79E0E7C9A2D

 

beeing one of the first reviews of notebook with preloaded Windows7, I expected more info on that...

 

I remember this tablet being reviewed by a Microsoft MVP tablet user. They had nothing but praises for the outside viewable screen.

 

How is the screen brightness of the multi-touch version compared to the non-tablet X61? I'm thinking of upgrading to this but I desperately need a nice bright screen...

 

The irony with the outdoor screen is that despite the anti-glare coating, because of the glossy finish, you'll end up seeing your fingerprints outdoors:

http://www.thinkpads.com/2009/09/22/hands-on-video-with-lenovo-thinkpad-x200-tablet/



By why was he 'touching' the outdoor screen? The multitouch screen is a matte finish. I'm confuse.

 

Haha!

That's hilarious. I didn't expect it to compare to Dell XT's outdoor screen, but for the price, it isn't too shabby.

 

Haha!

That's hilarious. I didn't expect it to compare to Dell XT's outdoor screen, but for the price, it isn't too shabby.

 

Just curious...

If Lenovo did put an IPS screen on X200 tablets, which considerably aren't that much best-sellers relative to other ThinkPad series, why can't they put an IPS screen on the T Series?????

Just curious, as I was saying...

 

If I am not mistaken, the new 12" LED screen is no longer an IPS but is a PVA, although it seems to measure up to the old CCFL IPS model in terms of quality.

 

If I am every to get a tablet it would be that one

 

Interesting, they still list the LED-backlit models in the TaBook as IPS panels. I tried cross-referencing the part number online, but they are Lenovo specific with the inclusion of the digitizer. I think you would need to tear apart the back of the screen to find out for sure. Regardless... IPS or PVA, it is an amazing panel.

 

Agreed, when I first saw the X200 Tablet that Kevin now has I assumed it was IPS as it looked and behaved exactly like older ThinkPad T series notebooks I've used with that screen technology. If it is simply just a higher quality PVA there's still little to complain about.

 

But why can't they put the PVA/IPS-like screens in T-Series ThinkPads?

I guess even if there's a premium to be levied from would be users, I think majority of the loyal ThinkPadders are more than willing to pay that amount.

 

They don't typically use em outside, like the Tablets. Plus Tablets are more susceptible to interference from lighting thanks to its slate mode. Plus, one of the uses of slate mode is to allow more than one person to review the screen at once. Unlike it laptop mode. Laptop mode folks just have fewer concerns.

 

Amazing. It seems like the Dell XT2 really loses on everything vs. this Lenovo. Am I wrong?

EDIT -- *entering fanboy mode* hah! This Lenovo suckz! No eSATA... *exiting fanboy mode* Lack of eSATA is a bit disappointing, but it's still hard to believe that this is considerably cheaper and more powerful than its Dell counterpart.

 

With the XT2 is slightly thinner cause it uses a 1.8 SATA and a 3 yr warranty. You get 3 USB, one with powershare. And you get the option of a battery slice. I didn't notice a Windows Security button either..

With the XT2 you also get a touchpad and a scroll rocker key in slate mode.

Edit:

Nevermind, I see a reset button just above the powerbutton. That MAY be the Windows Security button.

Basically, it sends CTRL+ALT+DEL to the OS, which is one of the few keystrokes you cannot map to the pen or touch. Comes in handy when you have to actually login in slate mode.

 

Nice review.
but I dont quite get the screen thing...

 

Yea the little button that looks like a circle does alt+ctrl+del, next one flips it, other loads up a quicklaunch program prompt for ThinkVantage stuff, and the last lets you lock the "tablet" buttons.

 

How can a screen be glossy and anti-glare? Aren't the two mutually exclusive?

 

Not necessarily. I don't know if the analogy is the same, but anti-reflect coating is nothing new to eyeglasses. Not sure what Lenovo uses for their anti-reflect and how it works, but for eyeglasses, it's a thin film that cuts down the reflection of light drastically. The side effect is a hue of green where the light reflection is, but it's not that much of an interference.

 

You have to see it in person. Put it side by side with the old ThinkPad X200T screen.

 

Yes, but PVA is made by Samsung, and as we all know... Samsung makes a lot of crap that brakes down after a few years.

I'd return it, whether it would cost me $150 or not, I would get rid of the PVA.

 

Care to provide some information on how Samsung parts break down after a few years?

Because a few years could be a norm/mean. But samsung makes A LOT components and has its hands in a lot of various semiconductor capacities. They provide OEM parts to many industries and if they were so terrible their customers would stop buying from it.

