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I have recently bought a Lenovo X61. Not the normal one though, the TabletPC version. What I wanted was a small, reliable but still very capable laptop, which is why I didn’t just walk into the next electronics discounter and bought the smallest machine in stock. After reading several blogs about living paperless (StudentTabletPC.com and PaperlessUndergrad.co.uk), I decided to have a closer look at the available tablet versions of common laptops. I read a lot of good reviews about the TabletPCs from HP and the X61T from Lenovo. In the end, I went for the ThinkPad because I was already familiar with that product line from school.The reason I bought the wireless WAN version, however, has nothing to do with my plans of using the machine at the university, as they have a pretty sophisticated wireless LAN there, but lies in the fact that I have no access to the internet on any machine in the military service at the moment, even though I’m working in an office every day. Wireless internet is what keeps me from becoming insane in here (well that’s probably a bit exaggerated, but you know what I mean).I knew what to expect when I unpacked the X61 as I’ve not only read, but also watched a lot of reviews before. I was positively surprised by the fact that the battery was already charged (something that is a requirement for a long lifespan, as I learned later) and the machine almost ready to use. A lot of people online suggest throwing away the default installation of Windows Vista and “recover” immediately, disabling every unwanted piece of software from Lenovo. I decided to give the whole ThinkVantage package a go and leave it as it is. After a week of use, I can say that I have definitely seen worse (I’m looking at you, Acer).Some parts are comparatively good, like the connection manager, while others, like the [Fn]+[F2] (Lock) “shortcut” which requires me to click on a button on the screen to lock the machine (don’t tell Lenovo that the Windows Vista start menu comes with a locking button at the bottom right).Speaking of the [Fn] key, it is one thing I don’t like about the keyboard (which apart from that is very good, considering the limited space). The problem: I’m used to finding the [Ctrl] key by pressing the left most key in the last row. For some reason, the guys behind the X61 and maybe a dozen other models have decided that exactly that position is suited for their [Fn] key. As a developer I use keyboard shortcuts wherever possible. Not having the [Ctrl] key right beneath the [Shift] key is a major annoyance to me. But I guess with time I will accustom myself to this “feature” just like I did with the inverted volume controls of my iriver Clix 2.On a side note: I am currently using the “Offline Files” feature of Windows to always have my documents with me. How well that works in a home environment, I cannot say yet. What bugged me when setting up the cached files is the complete lack of a status report. There is no way to tell how long the synchronization will take. Also, I had to give up a couple of soft links in my documents directory. While tools like robocopy can be configured to treat links like the actual files behind them, the Sync Center user interface does not seem to provide such an option.The pen input works very well (that is once you have the necessary plug-ins for Firefox installed: Grab and Drag (allows for scrolling like in Adobe Reader) and Gesso (adds TIP support to textboxes). What I like most, is the ability to “erase” strokes with the back of the pen. Just like my pencil. The handwriting recognition is amazingly powerful, especially when used in context (i.e., in a phrase). Unfortunately I have not had the chance to test note taking in a real situation (like a meeting or a class) so I cannot tell, whether a TabletPC is an actual alternative to pen and paper.What I definitely love about my X61T, is its mobile antenna. I can connect to the internet wherever I am (in more or less “civilized” areas at least). Swisscom has a very generous offer for students: 5 gigabytes a month for CHF 40.- (about USD 42). With EDGE and HSPA, mobile internet getting closer and closer to the DSL experience the prices will fall over the next four years.I hope that the X61T will live up the promises it made in this first week of use and I wonder whether or not I will adopt a paperless lifestyle, now that I have all means to do so.

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