LAPTOP GALLERIES

Sony tablet. Sony promises the usual material, but the unique characteristics of its first Android 3.1 tablet. Is the loss of Tegra offers more than just the fresh look of a magazine?

When Sony makes the company a new product, trying to capture the aura of uniqueness and surprise for the hardware, plastics, and advertising. This is what happened to the movie from Sony, which is not part of the sell-branding, "VAIO", but the brand "Sony".

If "Vaio" refers to laptops, "Bravia" TV and "PlayStation" for game consoles, why not "Tabea" or "Bronko" for the new category of Tablet PC? Marketing as "Sony Tablet" could be considered the high range that Japan attaches to the tablets.

However, it is likely that the reputation of the trademark "Sony" is that it shines directly on the tablet. Later, when sales figures bear fruit pills and products vary (screen sizes, scopes, etc), a brand could be created.

Sony is wise to enter the market well tablet. The early adopters among our customers, with the exception of those already fans iPad has a buffer Optimus, a Xoom Motorola or Samsung Galaxy. IPad these alternatives are available from autumn 2010.

Sony S-Series now encounter a compressed mature market divided between Android and Apple iOS. WebOS market has disappeared in the meantime. A prime example that reinforced the decision of Sony Android (by 3.1). Sony has developed its own tablet OS so late in the day, he would quickly put the series on the S key.

We would like to introduce the Tablet Sony S and its hardware and software, and answer the question: just another tablet Android or an alternative to "established" tablets.

Specifications Sony S1 SGP-T111DE/S :

• Processor : NVIDIA Tegra 250 1 GHz
• Memory : 1024 MB,
• Graphics adapter : unknown
• Display : 9.4 inch 16:10, 1280x800 pixel, LP094WX1 SL A1, capacitive multi-touchscreen, glossy: yes
• Harddisk : 16GB SSD, 16GB
• Connections : 1 USB 2.0, 1 Infrared, Audio Connections: line out, Card Reader: SD full size: SD, SDHC,
• Networking : 802.11 b/g/n (bgn), 2.1+EDR Bluetooth
• Optical drive : -
• Size : height x width x depth (in mm): 10.1 x 241.2 x 174.3
• Weight : 0.591 kg Power Supply: 0.139 kg
• Battery : 18.5 Wh Lithium-Ion, 3.7V 5000mAh SGPBP02
• Price : 479 Euro
• Operating System : Android 3.0
• Additional features : Webcam: 5.0 Megapixel Rückseite, 0.3 Megapixel Vorderseite, 30 watt power adapter, wrist strap, Crash Bandicoot, Pinball Heroes, 24 Months Warranty

Case
We have to admit: the search for Sony for a single tablet has been helpful. It certainly was not easy to plant the size of the tablets bore, 9.4-inch here, a new way. The chassis was inspired by a folded the magazine. The asymmetrical shape, jam a gap between your fingers and offers plenty of room for different and varied as the positions remain. The image is tilted position.

The Sony S is made of plastic, but is very stable and firm. The battery is composed, as usual, but not soldiers. We could not resist and remove many screws to remove the battery cover. The first and most important step is to remove the two screws under the feet together.

On the way to the battery, we realized the plastic case that offers good resistance to twisting structure stable as a sub-screen in combination with the mounting plate (relatively heavy). We do not recommend taking the device apart. The battery is the only party that can be exchanged.

591 grams of S Sony is not particularly light compared to other tablets. IPad 2 (9.7-inch, 601 grams) is almost as heavy, but lighter power supply (95 grams or 139 grams). Optimus Pad LG V900 (8.9-inch, 623 grams), weighs a little more. Galaxy Tab 10.1v (10.1-inch, 574 / 65 grams) weighs a little less and is very lightweight power source.

In general, we found the tablet easier to hold. 9.4-inch device is very comfortable to hold, because the holes on the sides. It gives your fingers a piece of non-adherence anywhere. The positive side points resists fingerprints very quiet, unlike the glossy screen surface, which - as unfortunately common for tablets - a sea of ​​tracks to accumulate fat. The power button is easy to find and the adjacent volume controls need a little practice.

