The Lenovo X60: Good Things Come In Small Packages

As followup to my recent single-vs-multicore CPU hands-on article, 'Double take: Reassessing x86 CPUs in embedded-system applications', Lenovo provided me with an evaluation unit of the company's latest-generation X60 ThinkPad. I'd previously taken a look at the X40, and I was very interested in comparing my prior pros-and-cons list against the attributes of this follow-on product.

First off, I'm happy to report that Lenovo fixed what, in my mind, was the single biggest (and one of the only) deficiencies of the X40; its reliance on a 1.8" HDD. Aside from their use in iPods and other high-capacity portable music players, 1.8" HDDs haven't achieved broad industry adoption. They're 'stuck in the middle' between the ultra-compact 1" and much higher capacity 2.5" form factors.

As a result, their capacity increases haven't kept pace with the impressive improvements of their 1" and 2.5" peers, their rotational speeds are lower than 2.5" counterparts, the number of suppliers is low (keeping prices comparatively higher), and, from a pragmatic standpoint, it's difficult to find 1.8" bare drives for sale on the open market, either as replacements or upgrades to factory-installed HDDs. The X60 returns to the 2.5" HDD form factor previously found in the X31; admittedly, perhaps, the X60 form factor isn't quite as slim as it might otherwise be as a result, but overall I think the decision was a solid one.

Before I continue, here's some tech specs. I have the X60; the X60s is slightly thinner (1.1" versus 1.39") and lighter (3.46 lbs vs 3.6 lbs, both with standard battery), but comes with a slightly slower (1.66 GHz L2400) Core Duo CPU. Note, too, if it isn't already obvious from the previous sentence's stats, that to reduce weight and thickness (along with cost) the X60 doesn't come with an integrated optical drive. Like the Fujitsu Lifebook-P1510 that I tested in my late April feature story, the X60 relies on an externally-tethered or docking station-inclusive unit.

• CPU: 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo (T2400)
• HDD: 100 GByte 2.5" 5400 RPM SATA
• DRAM: 1 GByte PC25300 DDR (667 MHz data rate) SDRAM
• Display: 12.1" 1024×768 pixel resolution, driven by integrated Intel GMA950 graphics
• Connectivity: Intel Pro/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, Intel 3945 802.11a/b/g, IBM Bluetooth 2.0, 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 4-pin Firewire (IEEE 1394) port, 1 Express Card, 1 Secure Digital, optional EV-DO

Compare the SiSoftware Sandra 2005 benchmarks I logged on the X60 against those of the other systems I tested for last month's article, and you'll see that it's a speedy performer. The X60 data is all dual-core; I didn't investigate doing any one-core-disabled testing as I'd previously done on the Dell Latitude D820 (which, keep in mind, contains a 2.16 GHz Core Duo CPU). I also didn't do any detailed power consumption analyses, but numerous reviews I've read paint a positive picture of the reality behind Lenovo's battery life claims; Ars Technica's writeup is particularly solid. And speaking of solid, the X60 is perhaps the most sturdy-feeling laptop I've ever had the pleasure of cradling in my hands (due in no small part to the magnesium top and bottom covers), with a well-designed keyboard in the long IBM-now-Lenovo tradition.

As regular readers of Brian's Brain might remember, this small-form-factor senior technical editor is a fan of synergistically small-form-factor mobile PCs. And, as I previously predicted, dual-core capabilities are tempting me to upgrade my hardware. But, in spite of its multitude of strengths, I doubt the X60 will be my next system selection. For one thing, there's no PCMCIA (aka PC Card) slot; not quite the concern in this case as with other laptops, because as stated earlier the X60 offers optional built-in EV-DO, but the omission is still a flexibility and existing-hardware-investment issue in my mind. I'll explore the topic more in a PCMCIA-dedicated blog post to come next; keep an eye out for it.

The X60 also doesn't offer a widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio) display. When I asked my Lenovo contacts for an explanation, their response was that widescreen "would compromise what we think is the best keyboard for ultraportables and viewing experience for the large enterprise customer the system is designed for." This positioning baffles me a bit; frankly, the most common thing I see business people doing on airplanes is watching widescreen movies, and a wider aspect ratio also enables a user to, for example, more easily manipulate broad spreadsheets and simultaneously view multiple application windows.

But I also acknowledge, as presenters at both last year's iSuppli FID and SID ADEAC conferences pointed out, that many users perceive widescreen displays as being 'smaller' than their 4:3 aspect ratio counterparts of equivalent diagonal dimensions. 'Smaller' specifically means 'shorter'….a simple Pythagorean Theorem exercise will expose the fact that if the hypotenuse (diagonal dimension) is a constant but the 16:9 display's horizontal dimension is longer than its 4:3 counterpart, its vertical dimension must by necessity be shorter.

Finally, unlike Apple's latest Intel-based laptops, the X60 won't boot both OS X and Windows (at least legally, that is)….but again, stay tuned for my next post for more on this point.