Touch the Future Now at Staples
- Average user rating:
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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20 out of 20 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Get Some Perspective, People!"
Pros: It does exactly what it's supposed to do.
Cons: Poor marketing effort, apparently, since only a few people seem to know what the X41 Table is supposed to do.
Summary: I've been a CNet fan for years, using their reviews and especially user reviews/comments to make buying decisions for myself and for customer recommendations. However, this recent trend of people with no in-hand product and no concept of the PURPOSE for a product are driving user rating averages down, and as far as I can tell CNet isn't (yet?) weighing the ratings based on the supplied usefulness rating.
Specifically regarding the X41, most negative comments I've read have either had to do with lack of product availability or with perceived shortcomings of the product. So, let me make a few comments of my own as someone who has sold a number of X41 Tablets and would like to get one himself for work use:
* Product availability is fine, at least in Ontario. Has been for a while now, and the US tends to get products before we do so perhaps you're just dealing with bad resellers who aren't familiar with the concept of a ship complete. If you're dealing directly with IBM/Lenovo, they have a different product channel than the channel partners do - try a local reseller next time who you can go yell at in person.
* My condolences to the person who had QC issues with his X41 Tablet, but get a grip. No product line will ever ship out with 0% defects, ever, and from what I can tell neither the motherboard nor hard drive replacements solved your problem, so they weren't likely related to the root cause - yet you're blaming Lenovo for replacing them for you. Perhaps you did get a dud, but it happens, get over it. It's a computer, not a parachute. Nothing's worth a 1 unless all you get is an empty box, maybe with a few random pieces of styrofoam.
* To the guy who (it appears) docked marks from the X41 Tablet because it's an "IBM" and because "IBM" still has "hard drive issues" - I'm not sure when the IBM name on a portable PC became a negative, but you're welcome to your opinion. However, IBM sold their hard drive manufacturing business to Hitachi a while back - and it's been years since I've heard of any verifiable widespread issues with IBM-branded drives, and never the Travelstar drives specifically. What's the point of that comment in relation to the X41 Tablet?
* To those commenting on the hardware shortcomings, specifically the "slow" CPU (ultra low voltage, improved battery life and reduced heat), the lack of an integrated optical drive bay (lower weight, improved battery life), XGA display (?! You'd want SXGA on a 12.1" screen? I have 10/15 corrected vision (30/35 without) and I'm thinking *XGA* might be optimistic), average video chipset (Radeon 7500, I believe, a good business-class choice for a 100% business-class product, reduced cost, increased battery life), etc. My point: the part selections and design decisions IBM/Lenovo made for the X41 Tablet "Just Make Sense" (tm). A 5400RPM hard drive would be an improvement, though, I'll give you that.
Why do I want one? I'm a mobile sales rep who currently spends a lot of time sitting in meetings and taking hand-written notes on paper... I want the X41 Tablet to simplify note-taking and for occasional computer tasks. I have a PC in the office that'll be used for heavier-duty tasks (although it's specced lower than the X41 Tablet, so maybe I *will* use the Tablet for everything work-related). This is one of the few actual real-world uses for a tablet PC - I figure less than 2% of my customer base would be able to make use of a tablet, they definitely aren't for everyone.
The only issue I've heard of personally with the X41 Tablet is that if you take it out of its (optional) protective sleeve and accidently drop it onto a concrete floor from a table it can, well, break. So buy the protective sleeve, try not to drop it, and if you're really worried about it buy the Thinkpad Protection warranty that covers breakage.
Why am I only rating it an 8? Someone (perhaps Lenovo, perhaps someone else) will come out with a better tablet PC - faster, more memory, etc. I'm not docking 2 points for flaws, I'm leaving 2 points free for future enhancements.
Disclaimer: I work for an IBM reseller partner, but we also sell HP, Toshiba and Acer so I don't believe I'm particularly biased in this situation. My personal (and official sales) opinion is that the X41 Tablet is the only good tablet PC on the market at the moment, period. Putting a swivel touch screen on a 15" or 17" notebook makes it an oddity, not a tablet.Updated
I just noticed a couple of errors in my original comments - some models come with ULV CPUs, some just Low Voltage. Also, the graphics chipset is Intel integrated, not a Radeon 7500.
- 3 replies to this review
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I am a lawyer. I need tablet functionality for notetaking but also love to have a large screen (currently have the LG LM50 15" with great screen but no tablet functionality). would you go for the X41 (great weight/portability) or alternatively one of the nw 14" tablets - great screen space but very heavy?
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I understand that you are contemplating having your own X41 tablet. I was wondering if you have actually taken one out for a test drive per se. And if so, what do you know about the ease of recognition of written material? I am wodering specifically about hand written entries into a preset template in word can then be recognized and so the entire document in then "typed." Does anyone know the answer to this?
Another question I have is - why not wait a year - seems that there are quite the plans for improvement in the tablet pc arena for various software programs.
Thanks in adavance for any insight that may be out there. -
I've been a user of computers for 25 years. I've owned Dell, Compaq, HP, IBM, Gateway, and Zeos, and this is the single worst experience I've ever had with a product. Consumers expect the overall buying experience to be a good one. Consumers have a right to expect that products will be delivered as promised; that they will be told the truth; that manufacturers won't start counting warranties from ship dates, but from received dates; that manufacturers will answer emails; that consumers won't be placed on hold for hours; that products will perform as advertised; that motherboards and hard drives won't fail within a month of receipt. These are the things that consumers expect and deserve. In 25 years of computing, I've had issues with other products, but every manufacturer, until Levono, was responsive and resolved the problems quickly and fairly. After some tweaking, the performance of my tablet improved after the new motherboard and hard drive were replaced, but guess what? IMB apparently forgot to connect my microphone and bluetooth radio to the motherboard and, once again, my unit is being returned for more repairs. I have better things to do than spend my time, for which my clients pay me, on the phone with Levono and IBM, making arrangements for the return of my unit for multiple repairs, reconfiguring my software, and generally experiencing more frustration in two months than in 25 years of computing. The purpose of my post was to share my wholly unsatisfactory experience with Levono and, later, IBM's service department. I gave the unit a "1" because that is my true feeling about a product with which I have had so much difficulty. Perhaps if Levono had any concern about its reputation, it would have replaced my unit and my overall score would be higher. If this is the "best" tablet PC on the market, then perhaps consumers should wait until some manufacturer gets it right. I only know that if I had to do it all over again, either I would not have purchased a Levono tablet, or I would not have purchased a tablet at all.