Connectivity
"Gates only ruining the show," Sonys designers seem to believe. For this reason, only the analog headphone / microphone combo port (headphones) are visible. Micro USB and an SD card reader are hidden behind the cover-extracts. The SIM card slot for a 3G version is scheduled for launch in November is also hidden here.

Card Reader SD format (32x24x2.1 mm) is the highlight, because most of the tablets only microSD (11x15x1 mm, for example, Xoom Motorola, HTC Flyer 7 ") or a card reader is not at all ( IPAD 2, Galaxy Tab 10.1v, V900 LG Optimus pad).

Sounds good. Now the 16/32 GB internal memory (versions) can be improved with an additional capacity of 32 GB (SDHC compatible, Go 64 SDXC not!). Then just copy movies and music on it and the media player is ready to use on the road. But it is not easy, because media files can be played directly from SD card.

The files must first be copied to internal memory. The memory capacity is too small for a lot of movies in high definition and the user has to delete. At home, the application "VLC live" addresses this issue and video clips directly on the Tablet PC.

The four foot 30-watt power supply is connected to Sonys S through the connector. The link shows a little difficult (hard to find without looking). Magnetic solution without the two pins had to be really useful.

Communications
Sony PSC T111DE S1 / S review (from 479 €) is only equipped with a Draft N wireless and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. 3 G version of Wi-Fi (€ 599) includes a UMTS / HSDPA modem for mobile Internet access. Both versions are the A-GPS (assisted GPS), which uses a wireless communication network, in addition to the satellite (subject to interference, especially indoors) localization.

Sony built-in camera and out. Resolution of the anterior chamber is very low (0.3 MP, 640x480), but turn the camera on the back is very high (5 MP, to 2592x1944, 4:3). Users can choose between 4:3 and 16:9 in the web camera application and use of an optical zoom up to 8x. The following figures show the results of artificial light. Exmor image sensor is to ensure great pictures in low light.

The S1 tablet can be used as a universal infrared remote control. The sensor is invisible on the black top of the device. According to Sony, the remote is also compatible with products from third parties adapting to the world of Sony.

With regard to media consumption could DLNA option could be important. This standard is to ensure that the tablet can play movies from a NAS DLNA or camcorder via DLNA media around. However, users should not expect that each file format can be read from any DLNA device. For example, the standard does not support WMV9, H.264 and MP3.

Software
S1 is a "certificate for the PlayStation." This does not mean that S1 can be used as a control. It just means that there are a number of PlayStation One games, such as Crash Bandicoot or Heroes Pinball (pre-installed), which may be enough to play the game controller.

Sony has installed the Android 3.1 Honeycomb. This is a free operating system specifically optimized for the requirements of tablets. It can be upgraded to version 3.2 (IFA Convention unit 3.2). Pre-installed software includes an email client (and other Google mail), personal space (content sharing), Reader Store (books), social or feed reader Zinio (the client in the newspapers). Other applications for download on the App Store (Android Market).

Supplies
No option apart from the power adapter, cleaning cloth and wrist strap.

Guarantee
Sony released 12 months manufacturers warranty. But the box label. As many of Vaio notebooks, which extends to 24 months warranty included. The device must be registered online within 90 days from date of purchase to use this.

Input Devices

Keyboard
The Sony S1 is operated solely on the touch screen of 9.4 inches. Besides the volume control and power, no hardware buttons on the device. As is typical for Android, the three icons at the bottom left, which often causes back, menu and task manager. The fourth icon is faded and then there are options available for applications.

When entering text (for example, by typing an address in the browser), a virtual QWERTY keyboard will automatically decrease the keyboard for almost half of the screen visible. Other signs and German umlauts can be selected via a key. Typing is as typical for Android, very smooth (no delay). But it is getting used to when writing longer texts, because there is no pressure point. The machine vibrates slightly to confirm entries.

If a tablet with a true "integration" is the preferred keyboard, the Asus Eee or Acer Iconia Tab cursor pad Keydock W500 might be useful to take a look. "Lazy" typists use voice input to select web addresses or short phrases came anyway. When the keyboard is faded into a microphone icon is available for this purpose (upper right). Even more Internet addresses has been entered correctly on the test.

