Tablet vs Laptop with a Wacom

R

regnak

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 29, 2007
Messages
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Next [academic] year I shall be moving to Berkeley to pursue a Mechanical Engineering degree at Cal. I have been talking to a bunch of friends that currently attend there as engineering students and it has been highly recommended that I purchase a tablet for all the notes that consist of images instead of just text. I am wondering what would be the better course of action between getting a convertible tablet and pairing a Wacom with a normal laptop.

If I was to purchase a convertible it would more than likely be a Lenovo X61 Tablet as from how everyone talks about them here and elsewhere it seems that their quality is leaps and bounds of everyone else. So far this is how I view the situation:

Lenovo X61
Pros:
Light
Quiet
Good to take notes with
Battery life​
Cons:
Price/Performance ratio
No optical drive​

Laptop with Wacom
Pros:
Larger screen
More power available
Cost/Performance ratio much better​
Cons:
Weight
Needing to carry around two items
No graphic output on tablet​
Click to expand...

Right now I am leaning towards the Lenovo as I am considering bringing my desktop along as well as the laptop so I should not need too much power however the price point (~$1400) is holding me back. I greatly appreciate comments and suggestions so please weigh in and even suggest something that I didn't talk about if you think it'll suit my purpose.

P.S. One last question: How is the pressure system with the Lenovo? I know the Graphire by Wacom has like 512 different levels of pressure and the Intuos 1024, how does the Lenovo compare as I do draw occasionally (although this probably wont sway me one way or the other because the primary use shall be for school).
 
You'd want to have a laptop and a tablet on your desk? Not sure how you'd work that.

I like my X61 Tablet, which does have, I believe, 512 levels of sensitivity. It is expensive, though, so try and get a good coupon--you can get 10-20% off. Also, you might try the CPP code that's floating around here; though you can't stack it with the coupons, you get the savings to begin with, so y'know.
 
Some Tablet PCs actually use Wacom's digitizer technology for the displays, so you should look into those since you may be able to have the best of both worlds.
 
Zero82z said:
Some Tablet PCs actually use Wacom's digitizer technology for the displays, so you should look into those since you may be able to have the best of both worlds.
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I'm pretty sure the Lenovo X61 has the Wacom Digitizer.

j-dawg said:
You'd want to have a laptop and a tablet on your desk? Not sure how you'd work that.

I like my X61 Tablet, which does have, I believe, 512 levels of sensitivity. It is expensive, though, so try and get a good coupon--you can get 10-20% off. Also, you might try the CPP code that's floating around here; though you can't stack it with the coupons, you get the savings to begin with, so y'know.
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Thanks, I didn't even think about not having enough space on my desk for both; that was a total lapse in judgement on my part. I found a CPP code on Slick Deals, so the base for an X61 Tablet is $1337.90 (haha, when typing I just noticed the price was leet).
 
regnak said:
I'm pretty sure the Lenovo X61 has the Wacom Digitizer.
Click to expand...

It does.

As someone who owns a X61 Tablet, and prior to that attempted to use a standalone Wacom tablet + laptop to take notes, I will say this: GET THE X61!!! There is no comparison. Hauling around an extra piece of hardware is awkward, harder to use, and you just don't get the same experience.

I'll say this though: get the big battery for sure. Also (now this is preference), but the high res screen is the shit! Get that one! (you don't need the multitouch anyway, that's just a good way to get fingerprints on the screen)

Happy tableting!
 
mindstormsguy said:
It does.

As someone who owns a X61 Tablet, and prior to that attempted to use a standalone Wacom tablet + laptop to take notes, I will say this: GET THE X61!!! There is no comparison. Hauling around an extra piece of hardware is awkward, harder to use, and you just don't get the same experience.

I'll say this though: get the big battery for sure. Also (now this is preference), but the high res screen is the shit! Get that one! (you don't need the multitouch anyway, that's just a good way to get fingerprints on the screen)

Happy tableting!
Click to expand...
So you're saying to just get the base screen instead of the MultiView + MultiTouch addon? Sounds good. thanks for the info.
 
regnak said:
So you're saying to just get the base screen instead of the MultiView + MultiTouch addon? Sounds good. thanks for the info.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I much rather have 1400x1050. 1024x768 is just way too low, and if you are using it in tablet mode you are going to have the pen in your hand anyway.
 
The X61 rocks, you will not regret the purchase. Add SXGA+ (1400x1050) screen for great justice.
 
To the OP, Lenovo is having a sale right now on the X61T for just $1,000. To me, its a fantastic price. I'd jump on it if I was in the market for a tablet.
 
Are you talking about the deal that was posted on SD for the $999.99 Lenovo X61T at CDW? Yeah, I wanted to jump on it but they only had 5/6 of them and then canceled every other order besides that. They even had the balls to tell people that the product line was being canceled so they couldn't get more (while still taking orders) yet then mid day today the price jumped up to $2,199.00. So oh well, back on my search but that's for the heads up :D. (And if you were talking about a different deal let me know and I'll be really happy, hehehehehe).
 
wow, that sucks. Yeah I was talking about the one posted on SD, awesome deal, IF it was true. good luck with your search tough.
 
LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
The X61 rocks, you will not regret the purchase. Add SXGA+ (1400x1050) screen for great justice.
Click to expand...

I have the SXGA+ as well on an X60tablet and love it.

Before the x60t I had a motion computing slate tablet which was nice but overall the convertible is much more useful. Yes the x61 does not have an optical drive but with a huge hard drive and the ability to build a cheap external what is the big problem with that?

It would be hard to regret the purchase of one, especially if they are on sale. Make sure to take a look at the warranty options, they have some that include accidental damage which is great for peace of mind if you carry it everywhere like I do.
 
