I'm considering upgrading my T42 with a 14" SXGA+ display to something more modern.

I've been looking for different alternatives, but haven't yet found a delight. The strictest criteria for me is the display resolution. Vertical resolution is the thing I value the most. Widescreen displays on the other hand feel like a waste of space, both physical and desktop. And that's why I prefer only 4:3 ratio.

I know that T60/T61 offers 14" SXGA+ displays in a laptop roughly the same size as T42. That's OK, but is there anything more portable? I found out that there's a X60 tablet version with SXGA+ resolution. Is it only the tablet version, or are there 1400x1050 versions of the regular X60? Atleast I can't find any evidence of such.

Are those my only options that are A) newer than a T42, and B) equipped with a 1400x1050 display? If not then please enlighten me.

Thank you.

You'd need to do your own SXGA+ mod on a regular X60/X60s/X61/X61s.
SXGA+ tablets are available as X60t and X61t. Check our Marketplace forum for such a machine.

There are no stock configurations of X60/X61 non-tablets with SXGA+ display. It is possible to mod a non-tablet with a SXGA+ LCD, but that requires hacking bits off the LCD panel and taping / gluing the panel in place since the screw holes won't line up. Depending on the skills of the modder and how rough you treat your laptop, the longevity of such a modded LCD may be questionable.

I do believe that the T60/61/Frankenpad or X60/61 tablet (edit: or the R60/61) are your only options for a 4:3 SXGA+ "modern" ThinkPad.

The SXGA+ X-Series tablets were unacceptably heavy for 12.1" screens, about 3.8 lbs even with small batteries. May I suggest a much better alternative: the Panasonic Toughbook CF-Y7. It has 14.1" 1400x1050, a built-in DVD burner, Core2 Duo, DDR2 RAM, an SATA hard drive, and excellent build quality, and yet it weighs only 3.38 lbs!

May I ask where would you acquire a CF-Y7? It's scarce even on eBay.

EBay, where I bought mine a couple months ago. All you need is patience. The CF-Y7 has been appearing on eBay at an increasing frequency. I am hoping that the CF-Y8 will eventually start appearing there as well.

I'll let you buy an Y8 first, and then I'll get one for myself...

Thanks for all the replies...

I'm quite sure I'm going to stick to ThinkPads. So used to how they look and feel. I'll let you have the toughbook bargains on eBay

I read a review about X60t. http://www.tabletpcreview.com/default.asp?newsID=632&review=ThinkPad+X60+Tablet+PC this one to be precise. And as far as I understood the X60t with SXGA+ resolution doesn't support touch input. Is that really so, or did I miss something? Would seem quite unpractical to have a tablet without touch input.

Touch input is only available with XGA.
Would seem quite unpractical to have a tablet with SXGA+ and touch input. LCD is too small!

You're probably right... But on the other hand a certain company makes 9.7" tablets with a 2048 × 1536 resolution. That's definitely overkill IMHO, but 12" SXGA+ with touch input doesn't sound so bad. But hard to find out while they don't even exist.

I wouldn't buy the X60t or X61t just for the SXGA+ resolution. In addition to what I said about their being heavy, the additional touchscreen layer distorts the screen pretty bad. I bought a brand-new SXGA+ X61t from Lenovo several years ago and hated it so much that I sold it within a week, losing about 10% of my cost (better than returning it to Lenovo though, which would have cost 15%). One more issue is that, if I remember correctly, there were widespread complaints about the X60t's display bezel detaching from the lid. My X61t didn't have this issue but then again, I had it only for several days.

If you need the tablet functionality, then it may be worth getting one. But don't buy it just for the high resolution.

Let's face it, it's extremely difficult to have both light weight and high res, as discussed in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=58&t=103968 . It's a struggle I have had for years and recently decided that weight is more important than resolution.

Honestly, this only applies to X61T and its -101 panel revision. I've had X60T and X61T (both with SXGA+) side-by-side more than once, and it's day and night. The original panel (-100) used on X60T is so much better it's not even funny. The image is properly displayed, no sparkling, no distorted colours. And no "bubbling" later on in life...

I eventually decided to got with a X60s. Found a bargain on eBay and I've had it for about two weeks already. Its resolution is something I just have to settle with, but afterall it's meant to be portable. I definitely am going to keep my T42 as a backup for occasional use. It's just too good to let go...