Now that the X230T is available we can get some accessories. Some of these will be useful to you, and some will not. I have acquired a few that are very useful to me.
The accessories that I have acquired and use:
- RAM
- SSD
- Docking
- Extra Digitizer
- Screen Protector and gloves.
- Case
- Stand
- Mini Keyboard
- Mouse
- Battery and Power
Written prior to X230T Release
DOCKING
Many ThinkPad laptops support docking stations. In the case of the X230T the docking station is the UltraBase Series 3 (which I made a post about). A docking station allows you to connect the X230T to many other devices. The Ultrabase series 3 allows you to connect: external display(via VGA and DisplayPort), USB devices, disc drive, ethernet cable, stereo and microphone.
MIC + STEREO EARPHONES
The X220T and X230T featured an audio combo jack. This 3.5mm combo jack has microphone and stereo audio capabilities in the same port. The combo jack has been seen in portable music players and now the PC industry is adding them to their laptops.
SLEEVE AND CASES
Since the X230T is a "mobile" system you may want to get a case or sleeve that fits the system.
The X220T has the same "body" as the X230T, therefore cases that worked with the X220T will work with the X230T.
The ThinkPad Tablet Sleeve fits the X220T, and is also mentioned as a "X230T extra" accessory. The ThinkPad Tablet Sleeve product page mentions that the sleeve is compatible with 3-cell and 6-cell batteries. The compatibility with different batteries is a very good thing.
BATTERIES
There are several batteries for the X230T. One of them is "extended" and the other one is "flushed".
The extended battery is the 6-cell X67+. This is the battery that Lenovo advertises as the "up to 8 hours of battery life. Because the battery extends it also works a handle. This handle is very useful and gives you a good grip.
The flushed battery is the 3-cell battery X67. While the battery life is going to be less than the 6-cell, the benefit is the slimmer profile. Some people do not like the exntended battery, and if you are one of those then you will like this a lot.
Both of these batteries charge very fast. According to Lenovo they will charge to 80% in 30 minutes. This fast charge is thanks to Lenovo's new RapidCharge technology. This short charging time makes me very happy.
There is an external 6-cell battery that attaches to the bottom of the X230T. This battery goes by the name of ThinkPad Battery 19+, and when paired with the 6-cell X67+ you may double your battery life.
I did a post regarding the 19+ battery slice.
DIGITIZER PENS
Based on images of the X230T I can say that the digitizer is Wacom based. The included pen has: pressure sensitivity through the tip and the eraser, and has a right click button. The X230T conveniently has a pen holder where you can store the digitizer. While you may not be able to find a "X230T" or "X220T" pen you can find the same pen with the name of "X60 Tablet Digitizer Pen", and this pen also fits in the X230T's pen holder.
There are alternative pens, that may be even better. You can get a "Wacom penabled" pen (more info), which may feel better than the default digitizer. Another alternative is the Fujitsu Lifebook Digitizer, which has 2 buttons (more info). These other pens do NOT fit in the pen holder, but they do offer some extra features.
Note: Do NOT confuse the X230T's pen (Wacom) with the ThinkPad Tablet pen (N-Trig). They are not compatible technologies.
OTHER
Some of these devices have been listed by Lenovo as "X230T Extras", and others are my additions.
- EXTERNAL ACCESSORIES
- USB Optical Drives.
- Lenovo Slim USB Portable DVD Burner
- The X230T does not have a CD/DVD burner, so you will have to connect an external USB CD/DVD drive, or use the Series 3 Ultrabase + Ultrabay.
- USB External Hard Drives
- Mice
- Bluetooth
- The X230T has BT 4.0, there is no need to connect USB dongles.
- ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse
- Logitech G700 Wired and Wireless Gaming Mouse.
- Keyboard and Mouse Combo
- Power Adapters
- Screen Protector
- External USB Monitor
- Intel Wireless Display Technology (Widi)
- The X230T has Intel's Widi, which allows you to wirelessly stream video and audio to TVs, projectors, monitors.
- Many Widi devices.
- INTERNAL ACCESSORIES
- Solid State Drives (SSDs)
- Same as X220T's 2.5 inch 7mm thickness drives.
- Solid State Drives
- More info on 7mm drives.
- RAM Memory
- Up to 16GB RAM via 2 DIMM slots (2x8GB configuration).
- PC3-12800 DDR3 (2 DIMM) 1600 MHz.
- Wifi Cards
- ThinkPad 1x1 b/g/n.
- Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2200 (2x2 BGN).
- Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 AGN.
- Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN (requires 3x3 antenna).
- Mobile Broadband
- Qualcomm Gobi 3000.
- Ericsson HSPA + WWAN Minicard.