Samsung's consumer level business has been great in my experience.

 

To be frank, I feel that a good chunk of your posts lack any factual basis whatsoever, and are filled with mere opinion. This is definitely one of them.

Although I have not seen the PVA screen in person, from pictures I have seen and from the accounts from jonlumpkin and other X200t users, the Samsung PVA screen seems quite nice.

Besides, my old laptop's Samsung panel is still going strong as well.

 

Nice to finally see the new panels. The "Sunlight" display is brilliant and even the multi-touch panel still looks very good both head on and at off angles.

My x200 Tablet has the older 285-nit LED frameless. It was confirmed ( after a user had it replaced) to be a Samsung S-PVA panel. However, just like these two it is exceptional.

I'm still curious as to the differences in Anti-Glare coatings on the new "Sunlight" model. My display is also glossy with an anti-glare coating and is still fairly usable outdoors. Of course, the only way to know for sure would be to compare them side by side.

I'm also a bit skeptical of the battery life numbers. I find it hard to believe that the Multi-touch panel would consume an extra 3-5 watts over the non-touch panel. I know that on mine the power usage bumps up about 1-2 watts when the pen is in range, but I doubt the touch sensors could draw that much power.

Also, did you verify those weights? I ask because my x200 Tablet shipped at 3 lbs. 15 oz (with HDD) and is now 3lbs. 13 oz. (with 1.8" SSD) both of your models (especially the touch) weigh more.

 

x200t either doesn't have an ips screen, or has a lower quality one compared to x61t
I know this because i owned one after another, with about a week to test out both in the middle
I hate how the x200t's screen's brightness dies off quickly in off-angle situations.
Btw, both tablets had resistive touch screens.

Comments on the battery
For some people, cutting down half a pound makes more sense than an 8 hour battery life (but because I like choices, I have both).
I'm wondering if there's a driver issue with the multi-touch display. the machine uses 9-10W when stylus is being used, which makes me thing the display is "active" the whole time, instead of going into "idle" mode.

 

Both of those weights were recorded on a new scale in the office. There might be a calibration difference between both of our scales.

 

As much as I'll miss using my T60 FlexView screen (using it now!), and as nice as the new outdoor-viewable screen is, I'm going to go for the touchscreen. Microsoft has prepared Windows 7 for touch screen, and I'm hardly ever using my laptop outside anyway. And the fingerprints on the glossy still will drive me crazy (although that one is not a touch screen, you'll still rest your hand on it when you write with the digitizer pen).

With the latest x200 coupon code, I configured this system:

- multi-touch display
- 1.86 GHZ
- 2GB RAM (1 DIMM)
- fingerprint Reader
- web cam
- 320GB HDD (7200rpm)
- 5-1 card reader
- Bluetooth
- WiFi 5300 card
- 4 cell battery
- Mobile 1Yr Depot to Total 3Yr Depot Warranty
TOTAL: $1,673 after $430 off with USPXOFFER (and $1,622 after a 3% FatWallet cash rebate)

If you use the CPP pricing, the coupon is only a 7% discount, but they have a huge 50% discount up part upgrades. So, I priced a similar system, except with 4GB RAM (2 DIMM), and the CPP total is $1,644. Slightly less than the regular price, but slightly more than the post-FatWallet price. Then there's the killer 9.25% California tax for me.

Good deal? I'm going to ask a friend who works for IBM and check out the EPP pricing as well.

 

I would like to thank for great review.
However it would be nice to clarify screen options.
Lenovo sells 4 of them (Normal +0$, Superbright +75$, Mulitouch +200$,
Superbright Outdoor Viewable +250$) all with LED backlit.

As I understand presented models have 2nd and 3rd.
It is a pity that lenovo.com does not supply anything about these options:
which is matte/glare, detailed nit/brightness.

Regards

 

Does anyone know if a Thinkpad purchased from a retailer qualifies for the free Windows 7 upgrade from Lenovo? I just purchased the X200 Tablet MultiTouch from eBay. It'll arrive on Friday.

 

Can anyone comment on the performance of the SL9400 1.86GHz processor? What concerns me is the processor. Will Lenovo bring in the SL9600 anytime soon, or is that something that will never be offered in the US/Canada?

I do quite a bit of compiling (UNIX and in Windows) and was wondering if that SL9400 would be up to speed for such work.

