Recently I was able to acquire a Lenovo X61, a tablet PC that, at the time, was the best on the market. Since then, Lenovo has come out with other tablets, so I can’t vouch for how well it stacks up against them, but as far as I’m concerned, the X61 should be able to stand it’s ground against almost any tablet it comes up against.

My X61 came equipped with an Intel Centrino Duo, running at 1.6Ghz, and using 3GB of RAM. It came preloaded with windows XP, and included the high capacity battery for extended life. Also included in the deal was the ultrabase, which can handle an extra hard drive, battery, or house a CD/DDVD-RW drive.

The pictures I had seen never really prepared me for how small the X61 turned out to be. With a 12” screen and slim body, it weighs in at about 3.8lbs, according to Lenovo’s specs. All I know is that without a doubt, it is one of the most handy, portable laptops I have ever used. The size and weight were what prompted me to compare this to a netbook, and I dare say that anyone who is interested in a netbook would be quite happy to own this ultraportable laptop.

To be honest, I’ve never handled a netbook, so I can’t say for sure, but I would bet that no laptop could beat Lenovo’s build quality on the X61. The frame is rock solid, and I have no qualms about picking it up anywhere on the body. The screen is tough as well; thin enough to satisfy my style concerns, but thick enough that I’m not afraid of bending or warping it.

The tablet function works well too. The pen is no larger than any other normal pen, and could easily be mistaken for one. In fact, I’ve lost it because others have noticed it lying around, and took it upon themselves to put it back “where it belonged.” Need I say more?

The design of the base is also well done. Three USB ports are available; two on the right, one on the left. A mini Firewire port and audio ports are also available. Ports on the left include VGA, LAN, and a slot for an SD card, as well as the typical PCMCIA/PC-Card. And, finally, there are no ports on the back of the laptop! I was quite sick of standing up and reaching over the screen to plug things into my older T23.

 Instead, the extended life battery provides an excellent handle for the laptop, whether in tablet mode or not. In fact, it’s one of those little things that really matter. When using other laptops, I sometimes find myself reaching for the ledge in the back, only to find that I have to hold it the normal way. What a pain!

Several other features grace the excellent Lenovo X61 Tablet PC, including the customizable tablet-mode button, a fingerprint reader, and available Bluetooth capability.

In fact, the only thing I am not happy with is the performance of the hard drive. It’s not awful, and I’m fairly sure I am partly to blame for its performance, seeing as though I have partitioned it severl times and had Vista dual booting for a while. However, I still find the lag of the 5400rpm hard drive somewhat tedious, especially when it comes to startup times. I would recommend the more expensive, but faster, Solid State Disk, or SSD, option if you want seamless computing from an excellent laptop.

Overall, the things I like most are the netbook-like portability, the rock-solid quality typical of Lenovo, and the ability to switch to tablet mode and wow all my friends. Believe me, it’s almost worth it just for that!