Fujitsu Lifebook T4210

There are only a handful of systems that are quality when it comes to convertible tablets. With its combination of portable frame, built in optical drive and dual-processor, the Fujitsu LifeBook T4210 ($ 2349 direct) passes with flying colors. This is the kind of system that makes sense to have in your daily life, if you pick up the pen scanner to draw on the screen or the screen turning around to tap the full-size keyboard.

Weighing a mere 4.7 pounds, the T4210 was small and light enough for me to wear all day on my commute, unlike the bridge M285-E, whose 14-inch display was too big for the ear around of the city. The T4210 has 12-inch screen what Fujitsu calls an "outside". It looks a little grainy when you're indoors, but on a bright day, you can see the screen image and get some work done outdoors.

The pen, conveniently located at a site adjacent to the screen, has a smooth feel that the one found on the Mobile Toshiba M400-S4032, and it handles like a ballpoint pen. I tested the pen and tablet screen applications written with two-beta software EverNote, a little careful note-taking utility, and Microsoft OneNote 2003. The software EverNote immediately recognized each move, and pen on paper is certainly a sense perceptible. I found that the use of the pen in OneNote is even more enjoyable, especially when drawing and annotation diagrams.

A disadvantage of the T4210 is the absence of a FireWire port for video capture. It has three USB ports located in the periphery of the machine and a double-layer DVD. The convertible tablet also has a 3-in-1 card reader (SD, MS, MS Pro). For security reasons, Fujitsu added a fingerprint reader, Trusted Platform Module (TPM), and a smart-card slots.

The T4210 also runs hot. That is because he wears a 2-GHz Intel Core Duo T2500 processor (a step faster than the 1.83-GHz CPU T2400 available on the M400-S4032) and 1 GB of RAM. Although this means faster performance, power elements, but also the higher temperature of the system. This laptop emits a considerable amount of heat below, which can get pretty boring after a while. Battery life suffers too. The T4210 battery took only 2 hours 50 minutes to run down while playing a DVD-Video big step for air transport. Also, the limits of its integrated graphics card to make a choice unattractive to perform 3D graphics-intensive applications. To do so, I recommend the Gateway M285-E with discrete nVidia graphics.

The Fujitsu LifeBook T4210 is not cheap. It costs at least $ 150 more than the M400-S4032, which comes with a built in EV-DO cellular modem and runs a lot cooler (though it has condensed keyboard). Yet, overall, the T4210 is a convertible tablet elite. It is certainly worth a second look for those who want a quick, go-anywhere tablet that can make things a typical notebook can do and then some.

Lenovo ThinkPad X60s

Stay connected and curbs on competition are essential for business travellers, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X60s ($ 2299 direct) can help you do both. The latest ultra ThinkPad is an update to the ThinkPad X41, maintaining an ultralight weight and integrating Verizon EV-DO. And as it has a battery life of over 7 hours, no trip is too far for the X60s.

The X60s is a pleasure to carry, weighing a mere 3.5 pounds. Even if it is only about five ounces heavier than the X41, X60s comes standard with extending battery life, which is included in our test price. The weight gain is negligible considering the battery life incredible that you can get. (The battery has a new design, so it is not compatible with the old ThinkPad X40 and X41).

As I mentioned earlier about times before 1000, ThinkPad keyboards have the best of any notebook, and the X60s is no different. I also adore the TrackPoint pointing device, which is the only option you have on this system. (Touchpad addicts should consult the Sony ultra SZ170P.) X60s of 12.1-inch screen is good enough for most passengers, but as a writer, I prefer a larger screen. The SZ170P has a wider (13.3 inches) wide (and a built-in optical drive, for that matter) and its system weight is only 3.8 pounds.

The protruding antenna found on the side of the X60s is for the integrated EV-DO radio. EV-DO is a way to get broadband wireless speeds as using a cellular phone signal. It covers more areas than Wi-Fi, and it beats paying for hotel broadband. But the technology is still a little too expensive for my tastes, ranging from $ 59.99 per month with a service contract of $ 79.99 without one.