Sensors
As in almost all platforms, there are a number of sensors that are used by applications or operating system. The motion sensor detects the position of the tablets in three directions. Games can be used to control the cars and characters of the game.

The operating system used to determine the position of the content displayed. A light sensor in the camera to determine the ambient light and adjusts the screen brightness automatically (can be disabled).

Display
Sony uses a contrast of the display rich IPS (In Plane Switching) with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. The manufacturer boasts "TruBlack" and "Bravia Engine" on the site of the product. A guarantee of good contrast and brightness? We measured and determined an average of extremely intense luminance 334 cd/m2. The rich, deep blacks and vibrant colors of our images are already showing signs of good contrast. The contrast is also very good about 879:1.

The Sony S1 is at a good level of these two types in a comparison. The brightness is lower than in the iPad2 (368), LG V900 (381), but better than W500 Iconia tab (306), Galaxy Tab 10.1 (305) and Motorola Xoom (304). The contrast is almost equal to the IPAD 2 (843:1), LG V900 (778:1), Tab Iconia W500 (881:1) and Galaxy Tab 10.1v (805). Just Xoom Motorola (1491:1) made a significant leap forward in terms of contrast.

Brightness is adequate enough to see on the screen, both inside and outside. Reflecting surface, which spoke of a wheel, though. More or less intense reflections generated in the light of the sun. All tablets are a consumer in this negative trait, without exception.

As is typical IPS screen, viewing angles are good to very good in all positions. But this is nothing special in the world of high-end tablet. Side views from all directions, without color distortion are also possible with the iPad2, LG V900, Motorola Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Xoom.

Only Acer Iconia Tab W500 is a small exception. These viewing angles of first order are not comparable with the laptop as the viewing angle and color are particularly low consumption TN built in 95% of the time. One of the few exceptions is Lenovo Thinkpad X220 with IPS screen.

Performance
Meanwhile, most tablets of brand A, are equipped with two Nvidia Tegra (1 GHz). Its compact design and performance to enjoy great popularity. We find the A100/A500 Tab Tegra Iconia Acer, Asus Eee Cursor Pad / transformer, the streak of seven Tab Dell, LG Optimus Pad V900, Motorola Xoom, Toshiba AC100-10V, and Galaxy 10. The Apple iPhone 2 A5 (0.9 GHz) is an exception.

Nvidia Tegra 2 is a "system on a chip" (SoC). That means dual-core Cortex A9, the CPU, the GeForce (Ultra-low performance), RAM and sound card are combined together in death.

The two Tegra has a maximum speed of the system clock of 1000 MHz. This clock remains at this level of stress-induced or 720p video games. The highest rate clock lasted only 1:30 hours in our test case (16 hours) with a lot of idling, Web browser, CPU / GPU benchmarks, and some waiting (4 hours of deep sleep ). The clock was below 216 MHz (09:30 hours). The Tegra 250 used high clock frequencies of 760, 608 and 456 MHz is very rare. The advantage of the clock variable is that it saves energy and thus extend the battery life in laptops.

Sony S1 reached a good position in Google V8 benchmark (JavaScript, the speed of web browser). LG and Motorola V900 Optimus Xoom is slightly faster. Linpack Pro (floating point operations per second) only consider the CPU speed. Most systems Tegra 2 is online here, and S1 is no exception. Just Galaxy Tab 10.1 broke a rate significantly higher here.

Our S1 suddenly behind all Tegra 2 and other platforms in the reference quadrant (CPU, GPU test). We can not explain this decrease because the hardware is the same. S1 and the productivity index are playing at a high level Smartbench 2011 (CPU, GPU test). However, Sony can not reach the level of Xoom Motorola really good game.

In return, the result is very good Browsermark (JavaScript / HTML capabilities of smartphones). His 89,600 points are very close to the best scores Optimus LG V900, Xoom and the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The SunSpider test (JavaScript only) ends up with the Optimus LG V900, Xoom, and A100 Iconia Galaxy Tab 10.1 with about 2,100 points. The S1 slight advantage from 80 to 140 points is only marginal on this scale. Benchmarks Sony tablet proves a good performance expected Tegra 250, combined with the Android 3.1.

Gaming Apps
The label "certified PlayStation" sounds like a heavyweight entertainer. But before that there is and there will be a number (base charge) PS1 games can be played perfectly on the virtual controller. Crash Banicoot Pinball Heroes is preinstalled and as aperitifs.

However, it is not necessary to play the games of the old saw that "Tegra Zone" is a fairly wide range of games for the Android system interval (fee-based/free). Nvidia graphics card strong enough mini-installed with the Tegra 250 chips.

Process 8 cores (4 pixels, 4 vertex shaders). For comparison: the new entry-level gaming GPU, like the 540 GT, it has 96 unified shaders. The only exception is the film based on the AMD Fusion for Windows Iconia W500 Acer system with the Radeon HD 6250 (80 shaders), which is actively cooled.

We tried the following games and consider them all to be playable smoothly. The games are not always fit the screen size of the tablet. While air strikes and HD Lane Splitter only be played in widescreen mode the picture.

The tablet could not change the alignment of the image in the game either. The reason: Currently, many games are still optimized for smartphones. As in the past, PC games to be the first tried in the demo version to verify their functionality before purchasing.

Emissions

System noise
Since Sony is not a fan of the film, it is absolutely quiet. Each tablet of this forum was able to work without the fan until the Tegra 250 is due to a TDP of just one watt. The exceptions are compressed Windows, such as Acer Iconia W500, which operate the netbook platform.

Temperature
The overheating of internal components spread over the area of ​​the touch screen on the top left and bottom cover on the bottom. Thus, the screen becomes warm during normal use. The temperature rise selectively to almost 40 degrees (104F) when filled with 720p and benchmarks.

It a movie very hot, especially if we look at the diagram, "blue" thermal Motorola Xoom (the load of more than ~ 25 ° C/77F), Galaxy Tab 10.1 (against more than ~ 26 ° C/79F) and Acer Iconia Tab W500 (load more than ~ 28 ° C/82F). Only the LG V900 is similar to high temperatures.

However, the user will not notice much of the residual heat when holding the tablet in the shape of the box. The toes are well protected from the hot zone of the holes on the sides.

Speakers
Two stereo speakers are responsible for audio output. Are in the box on the right and left, and emit their sounds small, visible breaking. Because these small openings are recessed sides, the hand is not covering them. The volume is adequate, but the sound is a midrange-heavy. So, headphones would be recommended for music lovers. Headphones or a headset can be connected to a combo.

Since Sony is not a fan of the film, it is absolutely quiet. Each tablet of this forum was able to work without the fan until the Tegra 250 is due to a TDP of just one watt. The exceptions are compressed Windows, such as Acer Iconia W500, which operate the netbook platform.

Battery life
We measure the energy of the Sony S1 with a voltmeter that is connected to the rack adapter 30 watts. The battery charges fully in all measurements. S1 needs 3.1 to 6 watts at idle. This is a broad enough range that is very close to the power load of 6.3 watts. This is a typical value of a two Tegra: LG V900 (7.0 W), Galaxy Tab 10.1 (8.2w), Motorola Xoom (6.3 W).

Striking and relevant for practical use is the relatively high standby consumption of 1.6 watts. On the other hand, Motorola Xoom (0.1W) very economical. Consumption of a Galaxy Tab 10.1 (0.6 W) and an LG V900 (0.15 W) is still reasonable. The result of this "leak" was under the battery capacity has dropped from 75 to 69% within seven hours of sleep.

A 18.5 Wh Lithium-ion is responsible for the battery life of up to just under seven hours. This ability is very low compared to other tablets: iPad2 (25 Wh), Acer Iconia Loss (35 Wh), Motorola Xoom (24.5 Wh). It has provided the battery seems low in comparison.

S1 administers 5:30 pm in the mixed test (WLAN test) with an average brightness. This test is a mixture of site navigation and watch videos. Galaxy Lose 10.1v (9:35), leaving all others far behind in this test. LG V900 (7:15) iPad2 (7:30) Xoom and Motorola (7:26) also last longer.

S1 turns out to be a little more efficient when playing a video (DVD) test. 6:28 hours is possible when the wireless module is disabled. The stress test consisted of a loop video (720p), a large number of games opened, and the maximum brightness in the case of S1. Sony tablet is removed after hours of 3:52.

Verdict
With S1, the Sony is a tablet that can remain in the range of the best restaurants in the Android Market. Multitasking with Tegra 2 is a fast and stable, even dozens of open applications. A honeycomb multi-touch is fun to use, and the Android Market, respectively Tegra Zone offers a (growing) load applications and games.

S1 and meets the expectations we place on the Tablet PC based on Android - and is capable of more. The color and viewing angle powerful IPS screen is very bright. The display is only characterized by reflections in the sun. Mobility slightly lower low, but a shortage in terms of battery life. 5:30 hours is a long time for laptops, but a good tablet should last almost 10 hours until 7:30 (WLAN test). Competition makes this possible.

The total size of SD card reader seems worthwhile (not Micro!). Unfortunately, the benefit of an additional 32 GB memory is less because the videos and music can not be played directly from SD. These files must be copied first to the small internal memory (16 GB).

Finally, the price of € 479 for Sony S Tablet WiFi (16 GB). It is very competitive, as the opponents of the request about the same. Motorola Xoom is available to start at € 450, as second iPad Galaxy Tab 10.1, not currently available in German retail sales due to the pursuit of Apple, were available for 450 €. Even Eee Cursor Pad with built-in keyboard is available to start at € 499.

If the optimal battery life is not a problem, the buyer is wise with the Sony S-tablet. The customer can get Android feel other manufacturers, but no cases have such a unique shape.

Hanvon releases a new product called Hanvon HPad A112 tablet. Hanvon HPad A112 tablet is a lot of fantastic features, including 7-inch touch screen, capacitive or resistive than 800 x 600 pixels screen resolution and 720MHz ARM11 processor. Running with Android OS 2.2 of this tablet HPad Froyo Hanvon A112 comes with optional GPS navigation and 3G connectivity. Up to 32 GB micro SD card included in this tablet Hanvon HPad A112 with 2 GB of flash memory.

Hanvon HPad A112 tablet priced  available at 399 Euro, or about $545. 3300mAh Battery for A112 Hanvon HPad this tablet provides long up to 8 hours of battery life. Hanvon compressed HPad A112 will be available in mid-2011.

Hanvon HPad A112 Tablet Specification:

• 7 inches of capacitive or resistive touchscreen display
• 800 x 600 pixel of screen resolution
• Runs on Android 2.2 Froyo operating system
• Powered with 720MHz ARM11 processor
• 3.0 mega pixel rear facing camera
• 2GB of flash storage
• Up to 32GB micro SD card slot
• Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity
• Optional GPS navigation
• Optional 3G connectivity
• Mini HDMI port, USB port
• 3300mAh battery

Barnes & Noble Inc. actions taken to answer the Amazon rivals who first launched the tablet computer. Today, Americas largest bookstore is also jump on this market.

Nook Tablet is any device that is already available via pre-order and will be shipped in stores Barnes & Noble and retailer-retailer. It costs about $ 50 more expensive than Amazons Kindle Fire.

Then what about specifics? Claimed by chif executive William Lynch that the price is more expensive it offers experience a faster and smoother when reading books, playing games or watching movies.

Nook Tablet armed with storage of 16 GB and 1 GB of RAM. For comparison, the Kindle has a Fire cabinet smaller of 8 GB and 512 MB of RAM.

Excerpted from the LATimes, Thursday (11.08.2011), Nook Tablet promised battery life is longer ie up to 11.5 hours, is more durable than the Kindle Fire that has a resistance of up to 8 hours.

Regarding the operating system, the second device and the Kindle Fire Gingerbread Nook use the Android OS and connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi without offering 3G or 4G. Both also have a cloud-based storage.

If the Kindle Fire offers abundant content, then Barnes & Noble focused on reading digital content. As for music content, TV show and movies, they give it to service providers such as Netflix, Hulu and Pandora are already pre-installed on a Tablet Nook.

"Fire is a machine sells Kindle for Amazon, being Nook Tablet allows users to get music and video from any source they like," said Lynch.

As quoted from the LATimes, Tuesday (11.08.2011), Nook Tablet will be launched on 17 November with a price tag to USD 249.

Onkyo will release a new touchscreen-enabled Tablet that is Onkyo TW317A7PH in Japan, which runs in Windows 7 Professional. Is powered by an Intel Atom N450 processor at 1.66 GHz with 2 GB of RAM and supports connectivity options 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. The Tablet has integrated Intel Atom Broadcom BCM70015 improving processing HD video and is equipped with a SSD of 32 GB (SSD). It also comes with lots of advanced features like 11.6-inch touch screen with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, 1.3 megapixel camera.

Tablet TW317A7PH Onkyo also includes two USB 2.0 ports, mini HDMI, SD card reader, etc. The Onkyo device measures 295 x 195 x 14 mm and weighing about 1 kg and its battery provides up to 4, 4 hours battery per charge. Onkyo is expected to TW317A7PH Tablet will be available in the price tag of 9, 800 yen in Japan next month.

Onkyo TW317A7PH Tablet Features

• 11.6-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels
• Powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor
• Supports Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, & Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR connectivity
• Paired with 2GB of RAM
• A 32GB solid state drive (SSD)
• 1.3 megapixel camera
• Built-in Broadcom BCM70015
• Runs on Windows 7 Professional OS
• Includes SD card reader
• Two USB 2.0 & HDMI mini ports

To compete in the tablet market, Lenovo offers a touch-screen and Wacom-enabled version of its 12-inch ThinkPad X200. Lenovo has a standard Wacom-enabled X200, as well as a two-finger multi-touch version for a $125 upgrade. With a starting retail price of $1,909, it is priced almost $500 under the Dell Latitude XT2, which is its primary competitor. In this review we put the standard and touch-enabled ThinkPad X200 Tablet head to head, to see how well they perform in ours tests.

Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet with Multitouch Specifications:

• Windows 7 Professional
• 1280 x 800 WXGA with MultiTouch and Wacom LED Backlit (Matte finish)
• Intel Core 2 Duo SL9600 (2.13GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 6MB Cache)
• 4GB DDR3 RAM (2GB x 2)
• 160GB Seagate 7200.2 Hard Drive
• Intel 5300AGN, Bluetooth 2.0, AT&T WWAN
• Intel X4500M Integrated
• Built-in web camera
• 8-cell 11.1v 66.2Wh
• Dimensions: (LxWxH) 11.6 x 10.1 x 1.04-1.31"
• Weight: 4lbs 3.9oz
• Retail Price: $2,579 ($2,199 Street)

Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet Specifications:

• Windows 7 Professional
• 1280 x 800 WXGA Sunlight Readable with Wacom LED Backlit (Glossy, Anti-glare)
• Intel Core 2 Duo SL9600 (2.13GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 6MB Cache)
• 2GB DDR3 RAM (2GB x 1) (Benchmarked with 4GB)
• 160GB Seagate 7200.3 Hard Drive
• Intel 5100AGN, Bluetooth 2.0
• Intel X4500M Integrated
• Built-in web camera
• 8-cell 11.1v 66.2Wh
• Dimensions: (LxWxH) 11.6 x 10.1 x 1.04-1.31"
• Weight: 4lbs 1oz
• Retail Price: $2,464 ($2,084 Street)

Build and Design
The design of the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet is all about business, with no superfluous frills. The color scheme revolves around black, with the screen lid and bottom painted with a rubberized black paint and with the inside being lightly textured black plastic. Following the trend of function over form, Lenovo includes an externally mounted WWAN antenna, palmrest rubber bumpers for when the screen is in the slate position, and quick access buttons along the lower edge of the screen. From tech-geek standpoint it is also nice to see that Lenovo didnt hold anything back when they planned the port layout, using all available space for ports, expansion slots, and internal component access. On the bottom the design is fairly busy, with two access panels for the hard drive and system memory, as well as numerous rubber bumpers for a solid grip on flat surfaces.

