Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Review

The Lenovo ThinkPad X200 is the latest ultraportable to escape from the Lenovo factory. The ThinkPad X200 is an update to the 12.1″ ThinkPad X61 which is quite old by technological standards. It also borrows some of the design elements from the wafer thin Macbook Air killer, Lenovo ThinkPad X300. Though not as slim and sleek in design, it does make up for the lack in design and sleekness by providing about the same amount of portability in a much lesser price. It also offers better performance and greater battery life than the Thinkpad X300. It is based on the new Intel Centrino 2 (Montevina) platform. Optionally you can also get SSD storage, Turbo Cache and 4 GB RAM which highly improve its performance. It is a superb business notebook with a good design, great performance, portability and reliability. It also runs pretty cool compared to other Centrino based laptops. In this review, we check out the Thinkpad X200 and check if it makes the cut as an affordable business portable with good features and great reliability and manages to come out of the shadow of its greater sibling, the ThinkPad X300.

Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Specifications

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.40 GHz with 3MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB (Centrino 2)
• Chipset: Intel GM45/ICH9-ME
• Memory: 2 GB DDR2 667 MHz
• Hard Drive: 160GB Seagate SATA 7200 RPM
• Screen: 12.1″ widescreen 1280×800 LCD, 200 nits
• Optical Drive: None
• GPU: Intel X4500 Integrated Graphics
• Network/Wireless: Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300 (802.11 a/b/g/n) Ethernet Card, Verizon WWAN and Bluetooth
• Slots: 3 USB 2.0 ports, ExpressCard 54mm, SD card reader, VGA out, Ethernet, headphone and microphone.
• Battery: 4 cell / 6 cell / 9 cell
• Dimensions: 11.6 inches x 8.3 inches x 1.2 inches
• Weight: 1.4 KG
• Operating System: Windows Vista Business Edition
• Optional Additions: Web-cam, Fingerprint reader, 56Kbps modem, 5-in-1 card reader

Design and Build Quality:

The new ThinkPad X200 sports a simple design very similar to the older ThinkPad notebooks. But it is not boxy as many of the older ThinkPads, instead it is much more slimmer and portable. At dimensions of 11.6 inches x 8.3 inches x 1.2 inches and a weight of just 1.4 kgs, it is very portable and light-weight. The design is improved and looks and feels much better. The build quality is superb, obviously, as it is a ThinkPad. It is perfectly suited for a business environment and competes ably with the Dell Latitude series. It is a durable and sturdy laptop with a magnesium alloy casing around the body which makes it resistant to shocks and bumps. It also adds to the overall slightly macho feel of the laptop and helps it in attaining no flex. Compromising on the design minimally, Lenovo has managed to improve its build quality greatly. It is spill resistant and also features a built in accelerometer which can automatically detect sudden fals and shut down the hard drive to prevent data loss. Most of it can be disassembled even by the average user as it provides easy access to most of the major components.

Coming to the port placement, on the right you find the USB port, headphone and mic ports, while on the left are the Power jack, heat vents, 2 USB ports, VGA out port, ethernet, ExpressCard 54mm slot, Wireless switch. On the front of the notebook lies the SD Card reader.

Display and Speakers:

The ThinkPad X200 sports a 12.1″ widescreen LCD display which supports a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It has good brightness levels which are adequate for all types of indoor viewing but still falls short when it comes to outdoor viewing. It does not have very good sunlight legibility. The display has good contrast and produces nice sharp images with vibrant colors. The viewing angles, both horizontal and vertical are pretty decent.

The speakers on the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 are strictly average in sound quality though they do offer slightly louder volume levels. They should be audible in a small room but headphones are strictly recommended for any serious listening.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The ThinkPad X200 features a full keyboard exactly the same as you would find in the bigger ThinkPad range laptops. The keys are well spaced and have ample travel. The keyboard is amongst the most comfortable in any 12 incher we have reviewed. They tactile feedback is good and feels perfect.

The ThinkPad X200 surprisingly omits the TouchPad in favour of just a TouchPoint. It is much faster and efficient than a touchpad but may take some time to get used to for beginners. The touchpoint has superb sensitivity and is fun to use. The lack of a touchpad can be a deal breaker for some. The mouse buttons are located just below the keyboard and offer good feedback.

Performance:

The ThinkPad X200 packs in enough power compared to its size. It is one of the first systems based on Intel Centrino 2 Duo (Montevina) which means more power, better battery life and superb power efficiency. It comes with a Intel C2D P8600 clocked at 2.40 GHz with 3 MB L2 cache and having a bus speed of 1066 Mhz. It is based on the newer 45 nm fabrication. That, copupled with 2 GB DDR2 667 MHz RAM is more than enough to handle any application. It is a pro at multitasking as well. It comes with the Intel X4500 onboard graphics which are the best integrated graphics you can find currently. It can run Vista’s Aero interface easily and fluidly and also manage most of the older generation games without any problem. It comes with a relatively faster 7200 rpm hard drive which increases you data access speeds. For greater performance, you can upgrade to SSD drives, 4 GB RAM at 800 MHz or Intel’s turbo cache memory. The ThinkPad X200 outperforms the X300 by a good margin.

If you think all this great performance would translate to lesser battery life, you are sadly mistaken. The battery life of the ThinkPad X200 is superb at about 3 hours for the 4 cell battery and 9 hours for the optional 9 cell battery with moderate usage and the Wi-Fi turned on. This is quite good and with a little care, you can further improve the battery life.
The laptop also runs considerably cool thanks to a good fan design and layout.

Pros

• Good design and Build quality
• Superb performance
• Good Battery life
• Spacious keyboard

Cons

• No Touchpad
• No Optical Drive

Final Words:

The ThinkPad X200 offers you a great mix of portability, performance and sturdy build quality in a small compact package. It is a good portable notebook, easy to lug around while commuting. It is quite durable and runs silently and cool. It does miss out on some points like the presence of a touchpad and optical drive but overall it is a great buy.

Our Rating: 3.5 / 5.