I have an X61 with T7500 right now (the laptop will be going back to the company soon) and I was thinking of replacing it with an X200T - one of the reasons would be for the screen, because the screen on the X61 that I have now is just horrid - used a T400 as well and the screen is terrible as well so gave that back in favor of the X61 which is much more portable... Good grief, the notion of providing a laptop with a good screen is a completely foreign concept at Lenovo. I like the laptops (simply because I loved the IBM Thinkpads), but since Lenovo started using these cheap-o panels ....

Also what is the RAM cap on the X200T? Is it 4GB or 8GB? Read somewhere that the lappy will take 8GB but all specs point toward 4GB..

Thanks for any input.

 

I am a proud owner of the SL9600 2.13Ghz X200 multi-touch tablet. I picked one up on eBay with the 8% Bing cashback. An absolute steal! Cheaper than even Lenovo's already good CPP discounts. I've already called in about why the US website doesn't have the SL9600. They said they just don't feel like it'll be worth their while. I think the Australia site has that option, though, but their prices are much higher.

I was worried about the screen, since it's the touch one and not the new, fancy, highly-praised outdoor-viewable screen. And coming from an "IBM" T60 with 15" FlexView, I was expecting major disappointment. To my surprise, the supposedly-IPS LED screen is not bad! Good viewing angles, decent sharpness/contrast, very bright (I can never use it at the maximum brightness level), but I did notice that one of my sepia photos on Flickr was way off. The brownish/golden tones became blotches of yellow. Ah, the downfall of integrated Intel graphics.

Not sure about the RAM capacity, but I believe the maximum is indeed 4GB. My Vista Business 64-bit runs very smoothly. I can't wait to get my Win 7 upgrade, though!

 

I love the no touchpad design of the x200 series. I wish there was an option or at least a part I could order to remove the touchpad on my t400. Other then that looks good, but I wish the IGP was more powerful. But then again this was not meant to game at all (even though WoW isnt hardcore gaming), just have it in the same ballpark as the tx series of HP would satisfy me.

 

I noticed in the review that the multi-touch with the 8 cell only got 5 and a half hours... If thats the case is it at all possible to maybe disable the multi-touch and save battery life and still use the pen or is there nothing to do about that? I know i'm being stingy on battery life but when using it for 7 hours during work i dont want to have that possible chance of it dieing when i need it, plus i can always switch to laptop mode and not use the tablet at all...

 

You can disable the Touch software, but not the touch screen itself.

 

What would be the true battery life with an 8 cell, max brightness, wifi on, everything else in max battery savings mode? I just want to just surf the news online and do word-processing stuff and email. Sorry about the weird characters there that I have now fixed. I usually halve whatever the manufacturers say, so I'm guessing 5 hours is possible?

 

HUH> Please, can you post in english only?? (look at the Forum Rules) thanks!

 

I don't think he meant to not use English there. It was either b/c of the translation tool he used or the OS' input language.

 

I feel stupid now. I discovered today that the x200 'multitouch' tablet I bought from eBay is not 'multitouch' at all. Was the auction description wrong? Actually, it wasnt. Lenovo themselves have been using 'multitouch' to describe the screens ability to accept both pen and finger. Only the touch panels in machines made in Sept 2009 and onwards are the true two-finger touch-enabled ones.

 

Dang, that stinks. :cry:

 

Just want to mention my experience ordering the x200 tablet. Bought from Lenovo's store, this machine is 4 weeks late and the shipping dates get pushed to the right. I begin school in a week so I'm stuck--I may have to cancel my order and buy a cheap and very inferior unit. I avoided getting certain desired items, especially the SSD, in order to get the x200 on time, to no avail. The website lists certain items as capable of delaying the order.

Also, as far as I can tell, the outdoor-viewable screen exists in one place only: the webstore's page. They charge $175 for this great screen mentioned in the review, but fail to acknowledge it as a component of the order. There is no part # or mention anywhere of this on receipts or "my cart," etc. I did further "trial" orders to check, the problem continues. How will I know if I got the good screen?

It seems Lenovo has simply thrown its customer service team under the bus for a short-term gain. They DO have some good people whom I spoke with by phone, but they have poor tools and support from the parent company. I hope the reviewer and others will comment on this sad presentation of what appears to be excellent hardware. Thanks for listening.

 

Bump.

I was forced to cancel my X200 today. The ship date now trails the order by six weeks, with no special, delay-inducing options. How long did you wait for your computer to arrive? Do you care about customer service?