whatsamattaU wrote:

Wireless is reasonable, pretty good i7 for what I do. Glad I have it. Screen is sharp enough for business. Keyboard is wonderful, but that's nothing new. I've dropped it a few times accidentally, held up well. Is a bit heavy if you buy the extended battery, but not impossible. If you buy the dock, it can be a bit inconsistent undocking it. Sound is reasonable. Have to go back to work. As noted above, I'm not sure how good the price is vs. a X230, but I have no significant regrets on this convertible tablet. Hope this helps, maybe I can come back later.

Does this model have wireless display enabled (WIDI)? I've never bought from Woot; do high-end items come with any warranty? (I searched the Help section; couldn't find an answer.)

While I don't have any experience with this particular model, I can certainly vouch for the Thinkpad brand and durability.

Through various work assignments, I have used 6 different Thinkpads over the last 10+ years.

Right now I'm typing this on the second-oldest of the 6 (running Windows 8) and across from me my Dad is using the very first one that is over 11 years old (!) to browse the web.

Never had a problem with any of them.

Wonder how many Dell, Asus, HP, (insert random brand) laptops are still working and being used after 11 years ...

(Note: I'm not a "gamer" - can't speak to that aspect of computing).

This is the tablet that is required for engineering school at University of Louisville, where I'm going. I bought mine last summer for $1200, only mine has an i5 chip, instead of an i7. So I paid more for a worse tablet.

And since I have one, I can say that it SUCKS. The speakers are tinny, the battery only lasts 2 hours, it's very heavy for a laptop, bits of plastic chip off all the time despite being kept in a padded laptop bag, it has no optical drive, and only 3 usb ports. The touchscreen is far from precise, so I never use it as a tablet. The little joystick thing gets in the way when you're typing. My friend's ThinkPad has had a failed hard drive twice since he bought it (so far, I've been lucky). I haven't even used it in a way that a regular laptop could not easily do.

I certainly would NOT have bought this laptop, had we had a choice of laptops to buy. Even at $750, it's not worth it. We're supposed to take notes using the touchscreen, but it works so poorly I just use paper and pencil. Less chance of losing all my notes too when the hard drive inevitably crashes.

I guess if you can think of a function for which a convertible tablet is essential, go for it, you won't find a better price. But a regular laptop and paper notebook weighs less and works better for all other uses.

I've been using an old X201 at work for a year and a half. Was getting slow with our &@$#% EMR so I gave it 8GB RAM and it has done fine since. I use the tablet with the pen to draw diagrams of wounds, sometimes superimposed on imported photos from my phone. I thought Dell were the best business laptops til I got this one; it is a warhorse. Reliable, sturdy... I am a convert to Lenovo.

hilarypal wrote:Does this model have wireless display enabled (WIDI)? I've never bought from Woot; do high-end items come with any warranty? (I searched the Help section; couldn't find an answer.)

There is a one-year warranty from Lenovo for this. It will last MUCH longer than that, based on my experiences with the four Lenovos I currently have, ranging from one to about seven or eight years old. Business-class Lenovos are tanks.

Regarding WIDI, I don't think this machine has it.

geekwench wrote:There is a one-year warranty from Lenovo for this. It will last MUCH longer than that, based on my experiences with the four Lenovos I currently have, ranging from one to about seven or eight years old. Business-class Lenovos are tanks.

Regarding WIDI, I don't think this machine has it.

Thank you so much! I found this link about WIDI http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail.page?LegacyDocID=MIGR-75695

Could you tell me if it means what I think it means (that the model IS Widi-enabled?)

I want the laptop because of the old-fashioned keyboard!

Whens the last time there was a Big ol' Celebration? I haven't seen one in a few wootoffs. Did the buyout ruin it?

stv6669 wrote:Whens the last time there was a bag of c_rap? I haven't seen one in a few wootoffs. Did the buyout ruin it?

I didn't check anything about the specs, but the aesthetics sure look antiquated.

Linkums wrote:I didn't check anything about the specs, but the aesthetics sure look antiquated.

