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Lenovo Unveils X201T Tablet Refresh

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We all knew a refresh of the Lenovo X200 Tablet line was coming and now we have the confirmation. Along with other ThinkPads, Lenovo has unveiled info on the Lenovo X201T Tablet PC. Yes, it will look very familiar on the outside to the X200T, with the notable exception of adding a touchpad. Don’t worry thumbstick fans, the thumbstick is still there, but now there are options. The screen features a capacitive touch layer and an active digitizer to handle both two-fingered touch and pen input. On the inside the processor has been bumped to the Intel low voltage Core i7 CPU and as usual you’ve got ordering options as to clock speeds as well as other options. There are options with an outdoor viewable screen as well.  Lenovo is a still a leader in Tablet PCs and there are inklings that they are working on something special on the Tablet front that may or may not be the UI Hybrid. In the meantime, I’m guessing ThinkPad Tablet fans will be quite pleased with the update.

Lenovo has also upgraded the X201, X201s, the W701, and W701ds as well.

17 Comments

17 Comments

  1. Fleon

    02/23/2010 at 7:25 am

    Still no 4:3 aspect ratio? Going to stick with my x61– again.

    • smh

      02/23/2010 at 7:29 am

      I don’t think that 4:3 ratio will ever beused again. Widescreen is cheaper to produce and the production technique waists less of the original panel.

      • John S.

        02/23/2010 at 8:15 am

        SMH how could I learn more about that manufacturing process? Thanks.

        • smh

          02/23/2010 at 8:57 am

          I can’t remember if it was NatGeo or Discovery, but they had an hour-long program about the production of LCD’s – if i remember correctly it was a samsung facility.

          The program was very “down to earth”, meaning that it didn’t explain all the scientific facts and information about the steps but rather focus on using “layman” terms.

          If you are interested in the scientific procedure then i remember reading a thorough review in a book about semiconductors.

          eHow describe the process as follow: “First, a large sheet of glass is cut to the size of the television’s screen. This sheet is usually made up from a much large sheet that is cut into several different pieces. After the glass is cut, two panels are placed together. In between the panels, a special gas is added that reacts to electricity. Three different sections are created, one red, one green, and one blue. Each color combine to form the image on the screen.

          After the glass and gasses are placed together, they are sent on to a machine that adds chemicals to the glass. These chemicals are used to protect the integrity of the glass. Afterward, custom printed circuit boards are added. Each circuit is designed to send electricity to a pixel on the screen.

          Once the screen is complete, all of the additional components are added. The speakers, control modules (for the remote and inputs), and casing are placed together completing the television set. Finally, the television goes through a testing process to ensure its quality. Afterward it is packaged and shipped out to stores and customers.”

          Information about factory layout and production line setup can be found on the following links:

          https://www.crystec.com/crylcde.htm

          https://www.semiconductor-technology.com/projects/philips/

      • Sumocat

        02/23/2010 at 9:33 am

        That’s not entirely accurate. 4:3 is still popular for slates (iPad, Electrovaya Scribbler, TabletKiosk Sahara) because it works well in both portrait and landscape modes. Widescreen is better when working in landscape, which is the primary intent for convertible notebooks. Regardless, yes, 4:3 is not likely to make a comeback among convertibles.

  2. smh

    02/23/2010 at 7:26 am

    I don’t no why, but i find the touchpad repulsive. I had hoped to never see that particular feature in the x-series.

    • Jeff Jackson

      02/23/2010 at 8:23 am

      I’m completely incapable of using the little eraser head thingy. I tried and tried and found it completely unusable. I’d rather see them drop the eraser head thingy and ONLY have the touchpad.

      • GoodThings2Life

        02/23/2010 at 9:15 am

        I agree, and it’s the biggest reason why I quit buying Thinkpads in the old days. The touchpad, while imperfect, is still better for most people in my experience as an IT guy helping users. I like having the option, though.I don’t see why it should be a problem since you can disable the method you don’t like using.

      • smh

        02/23/2010 at 9:18 am

        Have you ever tried to navigate while you are typing?

        This is where the TrackPoint really shines, being able to navigate a page/use the mouse while typing is very useful, i would even say that one can get more done – using TrackPoint your hand doesn’t have to leave the keyboard, while a touchpad or ordinary mouse forces you to move your hand from the keyboard :)

      • Nameless

        02/25/2010 at 2:04 am

        I’d have to disagree here, for I’ve found trackpads loathesome and more likely to just interfere with what I want to do if my palms happen to brush against the upper corners while typing. It gets worse if tap-to-click is enabled, since it could end up highlighting a big block of text while I type away and thus overwrite it all with the next keystroke. NOT GOOD.

        While I do like two-finger-scroll and all, it’s not practical if there isn’t much area to work with, and the bigger the area, the more likely the aforementioned problem will happen. Multi-touch gestures? Don’t need them.

        If anything, I’d prefer that the trackpad just not exist-especially if someone wises up and makes it so that Fn + TrackPoint movement acts as a mouse wheel/two-finger-scroll substitute.

        Of course, the easiest solution is to just offer both and let the user disable the one (s)he doesn’t like, if they coded their drivers for both properly.

        • Brett Gilbertson

          03/02/2010 at 1:36 am

          I never worry about trackpads and pointing sticks… I have a slate! And when I’m in the office I have a keyboard and mouse and a big, big screen…

  3. John S.

    02/23/2010 at 8:14 am

    I gotta say I don’t like the direction we are headed. I read 4 reviews now and each commented it’s a shame to see no HDMI which scares me a bit on expectations for the tablet…I was hoping for the next reincarnation (not the x201 but think x200 when we were back at x60) to cut the thickness in half and maybe get as small as the x200s.

    • smh

      02/23/2010 at 8:41 am

      I’m actually very happy that they have not included HDMI, VGA is what most of the projectors work with – and i compared to DisplayPort, HDMI is found wanting.

      I don’t think x-series has ever been targeted towards consumers, but rather business and corporate users – which is why it has so far not been bloated with all kinds of useless hardware features.

  4. sbtablet

    02/23/2010 at 6:13 pm

    I, for one, salute the addition of the touchpad. I have crossed the otherwise very nice Lenovo X200 off my list, because it only has a track point. Different strokes for different folks.

  5. Dan

    02/23/2010 at 10:24 pm

    Touchpad? BOO! BOO!!!! If you want a touchpad, you can find one easily- just not on laptops with class.

  6. cityhopper

    02/27/2010 at 8:24 pm

    This is a winner for me. I am glad Lenovo is sticking to the basics of what makes the Thinkpad series one of the best in the market. It would be nice to order the unit without the touchpad; I am not a huge fan. All otherwise, this seems great and a WiMAX option is great because I am a 4G subscriber. I am very excited to purchase this unit.

    In hindsight, I should have chosen the x200 series tablet over the HP2730p. While, I will not be able to immediately purchase the x201t it is definitely on my wish list to have by this Fall. Lenovo is really good with coupons so I hope to get a better price on this than what I paid for my 2730p.

  7. wubill

    03/08/2010 at 7:50 am

    It is nice if it is U1 hybrid.

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