Review:

Lenovo Thinkpad X41 Tablet-

It just keeps getting better!

Review: Lenovo Thinkpad X41 Tablet -

It just keeps getting better!

After feeling the market stagnate in the Tablet PC arena, I realize that Tablet PC growth is going to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary. I also realize that paper isn't really going to disappear as it's cheap, plentiful, and quite flexible (no pun intended).

Having said that, after using my Acer for 2 years (and trying out Compaq's, and Toshibas, and Macs), it was a breath of fresh air to review something, well, a little better. I was half expecting to review an Apple tablet, but Lenovo beat them to the market!

The Lenovo Thinkpad X41 Tablet mark's this brand's first entry into the convertible market, and overall I must say, it's an impressive effort. For those of you that have used Thinkpads, this will feel and look much the same (which is a good thing). For those of you that don't- you'll love it. I still believe that for most people, convertible laptops are the way to go, and worth the couple of hundred dollars extra.

So where to begin? The biggest innovation is the fingerprint recognition. This is a bi-directional sensor at the bottom right of the screen. I set this up the first time I've used the PC, and have been using it since! The fingerprinting recognition sometimes doesn't quite get it right, but overall (after a few swipes) it's effective.

The second thing that strikes me, is the quality of the 12" screen. Much brighter and clearer than the 10" Acer, and 12" is a much better size (in my opinion the right size) for tablet pc applications. The screen and pen are comfortable to use, and quite accurate.

From a spec perspective, my Thinkpad X41 Tablet came with a 1.5 Ghz Pentium M processor, 512 of RAM a 40GB hard drive, and wireless G and Bluetooth. My unit came with an extended battery which lasts me approximately 5-6 hours which is perfect, since I'm currently flying 8 hours a week. On the down side, the unit does not have a built-in DVD drive, and the extended battery makes the tablet square shaped, which makes it a bit tough to fit into my shoulder bag. I'd like to see more storage (say 80 gigs- like my Apple PowerBook) on this devise, since with the good battery life, I like to load it with media for entertainment for my weekly travels.

The PC is loaded with IBM software (including "Access IBM", hard drive recovery, and other utilities) and trial versions of Alias Sketchbook and Franklin Covey Planplus I found that once I've installed word and activated Norton Antivirus, the tablet takes a while for boot-up/login. While this software is useful to most, I preferred to remove some if it to get performance back up again.

Although I love the keyboard, there is no windows key (which means limited keyboard shortcuts), and I also can't seem to get the keyboard light to work. Other minor annoyances: When using the Tablet in slate mode (with battery on right hand) the headset plugs are on the "bottom" of the tablet, which makes it a bit tricky to support the bottom of the PC if you want to prop it (say to watch a movie on a plane) .  When in laptop mode, the on board speakers are underneath the computer which means that if you using it on anything but a desk, the sound is muffled.

Bottom line: I think this is one of the best Tablet PCs on the market today. It would be perfect if it had a built in DVD player! I can't tell you how much attention tablets still get; on almost every flight I've used it on, someone wants a demo (I think I may have sold 2 units in the last month alone!).  I will surely miss this tablet when I send it back.

For additional information, please visit the Lenovo Web site.

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