Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Review and Image Gallery

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The Lenovo ThinkPad X200 takes up where the  ThinkPad X61 leaves off and is very similar to its much more expensive sibling, the superb ThinkPad X300.

The X200 will not fit into a manila envelope like the super slim ThinkPad X300 does, but it’s performance is better  than the X300 and starts $800 cheaper!

Overview

The ThinkPad X61 has made a name for its self as the best ultraportable you can buy, and it certainly looks like Lenovo, with the  ThinkPad X200 have produced a worthy successor.

Just like the larger ThinkPad’s the X200 has all of the same qualities that we have come to expect, and thanks to the new widescreen the X200 chassis is wide enough to support a fuller sized keyboard.

Whilst  the X200 smaller and lighter than the more traditional ThinkPad counterparts it certainly doesn’t’t lack in power.  With a choice of the new Intel Core 2 Processors and the option for fast SSD storage, up to 4GB of RAM and Intel Turbo memory this is a very fast little notebook, ideal for working on the move.

Combine that with the incredible battery life, superb ‘Green’ credentials, and almost complete lack of discernable heat, we can see the X200 taking the crown of the Top Ultraportable, a title that deservedly belonged to the X61.

So will the X200 eat into sales of the super slim X300? No, we don’t think so. The ThinkPad X300 was designed with a completely different user in mind, those that want a cutting edge fast start notebook that is completely  independent of peripherals, and who are prepared to pay for bleeding edge technology.

Looks Like a ThinkPad

The X200 now sports a widescreen display. Whilst this may disappoint the diehard ‘square screen’ fans, who love the standard  4:3 ratio aspect screen seen on the X61, widescreen are now becoming the standard issue for a notebook.

The notebook user who will miss the 4:3 aspect ratio the most are designers and coders who love the taller screen size.

The X200 sees the red accented mouse buttons coming back from days  of ThinkPad 240, which has long been our favorite ‘small’ ThinkPad.  The power button is the same as the X300, except it is not backlit.

The X200 looks really good and borrows a few styling cues from the new SL Series whilst maintaining that indefinable X Series look and feel that we have loved since the X20 first emerged in  September 2000

Built Like a ThinkPad

The X200 is built like a ThinkPad should be, and just feels superb. Build quality is excellent with a magnesium-alloy casing on both the top and bottom of the casing and an internal magnesium “roll-cage” there’s virtually no flex.

The traditional steel screen hinges that we’re used to seeing on ThinkPad notebooks are there are two lid latches .

The keyboard features two drain holes to carry away any coffee or red wine that you may spill when the guy in the seat in front of you drops his seat whilst you have your notebook on the tray table in front of  and the ThinkPad Active Protection System is there to protect your hard drive if you drop your X200 going through security rushing to catch your connection.

Like all ThinkPad’s the X200 is easy to upgrade with the Memory and Hard Drive access panels being easy to locate and remove and even if you don’t go for WWAN straight away the antenna is preinstalled so all it needs is the WWAN Card popping in and you’re up and running.

Types like a ThinkPad

The X-series ThinkPad has always had the best keyboard of any ultraportable out there and now, because of the extra width of the chassis the keyboard on the X200 is exactly the same the T-series keyboard and that’s the best laptop keyboard bar none.

The real surprise is the lack of an UltraNav TouchPad on the X200. The TouchPad was first introduced on the X30 as a sop to those users who couldn’t get used to the TrackPoint and the ThinkPad X200 reverts to just having a TrackPoint with mouse buttons just below the space bar. Personally I think this is a great configuration and have never used a TouchPad on any ThinkPad that I have owned.

Your index finger works the TrackPoint, and thumb works the left/right mouse buttons and you’ll fly!

Great Screen

We have always liked ThinkPad screens but the X61 screen was just not quite bright enough. The  X200 screen gets a far brighter screen which is a great improvement.  Brightness has been taken up to 200-nits from the 150-nits (sounds like something you catch!)

The viewing angles of the screen are good and colors remain vibrant until you get to really wide viewing angles. As a mobile presentation tool for those PowerPoint slide shows the X200 is excellent, with the only real drawback being the mono speaker. You really do need a pair of ear phones is your going to watch a movie or listen to music.