Although roaming Manhattan, I always received download speeds of over 750 Kbps. I was able to gain access to my e-mail, surf the Web, and even download video clips nonfrustrating rates. Adding to my pleasure was Lenovo wireless client, Access Connections. With him, I was able to create profiles for EV-DO and for three of my Wi-Fi connections and a wired LAN. With a button, I could easily spend a profile or simply turned off all wireless radios when I needed, for example at the entrance on a plan.

In addition to Access Connections, you get a multitude of other utilities with the press of the button ThinkVantage. You can choose to back up your hard drive or restore it to factory defaults if you become a victim of spyware. The maintenance utility runs disk cleaning, virus scan, and disk backups when you're away from your computer. Enabling Whisper mode allows you to control how much of your system resources are used by each application. It is effective for preventing background-running programs such as virus scans or you slow down.

The X60s has a fingerprint reader, who works in collaboration with the Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Lenovo has added an additional USB port (for a total of three), and the system has a FireWire port and an SD memory card slot. It also comes with the Ultrabase docking unit, which incorporates an optical drive and in many other ports of connectivity, but the process of docking the X60s was more difficult than I had imagined. I had to press the notebook relatively difficult for connectors break in. It took several tries to dock successfully.

A better solution, as far as I'm concerned, that the system would be to have an integrated optical drive. The Sony SZ170P integrates a dual-layer DVD + R, and manages to stay under four pounds-if you do sacrifice battery life for this luxury. If you're like me and take shorter trips or use the laptop mostly during the shuttle is good. But for some, longer battery life assets almost anything Constitution. The X60s, which uses a low voltage Intel Core Duo processor, the 1.66-GHz L2400, is designed for longer battery life so that the processing power. You can configure the unit with the most powerful processors such as the Core Duo T2400, which is in the SZ170P, but you run the risk that the palm rests and the base will be uncomfortably hot. Even with the stock L2400 processor, I noticed that the X60s was warmer than the SZ170p, but it does set a better job of keeping the palm rests and the base fee. On the other hand, the X60s gives good results but can not keep up with the SZ170P on our Internet content creation and Office productivity tests. For those who do not have much outside Web surfing and editing of Microsoft Office documents, however, the X60s has more than enough processing power; whole, it beats its predecessor, the X41 by 59 per cent on our performance tests. If you worry about the compatibility with the Vista line, upgrade to 1 GB of RAM.

If you're looking for an ultra, you have a difficult decision. The Sony SZ170P is a very convincing, but with its short battery life and slightly larger footprint, it is better suited for daily commuters than for frequent travellers. The ThinkPad X60s is our Editors' Choice, a perfect companion for those who spend most of their time traveling.

See how the Lenovo ThinkPad X60s measures up to similar systems in our side-by-side laptop comparison chart.

Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet

Rumors ran rampant when it comes to guess who would later seller to plunge his fingers in lukewarm water of the tablet market. Some said Apple, others Dell. It turns out that Lenovo / IBM to beat. The new ThinkPad X41 Tablet ($ 1899 direct) is the lightest convertible on the market and is perfectly placed to help bring tablets into the mainstream. For these reasons and others, is our new Editors' Choice, hands down, for convertible tablets.

The beauty of the X41 Tablet is that it continues to IBM longstanding and well-earned reputation for quality craftsmanship and engineering. The X41 Tablet is presented as the ThinkPad X Series ultra formidable systems and repeated Editors' Choice winners, and its price is comparable. The only difference here is that the screen swivels.

The X41 Tablet 12-inch screen is anchored by a quad-metal alloy hinge, strong enough to deal with frequent rotations of the screen. The front and base of the unit are rich in magnesium alloy, providing a durable outdoors. The camera weighs only 3.5 pounds (system), partly because he does not have a built-in optical drive. It is lighter than the HP Compaq tc4200 (our former Editors' Choice for convertibles) and the Mobile Toshiba M205-S809, which tipped the scales at 4.6 pounds (system).

The tablet has a perfect screen paper feel like writing, and the pen is comfortable to grip, like the pen on the Compaq tc4200. If you prefer typing, the tablet converts to a notebook, exposing IBM's patented full-size keyboard and TrackPoint. And the ThinkPad typing experience is still unsurpassed.

