Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Tablet - Pen Input

[ff7masta]

Finally, someone is pointing out the flaws instead of trying to convince themselves that they don't regret buying it.

[JesseBAndersen]

@ff7masta Every system has pros/cons. :)

[jiraiiiya]

Excuse me if I missed the information in the video, but is the fujitsu replacement pen more accurate than the lenovo pen ?

[JesseBAndersen]

@jiraiiiya No it's not. There Wacom based Fujitsu replacement is the same as the included pen. (-1m)

[kafkawood]

It´s unwise to do review about pen input, and shoot the whole thing from the angle where all we see is your arm.

[JesseBAndersen]

@kafkawood I'm sorry. I try to learn from my mistakes and improve. I think the more recent Series 7 Slate videos are a bit better when it comes to showing what's going on the screen. Again, I'm sorry.

[AlienWeaver08]

This will be a rather silly question, but did you pay for the 'included' pen?

[JesseBAndersen]

@AlienWeaver08 I did not pay for the 'included' pen, and that was not a silly question. ;)

[Ferzurio]

HP EliteBook 2760p

vs

Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Tablet

I'm considering to buy one of these but don't know which and what the big different is.

[JesseBAndersen]

@Ferzurio Probably the biggest difference is build quality. If you have seen a ThinkPad then you know what you are getting with a X220T.

I wish I could have tried the HP and Lenovo at the same time so I could know the actual pros/cons. There's also the Fujitsu Lifebook T901 with discrete graphics. The T901 would be a bit bulkier than both the HP and Lenovo tablets, but the 3D capabilities would be better.

[Ark1406]

Question, can you transfer files through USB? Also, can you download files, or programs of the Internet? Thank you, your video was very helpful.

[JesseBAndersen]

@Ark1406 I'm not sure of what you mean transfer through USB. I don't recall if it could do PC to PC transfers via USB.

The system is like most Windows PCs which do allow downloading files from the internet.

[LexusFman]

If I get the one with multi touch can I make it so it only registers the pen? thanks.

[JesseBAndersen]

@LexusFman Sadly there's not an easy way of doing this. It's not like N-Trig's DuoSense /watch?v=I1VxxWoDtkg There is a hack that I found, but it's not practical at all because it requires you to have an external monitor.

[JesseBAndersen]

@jjewait If it's a Wacom based digitizer then yes. /watch?v=UBySlk1b2fs or search "x201 fujitsu lifebook digitizer" and you should see a video of a compatible pen.

[smallhadroncollider]

Holy dang! I thought it was pretty hard to find a tablet PC with pressure sensitivity. Well, an HP salesperson lied to me.

[JesseBAndersen]

@smallhadroncollider Pressure sensitive tablets are everywhere... hahaha. Salesperson has to sell their product for a living. ;-)

[LightningStrike1212]

on the forums, there is a lot of complaint about the inaccuracy of the tablet at the edges, and calibration does not help they say. Is it that its because your unit is a review unit that the accuracy is better?

[JesseBAndersen]

@LightningStrike1212 I'm not 100% if it's because it's a review unit, somehow I doubt it. The accuracy is not going to be great at the edges, it's always going to be a bit off. It was the same on the X201T, although it's more noticeable on the X220T because the bezel is different. With programs with small icons on the edges this is a problem. The N-Trig based Fujitsu T580 doesn't get close to edges, it's off by a good 5 pixels. So both Wacom and N-Trig have things to work on.

[Riggzilla]

So would X201t be better if I'm planning on taking notes with a tablet?

[JesseBAndersen]

@Riggzilla For taking notes in portrait mode then probably. The X220T is better performance wise, but again it's works better on "landscape" mode.

[Riggzilla]

@JesseBAndersen Thanks for your help. Taking notes shouldn't need an i7 Sandy Bridge. :p

[JesseBAndersen]

@Riggzilla On that you are right. Other tablets like the HTC Flyer and Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet will get the job done. There are many other tablets with pen input with lesser specs, and for a lot less money. The X220T is more like an "all in one". ;)

[Riggzilla]

Left handed people would handle this well right?

