ThinkPad on Ebay

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Buy aThinkPad X Series Ultraportable for less than $300?

Do you need an ultraportable Laptop but can’t afford the wallet emptying price? Are you looking to buy a really cheap but usable ThinkPad X Series? We show you how you can buy an X series UltraPortable ThinkPad for a fraction of the current retail price by buying a good quality pre-owned machine on eBay

The IBM ThinkPad range of ultraportable laptops, currently manifested in the top of the range X61 and X61 Tablet has had a long and illustrious career. The ThinkPad X61 and X61 Tablet are at the pinnacle of power, quality and portability, but they are also at the top of the price league .

So how do the earlier models stack up in comparison and are they still usable in today’s modern computing environment? We find out, and uncover how you can buy an earlier IBM ThinkPad Ultraportable laptop and save $1000’s in the process!

Back in time

First off let’s just step back in time and look at where the ThinkPad Ultra Portable range started and how it evolved to become the multi award winning ThinkPad X Series . It’s quite difficult to find the exact starting point but delving into the IBM ThinkPad archives tells us that the story started in 1993/94 with the ThinkPad 220 and 230 Subnotebooks which were produced for the Asia Pacific market, mainly China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea.

The ThinkPad 701C and 701CS appeared in 1995 with its 10.5 inch screen and incredibly innovative folding TrackWrite or ‘butterfly’ keyboard. With an Intel 486DX4 75 MHz processor and a max 720 MB Hard Drive, they are virtually useless in today’s computing environment, but what a stunning design and a real collectors item today in good working order. I would love to get hold of one for my collection.

In May 1996 the ThinkPad 560 series was launched with a max spec of Intel Pentium133 CPU, 12.1″ TFT display with 800×600 resolution, 8MB memory standard and a maximum 2100MB HDD. If you are really looking to use a 560 series ThinkPad, then you need to go for the 560Z which is an absolutely gorgeous little machine with Intel Mobile Pentium II 233 or 300 CPU, Neomagic MagicGraph128XD with 2MB driving a 12.1″ TFT display with 800×600 resolution and a max 32MB or 64MB memory standard with a top 6.4GB HDD.

This is just about usable as a portable Word processor and they are available on eBay at around $80! If you want a ThinkPad Ultraportable and can’t afford an X60 series ThinkPad then why not pretend with a ThinkPad 560?

ThinkPad 570, a Real Stunner

The real stunner in the ThinkPad Ultraportable ‘500’ series line however was the 570. If you can find one on eBay go for the 570E with the Intel Mobile Pentium III 500 CPU, Neomagic MagicMedia256AV with 2.5MB driving the 13.3″ TFT display with 1024×768 resolution 64MB PC-100 memory and a 2GB HDD. This is a slim, light weight laptop that docks to an IBM UltraBase which achieves an outstanding combination of flexibility and portability, and, is quite usable for light weight work, such as word processing, emails and browsing on the move. We just bought one from eBay.com with an UltraBase for $90, you can’t beat that!

Enter the ThinkPad 240

In June 1999 IBM introduced the ThinkPad 240 Series ‘SubNoteBook’. In June 2000 this was upgraded to the 240X with an Intel Mobile Pentium III 500 MHz CPU, 10.4″ TFT display with 800×600 resolution and up to 192 mb memory with a 12GB HDD. We have had one of these superb little machines running Windows and Office 2000 so if you are looking for a real light weight, almost ‘pocket sized’ notebook then take a look at the 240X ThinkPad.

X Series breakthrough

The real breakthrough in a long and illustrious line of Ultraportable came in September 2000 when IBM introduced the ThinkPad X Series. First off the blocks was the X20 which offered an unbeatable combination of light weight, flexibility and power. Combined with the UltraBase X2 and the whole range of Ultraport options this was a real winner. And amazingly they are available for sale around the $150 price mark right now on eBay!

Over a 20 month period the incredibly successful ThinkPad X series grew from the X20 to the X24 with Intel Mobile Pentium III-M 1.13, an ATI Mobility Radeon 7000 with 8 MB RAM driving an 12.1″ TFT display with 1024×768 resolution. Memory was up to a maximum 640 MB PC-133 SDRAM, (128 MB fixed on board, one populated SO-DIMM Slot to take a 512 MB module), and a 30 GB 2.5″ HDD. Find one with the UltraBase included and you’ve got a great ultraportable ThinkPad for your travels and all the connectivity you’ll need at home.

Will it work today?

Well, it doesn’t have an Intel Core Duo, and you wont be able to play Half Life 2, but if you want to catch up on your Office work, check your emails and browse the Internet, then you can’t go wrong. You’ll find most of these laptops sold with a genuine Windows XP Pro ‘COA’ (Certificate of Authenticity), so you have a supported, fully licensed Windows Operating System. Download all the latest security patches on top of Service Pack 2, install some free Anti Spyware, Anti Virus and a software Firewall like Zone Alarm, and your all set!

And the great thing is?

This is the kicker. A brand new top of the range X61 is going to set you back over $2500. Right now you can buy a great X24 Series ThinkPad for around $300 on eBay. As of the date of this article we are seeing excellent ThinkPad X24’s go for less than 4300. OK, if you need all the power of an X61, or the upcoming X200 then by all means spend all the money! But if you are just looking for the best second user ultraportable around, that really is usable for modern Office applications, then save your money and go for the ThinkPad X24. It’s really is a best buy!