Macbook Pro or Lenovo Tablet. (or other?)

[DGath]

My boss is getting me a new notebook for xmas, and best of all, I get to pick it out. I want a tablet, he wants to convert me to Macs. Price-wise you are looking at about $2,600 (Macbook Pro) vs $1,800 (Lenovo T61 tablet). I'll of course tri-boot the Mac between windows/osx/linux, so my limited mac experience doesn't sway me too much there. My dad has the T61 and I love playing with it, I just wish it was a widescreen and not 4:3.

Honestly, I really have no idea which route to go since they offer completely different things. Which one do you pick? Or, if there's another (non-gaming) laptop out there that you love, what do you recommend? He told me I get to pick whatever I want, and while I'm not complaining by any means, this is just about the decision I've ever had.

 

[Brainonska511]

T61 Tablet? You must mean X61, as that is the only tablet Lenovo makes. What are you looking to do, as the X61 tablet will provide both notebook and tablet functionality in a small, light package, while the MBP is aimed more at mobile, power computing (heavier and larger compared to the X61). If you're not doing any kind of gaming, as long as you have enough RAM (1GB+), you'll be good to go with either machine, which then brings the decision down to the package the machine comes in - do you want light and tablet or heavier, larger, but slightly more power?

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: DGath
My boss is getting me a new notebook for xmas, and best of all, I get to pick it out... he wants to convert me to Macs.

Word to the wise...

If your boss likes it, you like it!

 

[JackBurton]

MacBook Pros are sweet. It'd definitely be cool with me.

 

[TheStu]

That is a really tough one... I like the MacBook Pro since I am a big fan of OS X now.... but tablets are sweet as well. Damn you Apple for not making a tablet!

Also, not sure if the field has changed much in the past 6 months, but triple booting on a Mac is not exactly the easiest thing in the world. In fact it is quite hard (unless of course someone has come along and fixed a few things). And frankly, not necessary. The MBP comes with 2GB of RAM, so you dual boot OS X and Windows (or not) and then run any other OS in a VM.

 

[LtPage1]

Are you serious? Get the Mac. Unless you HAVE to have a tablet, the Macbook Pro is the sweetest form factor available right now (run Windows exclusively, even, and it's still, by far, the nicest laptop out there).

edit:
Best of both worlds: I thought I remembered something like this.

edit2:
Okay, so after reading up on some reviews of the Modbook, it kinda sounds like it's a not-quite-there compromise. But still pretty cool.

 

[Parasitic]

Get the 2.4GHz MBP and load up on all possible upgrades?

* 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
* 200GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
* SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
* MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
* Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
* Accessory Kit
* 1-year basic membership
* AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll

$3367.95

(This is with the 256MB 8600GT). At $700 a pop 4GB of memory is just way too much.

 

[DGath]

"200GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm"

Anyone know what the battery life is for the 7200 vs. 5400? Does it have much of an impact?

 

[Aarondeep]

I got a X61T with the multitouch, if you get one. Dont get the multiteouch screen, go for higher Res.
Also note if you get the X61T you aren't getting a touchpad or a CD/DVD drive (req. Ultrabase attached)

Overall I like the build quality of the X61 I just hate the low res and Vista suxx I don't care what anyone says its just not stable.
But Vista's handwriting recognition is far superior to XP tablet edition

Get the Mac if you want a cool user experience. Tablet if you are doing some serious note taking.

 

[preslove]

Screw the tablet, get the MBP. It's the best consumer laptop being put out right now, regardless of what OS you use, & OSX is the best OS out right now. Also, Lenovo is not IBM & shouldn't be given the respect that IBM used to deserve.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: DGath
"200GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm"

Anyone know what the battery life is for the 7200 vs. 5400? Does it have much of an impact?

Not much battery impact - maybe 2 - 5 minutes tops (lost).

 

[DGath]

After thinking about it for a while, looks like I'm taking the Mac plunge. I came to the realization that I needed the video card, and the tablet just wasn't going to cut it.

So, the MBP is ordered. 15" model, 4gb ram, 7200 rpm hdd, and my task is to get Vista, XP, OSX, and Ubuntu all running on it. Eeek! Should be fun though.

Oddly enough, after ordering it, a friend just hooked me up with her husband's Lenovo friends & family password and I can get an X61 for under $1,200. Now that is tempting.

 

[alfa147x]

Hands down take the MBP b\c then you can dual boot your OS s which is awsome ImO

 

[Foghorn]

Are ya nuts? MBP all the way.