That's what you get with ThinkPad - the exact same design asthetic from the first ThinkPad in 1992. It's sort of a classic, no-nonsense look (I like comparing it to a good business suit) but certainly won't win any awards.

eichin wrote:Same here - I run linux on it, and have the battery sled/8G/big hard drive - that's something you may want to know, the hard drive bay is *small*, only spec'ed for 7mm drives (though I did get a WDC WD10JPVT in there, I don't think it's coming out again :-)

Performance is great (running linux), screen is beautiful... but it's 1366x768, with a large asymmetric bezel (I just measured 4.5cm from the hinge to the lower edge of the screen) so I have grown to hate it :-) (it was an upgrade from a T60p, a glorious 1600x1200 IPS that nobody makes anymore...)

Ugh. I had a 1600x1200 T60p as well, more than one laptop ago. Better days...now everything is 1920x1080. Alas.

Isn’t a “Tablet PC” running “Windows 7” an oxymoron?

Costco Has the current i5 model of this with windows 8 for $799.

http://www.costco.com/Lenovo-Thinkpad-Twist-Touch-Screen-Ultrabook%2c-Intel-Core-i5-3317U-1.7GHz.product.100013456.html

[MOD: And $30 shipping.]

I've owned 5 or 6 Thinkpads. My everyday laptop is an X201. I use an X230 (very similar to this one) at home for music and media stuff. The x220 and x230 have a chicklet style KB which caused some initial dismay but I've gotten used to it. Plus, they enlarged / moved the Escape key, which works for me. Disable the touchpad and you're good to go.

I work in an IT department for a major east coast university, I have several professors using this model and they are all extremely happy with it. Also, have had no support issues with the hardware. Like others have stated, maybe not the sexiest design, but it is rock solid industrial tried and true design.

This laptop paired with a dock and large screen monitor for in office use makes the perfect dual use laptop. I have one professor using a Dell 30" monitor with full supported resolution via the displayport connector on the dock. The other thing that the professors tell me they like is how well it fits on the small airline trays when they travel.

Last, but not least, when doing a clean OS install, Lenovo has one of the best methods of getting drivers, the ThinkVantage System Updater. Download this one file for your system, run it, it will go out and download all the latest drivers for your system and install them automatically, awesome!

dreweasland wrote:Why does Lenovo make products that look like they're 10 years old?

They are built like tanks. I've been using/supporting (hundreds of) Lenovo tablets since they were still IBM. All are very well built and most will out-live you. (This is based on the industrial/commercial X- and T- lines, like this one. not the E-/L- consumer models, which aren't "tablets" anyway.)

Ugly = rugged = long-lasting

Can anyone give any insight to the functionality of the stylus. I am seeking to find a tablet for engineering school where I can take good notes and save some trees. Any help would be great.

lucasfish1 wrote:Can anyone give any insight to the functionality of the stylus. I am seeking to find a tablet for engineering school where I can take good notes and save some trees. Any help would be great.

Atharaenea above said...
''We're supposed to take notes using the touchscreen, but it works so poorly I just use paper and pencil.''

Anyone know how the touch screen would work with photoshop?

Atharaenea wrote:...the battery only lasts 2 hours...The little joystick thing gets in the way when you're typing.

We get 5-6 hours, with screen brightness at 11-13 (of 15). Install the Lenovo power management software, and set some reasonable time-outs for hard drive spin down, screen dimming, etc.

You can enable/disable the touchscreen/pen/trackpad/trackpoint independently. I believe the trackpad/trackpoint are in the control panel mouse settings. There should be an extra tab for Lenovo stuff. (If not, install the latest drivers.)

Shinespark wrote:It's a 12" tablet PC. No optical drive.

Also, with no GOBI module in this, there should be a free mini-PCI-E slot for those inclined to add an mSATA SSD drive.

Be careful with this! The first miniPCIe SSD I tried would NOT work with this laptop's BIOS. Check out this thread: http://dft.ba/-3eVg

bluemidget wrote:Atharaenea above said...
''We're supposed to take notes using the touchscreen, but it works so poorly I just use paper and pencil.''

I don't seem to have the troubles others have with the pen digitizer's sensitivity. However, accuracy DOES drop off near the edges, especially (unfortunately) by the start button.

I drew this in Illustrator using my X220t's pen: http://smdrawings.tumblr.com/image/28534920861

whatsamattaU wrote:

Edit:
Oh, and I HATE the touchpad. That cute red little button is what I use, with the buttons, more than the mouse, and I turned the touchpad off as best as I could. If you press too hard with your wrists/initial part of hands while typing near the touchpad, it sometimes throws the typing off

Another nub man!!! I love me the nub on IBM/Lenovo

I didn't come here to buy it (albeit tempted to do so), but rather to give my input.

