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The ThinkPad X220 is one of the most impressive 12 inch business style notebooks on the market. Lenovo have been able to advance the IBM tradition by releasing a range of machines with bullet proof build quality and high specification internal components.
The ThinkPad machines stand out mainly because of their highly durable chassis designs, which you know will take some abuse on the move. Ideal when in the hands of an active businessman who is more concerned with getting the job done, rather than pampering the machine to ensure it won't fall apart. For instance, while we love the high cost Sony Z Series they definitely need to be delicately handled when out and about.
The ThinkPad X220 has been carefully thought out and is equipped with a great keyboard, trackpad and plenty of ports to cater for a business user on the move. The IPS screen is splendid with very wide viewing angles and fantastic colour rendition and consistent edge to edge backlighting. Even the onboard audio is clear, with substantial volume for company presentations in a small room.
The biggest challenger in my opinion comes from the ThinkPad X1, which ticks more boxes for me. This keyboard is in a class of its own, equaling the best desktop keyboards on the market. If you have never used the keyboard on the X1 laptop, then you really don't know what you are missing … it really is the benchmark to judge all other laptop computers. The X1 keyboard is also liquid proof and offers two levels of backlighting.
Sadly the X220 does away with these features and merely offers a little light on the top of the screen, to create a ‘glow' over the keyboard. It isn't remarkable and a backlit keyboard would work much better.
The ThinkPad X1 chassis is also slightly more rigid and more comfortable to use long term, thanks to the added space for wrist support. With the optional battery slice the X1 will last for around 9-10 hours and can recharge to full in under 40 minutes. The X220 certainly has the edge in regards to the IPS screen and battery life, but in all other regards, the X1 gets my vote. The X1 also has the Corning Gorilla Glass protection system, whereas the X220 doesn't.
If you want a Solid State Drive we don't recommend you pay Lenovo £403 for a 160 GB last generation Intel drive. Buy the cheapest mechanical option, then get a faster SSD from an etailer and do the changeover yourself.
You can compare and buy the machines, with various specifications from Lenovo over here.
Pros:
- Built like a tank.
- appealing looks.
- great screen.
- good keyboard.
- High specification possibilities
- massive battery life.
Cons:
- no backlit keyboard.
- SSD pricing is way out.
- not designed for gaming.
- ThinkPad X1 is more feature rich and we feel a better overall machine.
Kitguru says: A great superportable business machine and built to last. I prefer the X1 however.
good looking machine, very businesslike. shame about the lack of backlight keyboard. thats a bad move.
I have a X220 and it has been nothing but trouble. the battery lost a charge in a month and I had to return it. then they released a firmware update which hosed my bios and I had to return the laptop after that.
Its all working now, but im wondering what will happen next………… very bad experience for me. (it is a nice laptop however as reviewer said, but ive concerns about quality control).
I use it with Ubuntu 11.10 and it works like a charm, everything is smooth and worked out of the box. Also, seller was fast and delivered really quickly. I read a lot of complaints about they not replying emails, but my experience was the opposite, they replied me fast and were accurate. I recommend them too!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005AJYZE8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=emjay2d-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005AJYZE8
It’s all very well saying this laptop looks like the ultimate mobile business warrior’s tool. Sure it has the specs, and the dependable looks. I followed the advice of reviews like this one and shelled out $1,200 for a high-spec X220 but when the laptop’s casing developed a crack on the side by no accident or fault of mine, I was in for a ride from Lenovo Customer Service. The following thread on the Lenovo forum gives you a pretty good idea of what I’ve been through:
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/Crack-in-X220-casing-poor-support/m-p/693719#M36529
My opinion after owning an X220 for five months: not only is this laptop of low quality build, but you can forget customer service. My experience of customer service at Apple on similar issues was lightyears ahead of this. Also: “milspec tested”? Give me a break! And what does “milspec tested” mean without actually getting some kind of milspec certification anyway? You can “milspec test” a fisher price toy and it would come out better than the X220, I’d wager.
Hi wimute, im really sorry to hear that. It is a problem with most reviews to be honest. we only get a week or two tops with a product like this before it has to go back. Ill have a look at that thread. thanks for sharing.
@ Wimute, I’ve been using a Lenovo X220 as my main everyday machine for about eight months and had no problems at all. I can’t comment on Lenovo customer service as I’ve not had any issues with the laptop but in my opinion, the build quality is fantastic.
I want to buy it
Nice review. I’m looking to buy thinkpad this Summer
I’ve owned one for about six months, and I love it. I came from Macs, and so far, my x220 has been more reliable and just plain better.
I am looking to purchase the highest end quality laptop summer/fall 2012
Well I’m now experiencing another design flaw in my X220: I’m starting to see ghosting in the display. Seems I’m not alone: if you bought yours with the option of an IPS display, you’re likely to have ghosting crop up. The thread about this issue over at Lenovo has 47 pages of posts and counting. I’m so shell shocked by the Lenovo customer service experience regarding the crack though that I’m not sure I’ll even bother sending this machine in. They’ll probably tell me it’s my fault again and waste a month of my time with a maze of incompetence and denial.
Have you a link? What are you planning on doing?