LENOVO THINKPAD X201

Design
Sporting an identical chassis to the ThinkPad X200 tablet, you'll hardly notice the difference between the X201 tablet and its predecessor. On the deck above the keyboard are buttons for controlling audio and the blue ThinkVantage button that's used for launching a suite of Lenovo Utilities.
While the ThinkPad Edge was a major design departure for Lenovo, the X201T doesn't stray from the traditional ThinkPad roots. In fact, there are really no noticeable design differences between it and the X200T– intact is the classic soft touch plastic lid, square edges and that signature durability of its magnesium alloy chassis. Though we're fans of the simple aesthetics, we've got to admit we're peeved by the system's thicker 1.3-inch body and vertically protruding eight-cell battery. Lenovo, if you are listening, please do something about these speakers. The 12.1-inch, 1280 x 800-pixel resolution screen is quite bright and lacks the greyness that's sometimes symptom of the added touch layer.

Oh and if you've glanced at the first photo of this review you're well aware that the screen becomes pretty seeped in fingerprints. The capacitive display was extremely responsive to our light finger taps and familiar multitouch gestures like two finger scrolling and pinching to zoom. Lenovo's ThinkVantage software has about every utility tool you could ever want including apps for battery management, hard drive recovery, and password storage. Lenovo's X200 tablet series has long been popular with road warriors and tablet enthusiasts because of its light weight, long battery life, and durable design.

Heat
After streaming a web video at full screen for 15 minutes, the touchpad measured 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about on par with the 95-degree category average. The middle of the keyboard also measured 95 degrees, which is much lower than the category average of 98 degrees.

Keyboard
The ThinkPad X201 tablet has the same keyboard layout as the ThinkPad X200 tablet, which benefits from the high level of responsiveness we've come to expect from Lenovo. Each of the new ThinkPad X201-series notebooks we have in for review offers the same keyboard that was previously seen on the X200. The ThinkPad X201 carries the same delightfully-intimidating, ultra-portable business-notebook-on-steroids design as all the X-series notebooks before it. The X-series notebook is essentially the smallest ThinkPad that still allows Lenovo to incorporate a full-size keyboard in its design. Just like the larger T-series counterpart, the X201 retains the strong stainless-steel screen hinges, durable ThinkPad keyboard, strong plastic cladding, and alloy chassis.

Screen and Speakers
While the build quality surpasses many CULV-notebooks one area the X201 really falls behind is in the screen category. Compared to many of the modern 11.6- and 12-inch glossy screens found on new consumer ultraportable notebooks, the panels on the X201 and X201s fall behind in color saturation and contrast. Horizontal viewing angles are better with colors staying consistent even at steep angles. The X201 Tablet screen is a step above the X201 or X201s and offers much better color saturation and contrast. The X201 Tablet came in third measuring 182cd/m2 at its brightest point.

Ports and Features
Port selection has stayed the same as previous models with three USB ports, VGA-out, LAN, ExpressCard/54, audio jacks and a modem jack.

Lenovo ThinkPad X201 Specifications:
* Screen: 12.1-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) LED Backlit (Matte finish)
* Operating System: Windows 7 Professional (64bit)
* Processor: Intel Core i5-540M (2.53GHz, 3MB Cache)
* Memory: 4GB DDR3 RAM (2GB + 2GB)
* Storage: 320GB Hitachi HDD (7200rpm)
* Wireless: Intel 6200 802.11AGN, Bluetooth
* Graphics: Intel GMA HD Integrated Graphics
* Power: 94Wh 9-cell, 65W 20V AC adapter
* Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.2 x 0.8 - 1.4"
* Weight: 3.52lbs

Lenovo ThinkPad X201s Specifications:
* Screen: 12.1-inch WXGA+ (1440 x 900) LED Backlit (Matte finish)
* Operating System: Windows 7 Professional (64bit)
* Processor: Intel Core i7-640LM (2.13GHz, 4MB Cache)
* Memory: 4GB DDR3 RAM (2GB + 2GB)
* Storage: 320GB Hitachi HDD (5400rpm)
* Wireless: Intel 6250 802.11AGN, Bluetooth
* Graphics: Intel GMA HD Integrated Graphics
* Power: 57Wh 6-cell, 65W 20V AC adapter
* Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.3 x 0.8 - 1.4"
* Weight: 2.77lbs

Lenovo ThinkPad X201 Tablet Specifications:
* Screen: 12.1" Multitouch LED WXGA (1280x800) panel with Wide Viewing Angle
* Operating System: Windows 7 Professional (64bit)
* Processor: Intel Core i7-640LM (2.13GHz, 4MB Cache)
* Memory: 4GB DDR3 RAM (2GB + 2GB)
* Storage: 320GB Fujitsu HDD (5400rpm)
* Wireless: Intel 6200 802.11AGN, Bluetooth
* Graphics: Intel GMA HD Integrated Graphics
* Power: 66Wh 8-cell, 65W 20V AC adapter
* Dimensions: 11.6 x 10.1 x 1.04 - 1.31"
* Weight: 3.95lbs