Publisher's Note:
In general, we do not recommend laptops older than 2 years. See our top picks below
Best Laptops
, or answer a few simple questions in our
Laptop Finder
to receive personalized recommendations
Our verdict
Lenovo's ultra-portable business device continues its dominance with long battery life and excellent performance in a small package.
To the
Incredible performance
Easy
Sharp, colorful display
Loud, precise speakers
Long battery life (with 9-cell battery)
Against
runs hot
Webcam not standard
Technically it's just a refresh. But that's not the best ultraportable on the market. With a strong combination of high performance, long battery life and remarkably light weight, the X201 maintains the excellent reputation of its predecessor. It's also robust built, comfortable to type, and secure. At $1,514 as configured, this machine is a good deal for discerning executives on the go. We just wish it ran a little cooler.
draft
Like many of its ThinkPad brethren and low-voltage cousin (the
X201s
), the ThinkPad X201 features a traditional all-black chassis with strong, lightweight magnesium or carbon fiber in the lid. The look is sleek, but also a little plain compared to the brushed metal skin on the
HP EliteBook 2540p
and the wafer thin
Dell Vostro V13
(made of aluminum). While the X201 isn't marketed as a rugged notebook, Lenovo claims it's designed to pass military-spec tests for physical shock, thermal shock, altitude, dust, extreme temperatures, humidity, and vibration.
The X201s measures 11.6 x 9.2 x 1.4 inches; with the high-capacity 9-cell battery, it weighs just 3.8 pounds, making it lighter than competitors like the 4-pound EliteBook 2540p, but slightly more than the ThinkPad X201s, which weighs 3.4 pounds with the same battery. Opting for the smaller six-cell battery drops the weight even further to 3.2 pounds, almost as light as most netbooks. However, that includes EliteBook 2540p an optical drive.
keyboard and touchpad
Considering how well designed it is, it's not surprising that the ThinkPad X201 shares the exact same keyboard as the X201s.
X200
,
X200s
, and
X201 tablet
?The keys are very responsive, but the palm rest is a bit short for long wrists. Using the Ten Thumbs Typing Test, we were able to get a score of 86 words per minute, which is better than our usual 80 wpm rate, but with a 3- Percent error rate worse than our typical 1 percent mark.
Unlike the X200 and X201s, which only offer a trackpoint for navigation, the X201 has an optional touchpad. We've always loved Lenovo's TrackPoint pointing sticks for their ability to move around the desktop without taking your hands off the Home series. We also like that Lenovo's TrackPoint has a convex shape that makes it easier to use than the concave pointing stick on HP EliteBooks.
However, not everyone likes to use pointing sticks, and all of Lenovo's other ThinkPads have both a TrackPoint and a touchpad. So it only makes sense that the company would put a touchpad on the X201. However, the touchpad is only 2.3x 1 inch extremely small. However, it is very accurate and supports multi-touch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom.
click to enlarge
security features
The X201 has a number of security features designed to protect your data from prying eyes should the notebook escape your control. An optional fingerprint reader allows you to set up biometric logins, TPM 1.2 circuitry gives you strong pre-boot protection and an optional encrypted hard drive (which was present in our test unit) ensures that your data is protected even if the hard drive is removed from the notebook.
heat
After we slightly stressed the X201 by streaming a 15-minute full-screen Hulu video, the system got warm, the touchpad hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the keyboard clocked at 99 degrees, and the bottom hit an uncomfortable 106 degrees. The low-voltage X201s ran cooler with a 92-degree deck, 98-degree keyboard, and 103-degree bottom. However, the HP EliteBook 2540p was significantly warmer with a bottom that hit a scorching 119 degrees.
ports
For such a compact system, the X201 has a lot of connections. On the right side there is a USB port, audio in/out jacks, a modem connection and a slot for a Kensington lock. On the left side there is a VGA port, an Ethernet socket, an ExpressCard/54 slot and two more USBs (three in all). A 5-in-1 memory card reader is located on the notebook's front lip. Despite all these connections, we would like to see a different one for the X201 Type of display-out option, such as HDMI or DisplayPort.
The ThinkPad X201 is available with an optional webcam (EUR 30), but our test device didn't have one.
click to enlarge
click to enlarge
display and audio
The 12.1-inch (1280 x 800) screen offered rich colors and sharp images, even at almost 90-degree angles on the left and right of the screen. Both when streaming a 720p trailer from
MacGruber
from YouTube and when playing a 1080p WMV file from Microsoft's HD Showcase, video playback was smooth and noise-free.
For a business system, the X201's speakers are surprisingly good. When listening to both a dance tune "Emerge" by Fischerspooner and a jazz tune "Morning Dance" by Spyro Gyra, the sound quality was loud enough to fill a small room, but also accurate and precise.
perfomance
click to enlarge
The ThinkPad X201's 2.53 GHz Core i5-540M CPU and its 7,200 rpm Hitachi hard drive enabled strong performance in both our anecdotal usage and benchmark tests. In PCMark Vantage, a synthetic test that measures overall system speed, the X201 scored an exceptional 7,050, nearly double the ultraportable category average of 3,251 and well ahead of the X201s (6,106) and the HP EliteBook 2540p (6,002).
