LENOVOX200S

Display and Audio

At 1440 x 900 pixels, the X200s’ 12.1-inch widescreen display is a boost over the X200’s screen (1280 x 800 pixels). It results in sharper images but also smaller icons and fonts. The screen is protected by a carbon and glass fiber frame, which is light and durable and, according to Lenovo, makes for better Wi-Fi reception. We downloaded a high-definition trailer of Quantum of Solace and were impressed with the crisp images, deep blacks, and color balance. The screen’s matte finish ensured minimal glare, although practical viewing angles are limited to one person on either side of the screen.

Audio quality is what you’d expect from a business machine: decent volume with a weak bottom end. Still, the dedicated volume controls above the keyboard were convenient for quick volume adjustment and muting.

Security and Durability

Our configuration included several security features, including a biometric fingerprint reader, the ability to disable all ports in the system BIOS, and TPM circuitry to keep vital information away from prying eyes. The addition of Centrino Pro brings Intel’s Active Management System (which lets IT administrators perform diagnostics and make repairs remotely), and Trusted Execution Technology (a set of hardware extensions that work with the processor to create an environment where users can work independently of other software on the notebook, preventing malware attacks). The shock-mounted 160GB, 7,200-rpm hard drive and spill-resistant keyboard offer protection from drop and liquid damage. In addition, Lenovo offers 64GB and 128GB solid state drive configurations.

Exceptional Performance

The X200s booted up in a decent 57 seconds. The 1.86-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo L9400 processor and 2GB of RAM (expandable to 4GB) helped power this ultraportable to a 3,163 score on PCMark Vantage (which measures Vista application performance). That’s about 500 points below the X200, which features a faster processor, but approximately 300 points higher than the category average, and about 150 points higher than the X200 Tablet.

We put the ThinkPad X200s’ processing power to the test by defragmenting the hard drive while watching an episode of Heroes using an external DVD drive. The system handled the resource-intensive exercises with aplomb, as we experienced no audio or video skipping while watching the DVD. In day-to-day use, we were able to work in Google Docs and listen to streaming music without a performance hit.

Hard Drive Test

On the LAPTOP Transfer Test, the 160GB, 7,200-rpm hard drive copied 4.97GB of mixed media in 4 minutes and 55 seconds, a rate of 17.3 MBps. While this is better than the X200 (16.5 MBps) and the X200 Tablet (16.5 MBps), it is slower than the category average of 18.1 MBps.Lenovo’s X301, which has a 64GB SSD, notched a blazing 32.4 MBps.