Build quality is excellent, with a great match of a sturdy magnesium chassis and durable plastic panels. Chassis flex isnt present anywhere, feeling solid in your arms in its slate position or sitting like a notebook on your desk. Keyboard support is very good, with only a small amount of movement on the right side of the keyboard above the hard drive bay. This wasnt noticed unless you really squeezed it in that spot. The upper half of the notebook feels very strong, which is important for any tablet that might be gripped along the screen edge. The plastic bezel feels firm under a tight grip and even under strong pressure doesnt transmit any force into the screen edge, which can cause color distortion.

A potential weakness of any tablet is the single pivoting hinge design, which also happens to be one of the first components we look at when we review any convertible tablet. Lenovo uses a 360-degree pivot mechanism on the X200 Tablet, which allows you to spin the screen in either direction. To go along with this feature, they also provide a visual indication of which direction you need to spin the screen to get it back to its default orientation. The hinge itself feels durable, with firm locking points in each of the three positions. When it is tilting the screen forward or back, it feels as strong as a standard notebook. When fully open it has some slight wiggle, which seems more like flex near the attachment point then play in the clutched hinge.

The X200 Tablet offers easy access to the hard drive and system memory through two access panels. The large panel on the bottom of the X200 exposes the two RAM slots, while the thinner access panel on the edge lets you slide out the hard drive.

Screen and Speakers
Lenovo uses an In-plane Switching display (IPS) in all versions of the X200 Tablet, but incorporates a different covering and backlighting method for each version. IPS displays are renowned for their color accuracy and superior viewing angles, which is a must if you are viewing the screen from many viewing angles. In the two models we reviewed, each showed the identical screen part number, but looked vastly different when put side by side. The touch-sensitive layer put over tablet screens almost always gives the display a hazy look, but this was the first time we saw both versions side by side. Below in the screen comparisons shots, the model on the left is the standard X200 Tablet, while the one on the right is the multitouch version.

The multitouch version looks faded and dimmer, even when both displays are set to the exact same brightness. One thing that becomes very clear is the non-touch X200 Tablet has one of the best screens we have seen in our office since the Flexview-era Thinkpads. Color saturation is excellent, contrast is through the roof, and black levels are excellent. Compared to my T60 with an IPS panel and CCFL lighting, the newer LED-backlit X200 display is much brighter and visible outdoors in full sunlight. Another interesting feature is the glossy but anti-glare surface. This display has a special coating which significantly reduces the amount of reflection you see. The only way we even saw anything reflected back at us was to tilt the screen back completely and get one of the overhead lights to bounce off of it. I personally wish other manufactures tried to do something similar. Viewing angles are nearly perfect, with colors staying accurate to the steepest angles. The only thing that changes is outside of the 10-15 degree "sweet spot" you can notice the screen dim slightly; other than that it looks perfect.

The Wacom support on each X200 Tablet was very good, with high accuracy once the pen was calibrated. Out of the box each model was pretty good, with a 2-3mm deviance from directly under the tip of the pen. Each screen surface was smooth to move a pen across, but the finish on the touch-screen model seemed to edge the glossy one out. For drawing or direct manipulation of objects on the screen the Wacom screens are very hard to beat. For slightly less accurate, but easier to use input, the touch-screen model offers excellent two-finger multitouch support. Finger presses were recognized quickly, with no lag or forceful press needed. I wish the screen supported more fingers like the T400s, but with the Wacom support included on both models, I cant complain much.

The onboard speakers are lap-firing, mounted directly below the palmrest. When situated on a flat desk surface they sound clear but very tinny. For video-conferencing or VOIP needs they work very well, but are lackluster for music and video. If you plan on using this tablet for multimedia, a pair of headphones is highly recommended.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The ThinkPad keyboard really deserves its own class when it comes to comfortable and durable business-grade keyboards. The X200 Tablet continues this trend with a full-size keyboard that is great to type on. The 12" widescreen size allows for a 100% size keyboard, no exceptions. Keyboard support is very good, with only one minor soft spot noticed on the right side above the hard drive bay. Under normal typing you would never notice the spot, but if you grip the tablet from that side you notice some give in that area. Individual key action is springy and precise, with great tactile feedback. Each key gives off a very mild click when pressed, which may get louder if you are a very forceful typer. Overall if you can get past the rather short palmrest, it is a very comfortable computer to use when typing.