The X201's 7200 RPM 250GB Hitachi hard drive booted into Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) in a fast 47 seconds, 12 seconds faster than the category average. It took 2 minutes and 33 seconds to load the LAPTOP transfer test where we copy 4.97 GB of mixed media files from one folder to another. That's a rate of 33.3 Mbps, almost a third faster than the class average of 25.3 Mbps and about twice as fast as high as the EliteBook 2540p (18.2 MBit/s).
The ThinkPad X201 took 57 seconds to transcode a 114MB MPEG-4 file to AVI using the Oxelon Media Encoder. That's more than double the category average of 2 minutes and 15 seconds and over 20 Seconds faster than the HP EliteBook 2540p (1:54).
graphic
The X201's integrated Intel GMA HD graphics chip doesn't allow for demanding gaming, but it was more than adequate for all the moderately demanding tasks we set it, from playing 1080p videos to circling the globe in Google Earth.
On 3DMark06, a synthetic benchmark that measures overall graphics performance, the X201 scored a respectable 1,900, nearly double the ultraportable category average of 1,071, and well ahead of the EliteBook 2540p (1,519). it was able to achieve a playable rate of 34 fps in . reach
World of Warcraft
at 1024 x 768, although that rate dropped to just 10 fps at the native 1280 x 800 resolution.
battery life and WiFi
The ThinkPad X201 is available with a four, six or nine-cell battery. In the LAPTOP Battery Test, which is about continuous surfing the Internet via WLAN, the X201 with the 6-cell battery lasts a mediocre 4 hours and 19 minutes through, but a strong 7:30 with the 9-cell battery. The latter runtime was well above the category average of 5:29 and more than 30 minutes longer than the HP EliteBook 2540p. However, the lower-voltage ThinkPad X201s lasted around 8 :31 a.m. more than an hour longer.
The Intel WiFi Link 6200 802.11n radio transmits data at a strong rate of 50.6 Mbps when positioned 15 feet from the router. That rate shrank to a still strong 33.2 Mbps at a distance from 15 meters. These numbers compare favorably to the EliteBook 2540p, which achieved 38.7 and 23.5 Mbps at these respective distances.
Green testing
It took 1 hour and 52 minutes to charge the ThinkPad X201's six-cell battery to 80 percent capacity and a total of 2 hours and 53 minutes to reach 100 percent. During this time, the system consumed an average of 32.6 watts .That's a LAPTOP Battery Efficiency Rating of 21.8 (lower is better), which is slightly worse than the category average of 20.7. The HP EliteBook 2540p was even more efficient with a score of 12.4.
setting options
click to enlarge
The X201 starts at $1,099. For that price, you get a 2.4GHz Core i5-520M CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 4-cell battery, and a 160GB hard drive. The notebook is Available with either a 2.4 or 2.53 GHz Core i5 CPU, your choice of Windows 7 Home or Professional, an optional webcam, up to 8 GB of RAM and your choice of hard drives ranging in size from 160 GB to 500 GB 5,400 and 7,200 rpm speeds. A solid state disk option is also available. Integrated mobile broadband (Gobi 2000) and GPS are available for $150.
We recommend that you opt for the 9-cell battery to get the full 7.5 hours of endurance. Choosing a 7,200 RPM hard drive will ensure fast system boots and application launches.
software and warranty
The X201 comes with Lenovo's standard ThinkVantage utilities, including Lenovo Power Manager, which gives you granular control over power settings, Lenovo Access Connections for Wi-Fi management, and Lenovo Hard Drive Airbag Protection. Our favorite of these Tools is the password manager that stores and encrypts all your passwords.
A one-year parts and labor warranty and toll-free 24/7 telephone support come standard. To see how Lenovo fared in our latest Tech Support Showdown,
Click here
.
Verdict
The $1,514 ThinkPad X201 continues Lenovo's dominance in the ultraportable business space by offering the same strong combination of portability, performance and endurance. However, those who can live with slightly lower CPU performance and don't need a webcam should consider the ThinkPad instead Consider the X201s. This lighter device has longer battery life, cooler temperatures, and a higher-resolution screen. Also consider that the X201 lacks an optical drive, unlike the slightly more expensive HP Elitebook 2540p. Verdict: If you're looking for the most powerful 12- inch business notebook on the market, the ThinkPad X201 is the notebook you should have.
Lenovo ThinkPad X201 Specifications
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 2.1
brand
Lenovo
CPU
2.53GHz Intel Core i5 540M
card slots
5-1 card reader, ExpressCard/54
corporate website
http://www.lenovo.com/us
screen size
12.1
graphic card
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD
disk size
250GB
hard drive speed
7,200 rpm
disk type
SATA hard drive
native resolution
1280x800
operating system
Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
Connections (except USB)
Kensington lock, headset, Ethernet, VGA, modem, microphone
R.A.M.
4GB
RAM upgradeable to
8GB
size
11.6 x 9.2 x 1.4 inches
USB ports
3
video memory
64MB
Warranty/Support
One year limited/24/7 toll-free calls
Weight
3.8 pounds
Wireless Internet access
802.11a/g/n
Fewer
Avram Piltch
As the official Geeks Geek, as his weekly column is called, Avram Piltch has led the editing and production of Laptopmag.com since 2007. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram programmed several of LAPTOP's real-world benchmarks, including the LAPTOP Battery Check. He holds a master's degree in English from NYU.