Use a pair of iPhone type earbuds and the quality of sound goes up to something really acceptable. Bearing in mind of course that the ThinkPad X200 is not designed as a multi media machine, so don’t expect great performance in that area.

Performs Like a ThinkPad

In terms of computing power the X200 is incredible and its going to be difficult for a competitor to match the overall blend of usability and shear muscle that the X200 achieves. Spec this thing up 2.40GHz of dual core power and a 3MB L2 cache, Intel Turbo Memory, SSD storage and 4GB of DDR3 RAM running at 1066 MHz might and you’ll blow your sock of without sacrificing battery life or frying your knees!

The X200 Unplugged

You can configure the ThinkPad X200 with three battery options: 4-cell, 6-cell or 9-cell, but of course, the bigger the battery the longer the battery life and the heavier the weight.

With the 9-cell battery which the X200 weight to jumps to 3.6 lbs instead of the 2.95 lb weight you get with the 4-cell, but for the just over 9 hours of battery life that you get, we think it’s worth it.  Hey, grab yourself a 4 cell AND a 9 cell and have done with it.

Cool and Quite

The ThinkPad X200 has been designed from the offset to be quite and the engineers have done an amazing job. The X200 features the fan from the X300 amazingly quiet but just really does keep this notebook running so cool.

This is probably the coolest ThinkPad to date and it really does prove that you can have cool without a roaring fan

Wired for Wireless

The X200 is configurable with several Wi-Fi options:, the Intel WiFi Link 5100, WiFi Link 5300, Intel WiMAX/WiFi Link 5350 and ThinkPad 11b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Express with  WiMax support available later on in the year.

Built-in WWAN is an option with theX200 and the great thing is you can add this option at a later date if you wish.   Lenovo is building the X200 WWAN ready, so the antenna is built into the lid .  Once the urge or need arises to put in a WWAN card, you just order part it requires, All you need to do is sign up with your provider of choice and pop in the Mini PCI card, and you’re all set!

If you’re going to use the X200 with a Phone or PDA the your also going to want to configure your new ThinkPad with the BlueTooth option with the X200 and you also have the option of  built-in GPS.

Expansion Options

Like previous  X Series, and indeed going back to the ThinkPad 500 classic Ultraportable’s, the X200 comes with an optional but completely essential UltraBase.  Drop the  X200 into its UltraBase and you now have Stereo Speakers,  UltraBay Slim (SATA), 4 USB 2.0 ports, VGA, DisplayPort, Microphone in, Headphone out, RJ-45 Ethernet, Cable lock slot, Key lock slot, 2nd battery charger.  You then turn your X200 into a media center!

The Green Machine

The ThinkPad X200 is the first PC to be certified by GreenGuard, it meets a Silver EPEAT rating and is Energy Star 4.0 compliant  and Lenovo says that the X200 achieves a 25% lower power consumption than any previous ThinkPad.

Conclusion (We want one!)

Without doubt the ThinkPad X200 is a superb ultraportable and a great notebook in its own right. It’s a more than very worthy successor to the ThinkPad X61 and is going to please its legion of fans.  The remarkable battery life,  cool and quiet running and outstanding performance are exceptional.  Combine this with the remarkable build quality and the engineering finesse that has gone into the X200 will be a hard act to follow for manufacturer who fancied taking the ultraportable crown from the X Series.

Combine that with the great pricing, the expansion capabilities of the UltraBase when you get back home or to the office and the X200 has to be the pinnacle of mobile computer engineering for the traveling professional.

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Dimensions (with 4-cell battery) – Width: 11.6 inches, Depth: – 8.3 inches, Thickness: – 0.8 – 1.4″

Weight – 4-cell battery starting at 1.34 kg-2.95 lbs, 6-cell battery starting at 1.47 kg-3.24 lbs, 9-cell battery starting at 1.63 kg-3.58 lbs

Operating System, Windows Vista Business

Additional Options Web-cam, fingerprint reader, 56Kbps modem, 5-in-1 card reader