I installed Ubuntu through Wubi and am currently using it for most of my work. For those considering to buy a laptop, this is a serious option.
Pros :
1. Amazingly lightweight. (and apparently is very reliable, will not know about it now) My backpack is very light now and I dont even realize that i have a laptop on me.
2. Battery Life. Every review you will read about x220 will harp on the same feature. I have only a six cell battery and I could use the laptop for nearly 6hrs ( I switch between linux and windows and use the processor quite effectively) With more conservative use, it can come to 8hrs. I used this for an entire flight from San Jose to Detroit without having to recharge. Adding to that I came home and I had enough power for another half an hour work. If that is not sufficient, upgrade to a 9 cell battery and you can get almost 10 hours or more.
3. I really love the fact heat sinks are very effective. Unlike most laptops, they can be truly used as their name suggests. There is a mild heat but nothing burning or searing as with a macbook or dell. Also, in my two weeks of use, the notebook has been very quite and there is no fan sound or stuff like that
4. I really make use of the Thinklight (function+pageup). I think it is a genius to put a light and so even in dark i can quickly look into a page or find the right key or something like that.
5. The keypad was initially clunky but then you get used to the ergonomics and I started liking it. However, one flaw is that if you have sweaty hands, it tends to stick to the keypad when typing.
6. I have started getting used to the trackpoint and I feel soon I will be able to use it to perfection. There seems to be learning curve associated with this one feature.
7. It has a fast boot up (35 seconds) from first screen to finally using the laptop. This can be improved by using a SSD.
8. Great Wireless range. I get pretty good range for wirelessin my house to the parking lot.
9. I think having Ubuntu is making the experience even more amazing. The battery life in Ubuntu is nearly the same. I get better volume in linux compared to windows.
10. 180 degree view with IPS. Amazing display quality.
On the flipside
No laptop is without a flipside
1. The laptop is small. It is not the one that you have viewing movies (yes, it looks great but then not a movie experience)
2. The trackpad is the best outside of macbook that I have used in terms of responsiveness. However, the exception is the key. I think Apple has perfected the trackpad so much that I feel any other trackpad is not good enough.
3. The sound. Sound quality in windows was a misery. I was disenchanted immediately because of it. However, few tweaks to the audio setting and the sound was not louder. In linux I did not have the same problem.
4. Key Jumbleup : I particularly had a learning experience with the interachange of function and control key.
5. Cost : It has the features to justify what I paid. However, I had a great deal and in general the price is 100$ more. Does it justify the cost ?
6. No DVD drive. I knew it and I do not use a drive much and so it was not a hassle for me.
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