As mentioned in my last post, it was time to buy a new tablet, so I decided to follow my own advice and pick up a brand new, yet discontinued, tablet PC for a fraction of the price. The model I selected was offered on a reputable website, but would save me quite a bit of money in the end. I needed a new Tablet PC to run all my design software, like Photoshop Elements, Illustrator, and Art & Stitch.
The model I purchased was a Lenovo Thinkpad x230, which I purchased from B&H Photo brand new for only between $600-659. It is currently offered now for $634 US here.
I want to let blog readers know my first impressions and how my purchase has worked out so far.
The package shipped promptly from B&H, and arrived just fine in a brand new box. This was indeed a brand new machine and not a refurbished one. I opened the box and then proceeded to set up my machine and install all my software. This notebook does not have a CD/DVD player, but I just used my portable one that connects to the computer with a USB plug to install all my software.
Once I had Photoshop Elements 13 installed, it was time to try it out. Sure enough, it worked perfectly! It has similar specs to my last Tablet PC, the Fujitsu T902, but I paid less than 1/3rd the cost.
The pros: Lenovo x230 is a fine tablet and comes highly rated by other artists. The price was right. Tablet works as advertised.
The cons: The keyboard set up takes some getting used to, but I added a mouse for ease of web surfing and clicking. The Wacom digitizer and pen are a bit different than previous Tablet PCs, it seems to have some pressure functionality. It will take some time to get used to the new set up. This machine was released a few years ago, and is now discontinued.
All in all, I am very happy with my new tablet, and love that I spent less than $660 US. I think this is an excellent value for what you get. I can now start drawing and designing once again!
Let me know if you have any questions. Hugs, Carla
Carla Barrett 