My new VCDS tool: Lenovo X200 Tablet

[M-A8]

Hi everyone
A little review from my self about my recent purchase - a budget VCDS tablet


Finally after some time of searching and searching I managed to get my hands on one of, in my opinion, ultimate VCDS toys - Lenovo X200 Tablet
After long negotiations and student I bought it from expecting top dollar for it I manager to close the sale on very good total price which was £100 in cash.

This particular model is equipped with uprated 1280x800 screen with LED backlight, 80GB SATA drive (downgraded from SSD by the student to squeeze more money in total), 4GB DDR3 memory, upgraded graphic chip, WiFi, bluetooth and Intel Core 2 Duo 1.2GHz which is absolutely fine for this machine and stuff I will do on it even when running Windows 8.1. A nice piece of kit, but they can be pretty high spec.


It is running currently a fully licensed Windows 8.1 with licensed Office 2013 which I will keep as a second OS, but as soon my new external USB DVD drive arrives I will be installing Windows 7 Pro, Elsa and ETKA on it to make it more ultimate
The only reason why I will keep 8.1 even if I'm not the biggest fan of it, is because time and IT moves on so quickly and Win 8 becomes more and more popular. So having one will help me stay on top of the 'trend' when people come to me asking for help with their OS, not that I'm that good, but...

Many of you may know the predecessor of X200 which was X61, but there is quiet few differences which are important to me hence the X200 is my choice.
Screen; X200 has a 12.1'' LED backlight widescreen 1280x800 (not all models) where X61 has a 12.1'' TFT 4:3 screen 1400x1050 (not all models)
The 1280x800 LED screen offers really good picture quality.




Size; X200 295x228x33mm which is very similar to X61 which is just more squarer. Below X200 and my other laptop I was using for VCDS fun


Weight; X200 is about 300 grams lighter (1.58kg) than X61, but not as light as X200s which lightest of them all with weight of 1.35kg. All weights are based on all of them being equipped with smallest 4-cell battery. The only problem is the X200S does not come as tablet version.

Battery life is fairly impressive, up to just over 4hours (4-cell) and up to just over 10hours (8-cell)

Now, one of the main differences between older X61 and X200 is the heat output and quietness. X61 is well known for generating a lot of heat and sound caused by cooling with many reports of even burned laps.
This isn't an issue anymore with X2xx series, they are just extremely quiet and cool, almost like a tablet, but still being a laptop.

In regards to connectivity it all depends on the model, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Sim.

There is plenty of more techie stuff but lets not make it a full review hence more spec here:
http://shop.lenovo.com/ISS_Static/me..._Datasheet.pdf

For me the main benefits are the weight, size, battery life and touchscreen.
I'm not bothered about all the other gizmos as this piece of kit from now on will always be in the glove box and it's purely dedicated for VCDS.
Thanks to the size it perfectly fits in the glove box and VCDS cable also nicely fits in the little compartment next to the CD changer.


The touchscreen is amazing on Lenovos. Everything is performed with the stylus pen which nicely fits on the side of the laptop.


The pointer starts appear on the screen from about an inch off the screen which helps you with navigation and selecting the desired point on the screen.


All the right mouse click action can be performed by holding a button on the side of the pen before touching the screen.
This can be also done by taping the screen and holding the pen against it for about 2-3 sec.


I was really feed up with my other laptop especially when playing with VCDS behind the wheel.
And thats where the screen's turn function comes really handy.

And the whole idea of turning a windows laptop to a tablet is just superb.












Screen keyboard is very good as well thanks to well responsive touchscreen.




Plus you can rotate the picture on the screen in all 4 directions which is another nice feature and no matter if you a right or left handed there is enough room to hold it comfortable thanks to one side of the screen having wider area so you can stick your thumb in there without covering the actual screen, which even if is touch wont wont be affected if you do go over as it only takes the pen's touch.




So, all in all a very nice piece of kit to fit in your glove box and be always there for you when needed, especially when on the road and something goes wrong.
If you mind spending 100s of pounds for a Surface Pro tablet or newer X2xx tablets just to sit in the glove box then go for one of them.

Thanks
Marcin

[Delboy]

Nice tool Marcin.

[ScottD3]

I do like IBM laptops.
Always seem to be a good robust unit with some nice little touches that others seem to miss.

Perfect for the required job.

[Sir WIll]

You cannot beat a good Thinkpad, I have an X40 for VCDS and it works perfectly.

[M-A8]

I couldn't agree with you more guys.
You just can't beat IBMs (Lenovos). My lat T61 I think was broken in half by my missus by sitting on it while screen was open, since then I went through 2x HPs (biggest mistake ever), Acer which was alright, 2x Toshibas which are actually good, the better ones is owned by Jim now and Vaio which again is a very good laptop considering the age.
But my ultimate toy now is the X200s which generates almost no heat and is really quiet, plus the battery life on them is stupid if you for 8-cell battery. The touch is just great addition to X200 when playing with VCDS.
Really pleased.

External DVD drive arrived so I'll be installing Win7 this evening with XP mode so I can run ETKA from it and new ver of Elsa which finally is compatible with Win7.
Happy days

[ainarssems]

You tempted me in to one. Got this one, put in cheeky offer and got it for £90 + £10 P&P

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2814443943...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT