Lenovo ThinkPad X200

We have Lenovo's newest Tablet PC, the X200 in office and we put it to the test. This 12.1" tablet has a reinforced lid that uses carbon fiber on the top and glass fiber around the edges for added strength. It's definitely a solid ThinkPad with some new features like a bi-directional hinge, which is a bonus and it's powered by a 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo processor. Check out how the X200 compares to other tablets in its class.

Lenovo X200 Tablet PC specs:


Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz L9400 processor

2GB RAM

160GB hard drive, 7200 rpm

SSD optional

Intel GMA X4500 graphics

12.1" WXGA (1280 x 800) display with active digitizer, touchscreen optional

Optional optical drive with weight saver with dock

Windows Vista Business OS

3x USB ports

1x Multicard Reader

1x PCI ExpressCard

RJ-11 and RJ-45

VGA-15pin

Microphone and headphone

8-cell battery, 4-cell available

Intel Wi-Fi 5300 and WWAN

Design
The X200 has a solid chassis and design. I mean after all it is a ThinkPad and lives up to its name and durability. It sports the same matte black design, but new to the X200 is a bi-directional hinge, which is great for presentations, much like the Fujitsu T2010.

Weighing in around 3.8lbs with the 8-cell extended battery, this 12.1" tablet is still light and thin enough to take where ever you go. Perfect for mobile professionals or college students. I didn't notice any signs of flex in any part of the tablet and was quite impressed with the screen. I would have liked the touchscreen/active digitizer model to review, but this one is still good.

The X200 is packed with a good variety of features and if you spring for the dock you definitely won't be disappointed. The X200 also now has two speakers on the bottom for better stereo sound instead of one speaker like on the X61 series. Battery life seems way better as well, but I get to that later because that is an important feature for a mobile tablet.


Display
The X200 I am reviewing has a 12.1" WXGA (1280x800) display. It has an active digitizer, but no touchscreen. The digitizer is accurate and the pen works great. I took notes like I was writing on paper. The hinge is solid, so the display looks great from all viewing angles. I didn't notice any signs of color bleed, the display was really nice and bright.

It wasn't too grainy like most tablets and can get really bright if need be. The colors are bold and vivid and even though the screen is 12.1-inches, I had no problem reading or viewing any documents. The X200 looks great in tablet mode as well and the display automatically changes orientation when rotated.

Performance and Benchmarks
The X200 is like most other ThinkPad tablets with their LV processors, but the X200 sports a 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo processor that really can get work done. I was impressed with how fast the machine booted-up and ran PCMark05. It did well on the benchmarks and surfed the Web and ran multiple applications with no problems. It didn't even seem like it was overworking itself