Quick Touchpad Question

[mtofell]

Searched the net and the forum and couldn't find an answer for this: 

Do the touchpads have a setting to disable them, if desired?  I've had trouble in the past dragging my hands and fingers across them while typing on various other machines.  I'm thinking there has to be a setting but want to make sure before I chunk down $1000 on a new machine (finally time to update the trusty old X61).

Also, I'm stuck between the X201 and X220 - any opinions are welcome.... thanks!

[kent1968]

Hit Fn & F8 my friend. 

[joncordova]

X220 will have better idle battery life, good for watching DVD vidoes and local video files, but when web browsing and taxing the processor a little, the X220's battery life takes a real hit, enough that I think an X201 might have close or equal battery life under moderate load. Especially since there's a big 9-cell battery available for the X201.

The X201 has a 16:10 aspect ratio screen, taller, which means less scrolling through documents and web pages.

But the X220 offers an IPS screen option with better vieiwing angles and high brightness, and to me, that blows away all other criteria. With a screen this nice, the rest of the laptop just has to keep up.

Oh, and the touchpad. Yeah, there are days when I leave it disabled and stick to the Trackpoint.

[mtofell]

Great... thanks! 

I pulled the trigger on a manufatuer re-furb today.  X220 8GB Ram, 320GB spinning HD, comes with a 1 yr warranty through Lenovo all for $735 off Ebay. 

The screen thing was a HUGE factor.  I work a lot in somewhat bright conditions and the dim screen of my X61 is just driving me nuts.  I have a feeling I'm in for an experience updating to this new machine.  Thanks again...

[GMAC-R60 Retired Guru]

you can disable in properties just clear the check box

[JNavas]

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joncordova wrote:

X220 will have better idle battery life, good for watching DVD vidoes and local video files, but when web browsing and taxing the processor a little, the X220's battery life takes a real hit, enough that I think an X201 might have close or equal battery life under moderate load. Especially since there's a big 9-cell battery available for the X201.

...

But the X220 offers an IPS screen option with better vieiwing angles and high brightness, and to me, that blows away all other criteria. With a screen this nice, the rest of the laptop just has to keep up.

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X220 battery life when Web browsing is excellent if Power Manager is configured properly --

I normally get 6+ hours on the 9-cell battery. As for the IPS screen, see below.

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mtofell wrote:
I pulled the trigger on a manufatuer re-furb today.  X220 8GB Ram, 320GB spinning HD, comes with a 1 yr warranty through Lenovo all for $735 off Ebay. 

The screen thing was a HUGE factor.  I work a lot in somewhat bright conditions and the dim screen of my X61 is just driving me nuts.  I have a feeling I'm in for an experience updating to this new machine.  Thanks again...

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Which screen did you get? If the "premium" IPS screen, note that early production screens often have ghosting and backlight bleeding issues, but can be replaced under warranty. Improved screens have a date code of 801 (or later).

With either IPS or LCD screen I'm sure you'll be delighted with the X220 -- it's a great machine. But if you still have the X61, you can probably fix the dim screen fairly easily and cheaply with new backlight. I do this routinely with fluorescent backlights after a few years. Not having to do this is the major benefit of LED backlighting in my opinion.