FCC pics of IBM's X41 tablet leaked
By Ryan Block 
posted April 26th 2005 9:20AM
posted April 26th 2005 9:20AM
The FCC is fast becoming our best-ever informant—remind us never to give them any top secret docs, yeah? So the
IBM X41 tablet PC doesn't exactly have too
much different or otherwise unexpected up in the face to look at, but we certainly hope these are a prototype, since
there's no way that thing is even close to an inch thick by the looks of things. Click on to peep the rest.
[Via jkOnTheRun]
Woof woof! What a dog.
It's an IBM, they aren't exactly known for making good looking notebooks. Hell, that looks just like my gf's mom's thinkpad.. that she's had since '98 (sans the tablet screen, of course).
A high quality laptop with tablet capabilities. Woof woof -I agree -but more in the panting of an anticipatory puppy kind of way. I'm waiting for releae dates and reviews -but I have a bubbly feeling inside.
I think I would only be interested if it was similar in thickness to the x40/41 series. Hopefully it will have the option of a high res. screen also. The Toshiba m205 tablet is really the one to beat in the compace convertable class right now and it has a 12" 1400x1050 screen.
"It's an IBM, they aren't exactly known for making good looking notebooks."
I seriously beg to differ. There's different types of good looks. While an iBook might look good in a Brad Pitt/Jude Law pretty-boy sort of way, Thinkpads look good in a gruff Sean Connery/Clint Eastwood bad boy sort of way. There's a reason why almost every post-Thinkpad notebook has been black, you know (before the Thinkpad, most portable computers were white or beige - Apple didn't invent that look).
I'll take the Thinkpad look over almost any other notebook. It doesn't hurt that they're still built like tanks either, although we'll see how long that lasts with Lenovo in charge.
Gee, the thinkpad business unit lost so much money that it was sold to a chinese company - what a great way to turn things around, make a tablet pc, because those have been such runaway sales successes. What sort of bizarro world are they living in??? Don't get me wrong, I love my Thinkpad T42, but this doesn't exactly seem like a smart business decision.
I thought IBM was out of the PC business. That's the bigger story isn't it?
I'm in total agreement with #5. For the slight premium you pay for a Thinkpad you get a very rugged machine that has nothing less than a stellar professional demeanor. I'd much rather be the envy of the boardroom with my T42 than suffer the onslaught of ridicule and criticism I brought out an Alienware, Apple or Ferrari-themed notebook.
I agree with Jeff - I have had many notebooks (even some orange screen lug-ables) in my time and I still keep with Thinkpads.
The closest I got to swapping was the Sony TR1 that I took travelling with me (size, weight) for photo storage although once back at work a T23 became my staple
The M200 isn't the only one out with sxga - Fujitsu T4000 series and the Toshiba's new Tecra M4
Looking forward to trying out the Thinkpad. Kudos to IBM - I think it will be big seller.
fuckin a. i love thinkpads. id rather see a panasonic toughbook 'tabletized', but this is good. im also not such a fan of this 'rotating display' bs..id rather have it be one piece with an ultra thin, maybe flexible cover over the display. this is like cheating :]
Well I love my T41 and I hope this X41 will be a best seller. It does look 1 inch thick to me.
ibm is moving a service model for its main business focus. this tablet thing is probably a pet project of an exec on the way out - nice idea but if it doesn't break the 1.5lb or 2lb barrier it's really not suitable for tablet use. will still settle for a fujitsu P1000 or P7000D.
This is a good thing. We have been buying Thinkpads since they came out. We had a one year experiment with some Vaio's, but they SUCKED! We now have Thinkpads and Fujitsu Tablets. IBM Releasing a Tablet PC reduces my vendor count by one....unless Fujitsu can beat the Thinkpad on price. On the otherhand, every one is right....Thinkpads are lightweight tanks. My T42 is simply amazing. It's very fast and pretty darn thin to. I love it. It goes with me back and forth to work every day.
I have a T41 I got about 16 months ago. 1.7 PM, 512RAM, 60GB, Wi-Fi bluetooth. And its running strong!
I will def check out their table when its available!
Granted the IBM Tablet isn't as revolutionary as the Toshiba T1100(the first IBM compatable laptop computer), but I am looking forward to it since IMHO IBM' Thinkpads have the most comfortable key layout for laptops and I hate touchpads, they just slow me down. Hopefully some versions will have a built-in ultra-bay for a drive or extra battery, even though the back/battery looks to be capabale-(from looking at the locking mechanisms on the bottom) of an extended battery. All that is needed is Dell to make a calculated splash and the Tablet PC platform will gain more mainstream acceptance and more innovation...if they ever do some marketing...
With new form-factors like the "ultra mobile Tablet PC" coming in 2007 things look really good...
( http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/winhec/images/gatestab_low.jpg )
Cullen,
FYI...Panasonic does make a 4.5 lb 10.4" Toughbook Tablet PC, granted it is around $5k:
http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=68952&catGroupId=32001&modelNo=Toughbook-18&surfModel=Toughbook-18
All this talk about ugly think pads. I remember a time when a featureless black box was considered the very height of cool.
I have an X31 and it's brilliant. Would I buy the same thing with a flip-down lid. Bloody right!
I only wish IBM would offer one with a black on black IBM label (instead of the RGB one) that lights up black when you switch it on.
Agreed, IBM laptops are my preference by far. My office maintains several hundred laptops, we even had some ancient Thinkpad 365's. These were old Pentium 100 MHz units! They still worked! I have tons of old Gateway, HP and Dells that I could not say the same thing of.
IBM's entry into the Tablet PC arena should help the market segment considerably. Hopefully it won't be too expensive. It may not have the high resolution that some people will want, but it will have one thing that IBM laptops are well know for... excellent battery life. This is something that TabletPCs have long needed as they become office instruments to be carried everywhere while still maintaining the strong usability of a standard laptop.
I've been a ThinkPad user since the 770ED days (Pentium II 266) model and I've never turn back or look at other model since then. They are fantastic machines. Stable and very rugged. Fantastic support from IBM. They have served me well.
I will get this X41 if the price is right. Or else I will stick to my R32.
Number 6:
I beg to differ, the thinkpad division is earning money. The Desktops are the ones dragging the business. IBM held on the PC division as long as it cousld to maintain giving a full package for customers.
You know, IBM tried this tablet thing before... The 700T (designed first, released last of the 700 series - the ThinkPad name was actually designed for it), the 750P (which behaves almost exactly like a modern convertible tablet), and the 360P/PE (the PE has a faster CPU).
I'm waiting on an X21 to arrive (10 days PROCESSING time... but, it was only $300), but if I had the money, I'd jump on this - I like IBM, I want a tablet (ever since I've put OneNote on this f*#$ing Dell Uninspiron 1100, I've realized what I could use a tablet for), so this is the logical option.
I don't have the money, of course - that's why it's an X21, and not somebody's tablet.