Comparative Review: Tiny Laptops From IBM, DellComparative Review: Tiny Laptops From IBM, Dell

Often in the life of a road warrior, simply being small isn't enough. For example, if you need to work while flying in coach class, a small laptop is a good thing, but an ultraportable is better still.

Ultraportables are built for comfort, not for speed. That is, comfort as defined by not having to be a contortionist to use them while flying or needing steroids to lug the things between airport terminals. But making devices smaller usually involves trade-offs, and ultra-portables are no exception. These devices typically weigh three pounds or less, making them extremely carryable, but they have smaller displays and keyboards than their larger siblings.

Put differently, the mark of an ultraportable is how well the manufacturer deals with those trade-offs. In my experience, two of the best teensy notebooks come from Dell and IBM, both of which just released updated versions of their ultraportables: the Dell X1 and the Lenovo ThinkPad X41.

Here's a comparative review of these devices. Note that Lenovo just announced a new variant of the ThinkPad X41 that adds Tablet PC functionality. We'll have a separate review of that device in a couple of weeks.

The Overview

The ThinkPad X41 is a strong but evolutionary upgrade to the ThinkPad X40 I reviewed last year. By contrast, Dell Latitude X1 is essentially a new device. It replaces last year's Latitude X300, which I also reviewed, as the smallest notebook available from Dell.

While last year's models were fairly similar in terms of size and features, this year they are quite different. About the only significant similarity was that they both came with 512 MB of RAM. The ThinkPad, though, came with a 1.5MHz processor and a 40 GB hard drive compared to the Dell's 1.1MHz processor and 60 GB hard drive. But let's face it: If it's speed you need, neither of these laptops will satisfy. Both were slow and the ThinkPad's somewhat faster processor made virtually no difference in performance in minute-to-minute use.

One final similarity is that both ultraportables have 12.1-inch displays. But that's where the devices start diverging. Dell took a novel approach to its display, which I'll discuss later, that has a significant impact on usability. For now, suffice it to say that Dell's display means that, while both laptops are diminutive, the Dell X1 is even smaller and lighter.

Specifically, the Dell is just under an inch thick, a bit more than 11 inches wide and 7.7 inches deep. That makes the Dell X1 about three-quarters of an inch lower when the screen is open and about the same amount less deep. Like sports, ultraportables are a game of inches; those seemingly small differences can result in a significant difference when using the devices in tight areas.

In terms of weight, the Dell X1 with its extra-life battery was a few ounces less than three pounds while the ThinkPad, which also had an extended-life battery, was a few ounces more than three pounds. The Dell was somewhat less expensive at about $2000, as tested, compared to about $2149 for the ThinkPad. Usability

While usability is typically the most important factor to consider when buying an ultraportable, it's also the most subjective. What is a good keyboard for me may not work for you, for instance.

Both the ThinkPad X41 and the Dell X1 are highly usable. But they're usable in different ways. Following is a summary of the various elements of usability.

INPUT. As was the case last year, the ThinkPad has a surprisingly usable keyboard given its small size, with good-sized, discreet keys that have a slightly more dished surface than the X1's and a bit more key travel. To my subjective tastes, that made typing on the ThinkPad more comfortable.

I also love the ThinkPad's TrackPoint system, which puts a rubberized dot in the middle of the keyboard for positioning the cursor and three buttons below the keyboard to replicate mouse buttons. For me, this combination provides a solid feel and reliable, crisp pointing.

The Dell X1's keyboard is almost identical in size to the ThinkPad's and also is quite usable but, subjectively, not quite as satisfying as the ThinkPad's And it took a while to get used to the X1's shrunken-down touchpad, which is even smaller than the touchpad on last year's X300. I did, indeed, eventually get used to it and the smaller size has one advantage: It reduces the amount of incidental touching during the course of normal typing, which can inadvertently move the cursor. Still, I found the ThinkPad's pointing system and keyboard more satisfying to use.

Advantage: ThinkPad

DISPLAY. Both displays were equally bright and clear. However, the X1 can display at 1280 x768 resolution, a somewhat unusual size but still crisper than the ThinkPad's maximum 1024x768.

