Feedback wanted: does anyone own the Thinkpad X61?

[Travel Guru]

Im looking at possiblities for a new laptop to travel with, does anyone out there own an IBM Thinkpad X61 that could give me some feedback on it?

Thanks in Advance

TG

[Evan]

Yep, good honest machine, good battery life with the large battery packs.
Well built.

Only one issue... I prefer a higher resolution screen at 12.1" more than 1024x768 like 1200x800.

Also terrible Lunix support, HP is much better for that.

E

[Travel Guru]

Originally Posted by Evan

Yep, good honest machine, good battery life with the large battery packs.
Well built.

Only one issue... I prefer a higher resolution screen at 12.1" more than 1024x768 like 1200x800.

Also terrible Lunix support, HP is much better for that.

E

Thanks Evan,

I appreciate your time and feedback

TG

[stuartfaz]

If you're looking for something specifically for travel (ie. you already have a good powerful PC and the laptop's purely for convenience) then I've heard good things about the Asus Eee sub-notebook. It runs off Linux Xandros and retails at under 500 bucks. There's not a lot of space on the hard drive and performance isn't what you'd get on a larger machine, but for the price it is excellent value.

ASUS Eee PC - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Mal]

There was another thread here about 3 months ago about travel laptops. You should be able to find it with a quick search, and it does contain some good information.

My main issue with the travel sized Lenovo's (Thinkpads) is that there is normally no integrated CD-Rom/DVD drive, and to get that functionality you need to add a special tray which will increase weight, size and bulkiness. I don't believe this has changed recently.

I tend to get very good prices on these types of laptops courtesy of some contacts I know, but the web prices at Lenovo - Notebook computers - Australia don't look too bad and free shipping is included. (Note the sale ends in about 2 weeks). Of course you should compare with other online stores/physical stores - although, not that many physical stores sell Lenovo laptops. Dealer Locator for Lenovo Asia Pacific is your best way to find a local physical store.

[moa999]

lot of ibm users running linux though:
ThinkWiki

got ubuntu running perfectly on a t23

[Evan]

Originally Posted by aubs

lot of ibm users running linux though:
ThinkWiki

got ubuntu running perfectly on a t23

Not saying it can't be done, simply that the support is not as good as HP that certify usually atleats 1 or sometimes 2 different distro's on there notebooks (sure its commecial like redhat or novell but thats still a good start)
I have Linux running on IBM as well, was only a general comment.

Mal makes a good point, i hardly ever use a CD/DVD drive so not such an issue, also work only uses the X series now for travel notebooks. (used to be also NC series like NC4000/4200 but not the NC2400 now)

HP do have the built in drives and also for sure 3 year warranty. IBM/Lenovo as well on our work agreement but not sure if its still standard with Lenovo.

E

[SeaWolf]

One of the key things that's missing here is, what do you want to use it for? General office stuff (web, word processing), watching movies on flights, playing online games? It's important to think about these things before you decided if the X61 is the right laptop for you.

[Travel Guru]

Originally Posted by SeaWolf

One of the key things that's missing here is, what do you want to use it for? General office stuff (web, word processing), watching movies on flights, playing online games? It's important to think about these things before you decided if the X61 is the right laptop for you.

Thanks for that seawolf...what i mainly want it for is for portability as I travel alot, but want something user friendly etc.
I looked at the Sonys for size, but as a machine they dont rate too well.

From all accounts the X61 is a good machine for portability and function.

TG

[Travel Guru]

So I received my X61 last week...love it; comparing my current Toshiba is like comparing a ford with a ferrari; well built machine and easy to use.

Instead of the docking station, ive bought a usb run ultraslim external dvd/cd burner which I feel is a much better fit for me.

Thanks again for your advice guys, much appreciated.

TG