(Lenovo Outlet) Brand New ThinkPad X230 Tablet i3 4GB 320GB for $484

I like their X series (former X60 tablet user) but for my use this is underpowered. Good price for a light laptop though. My wifey has a work issued x230 tablet. For whatever reason, she never uses it. It sits upstairs on a table.

Quote from jargoone : For those doubting Lenovo's service, let me tell a tale. I have an X220 refurb purchased in mid-2012. Last Saturday, daughter spills water on it. The keyboard should survive this, but a trackpoint button failed. I filled out a service request on Sunday on IBM's service site saying it didn't work anymore. Tuesday morning, new keyboard was on my doorstep, overnighted to me. Put dead keyboard back in box, stuck on prepaid shipping label, called UPS and they came and got it to recycle it. No emails, no phone calls, no fake excuses necessary. This is my 8th Thinkpad, and this is why. Can anyone speak as to whether or not you'll get this service from any other vendor.

HP/Dell/Lenovo all have business class systems and support. Our company standardized on Dell and anytime we have an issue, we are promptly sent a replacement part or a service rep is scheduled to fix the problem the same day or NBD. Our servers have 24/7/4hr support and our laptops have either Pro Support or Standard NBD (similar situation with Lenovo at my last job - excellent support under warranty). My experience with my X60/T42/T60/T61 were excellent.

Quote : Completely disagree. I have owned my Thinkpad T series for almost 6 years and haven't had any hardware problems at all. That thing is built like a tank. Only other PCs that I've seen with comparable build quality are the HP elitebooks and those are priced significantly higher.

A friend works for a large AEC company that standardized on HP. They are looking into moving off HP and have recently started testing Dell and Lenovo systems.

Point is all three have good business class systems. All three have business class support. I would have crossed HP off my list if they went through with the sale of their laptop/desktop division.

Quote from jargoone : For those doubting Lenovo's service, let me tell a tale. I have an X220 refurb purchased in mid-2012. Last Saturday, daughter spills water on it. The keyboard should survive this, but a trackpoint button failed. I filled out a service request on Sunday on IBM's service site saying it didn't work anymore. Tuesday morning, new keyboard was on my doorstep, overnighted to me. Put dead keyboard back in box, stuck on prepaid shipping label, called UPS and they came and got it to recycle it. No emails, no phone calls, no fake excuses necessary. This is my 8th Thinkpad, and this is why. Can anyone speak as to whether or not you'll get this service from any other vendor.

I forget where, but I read that Thinkpad service in US and Canada is still handled by IBM. Though I guess you already knew that if you submitted that through IBM and not through Lenovo.

Quote from help1 : Do not buy this, please. I have the LEnovo tablet. None of the drivers work, I can't get my webcam to work, the form factor is putrid, the screen stinks, the tablet function with the pen needs to be resynced every couple of days and even then its about 1-2 millimeters off. It stinks. My school made me buy this and I hate it every damn day.

You should have changed schools instead of giving in to their demands.

Seriously though, did they not give you options?

Ill put in my plug for lenovo. Customer support when ordering sucks. They outsource to some other country. Lenovo outlet support sucks. You might get someone that remotely knows what they are talking about, but pretty much you are on your own. BUT: if you have warranty service on a thinkpad, whether standard depot or 3+ years w or w/o accidental, original owner or 50th owner, receipt or no receipt, you always get the tech support center in atlanta, georgia, open 24/7 to phone in, and those guys are top notch. Parts overnight to you ready to swap if its a CRU, you can often coax them to sending you non-CRU parts as well, you can often take your depot only warranty thinkpad to an authorized lenovo repair center B&M and have them fix it for free, and if you have the onsite, they send a tech to your home/work and fix the machine on the spot.

Quote from tennisplayer888 : Dang, I like this over the X230t I got, as I believe mine comes with the outdoor screen, so no multitouch. But I got an i5 in mine and it was for the same pice as this. What do you guys think? This a better trade-off?

Are you kidding me? You got a far far better machine (well, minus the screen IMO), Ivy Bridge i5 over Sandy Bridge i3 is a huge difference in performance, plus you have 6-cell battery and Bluetooth. I saw this deal when there were over 50 left and decided to pass.