Lenovo is an AWESOME manufacturer. I've never had to contact their warranty center simply because both of my ThinkPads have out-lasted the warranty.

I'm the happy owner of an X61 and an X61t. Both machines are snappy and have everything I need (fingerprint scanner is a MUST on my laptops).

Currently, my X61t is out of commission (my brother somehow managed to break it after 2 weeks of use, and my x61 is awaiting a new battery. Other than that, they run flawlessly.

Oh, forgot to mention, the x61 i have is running Ubuntu Linux with a 60gb SSD; This thing stays on for 6+ hours (of typing) on the extended battery!

I don't need a Gaming laptop, because I've got another monster in my closet for that (fully upgraded MSI G70), but Lenovo seems to always hit the sweet spot with their products

(I should mention, I'm awaiting a new motherboard for the x61t to get that back up and running. I LOVED that thing, you may THINK you're not going to use the touchscreen on a regular basis, but you'd be surprised how annoying it is to tap the screen on a non-touchscreen laptop and have nothing happen...)

edit: I should mention, the ugly looks of this laptop are the genius of it! I'm not afraid to leave this laptop out in the open I used to be a delivery driver at one point and someone broke in and took my $50 GPS, but not the X61T. LOL. I can't remember HOW many times I've been talking to CEOs, Regional Managers and other big-wigs on planes (I travel alot now) and about 50% of them had their Lenovos with them.

jetboy wrote:Costco Has the current i5 model of this with windows 8 for $799.

But, it has windows 8 on it. Ewwww

taimeili wrote:Just so you guys know, it is a dual core 2nd generation i7. Not quad core.

It performs no better than a 3rd gen i5 and with HD 3000 you are not gonna play any intensive games at all.

I'd recommend 3rd gen i5 thinkpad x230 with HD 4000 it is a lot better. Price is about the same too.

For what the average user will do with this thing, a quad-core processor would only serve to reduce battery life. Any appreciable performance would be gained by swapping the HD for a SSD.

As far as playing "intensive games", I think it's generally understood that this is not a gaming platform.

lyamcweld wrote:Cannot be detached without destroying the machine. But it does pivot lay flat for an oversized tablet.

so.... technically detachable?

I am a medical student who uses the Lenovo X230T with i5. If you are a student and your curriculum will use mostly powerpoint, these tablets work extremely well with OneNote. I'd recommend this deal to anyone looking for a laptop for school.

I'm typing this on an X201t - not sure if the resolution is the same or not, but I'll admit that using some programs (Outlook being an example used here already) can be a pain on a tiny screen like this without a higher resolution. I do use it docked with a 22" secondary monitor when at the office though, and it's great for that.

From my experience in the field with the older model (with a 3 year old extended battery) I can easily get 6 hours out of the machine. I also use it to fill out paperwork using the digitizer and pen with no problems outside of your normal "NO I WROTE THIS WORD NOT THAT WORD DAMMIT" sort of thing if I get sloppy. Not sure if they're using different hardware/firmware on the new unit, but I'm very happy with the digitizer and pen input (as well as touchscreen performance) on mine.

If I thought it was a good idea to spend this kind of money on a personal laptop which I don't truly need I'd really consider buying one...

hilarypal wrote:Thank you so much! I found this link about WIDI http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail.page?LegacyDocID=MIGR-75695

Could you tell me if it means what I think it means (that the model IS Widi-enabled?)

I want the laptop because of the old-fashioned keyboard!

According to the list of devices to which that update applies, I think you're correct and this model DOES support WIDI. Nice find!

lucasfish1 wrote:Can anyone give any insight to the functionality of the stylus. I am seeking to find a tablet for engineering school where I can take good notes and save some trees. Any help would be great.

Despite the experiences of the other engineering student who bemoans the stylus, I can say two things on this subject:

1. I have an old X61 Lenovo tablet and the stylus works beautifully to this day (although the screen isn't ideal for Windows 8 since it's not touch-enabled).

2. In the Amazon reviews for this laptop, there's a comment under the "most helpful negative review" that apparently provides the magical fix for stylus problems with this tablet. Multiple people have posted that the fix made their tablets work as expected with their styli.

