Thinkpad Tablet 2 - Initial Impressions

**Techgeek32** · 01-02-2013, 08:13 PM

All of the Atom models will perform basically the same. I have used the 500t, 700t, ASUS 810 and the Envy x2. The WEI was 3.2 on the Atom units and I found the ASUS to have the best inking experience (Wacom). The 700t inks more fluidly due to the larger processor and 4GB of Ram. The ASUS has about 16 hours of battery life at a high screen brightness which is much longer than the rest. They are all riddled with minimal storage, but if this will be a second machine and not your main computer you should be ok. Not all of them have NFC and the Envy doesn't have a stylus available yet. I would get the Dell before the TP2, but the ASUS is the best option for the price.

**philox** · 01-02-2013, 09:33 PM

It surprises me that you are recommending it given that the number of issues the Asus owners have been facing with their device seems insane according to the Asus thread on this forum. That doesn't surprise me from my past experiences with Asus, which tends to put out lots of poorly finished products on the market. The thread seems to indicate people are actually going to the Lenovo website to get decent drivers.
I actually prefer the non-battery Bluetooth keyboard of the tpt2, which is way lighter than the Asus. I doubt I will be needing more than 10h on the tablet without charge, so the lightness of it is a plus.Compared to the Dell the TPT2 also seems to have a nicer form factor.
The other thing is that the glass is confirmed to be bonded to the LCD on the TPT2, very likely yielding a better inking experience. I am not sure if this is true for the others tablets as well.

**rzp2003** · 01-02-2013, 10:27 PM

there is a similar thread in the lenovo forum

Thinkpad Tablet 2 - First impressions - Lenovo Community

**bemymonkey** · 01-03-2013, 01:11 AM

Originally Posted by Techgeek32

I have used the 500t, 700t, ASUS 810 and the Envy x2. The WEI was 3.2 on the Atom units and I found the ASUS to have the best inking experience (Wacom).

Aren't the Atom devices pretty much all Wacom, as far as the digitizer goes (Capacitive touch is another story)? The 500t definitely is...

**Techgeek32** · 01-03-2013, 01:18 AM

Originally Posted by bemymonkey

Aren't the Atom devices pretty much all Wacom, as far as the digitizer goes (Capacitive touch is another story)? The 500t definitely is...

Except for the Envy which is Amtel. The SPen on the Samsungs don't offer as good an experience as the ASUS. I don't even use the SPens. I always try to use a larger Wacom stylus with the eraser function.

**bemymonkey** · 01-03-2013, 01:33 AM

Oh, it sounded like you were saying that only the ASUS device had a Wacom digitizer...

**Ihmotep** · 01-03-2013, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by mios2

Looking at TPT2 drivers (Mouse and Keyboard/Atmel Touch Debug Port Driver), the README file says that it installs the "maxTouch I2C Boot Bridge Peripheral Driver", which is described at Touchscreen Controllers - Atmel Corporation.
IMO that means that Amtel supports both pen and touch until proven otherwise.

I'm eager to show the inking performance on this device, particularly using OneNote 2013 (using RTM trial, as release preview version is laggy on more powerful machines).

Since some sites still list the Thinkpad 2 as having a Wacom Digitizer, does anyone who has the unit know if that is for a fact? Is Amtel doing the capacitive Touch and Wacom the digitizer? Does it have Wacom Drivers?

**Ihmotep** · 01-03-2013, 06:06 PM

Can one of you who have the TP2 with digitizer check to see if it is wacom or not? Are there wacom drivers? I hear that they have Amtel but those could be just for the touchscreen part. Having Wacom is a make or break for me.