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Lenovo / Dell Shootout: X200 Tablet PC vs Latitude XT – Pens
Pens are one of those personal things — either an OEM got it right or they totally messed it up. Fortunately, if your tablet pc uses a Wacom digitizer, there are plenty of pens to choose from if you don’t like the one that came with your system. Unfortunately, the only one that will fit in the pen slot is the one that shipped with it. For Dell XT owners, you only have one choice due to the N-Trig digtizer: the square black one.
I’ve always liked the Lenovo pens — they have a nice rubberized grip and the button is well placed. In addition, it has a clip and an eraser on the back. The Latitude XT pen, though, has a glossy black finish, a square back, no clip, and no eraser on the back. It does have a secondary pen button that functions as an eraser, though. Each one ejects from the pen holder just fine. I’ve grown accustomed to the Latitude XT pen, but much prefer the X200 pen due to the way it feels in my hand, the eraser, and the rubberized grip.
XT pen on the left, X200 pen on the right |
 X200 pen on the left, XT pen on the right |
 A close-up of the buttons — X200 on the left, XT on the right |
 A close-up of the back of the pens — XT on the left ( squared end ), X200 on the right ( with eraser ) |
sbtablet
10/14/2008 at 8:03 am
I agree with you, Rob, that the button placement on the Dell pen is not ideal. I have small hands, and my normal grip is far enough below the buttons to make them awkward to reasch for. However, I’m not really bothered by it, because I seldom use the buttons on any tablet pc pen. I use the scratch out gesture to erase, which is faster and more natural to me. When I want a right click, I press and hold. It’s just more instinctive to me.
Two pluses, the square design of the pen end keeps the pen from rolling away from me when I put it down, and I like the flush mounting of the pen garage. It seems like so much less of a dust magnet, and looks more sleek to me.
Chip
10/16/2008 at 6:19 am
I have used an XT for 10 months now. I really hate the pen. Eraser belongs on the end of the pen. I can’t tell you how many times I have accidentally hit the button on the side.