Choosing X61 tablet or the Motion LE1600?

July 6, 2009 8:18 AM

Help me choose a slate/convertible tablet: Thinkpad X61 or the Motion LE1600?

I have posted before about going to graduate school and wanting a PDF reader / note taking machine. I can't resist going with a tablet. I've narrowed it down to the Lenovo X61 or the Motion LE1600. I love my T60 Thinkpad at work and like the X61 over the X200 because I prefer the 4:3 monitor for word processing and can get a better price through ebay. People rave about the Motion LE1600 and the convertible keyboard seems pretty functional (and it has the pointing stick that I like). Which device will make me happier and why? I will have a desktop computer at my office so this will be my backpack, classroom, coffeeshop computer. Tips about specs, including which monitor to get for the X61, are appreciated.

Related question-- XP tablet edition or Vista? Thanks!

posted by tonci to technology (11 comments total)

I use a Lenovo X61 frequently and can say that it is really a horrible piece of shit.

It's not that it isn't built well (it is) it's just that Lenovo loads these things down with literally dozens of resource sapping applications. Boot-up time, out of the box, is about five minutes, then there are multiple nag screens trying to get you to register your finger print or sign up for this or that.

Horrible, horrible machine.
posted by wfrgms at 8:41 AM on July 6

I have a ThinkPad X61 (not the tablet version) and it is a great machine—provided that you are willing to nuke the preinstalled software from orbit on arrival. Otherwise, your experience will be that of wfrgms's.
posted by grouse at 8:43 AM on July 6

Ms. Zamboni's X61 tablet was greatly improved by a clean reinstall, though hunting down all the drivers was a bit of a hassle. (Caveat - it's recently had issues with the stylus.)
posted by zamboni at 9:08 AM on July 6

My X61 Tablet with Vista has been running just fine without any extensive changes to the factory software install. (The other responses in this thread have put in the back of my mind to clean it up when I get a chance, though.)

It does take a little while to reboot, but then I almost never reboot it, just put it to sleep.
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 9:22 AM on July 6

Dell tablet. Wonky & slow. Do not recommend.
posted by theora55 at 9:28 AM on July 6

X61 tablet. Can't nth the well-built, mine's falling apart after two years - the pen broke in half, the screen frame on the inner side is crumbling and cracked. Never had any other tablet, so no idea how well they stand up.
posted by themel at 9:36 AM on July 6

i can recommend the 2710p / 2730(newer version) as i personally use it everyday.
posted by radsqd at 9:58 AM on July 6

I have a Thinkpad X61 and one of Motion's LS800s (earlier model in the Motion family, but similar in many ways to the 1600). So I'll compare and contrast as best I can for you:

- echoing others, the X61 needs a good clean up to be usable software-wise. It does feel a bit flimsy. I upgraded the memory and replaced the HDD with a good Intel solid state drive, and ended up with a decent performing and quiet system that lasts 6-7 hours on battery power -- which I barely use because I HATE the way the tablet feels when sketching (everything feels a bit spongy and flexy). I'm seriously considering cutting my losses, putting the old drive back in, and offloading it to someone who just wants a notebook with long battery life. If I keep it I'll try Win 7 on it eventually, but no way would I try Vista on it... not enough power, and the system not working well with 64 bit yet is a bit offputting.

- The LS800, on the other hand, feels fantastic to draw on because of the solid construction, and the LE1600 is built the same way. The 800x600 screen is a absolutely killer for surfing/reading use, but that's not an issue on the LE1600. Motion's software clean up isn't nearly as bad as most, but the battery life is abysmal -- I finally gave up carrying the LS800 when I found myself carrying 3-4 batteries at a time, and swapping every 90-120 minutes (a mix of low and high capacity batteries). Again, no way I'd put Vista on it, and I doubt the LE1600 would handle that any better. Win 7, maybe. I don't use it anymore, but can't bring myself to get rid of it because nothing else I've tried is any better. I've been tempted by an LE1600 purely because I keep getting Gainsaver spam about refurbished LE1600s for ~$350, but I can't imagine the battery life's any better.

To be totally honest, I'm pretty pessimistic about tablets at this point, because I'm up to my sixth attempt to find a workable one, all failures. Dell's tx2500 (spongy, feels shoddy, horrid battery life, extreme heat issues), Gateway's cx2610 (heat, battery life, freaking huge/heavy), and Fujitsu's u810 (hopelessly underpowered) and 820 (passive resistant screen, which I somehow never realized was a dealbreaker for me until now -- I hold a pen too close to the tip and constantly screw up everything by touching the screen with my knuckle) have all found themselves relegated to things other than what I bought them for.

My hope-springs-eternal eye is focused on Fujitsu's higher end tablets now, but in all honesty, it doesn't seem like any of the manufacturers "get" tablets at all. They're all either notebooks with tablet thrown in as a poor afterthought, or tablets that were made for little more than simple note-taking. Since you want the latter, stick with those.
posted by Pufferish at 10:45 AM on July 6 [1 favorite]

The Asus Eee PC T91 is supposed to be available soon.
posted by exogenous at 11:11 AM on July 6

The Asus Eee PC T91 is supposed to be available soon.

Ooooooo.... shiny!
posted by LarryC at 7:04 PM on July 6

I have the x16 tablet. I installed Ubuntu on it before ever booting it up into Windows, so I can't comment on the software. But I have to say, the hardware side has not impressed me much. I've used it for about a year (admittedly in a fairly heavy-duty way) and

- the screen catch has broken
- the screen hinge is wobbly
- there's a dodgy connection between the screen and body - the monitor often blacks out when adjusting the angle of the screen
- the stylus is stuck inside its slot
- one of the keys has come unstuck


So, anecdotally, I might be tempted to steer clear of this model if it's going to be an everyday computer for you.
posted by primer_dimer at 4:01 AM on July 7