I hope that helps. (The Amazon links help me raise funds to get the X230T)
(292m)
Really enjoying your posts about the x230T. One thought: if I buy an SSD drive off Amazon and an Ultrabase, could I then take the slower HDD that ships with the laptop and pop it into the ultrabay slim on the Ultrabase with an adapter? It seems like that would work, though I'd need to spring for the ultrabay slim enclosure ("Thinkpad Sata HD Bay Adapater 3" on Amazon). That's advertised just for T400 systems, but it appears T400s also take 7 mm drives so I should be okay?
ReplyDeleteOr do you think it'd be simpler to just take the slower HDD and buy an inexpensive external enclosure if I wanted to use it for backups? Thanks for any insight.
I think using the Ultrabase + HDD Adapter + HDD can be a good idea. I'm tempted on doing this because I hate plugging/unplugging cables. It would definitely make things very convenient every time I dock the system.
DeleteI do a backup of my videos on an external drive. While plugging/unplugging the external drive is a hassle, it is important for me to keep it separate from the system. Everything that is truly important to me is kept in a container, including my backup drive. If my house were to catch fire, I know exactly where my important stuff is.
Maybe I can have two drives. One drive in the Ultrabase and the other an external drive. I would ran a backup from the Ultrabase drive to the external drive every once in a while. That way I have 2 backups, one which is conveniently placed and the other where it is safe.
Backups are something to think about. :)
I have not yet tried the Ultrabay adapters, but I might. If I do get one I'll make sure to do a post about it.
Sounds great, thanks for the response! I'll post again if I go that route for backups.
DeleteHi Jesse, thanks for your regular posts on X230T. In fact your videos have been of chief help to me to finalize my purchase of this machine. I need your help to clarify one FEATURE regarding this digitizer.
ReplyDeleteSometime back I saw one video on youtube (for ThinkPad X220 tablet) wherein it was mentioned that the Digitizer is tethered "electronically", such that if on were to take the digitizer AWAY from the tablet, it would make a BEEP sound.
Can you please clarify if such a feature exists?
Thanks and regards... and please keep up the great work... we respect you immensely for this!!!
The feature you talking about used the motion sensors and a quick check of the digitizer pen holder. If the pen was not inserted while the X220T was moved around it would begin to beep or display something on the screen. I presume the hardware of the X230T is almost the same, but the software is different. So far I have not seen any alarm telling me that the digitizer is not inserted into the pen holder.
DeleteJesse: Have you had any experience with the X230T with the gorilla glass. I'm getting the impression from the Lenovo site that it's only useable with a stylus. I thought I'd check to see if you've run into anyone who can "touch" the gorilla glass and can report on how well it responds (if at all).
ReplyDeleteI do not have experience with the outdoor version of the X230T. There is no "finger touch" in the outdoor version of the system, it is only capable of digitizer pen input only.
DeleteHello, thanks for such a detailed blog. I recently purchased the x230 tablet just the other day. Have you by chance upgraded to Windows 8 with it? If so, do you think you could comment a bit on the tablet's compatibility with the new software?
ReplyDeletethanks,
Allen
I have not upgraded to Windows 8, frankly I don't have a reason to do so. I can tell you that as of this comment's date, Lenovo does NOT support Win 8 in the X230T. If you were to upgrade you could face problems dealing with drivers.
DeleteI have win 8.1 on my X230T and as of now it is fully supported. The lenovo settings app sucks though. I hope windows 10 is supported as well
DeleteHi Jesse, excellent you tube demo's of this product, just one comment before I purchace, I currntly have an 'old' IBM X41 tablet and I use the digitize pen quite alot, particular in
ReplyDeleteWord generally, do you have any you tube posts that shows the X230T digitizer pen working in MS Word 2007 - 2012 not MS One Note?, thanks Lee.
Only MS OneNote 2010 demos.
Deletehttp://www.jessebandersen.com/2012/08/lenovo-thinkpad-x230-tablet-microsoft.html
Hi
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about the ThinkPad Battery 19+ (6-cell). I really like the idea of doubling my battery life, without a huge increase in weight. What I'm struggling to find out is what is how much thickness is added to the laptop after attaching the slice battery?
The thickness of the battery itself is approximately 29mm, but from the images I've seen, part of this wraps around the laptop, so simple addition of battery+laptop won't really work.
Thanks in advance
Julian
I don't have the exact measurements, but I'm sure you can find some details at Lenovo's website. Frankly, unless you are hiking Mt. Everest and volume and weight are a serious issue... well I wouldn't worry too much about it.
DeleteHi Jesse,
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing, thank you so much for putting it together. I am looking at getting one of the X230T's with the optical DVD drive and then replacing that with a second hard drive. I was wondering your thoughts on this. I was thinking about popping a 1TB Seagate Solid State Hybrid Drive (or a 1TB HHD) in an optical caddy for extra storage space beyond the 256GBs in the SSD.
I'd appreciate any feedback you can give.
Mike
Michael, this might help:
Deletehttp://www.jessebandersen.com/2012/08/lenovo-thinkpad-x230-tablet-thinkpad.html
Go to "Disk Drive Bay Adapter".