Law Technology

Thinkpad X100e ? Fifth Netbook a Charm?

By Ross

Yes, you’re not imagining it, I’m posting again. It’s been way too long – we’ve been so incredibly busy at MicroLaw, that there’s barely been a moment to breath. But, with that said (he says, taking a deep breath), let’s talk netbooks again.

If you’ve followed Ross Ipsa Loquitur for awhile, you’ve seen my regular posts about netbooks and my saga spread across four different products: an original 7″ Linux-powered Asus EEE, an Asus EEE 1000H, a Lenovo S10, a Samsung NC20 and now the latest in the line, a Lenovo Thinkpad X100e Elite Series model.

So going through netbooks as if they were Schick Quattro Pro blades isn’t a matter of bragging, or for that matter, a sign of serious AD/HD issues. Rather, it’s my job to try all sorts of products so I can learn about them in the only way that really provides the insights needed to later make responsible and informed recommendations to our clients – I actually work using them.

With that said, the latest netbook acquisition is an entirely different experiment. I’ve actually retired my faithful and trusty full-size 15″ Thinkpad T series laptop and REPLACED it with Lenovo’s Thinkpad X100e. Yes, I’m going to use a netbook as my full-time system. Before you write this off as a completely crackpot idea, hear me out – this is NOT just any netbook.

I decided to do this for several reasons. First, lugging around the larger Thinkpad with all the other gadgets and mobile gizmos in my laptop bag was killing me – literally trashing my shoulder and back. Many of you know how much I travel and this got really old, really quickly.

Second, the Thinkpad X100e was the first Thinkpad series netbook available. I’ve long been partial to Thinkpads based on my personal experience with them as rock-solid workhorses. The X100e is also one of the first netbooks to have enough horsepower to accommodate my full-time computing needs, with a low-power dual core processor – the AMD Turion Neo X2 Dual-Core L625 (quite a mouthful). My system also has a 320 Gb drive, 4 Gb RAM and most important, a wide-mode 11.6″ display and accordingly, a wider than normal keyboard with “chicklet” styles keys, much like those on my Macbook Pro 13″ system. But for me, the clincher – the piece de la resistance (sorry, can’t easily insert the proper French accent marks at the moment – a major frustration for a former French minor :-)), is the presence of the little red Trackpoint – known my most as a “pointing stick.” I’ve been addicted to these little eraserhead pointing devices for more than a decade.

Tipping the scale at about 3.5 lbs, the X100e feels utterly svelte compared to my Darth Vader-ish T series Thinkpad. Replete with Windows 7 Professional 32 and running all my usual apps: multiple browsers, Acrobat Pro 9 Extended, MS Office 2007 and 2010, Corel WordPerfect X5, Tabs 3, PracticeMaster, Worldox and a plethora of utilities and other apps in various stages of being tested, the machine seems actually zippier than the T series machine (Intel T9600 dual-core CPU and 4 G RAM under Windows XP Pro).

What it doesn’t have doesn’t matter to me and wouldn’t matter to most. As with all netbooks, there is no built-in optical drive. But in an era where most software is loaded from a download, does this matter? If I “need” to watch a film, I’ll do it streamed from iTunes, not from a DVD (which is just so 2008!). I have a slimline $50 portable USB DVD-writer to bring with me if I need it (which is a very rare occurrence. So a non-issue.

It also doesn’t work with Thinkpad docking devices. But since I’m working from the road most of the time, I really don’t care. I could always connect it to my multiple monitor setup with any of the available universal USB port replicators (such as the Targus USB 2.0 Replicator with Video which includes, atypically and conveniently, a VGA port).

Initial impressions of the general “feel” of the X100e are very positive. The 11.6″ screen is vivid and bright. The tactile feel and response of the keyboard are terrific. While different than traditional full-depth laptop keys, the X100e’s chicklet style keys are just as comfortable, positive in action and precise in terms of fingering as my Macbook is (which is saying a lot – the Macbook has a great keyboard).

General system responsiveness is crips and perceptibly swift – at least as quick as my “full-size” T series Thinkpad is/was. I typically have 5-7 “big apps” running along with a number of loaded utilities – a fair amount of system stress. So far, as a very picky user sensitive to variations in system and slight responsiveness differences between systems, the X100e feels, in every respect, like a full-size notebook performance-wise. Even Hulu TV shows stream cleanly as do MLB.TV games (when MLB.TV cooperates, that is, which is not always something to be counted upon).

Time will tell, but so far this experiment – the idea of a power user using a well-equipped netbook as a full-time ultra-portable workstation – is an initial success. More down the road . . . but the early rap on the Thinkpad X100e is that is, in every respect, a real Thinkpad, not just a pretender in name only. And that’s the highest praise I could ever bestow on a portable system.

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Full post as published by Ross Ipsa Loquitur on October 20, 2010 (boomark / email).