Since this model has very little real estate south of the keyboard Lenovo went with a pointing stick only, just like the X-series models before it. If you have never used a pointing stick before it takes a bit to get used to, but once you get the nack of it is a very precise way to control the cursor. Sensitivity is great, with a wide range of adjustment possible in the driver menus. On occasion the mouse might move on its own for a few millimeters before it auto-adjusts on occasion, but that is fairly common with most pointing sticks on the market. As with notebooks with touchpads, you are still free to use an external mouse if you chose to go with an alternative input device.

Ports and Features
Port selection is very good when compared to other notebooks and tablets in the same size range. The X200 Tablet offers three USB ports, VGA-out, LAN, modem, and audio in/out jacks. Expansion slots include an ExpressCard/54 slot and 5-in-1 SD-card reader. When compared to the Dell Latitude XT2, the only features missing are a FireWire port and eSATA connection. For additional ports as well as an optical this model also offers a docking station connection on the bottom.

Performance and Benchmarks
System performance was excellent on both models we tested, and since the scores were nearly identical, we merged both of the results. Compared to the Dell XT2 with its 1.8" hard drive, the X200 Tablets offers a standard 2.5" drive that helps to keep system lag to a minimum. Going with the faster hard drives, Lenovo also offers faster processor options. New to the Windows 7 versions of the X200 is the the 2.16GHz Intel SL9600 processor. Compared to the 1.4GHz SU9400 processor offered in the XT2, the SL9600 provides much greater speeds with little impact to battery life. In our tests the X200 Tablet was able to easy cope with 720P and 1080P HD movie decoding, and even handle some older video games such as Half-Life 2 with some settings tweaking. Synthetic benchmarks also showed that system performance was on par with the 2.4GHz P8600 equipped X200 notebook. For users looking for a mobile workhorse, the X200 Tablet seems to be a great option.

wPrime Processor Performance Benchmark (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 Overall Performance Benchmark (higher scores mean better performance):

Synthetic Gaming Performance using 3DMark06 (higher scores mean better performance):

HDTune Hard Drive Performance Benchmark:

Heat and Noise
During our tests we found the X200 Tablet to run fairly cool and quiet. Fan noise during our tests was minimal, with the fan staying at below whisper level under stressful activity. Under normal use the fan stayed off for the most part, only coming on in short bursts to bring air through the chassis. The cooling system seemed to handle system temperatures very well, keeping the chassis cool to the touch even after the system was on for most of the morning. The external temperatures shown below are listed in degrees Fahrenheit.

Battery Life
Battery life was very good on each system, but the non-touchscreen version of the X200 Tablet was able to take a big lead in this department. Both models were equipped with the 66Wh 8-cell battery, which extends out the back on the X200 chassis. A smaller 4-cell battery option is available, but I dont see why anyone would want that besides for aesthetics. On the standard X200 Tablet with the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and Windows 7 on a dynamically-switching power profile, it got 8 hours and 48 minutes of runtime. Average power consumption during the test was between 6.5 and 7 watts. The touchscreen version didnt do as well in this test, getting only 5 hours and 32 minutes of runtime, while consuming between 10-12 watts of power.

Conclusion
The Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablets we reviewed performed very well in almost all categories. Battery life was excellent with the 8-cell battery, reaching 8 hours and 48 minutes on the sunlight readable version, and 5 hours and 32 minutes on the touchscreen model. Screen quality on both models was phenomenal, with the sunlight readable display being one of the best screens we have ever seen in our office. Not only was it useable outdoors, but color saturation was high and viewing angles were perfect thanks to the IPS panel.

Overall performance was very good on both models, with little impact to battery life or system temperatures. Considering the low starting price compared to the Dell XT2, the ThinkPad X200 Tablets are a clear winner. For its amazing screen, great build quality, and excellent battery life we are also awarding the outdoor viewable X200 Tablet with our Editors Choice award.

Pros:

• Beautiful IPS displays
• Good performance
• Excellent battery life

Cons:

• Touchscreen display doesnt look as good as non-touchscreen model
• Only two-finger multitouch support

Dell XPS 18 will be going to release from 16 April in Europe and United States at starting price of $899.99.