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Lenovo ThinkPad X120e Laptop Notebook

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Lenovo ThinkPad X120e Laptop Notebook

(9 customer reviews)

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SKU:

05962PU

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Features

Box Contents - Lenovo ThinkPad X120e 0596-2PU, 6-cell Li-on Battery Pack (up to 6 hours), AC Adapter;
AMD Fusion E-350 Dual-Core 1.60GHz Processor, Norton Internet Security 2011 30-days Trial, 1-Year Limited Warranty
1MB L2 Cache, Software Bundle - Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, Microsoft Office 2010 Product preloaded (Purchase product key to activate),
2GB PC3-10600 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (8GB max)
320GB (7200RPM) Hard Drive

Description

ThinkPad X120e 05962PU ( 11.6-in Anti-Glare HD 16:9 LED (1366 x 768), Midnight Black - Smooth, AMD A50M FCH Chipset, AMD Radeon HD 6310 Graphics, 640 x 480 Low Light Sensitive Webcam, Integrated Bluetooth Wireless, AMD Fusion E-350 Processor, 320 GB / 7200 rpm HDD, 2 GB memory, Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable, ThinkPad b/g/n, Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 6 Cell Li-Ion Battery 56 Whr)"

Product Details

Product Weight:	5.05 pounds
Package Length:	13.0 inches
Package Width:	10.0 inches
Package Height:	4.5 inches
Package Weight:	5.1 pounds
Average Customer Rating:	based on 9 reviews

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: 4.0

( 9 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 found the following review helpful:

Great build quality with several flaws and a few bugs. Mar 17, 2011 By M. Senn "Max"
I own a Lenovo X201 which I am very happy with. So I purchased the smaller X120e (at less than half the price) to tote everywhere with me.

My configuration is the base dual core e-350 model (don't even consider downgrading to the single core model to save $30), with bluetooth and abgn wifi as the only factory upgrades. I added extra memory to bring the total to 4 GB, and replaced the 5400 rpm hdd with an Intel SSD. Memory slots (2) and the HDD can be easily accessed from the bottom of the laptop by removing 4 screws. I'm getting around 3.5 hours battery life on a 3 cell battery - if you want longer battery life, get the 6 cell battery.

I've had it for 10 days now. Based on this brief ownership period:

PROS:
- They fixed my two main complaints about the X201 -- the X120e has HDMI out as well as a nice, snug battery (the x201 has a "loose" fitting battery).

- Feels very well made. Athough the keyboard is chiclet style and not the traditional thinkpad style, it is joy to type on. The lid is a bit hard to lift but I think it will loosen over time, and I'm glad they got rid of the lid latch.

- Webcam is better than the X201

- Performance is snappy with my SSD, although it was fairly slow with the factory HDD. I highly recommend an SSD upgrade.

- All apps (MS office, acrobat, vlc, angry birds) run smoothly. However, there are issues with media playback under the default settings (see below).

- Cool. No heat issues at all even when playing long videos.

CONS:

- Buggy multitouch scrolling. Of course, this is a moot issue to most thinkpad users because you have the option of using the touchpoint. But I want two-finger scrolling.

- Audio stutters when playing both mp3s and videos. The workaround noted on notebookreview and the lenovo forum is to disable the Thinkpad Power Manager.

- Washed out display. Thinkpads are not known for high contrast, gorgeous displays, but the X120e's display is weak even when compared to X201. I realize that the X120 is half the price, but still.... I've seen much cheaper Acer netbooks with better screens. I played around with the AMD Catalyst display driver settings, but it didn't help much. Contrast and color is a bit better when the screen is tilted further back than normal (say 120 degrees).

- Noisy fan with particularly annoying high pitch. The laptop itself is completely cool but the fan sounds like it's always on, and i've found no way to adjust. I don't know if mine has a bad temperature sensor, or if they are all like this.

- Speakers are really tinny and ridiculously bad.

In spite of the CONS above, I generally like the laptop (although I don't love it). In terms of price point and feature set, it occupies the middle ground between netbooks and full featured notebooks. I like the size, I like the price (especially if you do the SSD upgrade yourself), and I like the build quality. So I'm giving this 3.5 stars.

Lenovo has a reputation for rolling out driver and software updates that fix many initial bugs. The X120e was just released, so I will update this review in a few months. I suspect Lenovo will fix the scrolling issues and audio issues fairly quickly, and there are workarounds for both of those problems. I hope they can fix the noisy fan as well but i'm skeptical. They can't do much about the display, so this may not be the right ultraportable if you watch a lot of videos.

UPDATE: Downgraded to 3 stars. In addition to my X201, I also use a Dell XPS, and the screen quality of the X120e pales in comparison.

UPDATE: Using Windows power management to change CPU cooling to "passive" instead of "active" when plugged in took care of the over-active fan issue. This setting cools by reducing processor power first before revving up the fan.

UPDATE 4/3: Updating BIOS from 1.08 to 1.11 took care of the audio stuttering even with Thinkpad Power Manager running. Also, changing the Ultranav Smart Check setting to disable Gesture Filtering made the touchpad more responsive to two finger scrolling -- it's still not great, but at least I no longer have to take an external mouse everywhere with me. I am therefore upgrading this back to 3.5 stars.

