ThinkPad X200

Okay, so it has been a very long time since I last posted something. My apologies. Been so caught up in the rat race that I lost track of time and other things. But I am back now. At least for a while.

So I recently purchased a ThinkPad X200. One word... Wow!

This machine is seriously fast. The one I got is with the P8600 2.4GHz processor and PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM. This is by far the fastest laptop I've owned and the GMA4500 graphics is actually pretty fast as well. Obviously not a gamer graphics card but definitely fast enough for some light gaming. For general productive stuff such as Office applications, the Internet and more hardware crunching tasks such as video editing, photoshopping and misc compression, the ThinkPad X200 absolutely shines!

The best thing of it all? It offers amazing battery life. With the mid-sized 6-cell I am pulling 4+ hours with a mix of different tasks such as Office applications, web surfing, with about 30% brightness. With the 9-cell I have hit 7 hours with the same type of use and I am sure if I was a bit more energy saving, I would be able to hit more than eight hours. This is simply amazing for such a powerful laptop.

In addition, this laptop is by far the coolest (as in not hot) laptop I have had. It never gets hot anywhere on the laptop. So no burnt thighs or sweaty palms.

What can I say, I can't help loving the X200.

But don't just take my word for it.

Check out out the review at notebookreview.com

Lenovo ThinkPad X61

I figured my first post should be about my current ultraportable, which I absolutely love.

It is one of the smallest and most powerful 12.1" standard form factor notebooks out there. Lightweight too. Alongside the Panasonic Let's Note W and T-series, it is also one of the most sturdy and well built 12 inch notebooks you will find.

As you probably know, ThinkPads are well known for their ruggedness and the no frills professional build and look, which have gathered a following unrivaled by any other notebook manufacturer. With the ThinkPad X61 it is no different. From the rubber matte coating to the excellent and legendary (spill proof) keyboard, it is all there.

Yet this little ThinkPad comes in a very small factor (10.5" x 8.3" x .80-1.39"; 268mm x 211mm x 20-35mm) and with a starting weight of 3.11 lbs or 1.41kg. There's even a minimally thinner and slightly lighter version called the X61s, but in essence it is the same form factor. More on that in a different post.

While we are at it, I should also mention that there is a tablet version available in the X-series lineup. It is one of the best tablet notebooks I have experienced, but unfortunately it is noticeably heavier and larger than the regular X61 - which the following size comparison picture also clearly shows.











To better assess the size, here is a short video of the X61 compared to the mainstream sized ThinkPad R61 15.4" notebook.




In any event, if you are looking for a great, sturdy business ultraportable, there really is no excuse not to get the Lenovo ThinkPad X61 - especially considering the ridiculously low prices in the US.

And with that, here are a few reviews about my favorite ThinkPad:
Notebookreview review
TechLoop review
PC World review