Cameras
Camcorders
Cell Phones
Components
Desktops
HDTV
Home Theater
GPS
Laptops
Monitors
MP3 Players
Networking &
Printers
Storage
Equipped with the Centrino 2 processor, Lenovo's ThinkPad X200 looks a mild-mannered ultraportable, yet it can leap tall workloads in a single bound. Its battery life is phenomenal, and the keyboard is huge. It's a much better laptop than the ThinkPad X61, which it replaces, and it's a surefire winner for on-the-run execs.
Because it bears a lower model number, you might imagine that this is a less-powerful version of the ThinkPad X300, but the X200 actually carries a more recent processor. The X300 has a 13.3-inch display, however, while the X200 has a 12.1-inch screen. Ah, but what you'll see when you fire this baby up!
At just under 3 pounds with its lightest battery installed, the X200 weighs a few ounces less than the ThinkPad X61, despite offering the same-size screen and a bigger keyboard. The bright little screen has an easy-to-read 1280-by-800-pixel resolution, making it quite comfortable for work on the go. And the built-in Webcam keeps you in visual touch with your colleagues.
The redesigned keyboard is as big as the ones that models in Lenovo's ThinkPad T series have, and it offers all the same amenities: spill resistance, dedicated Page Up and Page Down keys, and the all-important ThinkVantage button. The ThinkVantage application suite offers one-touch access to the user manual as well as to recovery, security, and other crucial utilities. A fingerprint reader rounds out the package. Only a touchpad is missing; many ThinkPads offer both a touchpad and an eraserhead, but not the X200.
PCW Rating: 85
--Carla Thornton