The X41 comes with Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005. Tapping and dragging with Windows Journal was nice, with almost no resistance between the screen and the movement of the pen. Microsoft OneNote 2003 note-taking program is available as an option. The X41 Tablet also comes with Zinio Reader and 90-day trial versions of Franklin Covey PlanPlus for Windows and Alias Sketchbook Pro. You can also gain experience Pack for Tablet PC, which includes InkArt, cross-ink, ink office, and the Snipping Tool.

A fingerprint reader is located on the side of the X41 Tablet screen. The reader smear bidirectionally, it does not matter if you're in portrait or landscape mode. The fingerprint reader is combined with IBM manager of passwords and the Sub-security system ThinkVantage 2.0 to provide an extra layer of security. The blue Access IBM button is available, as it is on all IBM ThinkPad, and access to several utilities that can configure your wireless connections, set up your passwords, backup and recover your disks. Below the fingerprint reader are a PageUp / PageDown rocker, Enter, Escape, the rapid launch and display customizable buttons orientation.

The X41 Tablet is loaded with the new Centrino same elements as the notebook ThinkPad X41, including the Pentium M 758 (1.5 GHz), 512 RAM DDR2 533, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 GM chipset, and Intel Pro Wireless 2915BG. Our unit came with a 40 GB hard drive, which is configurable up to 60GB. The unit comes standard with a four-battery, which lasts approximately 2.6 hours. An eight-battery, which lasts approximately 6 hours, is available for $ 159 extra. The X41 Tablet does not come with a built-in optical drive, but an external DVD + RW is available for $ 429. You also have the option of purchasing the X4 dock ($ 219), which includes a CDRW optical drive in it, however, most probably leave the Tablet Post because of its size.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to execute our performance tests because our tests does not support Windows XP Tablet Edition.

If you hesitated to buy a tablet, Lenovo / IBM east of this decision a lot easier for you. The ThinkPad X41 Tablet, the company's first attempt, is as large as its X-series ultra counterpart, with the advantages of the tablet form factor. It is the lightest convertible market, and we love.

Lenovo ThinkPad X61

These days, tablet PC convertible show as more than a blip on the radar screen. They have been widely adopted in vertical markets, and students adopt. Lenovo (formerly IBM) has long been a leader in the convertible tablet PC space. In the ThinkPad X61 Tablet ($ 1934 direct) Lenovo continues to merge the design of its cherished X-Series ultra (see ThinkPad X60s) with tablet functionality. With the best keyboard industry, very good performance evaluations, and a robust design, the X61 Tablet Wins Editors' Choice Award to put next to Lenovo a precedent in this space, the ThinkPad X41 Tablet.

While it is clear that the convertible tablets are gathering strength, penetration has not been the level of some of the most popular portable. It could be that consumers have not yet grasped the idea of using a scanner pen on a laptop. Perhaps that the price premium is put off potential customers. And maybe the fact that two of the top three suppliers laptop, Dell and Apple, have not officially announced any tablet PC with their own limited their growth. In either, Lenovo has made significant progress with the ThinkPad X61 Tablet, which makes the adjustment easy for many compressed be converted.

Lenovo tablet overall design has not changed since the ThinkPad X41 Tablet first launched in 2005. The magnesium-alloy frame and supported the black-ID arrivals are not different from those in the rest of the ThinkPad. The framework guard against wear and conservative black base lets people know that this machine business. The X41 Tablet is one of the lightest tablets around, but recently, competition was increasingly fierce. The X61-66 Wh extended battery increases the weight to 4.4 pounds. Meanwhile, the Fujitsu Lifebook T2010 is able to keep things under 4 pounds with its 93-Wh extended battery. The choice of a 4-battery and $ 50 savings can get the X61 Tablet less than 4 pounds, but it lets you terribly short battery life. On the other hand, the HP Compaq 2710p (3.9 pounds) can get away with its 44-Wh battery, because it uses very low power components.