[JesseBAndersen]

@Riggzilla Due to the angle I doubt portrait would work well for the southpaws... the most natural way is when it's completely flat. Of course when it's in landscape it will work fine.

[nabil7575]

Hi Jesse,

Thanks for these videos; they are very helpful! I was also concerned about the palm being mistaken for touch input, and had asked a lenovo salesperson about this and he said it had palm rejection technology. But as your video clearly shows, unless you get the digitizer down first, your palm will be an input. My question is, instead of buying the gorilla glass, digitizer only model to avoid this problem, is there no way of completely disabling finger input on the model you have? Thx!

[JesseBAndersen]

@nabil7575 There is a hack but requires you to be connected to an external display. (and only keeps working when connected to external display) I posted the how to at the Lenovo Forums. I wish Wacom was similar to N-Trig's technology when it comes to input modes. Search "N-Trig DuoSense Modes (pen and touch)" /watch?v=I1VxxWoDtkg

[nabil7575]

@JesseBAndersen Thanks, Jesse. Yes, those pen and touch modes would have been nice - maybe Lenovo will release a software update... I guess I now have to decide if the multitouch features would enhance my productivity enough to outweigh the risk of accidental palm clicks, or if the Gorilla Glass pen only model would just make things easier. I am a student looking to annotate PDFs with the pen input and kept running into palm problems on the Thinkpad Tablet with Android 3.1 that I tried out.

[JesseBAndersen]

@nabil7575 That ThinkPad Tablet has N-Trig technology. I bet they have modes of disabling the finger touch and only allow pen input.  If you are looking for PDF annotation check "PDF Annotator" /watch?v=LxnBb7Mfnnw

[NatePessoa]

Okay. Thank you. Keep up with the awesome videos.

[JesseBAndersen]

@NatePessoa I'm in the wrong business. Based on the top Youtube videos I can see that I should refocus and try to create the most stupidest videos in the world. Educational stuff is too boring... and electronics have a very limited shelf lifespan. "stupid" is entertaining, and has a very high replay value. Google "20/20: YouTube's Biggest Hits"

[NatePessoa]

@JesseBAndersen That is true. Sadly. But your videos help so many people! Don't give it up!

[NatePessoa]

I see. Sorry for all the questions. I just want to be prepared. I don't really mind about the life span of the tips. I draw. So I think the feeling would be better. But I thought that the felt tips would make everything less prone to scratching? Hmm. . .Also I tend to use a lot of pressure and I'm scared to scratch it would you recommend that I buy a screen protection film? If yes do you know where I can get one to fit the lenovo?

[JesseBAndersen]

@NatePessoa I do recommend getting some kind of screen protector. The glass found in the X220T is very good, but you have to agree that it cost quite a bit of money. Someone told me that some of those screen protectors do build up electricity and give you some sparks (I forgot the brand name of that one... ).

[NatePessoa]

I see. Do you think I would be able to replace the tip with a felt tip by wacom?

[JesseBAndersen]

@NatePessoa I think you can. Lifespan of those felt tips is shorter than the white tips though. The pros would be in the "feel" that you will get. I'm not sure what would be the effect on the screen (ie would it be more prone to scratches).

[NatePessoa]

Thanks for the quick reply. I bought this laptop tablet and the digitizer pen. I'm just waiting for it to arrive. I have another question. Can you change the tip of the pen? I mean if it gets worn out. . . 

[JesseBAndersen]

@NatePessoa Yes. The system by default comes with a digitizer which includes replacements tips.

[NatePessoa]

Any wacom based pen would work on it?

[JesseBAndersen]

@NatePessoa It should.

[yaboiimario1]

thank you thts the only thing apple has is somewhere to get hands on wth there product

[yaboiimario1]

could u do a review of the android thinkpad tablet

[JesseBAndersen]

@yaboiimario1 I have requested a review unit from Lenovo... if they don't send me one I'll buy one to make a few videos.

