Review: Lenovo ThinkPad X60

As a long time Thinkpad user, my vendor convinced me to try the Lenovo ThnkPad X60 Tablet out (I didn't make it very hard for him).

The short and dirty specifications are:

• Intel Core Duo processor L2500 1.83
  
• 80 GB hard drive
  
• Gigabit ethernet
• Bluetooth
• Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG
• 12.1" screen at 1400x1050x32 resolution
• 2 GB RAM
  

The first thing that I notice is the weight - not even 4 pounds, easy to hold in a single hand. And portability, for me, is crucial. The next thing I notice is the size, this guy is small. Nice so far.

It has the standard Lenovo buttons, thumbpad reader, and a few new things. For one is the swival that allows the LCD to spin and close backwards - leaving the screen up like a thick book. Another button allows you to spin the screen contents around to the four arcs, choosing how you want to use your tablet when it is open like this. I have to use an external USB DVD/CD drive - no space inside - I don't mind.

I haven't even turned it on and I like it.

Windows XP comes up (ah well, nothing is perfect right!), I go through the usual questions, fingerprint authentication, etc. All good. I'm left with a ThinkPad laptop. I then spin the screen around and try out using the pen, which gets some getting used too! This is a different operating system than I'm used to with Windows, a few extras show up and I realize (ya, I know, I'm clueless) I am using Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005. The Input Panel is nice, intuitive.


Okay, so I get bored easy. I've that single corporate license of Windows Vista Business laying around and I read (somewhere) that the tablet features are now incorporated into this version of their latest desktop OS. Out goes XP, in goes Vista.

Installing the Lenovo software was easy, just install the ThinkAdvantage System Update. I picked and chose what I wanted (I think the Lenovo ThinkPads come with too much crap anyways). It ran better than my previous foray into Vista and it is still running (okay, its been only 3 days, but that is 1 more than my previous attempt).

The tablet features on Vista are marginally better than XP but overall slower.

I am going to give it a try for the next while - Vista on this tablet (if only to see how the un-enlightened live).