12 of 13 found the following review helpful:

Best Bang for the Buck, IMHO Apr 03, 2011 By David Paul
I spent a few hours researching and bought this ultraportable for my wife. She wanted a small portable computer which can play HD videos, tote around in her purse and has a good battery life. We weren't bothered about the lack of an optical drive, since we can always connect one as needed (CD, DVD, Blue Ray or even a floppy) through USB. You can also boot from any optical or USB drive by pressing F12 when the BIOS screen comes up.

I opted for:
1) the higher processor - well worth the cost difference.
2) 2GB of RAM - I planned to upgrade the RAM myself to 8GB and save about $40
3) 64-bit Windows - so the machine can use the higher RAM when installed
4) Bluetooth - to transfer files from my Android phone, use a headset or mouse if needed.

Thinks I like:
- The key-press if firm, the individual keys are large on the keyboard.
- Feels solid, and reasonably light.
- It has a HD video output - tested and works fine - and it also has a standard VGA output.
- (I haven't tried using both HD, VGA, and the internal screen at the same time, so I can't comment on that)
- Quiet (fan runs all the time, but low revs)
- Cool (didn't get hot even when running HD video).
- Battery lasted over 3 hours in regular usage, but I played HD video only about 20 minutes, so I don't know if battery life will reduce when playing video.

Things I didn't like:
- the speakers are not as loud as I would have wanted, but adequate.
- there is some slack space between the screen and edge of the laptop - I wish Lenovo had increased screen size to 12".

What I did already, in this order:
- Removed crapware - since it was a Lenovo, it wasn't much.
- Made a backup of the system (both the system and the restore partition).
- installed Comodo antimalware and firewall.
- Install Office 2007 and licensed.

What I tested.
- 1080p video from an MKV file, using VideoLAN, off wifi N. It ran perfectly, CPU usage less than 50%
- 720p video from an MKV file, using VideoLAN off HDD. Ran fine, CPU 10%
- All software ran fine without issues.

I'm planning to add the memory and an SSD drive to improve performance, but overall, we're pleased with this machine.

Professional netbook Mar 11, 2012 By Old Man "Moz"
Good professional look and feel and runs great. The fan's a bit noisy in a very quiet room but the device stays cool even after using for a long time. The Fn and Ctrl key placement is a problem but I was able to swap them both virtually (in the BIOS) and physically by taking out the two keys, exchanging the locations and snapping them back in place. Mine is a 0596a28 model and came with only 2GB. I added another 4GB and that made it much better - applications open fast now. For me this netbook's screen size is perfect. I had a 10.1" netbook before and while that was both fast and light, the 11.6" screen of this netbook makes work a lot easier. I also like the matter screen (non glare). In all, this is a great laptop for those who need to be mobile and still need something solid and professional.

Great Netbook Nov 10, 2011 By Magnus Gille
I love this little Netbook. At first I wasn't sure but after having using it around the house for a week I really like it. First, this is a Netbook so be prepared for that. It is not a gaming machine, not a replacement for another computer etc. But if you want a companion that works great for some web browsing then this is a great tool. Also, I like to bring a computer along when I go travelling. A Netbook is small and cheap enough so it's ok if it gets lost or damaged. The AMD platform is really what the Intel Atom platform should have been. Using the AMD E-350 platform Youtube now works etc, this never really worked on my old Asus EEE 1000HE.
I've also owned the HP 3105 (same processor) but I prefer the Lenovo keyboard and trackpad.
I have contemplated getting an Ultrabook but will stick with this one instead. The small screen is an opportunity and the X120E does 100% of the things I need it to do.

Pros:
* Great battery life (around 7 hours)
* Snappy processor (plays Netflix etc)
* Does the job it was meant to do really well
* Very good trackpad (better than on other Lenovos)
* Comfortable keyboard
* Compact size

Cons:
* None really

Speedy little laptop - great for use in a school environment Oct 10, 2011 By Zeke
I work for a private school and we selected this laptop model for our students to use in a "1-laptop per student" program. After a month of use, I'm relatively happy with how well it has performed. We have purchased over 700 units and have had very few hardware failures thus far.

Some good features:

1. Speedy enough (4GB, 7200rpm hard drive, E-350 processor) for most applications we use, although I haven't tested true resource-heavy programs.
2. Great weight-to-screen balance for portability. The 11.6" screen is small, but still functional, even at max resolution, while the weight of 3.5lbs or so is great.
3. Good battery life - 6 cell batteries last typically the whole school day, if they start out fully charged.
4. 3 USB ports, HDMI port and webcam are nice extras.
5. I like the keyboard - it's well laid out.

Some downsides:

1. The keyboard ribbon cable has a tendency to come loose, resulting in a few keys not working. Easy enough to fix if you have a screwdriver and know what you're doing, but still, you'd think Lenovo could have designed a better connector.
2. Speakers are tinny, as other reviewers have noted, but for a netbook, I think it's still pretty good. Speakers are located on the front bottom side - so will likely be muffled if you set the laptop on a soft surface.

Overall, we've been very pleased with this model. You get quite a lot of bang for your buck out of it. I'd highly recommend to any professional who travels regularly and doesn't have need of resource-intensive programs.

See all 9 customer reviews on Amazon.com