The trend in laptops east to widescreens, even on tables. Lenovo, however, holds firm with the X61 standard screen. You have a choice for the screen resolution-1024-by-768. (Lenovo used to offer a resolution SXGA (1400-by-1050) on the non-ultra compressed, but the font size is too small to read.) Standard 12-inch screen is preferable for writers like me Because there is less vertical scroll. The T2010 Fujitsu, HP Compaq 2710p, and Gateway 120x C-12-inch widescreens are optimized for multimedia tasks, while the standard X61-screen is oriented office work. The matte screen on the X61 Tablet compensates for much of the glare from lighting directed on the screen. However, the intensity of light shining screen of the Fujitsu T2010 is ideal for color-rich projects, but does little to reduce glare.

Hands down, the ThinkPad X61 Tablet offers the best experience typing in the company. His full-size keyboard is unmatched, and the TrackPoint pointing stick technology is unique. The HP 2710p is close, but pointing his stick is too steep for my taste. The Fujitsu T2010 meet a pointing stick, but its keyboard is unsatisfactory resistance by the X61 Tablet keyboard. Rotating the screen to write on these tablets convertible makes them more equal. Much of the writing experience depends on the operating system, all of the above tablets load Windows Vista Business, which has an interface optimized tablet "built on each of them, handwriting recognition is excellent and can be further improved by Vista Tablet PC Pen demand for training. The pen-on-screen and feel the sensation of scanner pen in your hand what the tablets are distinguished from each other. Writing on the X61, as on most tablets, a light stroke. You do not have to press as hard as when you write on a piece of paper, so your hands do not tire as quickly. The pen scanner has a rubber grip amid increasing the level of comfort, even if I hold the pen was a little more girth, like the one found on the Motion Computing LE1700.

Regarding the characteristics, the only thing missing on the ThinkPad X61 Tablet is a built-in optical drive. But all convertible tablet is a compromise: either you want the lightest possible, or opt for a more heavy with the ability to watch DVDs and install the software. For example, the bridge approaches 120x C-5 pounds thanks to the double-layer DVD. Lenovo offers a 2-pound docking station ($ 200), which has built in optical drive, but an additional year would strain the shoulders. As an alternative, the HP 2710p of the docking station is much lighter (1.5 pounds) and also includes a dual-layer DVD. Like the Fujitsu T2010, the X61 Tablet has three USB ports and a FireWire port, but it also adds mobile broadband. You can choose between the HSDPA Cingular and Verizon's EV-DO services, as indicated by the antenna bump at the top of the screen.

I'm still scratching their heads, wondering if I'll ever see a sub-4-pound convertible tablet with a standard voltage processor. The ThinkPad X61 Tablet charge a low voltage 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 CPU. It could be worse: You can use an ultra-low voltage (ULV) processor as those found on the T2010 Fujitsu, HP 2710p, and the gateway C-120x. Even with 2 GB of RAM, processors ULV have a difficult time to follow with Windows Vista. Over time, Vista valuable space hogs and slow down your system. You can get away with a ULV processor running Windows XP, Microsoft, but you will spend a day. However, the L7500 is a good choice if you want the best of both worlds: the performance and battery life. If you do not mind the weight, Fujitsu Lifebook T4210, Portable Toshiba Gateway M400 and M285-E, with their Core 2 Duo T7000 series CPU, you can get the power you need on a shelf, but there are a price to pay battery life.

What do you get with low-voltage processors is everyday battery. The X61 Tablet managed to rack up 5 hours and 17 minutes on MobileMark 2007, thanks to its low voltage processor and 66-Wh battery. However, Fujitsu and HP tablets have the potential for battery life more because of their low-power processors. The HP 2710p reached 4 hours 45 minutes on MobileMark 2007-an astonishing feat with its smaller, 44-Wh battery.

Despite an impressive series of convertible tablet-namely entries HP, Fujitsu, Gateway and Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet is standing in competition with its robust, key components, and a large keyboard and writing. You could say that the battery must be in the range 7 hours, on-line drawings are needed, and an integrated optical drive could be added. Finally, someone else will step in May and make a compressed better if Lenovo does not take the initiative. At present, the design time-honoured that the X61 has inherited is still the winning formula for the best tablet on the market.