In addition, Dell took a non-standard approach to its display in its attempt to make the X1 tray table-able. Both displays have the same diagonal dimension: 12.1 inches. However, the X1 is wider -- 10.5 inches compared to about 9.5 inches for the ThinkPad -- but not as high. The height of the X1's display when in operation is roughly 6.25 inches, compared to the a bit less than 7.5 inches for the ThinkPad.

For the kind of work I do, the Dell's approach was far superior. I'm constantly writing in one application, such as Word, and copying and pasting it into another application. That means I need to have side-by-side open windows. With the ThinkPad, I was constantly minimizing and maximizing windows. With the X1, I could keep those windows open side by side, simplifying my work.

In resizing the standard laptop screen, Dell did make the device wider. But that's OK since there's more width than height in the average cramped situation, such as in-flight computing. Overall, Dell made a wise decision with its display.

Advantage: Dell

BATTERY LIFE. A short battery life limits the value of even the most usable ultraportable. Comparing the battery life of these two devices, however, is a bit of an apples and oranges type of thing.

The X1 initially came with the standard battery, which lasted barely more than an hour and a quarter with the Wi-Fi radio on. Dell then sent me a six-cell battery, which extended battery life to just under five hours. By contrast, the ThinkPad's eight-cell battery lasted a bit more than five hours. That's close enough to call it a toss-up.

Advantage: Tie Connectivity . It should go without saying these days but, for the record, both the X1 and the X41 are Wi-Fi-ready, both sporting Intel Centrino chipsets. Both also have built-in Ethernet ports and standard modems. Beyond that, though, these two devices have different mixes of connectivity, particularly when it comes to how they connect to the world and to outside devices.

The X1, for example, has built-in Bluetooth while the ThinkPad doesn't. However, the X1 doesn't have a PC Card while the ThinkPad does. Both ultraportables have SD Disk slots, but the X1 also supports CompactFlash slot.

While Lenovo has an optional docking station, the X1 doesn't. The ThinkPad's docking station includes USB ports, a monitor connection and a DVD/CD-RW drive. However, our Dell test unit came with an optional combined DVD/CD-RW drive. Because of these differing connectivity capabilities, neither ultraportable has an advantage, but they are different.

Advantage: Tie

IT-Ability And Security

Hard-nosed IT shops will undoubtedly prefer the ThinkPad with its wealth of management and security features. For instance, it comes with biometric security, in which you can set the device to require a fingerprint swipe using the included fingerprint reader before either booting or logging on to Windows. The fingerprint capability can even work in lieu of application and Web site passwords.

However, while biometric security is strong, it was also sometimes frustrating. It often took half a dozen swipes of my finger over the reader before I could start using the computer.

Beyond that, there are many more security and manageability options in the ThinkPad than on the Dell X1. The ThinkPad has, for instance, what Lenovo calls the Embedded Security Subsystem for things like securely managing passwords and encryption and the keys required to manage the encryption process. It also has built-in wireless security support, including support for 802.1X and Cisco's Light Extensible Authentication Protocol and other WLAN security-related specifications.

The ThinkPad also comes with a similarly impressive array of data recovery and management features. The Dell X1 comes with only a relatively small subset of these security or manageability capabilities.

Advantage: ThinkPad

Making The Decision

Both the Lenovo ThinkPad X41 and the Dell X1 are highly usable, powerful and flexible ultraportable laptops. Both vendors handle well the inevitable sacrifices caused by making devices smaller. But they also handled them differently.

The ThinkPad is the more enterprise-ready of the two with far more security and management features than the Dell X1. Its input capabilities are excellent for a device this small and it also has a more solid feel. On the other hand, the Dell is lighter, easier to deal with in cramped quarters and has an unusually-sized display that offers several advantages.

Bottom line: Most users would be happy with either laptop. On balance, though, and admittedly subjectively, I found the Dell more usable because its non-standard display is more compatible with the way I work. Now if I could only graft the ThinkPad's keyboard and pointing system on to the X1's form factor, I'd be in tray table heaven.