[nickyrudd7]

Is there function handwriting converting into printed letters?

[JesseBAndersen]

@nickyrudd7 Yes. You can do it with Windows Journal (free) or Microsoft OneNote.

[JackPitts]

In portrait mode I have found it easy to take notes with the battery on the side opposite my dominant hand (as a lefty, I keep the battery on the right side). This means that the tablet is angled toward my hand rather than away from it. I've found that I can use the angle to my advantage this way.

[altiscorner]

will the x220t have any problems when it comes to performance while using programmes like photoshop cs5?

currently i'm using a dell xps m1530 and sometimes it really slows down while working on high resolution pictures and so it makes working annoying

i want to avoid that

anyone any experience?

with this tablet features photoshoping would be so cool i think

[JesseBAndersen]

@altiscorner The Sandy Bridge line of Intel Core I CPUs should handle Photoshop CS5 very well. As long as you have enough RAM memory for those images you should be good.

[Tehtog]

Does the tablet have any issues with writing and resting your palm on the screen at the same time?

[JesseBAndersen]

@Tehtog I'm guessing the video did not answer your question. As long as the pen is really close to the screen the palm is rejected. If you move the pen away from the screen while resting your palm then the palm capture will behave like a finger.

[Tehtog]

@JesseBAndersen I poorly worded the question. I've seen some tablets have driver issues where the pen being near doesn't disable the multitouch EVERY time so makes mistakes every so often. Does the x220T suffer these sort of problems?

[JesseBAndersen]

@Tehtog If you are consistent with the way you approach the screen with the pen you won't have problems. The problem is that we as humans are not consistent. It's just how it is.

[knauhsty]

So, in your opinion, which is better for note-taking, x201t or x220t?

[JesseBAndersen]

@knauhsty Well... for portrait mode probably the X201T and for landscape mode the X220T. :-)

[knauhsty]

@JesseBAndersen Kudos, brother. Keep up the awesome work

[TheGamingDude23]

Would you recommend getting the X220 Tablet?

[JesseBAndersen]

@TheGamingDude23 It depends whether you will use the touch and pen capabilities or not.

[sruliksnewjunk]

You r Gr8!! man

Can a Virtual Keyboard be used in order to type into word? Can you upload a video of that kind of usage?

[JesseBAndersen]

@sruliksnewjunk Yep. The tablet has what they call Tablet Input Panel (tabtip). Just google it and you will some videos about it. There's another option called On Screen Keyboard (osk), and there are many third party virtual keyboards.

[whatever3009]

can i record what i am writing as a video with voice?

[JesseBAndersen]

@whatever3009 If you want to record videos you can do it with software like Camtasia Studio.

[ccmuggs13]

I know with the pre-production models they had a 9-cell battery but they now only offer the 6-cell. Do you know if the elevation from the battery is stil a problem in portrait with the 6-cell battery? because the pictures on lenovo's website make it look pretty flat

Also what are the actual dimentions of the screen in inches? I know it is 12.5" diagonal but what is the height and width of the screen in inches?

[JesseBAndersen]

@ccmuggs13 Elevation change in portrait is a problem (uncomfortable). It's better suited for landscape mode. These are my guestimated dimensions 10.5 x 6 inches (I didn't use a ruler).

[LightningStrike1212]

it should be good for sketching i think

[JesseBAndersen]

@LightningStrike1212 When I had the X201T Sketchbook Pro worked very well. It should be the same with the X220T.

[LightningStrike1212]

thanks

[JesseBAndersen]

@LightningStrike1212 You are welcomed!

[BB0YMatty]

whats the menu you open at 2:25?

[JesseBAndersen]

@BB0YMatty Windows Mobility Center

[jh3496]

Do you plan your reviews? They're very professional.

[JesseBAndersen]

@jh3496 Usually i grab the camera and get recording. I do have in the back of my head a few things that should be covered. Thanks.

[Dmitlantis]

Dtailed and constructive review. As usual.

[JesseBAndersen]

@Dmitlantis Thanks.