I only get 3.5 hours of battery life with the bigger battery. Something on it is sucking some crazy juice. I think it might have to do with vista.

You will notice the core2duo whine and some other high pitch noise coming from the hard drive area. I recommend getting the fastest HD available and a lot of ram. I have the multitouch version, and to be honest, i don't use the multitouch very often.

As far as build quality. It can be better. I think lenovo is losing it and degrading the thinkpad line. Although it is the best laptop compared to all other laptops i have used.

-M
 
MTXR said:
I only get 3.5 hours of battery life with the bigger battery. Something on it is sucking some crazy juice. I think it might have to do with vista.

You will notice the core2duo whine and some other high pitch noise coming from the hard drive area. I recommend getting the fastest HD available and a lot of ram. I have the multitouch version, and to be honest, i don't use the multitouch very often.

As far as build quality. It can be better. I think lenovo is losing it and degrading the thinkpad line. Although it is the best laptop compared to all other laptops i have used.

-M
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I run Vista and I can get 5.5 hours I'd say on my x61 tabet. I only got the 5400 rpm drive (for reasons of battery life), but I have 4 gigs of ram (which I would say eats battery life).

It seems to me that the X61 gets more battery life than the X61 Tablet (which is because of the extra power taken by the Wacom digitizer).

As far as build quality goes, I can't really think of anything they could improve. In my opinion the build quality has been just as good under Lenovo as it was pre-2005 when they were made by IBM. If anything, I like some things better. The new lid material is sweet, the drain holes are awesome, etc... Whether or not the build quality has changed, I will definitely say that the Lenovo is the best built tablet I've ever used.
 
mindstormsguy said:
I run Vista and I can get 5.5 hours I'd say on my x61 tabet. I only got the 5400 rpm drive (for reasons of battery life), but I have 4 gigs of ram (which I would say eats battery life).

It seems to me that the X61 gets more battery life than the X61 Tablet (which is because of the extra power taken by the Wacom digitizer).

As far as build quality goes, I can't really think of anything they could improve. In my opinion the build quality has been just as good under Lenovo as it was pre-2005 when they were made by IBM. If anything, I like some things better. The new lid material is sweet, the drain holes are awesome, etc... Whether or not the build quality has changed, I will definitely say that the Lenovo is the best built tablet I've ever used.
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How? I sat in a 3 hour lecture and i was down to 10% juice left. from a full charge. My battery is fine too.. I have aero and all that pizzazz stuff turned off..
 
If you do get a tablet PC, just remember the keyboard is covered up when it is in tablet mode. I bought my Gateway tablet PC to be able to use it for ZBrush, photoshop, 3d painting, etc. The only problem is in program like ZBrush, you press key combinations with your other hand while drawing/sculpting, so I ended up having to keep a keyboard plugged into it, which defeated the purpose of having a portable device. Also the tablet PCs are usually lower resolution, so it made it a worse choice (at least for me) when using it as a normal laptop. I put it up on ebay last night and am buying a normal laptop and a wacom tablet now.
 
I just got my X61 tablet Monday and I'm in love with it. I've used it so far for taking notes in meetings, notes when I'm away from my desk and in the lab working, and for Photoshop and Illustrator.

If you get the X61, get the hi-res screen. Pick up OneNote 2007 for the tablet AND your desktop. Since you are a student, go get 2007 Ultimate for $60 if you haven't already. (The license allows you to install on both your desktop and laptop.) Do it quick; the deal is over today.

I have a Wacom on my desktop machine, but it will be staying in the drawer from now on. Photoshop is just too slick on the X61. If I really need the keyboard shortcuts, I leave the keyboard exposed or attach my USB keyboard.
 
I've done the Laptop+Wacom thing. It's really not that bad. It fits into the messenger bag fairly easily (it's a 4in tablet). I too thought about a tablet, but all of them only have integrated graphics, so I went with the laptop. A nice 14in laptop with an x1600 mobility in it. But, that was over a year ago.

Still, I think it's a much better way to go than the tablet, provided you use a small tablet and get a 14in or under laptop.
 
MTXR said:
How? I sat in a 3 hour lecture and i was down to 10% juice left. from a full charge. My battery is fine too.. I have aero and all that pizzazz stuff turned off..
Click to expand...

I could ask you the same thing. How [do you get so little battery life]?

All I do is run with the back light turned down a little (not all the way), have Vista on power saver (this is VERY important), and have bluetooth off. Hell, I could get more than 3 even with the brightness all the way up.

Here, for example, right now when I am typing this I have the laptop on power saver, WiFi on, and brightness full. According to the Lenovo power manager I am using 11.89W. Currently my battery holds 70.50Wh on a full charge (which is greater than the design capacity of 66.24Wh). Anyway, 70.50Wh / 11.89W = 5.9 hours. (and thats FULL brightness) Obviously, starting the computer up will take more power than typing a post on the [H], but you should be getting battery life close to that.

B34M3R said:
...Also the tablet PCs are usually lower resolution, so it made it a worse choice (at least for me) when using it as a normal laptop.
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I would agree if that were true, but the X61 is available with a 1400x1050 screen. That makes it one of the highest DPI laptops on the market...
 
The laptop I am replacing the tablet with is 1920x1200. My tablet was only 1280x768 and it drove me crazy.
 
X61 or Gateway C14x series for sure - if you want to get a full size laptop, why not make it a tablet as well? Less hardware to carry, plus with a tablet you draw right on the screen instead of having to 'sync' your hand and eyes to the monitor.
 
I must have a lemon. I have brightness down,and i am on the most agressive battery saving profiles.

Sigh. My max wattage is 68.47....sigh.
 
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