I have a SSD to add to this but.... I do need a 6cell or more battery ohhhh well guess I gotta try ebay or just buy from lenovo. Thanks again OP

Quote from boywhocouldfly : Can anyone with the X230/230T answer a question for me? With the 1366x768 resolution, can you have two documents open next to each other comfortably? I'm looking for something smallish/light to take around with me at school. I like the small form factor and long battery life (6 or 9 cell). The only things that would keep me from going with this over the X1 Carbon are the crappy touchpad and smaller resolution/smaller screen. Price is also a consideration as the X230 (non tablet) is significantly cheaper than the X1 Carbon and much easier to upgrade.

only in a at least 24'' 1080p LCD Monitor, I would say yes. Otherwise you'd better have an additional monitor

Quote from jj14 : Absolutely. Just one observation: The x220/ x230 use the 7mm SSD (not the 9.5mm ones). So if you are purchasing the SSD elsewhere, be careful when you purchase. Some folks report that it may be possible to remove cover for the 9.5mm SSD (which would likely void the warranty on the SSD) to fit it into the notebook, but not certain about that.

X230 support msata SSD(I am not sure of X220). So why not try a msata one, which is usually cost $10 more, but you can have two harddrives installed.

Quote from help1 : Do not buy this, please. I have the LEnovo tablet. None of the drivers work, I can't get my webcam to work, the form factor is putrid, the screen stinks, the tablet function with the pen needs to be resynced every couple of days and even then its about 1-2 millimeters off. It stinks. My school made me buy this and I hate it every damn day.

I'm sorry, but this sounds like an ID 10-T error. I've never heard of such problems with one of these puppies.

Overall deal is dead currently, but I was considering buying this to use with windows 8 cause of the multi touch. From what I read on the web it works, just not fully functional like swipe/gestures don't work. If this deal pops up I might buy, but i would be leery for anyone expecting to use this with windows 8 without problems.

Quote from PeteyTheStriker : Overall deal is dead currently, but I was considering buying this to use with windows 8 cause of the multi touch. From what I read on the web it works, just not fully functional like swipe/gestures don't work. If this deal pops up I might buy, but i would be leery for anyone expecting to use this with windows 8 without problems.

Can you specify what problems? Since Lenovo sells x230t with Win 8 now I'd imagine it's fully functional. Hardware wise it's already a finger sensitive multitouch screen so as long as drivers work there wouldn't be an issue.

Gestures and swipes not working properly, is the main issue most people reported. Also driver installation seems to be tricky but should work fine with a clean install. Also the driver on the Lenovo USA website is out of date compared to the China website driver, so you can get a newer one from there. So while not a deal breaker for some, still some quirks to watch out for.

Quote from djentastic : I wouldn't consider it a bad deal, but it definitely isn't anything spectacular (especially as a SDer!). The 3rd gen i5 is a plus, though. Overall, it the G580 is more of a consumer-grade laptop (like the post you quoted states) while something like a ThinkPad will be much more durable and reliable. It is going to depend on how you want to use your computer. I personally love my ThinkPad x230i. The IPS display is great, and I find the 12.5" screen size is an excellent middle ground between a 10-11" netbook and 14-15.6" standard notebook screen. It also shares the same resolution as most 15.6" screens (1366x768), so, for me, there was no advantage to get the bigger screen. Again, it depends largely on how you use your computer, but if you just want something to use Office applications on and to browse the Internet, then I would stick with what you have.

Quote from GaiaGeek : There are Thinkpads and there are the other Lenovo notebooks (like the one you bought), which in my opinion are no better than any other branded notebooks. I don't know anything about your model but if you bought it because it's a Lenovo and heard it's a good brand, I'd reconsider, as the "good brand" reputation really just comes from the Thinkpad line. Thinkpads can be worth their premium because of their features and construction, though most long-time Thinkpad fans will agree that the quality isn't the same as when IBM owned the brand. What has really gone down hill is the customer service and sales service. The only thing that really keeps me coming back to Thinkpads is the trackpoint (the red pointing stick) and I'm guessing this is true for many Thinkpad fans. If I can find a good ultraportable notebook with a pointing stick for a similar price, I'll happily ditch Lenovo.

Quote from firstdavis : I recently bought Lenovo G580, Intel Core i5-3210M, 15.6" Screen Display, Notebook with 4GB Memory, 500GB Hard Drive, Windows 8 for $480 (including shipping and taxes). Can anyone comment how good is it a deal? If not worth I still can make returns :/

Thanks for the views guys I might go for return, but hows fry's return policy? if its too complicated, then I may stick to it !

Quote from hmmwv : It's possible that the display is IPS because according to the datasheet the only two display options are both IPS (multitouch and outdoor). It definitely does not have webcam or backlit keyboard. That's incorrect, only early x230t have the option to be configured with Sandy Bridge chips, all later units are Ivy, if you look at the config page now the lowest option is a i3-3110M.

All X320 models have IPS displays, including the tablets.

The only differences in the display options are the finishes, Gorilla Glass or a non-glossy display, and multi-touch or pen input for the tablets.