I have that same laptop. It uses the Nvidia optimus video architecture, I can't get that to work right, but I just use the Intel GPU and it works perfectly if you're not playing 3D games. The external displayport doesn't work out of the box for me, I have heard it doesn't work right but it might be an advanced configuration thing.
The fingerprint reader doesn't work, but you shouldn't use it anyway because it offers no real security.
The BIOS doesn't support booting off the sdcard or expresscard slot, which isn't a linux-specific problem, but is a giant pain in the ass.
edit: also adding, I bought it only maybe a year ago, and the battery is already at around 50% recharge capacity. I don't know if it's me or it's linux, but I only run Linux and it's torn through thinkpad and macbook (2008-ish) batteries.
After 2 years my X220, which runs off battery for a couple of hours pretty much every day, reports it's at 74% or original capacity. This is with vanilla Ubuntu 12.04
Wasn't there a recall for some Thinkpad batteries a while back? Maybe you can get a replacement.
The fingerprint reader doesn't work, but you shouldn't use it anyway because it offers no real security.
The BIOS doesn't support booting off the sdcard or expresscard slot, which isn't a linux-specific problem, but is a giant pain in the ass.
edit: also adding, I bought it only maybe a year ago, and the battery is already at around 50% recharge capacity. I don't know if it's me or it's linux, but I only run Linux and it's torn through thinkpad and macbook (2008-ish) batteries.