I custom-ordered from the Lenovo/Thinkpad site. My configuration:Thinkpad X230 Tablet
+ Core i7 2.90 GHz Ivy Bridge processor
+ 8 GM RAM
+ 128 GB Solid-State Drive
+ 1366x768 Matte Multi-Touch Screen with Active Stylus
+ 9-cell extended battery (sticks out the back and adds a bulge at the bottom; the 6-cell battery just sticks out the back)
+ Windows 7 Pro
+ Ultra-Base 3 with DVD/RW optical drive
No discrete graphics card option
I've been a long-time Thinkpad fan--including 600E (late 1990s), R40 (early 2000s), T42 (mid 2000s), T420 (late 2000s)--for the rock-solid dependability, non-nonsense styling, and in particular the king-of-them-all keyboard. I mistakely tried a Dell Latitude E6400 for a couple of years, and I truly hated it, despite its own pointer stick and solid construction. When I decided to get this X230 Tablet, the only thing I was worried about was how the new keyboard was going to feel. Well, have no fear. I am a big fan of the new keyboard. It's got deep travel, its motion is the perfect blend between smooth travel and pleasing resistance, and the contoured surface actually feels comforable. This new keyboard is a winner. Other than that, there really isn't anything that needs to be said about this machine that the prospective buyer wouldn't already know. I loaded it up to the gills with the fastest and best of everything, except a 3G cellular card--totalled over $3000 MSRP before a the Ultrabase 3 and extra power adapters. On paper, the only thing the X230T lacks is discrete graphics, but the Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics that comes with the Ivy Bridge chipset is good enough for my occasional Engineering analysis and 3D modeling work--just make sure to get a least 8 GB RAM to share with the inegrated graphics. Plus, the Ultrabase 3 is able to support dual monitors via its dual VGA+DisplayPort ports. Just one final tip--get the Multitouch screen; you'll be ready for Windows 8 Pro when it's released.
2012-11-24 UPDATE: I installed Windows 8 Pro upgrade on this computer the week Windows 8 was released. On the first boot-up, everything worked. I the installed all the Lenovo-provided Windows 8 drivers for this machine, and everything continued to work fine. Windows 8 works very well on this machine, as if it was designed for it.
(1) Good
(2) Really BAD
That's it in a nutshell. Interested in details? Read on.
To be fair, I should be clear that the Amazon Seller, "GW Store" made available to me every option they could offer in helping me deal with the problems. They sell a Lenovo X230 Tablet that is well spec'd and was just what I needed for an extended trip abroad. That was the "Good". It was a "3434-CTO" unit and came with just a 1 year depot warranty.
Lenovo? The feature set looked to be exactly what was necessary for my needs. When the unit arrived, however, it died just a few hours out of the box. I contacted Lenovo support, and we agreed it was a dead main board. I contacted GW Store about a replacement. and they were out of stock and could not say they would have a new shipment in time to meet my fast approaching departure date. So, I sent it to Lenovo for warranty repair. I had about 3 weeks and surely it would be OK.
After a few days I checked the status online and found that it was on "Hold" for parts. Lenovo Memphis TN warranty facility did not have a main board? Wow. They must have been using a lot of them. I know the drill, so I called to escalate this to a manager. After a week, the board evidently came in, but then the online status screen indicated another "Hold". I quickly contacted the manager and learned it was on hold now for a cable! I explained my time constraints again and he told me that he had found 50 cables available but Memphis had been waiting on a cable to come through as usual.
Altogether, the unit was at Memphis for more than two weeks.
When it arrived, I began to set it up and quickly discovered that the ONLY working feature of the upper (display) assembly was the LCD and backlight. No touch, no speakers, no LED indicators (both front and back) no power-on button in tablet mode etc... Nada.
At that point, I checked GW Store and they had received a shipment. I ordered a replacement overnighted and sent the first unit back. In wrapping this up with GW Store, I learned that their tech was finding Lenovo uncooperative as well.
I am now traveling, and it has been 10 days with the second unit. So far, so good. If a new device works this long, it's probably OK. 90 days from now if it's still good I will feel better.
Buy Lenovo ThinkPad X230 Convertible Tablet (X230T, newer model of X220T) (Premium) Now
it is a good product in thinkpad series, the only drawback is lack of bluetooth. In a word, it is the high-end product in X series of thinkpad.Bottom line, if you want to develop phone / tablet apps, this is a great computer for it.Specs were for programming Visual Studio 2012 and Eclipse Juno (and occasionally Force.com IDE / Salesforce.com and WordPress). I also occasionally use Adobe CS suite and Microsoft SQL Server for developers 2012 as well as The VS tools and Office 2013...
Intel i7 CPU @ 2.90
16 GB ram
Windows 8 64 bit (upgraded from Windows 7)
Hard Disk: 500 gig no SSD
Docking station
Why Selected:
I selected it because it seemed the best/ easiest way to write mobile apps and easily debug in using the virtual hardware, touch screen and it is GREAT for this.
What's Wrong:
Firstthe computer was incomplete out of the box, Wi-Fi did not work and camera did not work. Two visits from support and this was fixed. I have come to expect this from many vendors, not just computer vendors. So no stars taken. Initially talking with Lenovo, support was REALLY BAD. I expected "Business Customer" support not "Consumer Level"
Summary:
As a software development machine, it's perfect, fast, and easy to test touch screen capabilities of virtual phones. With the docking station I can attach 6 phones and tablets for easy testing and debugging.
I don't use the touchpad, I had significant problems with my laser mouse, but found the right driver (system could not determine the correct driver) and solved the problem.
The tools with Lenovo to maintain updates is very easy to use and I appreciate it, I had to download all the Windows 8 updates, took a long time (why no single package I don't know), most functionality is supported in Windows 8, I had low expectations, so was pleasantly surprised. The utilities of Lenovo are really nice, I don't worry about maintaining my environment.
What I miss:
I wish it had a great on board video card (I knew it did not) because I would like to drive multiple IPS 27 inch monitors and play the occasional leading edge computer game. Games, I have another machine, multiple 27 inch monitors, there is no work around.
Want Lenovo ThinkPad X230 Convertible Tablet (X230T, newer model of X220T) (Premium) Discount?
Esse notebook é muito bom, mas não compre se quiser ter um tablet pra levar para cima e pra baixo, pois ele é pesado e esquenta muito. Deve-se ter cuidado com a tela que parece ser bem frágil no encaixe que é apenas no meio, o que as vezes faz a tela ficar meio bamba a qualquer toque na lateral da tela. O touch é muito bom, preciso e nem uso a caneta. Com o windows 8 ele ficou perfeito, a inicialização é muito rápida, poucos segundos. No mais, gosto dos Lenovo pela qualidade dos materiais e esse não é diferente. Só faltou um HDMI nessa joça. O custo benefício é muito real se comprado no exterior, no Brasil esse notebook sairá lá pelos seis mil reais, um absurdo. Nem valeria esse valor se já viesse com a base. Aqui está bem barato pelos benefícios.Save 26% Off
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