Actually, it turns out that I apparently have more to say- I've had at least ten Lenovos and have never had a drive fail in one with the exception of an SSD drive that was a dud and wasn't what came with the laptop. The worst I've had happen with a Lenovo is a fan failure, which is easy and inexpensive to replace (this was when the laptop was ~8 years old, mind you). Most of my teammates use Lenovos, as well, and we all find them to be solid machines. There's a reason that they're ubiquitous in business- they're solid, easy-to-manage systems that don't ship with bloatware and bizarre drivers. While I believe that it's certainly possible that one or two people have had negative experiences with theirs, Lenovos overall are about the most solid machines you can get.

If it weren't for the fact that I already have more laptops and tablets than I have use for them, I'd probably pick this one up. With that said, the person who said he'd rather get a Surface did have a point- IF you are willing to spend a few hundred more for a massively-portable device.

I've been using one for about 18 months. Good all around desktop replacement and great for writting notes in meetings. Found the standard drive to be very slow so I upgraded to a solid state (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-208-689) and it cut my boot and resume times in half. Would recomend anyone looking for a good business lap top.

This is a FANTASTIC computer that I paid full price for and have no regrets.

These things are bulletproof, like most the lenovos I've owned in the past (as long as you get the thinkpad line). The convertible tablet is much more durable than some other brands I've experienced. about 9 months ago I got rid of my 9 year old x41 for this one, although I've used other ones at work.

It is also very easy to swap in more ram and a solid state drive. (This requires the 7mm narrow solid state drives though which are readily available and extremely affordable if you look around a bit).

It does look like this is the pen-only interface and not the full touchscreen version. I had some confusion about it when I bought mine and called customer service- they told me that the "anti-glare" version is pen-only.

I personally hate tablets because they are a pain to type on, and dislike the limitations of laptops because so much stuff now days works well with a touchscreen, including taking notes on presentations and taking notes in meetings. This is by far the best of both worlds and I would never want to be limited by just one or the other. Works great as a tablet, then convert it to a laptop to write up a report.

I really don't know why anyone would "settle" for just one or the other when you can have both.

Atharaenea wrote:the battery only lasts 2 hours

Which one do you have? The 29++ can easily do 8-10 under heavy conditions and if you spring for the slice you can literally skirt the 20 hour range if you push it.

Is there anyone who can tell me if the product can be returned or refund?

Kyouteki wrote:
I drew this in Illustrator using my X220t's pen: http://smdrawings.tumblr.com/image/28534920861

This firmed my decision to order one. I love that cat, so hey, thanks!

I have this model, since I was looking for a subnotebook and I figured the tablet meant I could also use it as an on-the-go drawing device, but I don't use it for that at all. The big problem with the Wacom digitizer on it is that it loses its tracking accuracy near the edge of the screen - including where the Windows Tablet calibration targets are, meaning it's impossible to calibrate correctly (in Windows, anyway). I just run Linux on it, though, and the tablet portion is MOSTLY okay there.

However, the other thing is that this thing is pretty darn heavy. The convertible hinge adds a lot of weight to what would otherwise be a pretty light system. So, if I hold it in my arms for more than, say, 15 minutes, I start to feel a lot of fatigue. And of course, most drawings take more than 15 minutes.

In retrospect I wish I'd just gone with the normal X220, since otherwise it satisfies my subnotebook needs pretty well (and the X220 is significantly lighter-weight).

I got a Lenovo X200 tablet (with a SSD and a dual core) several years ago. After putting on a clean install of Windows 7 minus the bloatware, it's been pretty solid for me. My screen needs a stylus, but works really well with OneNote which I use all the time for seminars and meetings. I've had to replace the battery, but other than that and the clean install of Windows I've had no problems and would definitely go with Lenovo again.

geekwench wrote:2. In the Amazon reviews for this laptop, there's a comment under the "most helpful negative review" that apparently provides the magical fix for stylus problems with this tablet. Multiple people have posted that the fix made their tablets work as expected with their styli.

Here's the comment being referred to (really, how hard is it to provide the permalink? I hate having to hunt around for stuff like that)


Seems reasonable. Also, interesting that the Windows driver apparently allows non-linear calibration now. The Linux driver, sadly, still does not. I guess that gives me a reason to get Windows working on my system again. (Windows 7 has this wonderful tendency of self-bricking for me...)

gregoryborecki wrote:NO HDMI

These are corporate/enterprise-grade notebooks, so have Displayport rather than the consumer-oriented HDMI. You can get a $5 generic DP->HDMI adapter though. (or DP->DVI)