Tim's Journal

Evidently, there is a typo on the Lenovo site regarding the new X61s. There is no "12.1" MultiView WVA SXGA TFT and Intel® Core™ 2 Duo L7500 LV". It should be SuperView, not MultiView. That in itself is confusing already, shouldn't a "super" view be better than a "multi" view? Here are the options on Lenovo's site, read and scratch head. Every option may delay your shipment... nice.

• 12.1" WVA XGA TFT and Intel® Core™ 2 Duo L7500 LV
  Selecting this option may delay your shipment 3-4 weeks.
• 12.1" MultiView WVA SXGA TFT and Intel® Core™ 2 Duo L7500 LV
  Selecting this option may delay your shipment 3-4 weeks.
• 12.1" MultiView + MultiTouch WVA XGA TFT and Intel® Core™ 2 Duo L7500 LV
  Selecting this option may delay your shipment 3-4 weeks.

dp22 on tabletpcreview.com has kindly provided the lowdown:

1) MultiView SXGA+ is actually SuperView SXGA+ which is NOT an actual outdoor screen as the XGA option totes. SuperView works better than normal indoor screens and tests have shown good results outdoors (in the shade).

2) aphex, as alucard kindly confirmed, the "SXGA" is a typo because I called the rep and he confirmed this as well. In fact, the SXGA+ on the X61 is noted to have a brighter and clearer screen than the X60 (check out the report at gottabemobile.com). This is also due to the SuperView technology.

gottabemobile has a bit more SuperView

There has been a lot of confusion on this, some of it due to some confusing info on the Lenovo product site where, depending on where you were looking, it was called Multi-view or SuperView. SuperView is the correct terminology. It is designed to make viewing in outdoor conditions better especially in sunlight. I can’t really report on any significant results for this because our skies have been cloudy and we’ve had rain for the time I’ve had the X61 in my hands. From what I can tell the process is called “Direct Bonding” and it is designed to cut down on reflectivity and make the screen less susceptible to scratching (although I hadn’t noticed any problems with scratching at all on the X60), and more durable under harsh conditions. Here’s what I have noticed. There appears to be an extra layer on the screen. All well and good. But when you have a white background on the screen there is a detectable moire pattern viewable. It seems to be more pronounced in portrait mode than in landscape mode. I don’t find it distracting, but it is there. I also notice that the screen is particularly susceptible to fingerprints, or rather the grease or oils that may come off your skin. More so than the X60. Using any sort of cleaning solution designed for this purpose only serves to smear it around, so you’ll need a dry cloth to keep those impressions off the screen. (Remember this is a demo unit, so shipping units might be different.)"

Sounds like I am where I was before... pondering bright screen versus high resolution.

I have to say, so far, I have no doubt to Lenovo technical prowess (probably due to superior marketing), but sales and delivery have really been lacking. I've been sitting on the sidelines with a check dedictated to buying an X6x tablet, scratching my head on screen configuration and delivery times. Note to Lenovo, available to work with you on sales and delivery, can communicate in Mandarin... will travel, happy to bring components between countries in check-in luggage if this helps accelerate manufacturing.

Update: Tim Supples, who writes for lenovoblogs.com, has a posted on erroneous August shipping dates. Maybe it won't come so late after all. I hold back my tongue, for a bit. Should I hold my check? What do you guys think? (Thanks, btw, for writing me back Tim.)