ThinkPad T400 and T500 Keyboard Stiffness: Myth Busted

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

When we did our quick review of the ThinkPad T400 and T500 a couple of weeks back we were impressed by the usual  outstanding build quality that this latest incarnation of the T Series displayed.

We were particularly impressed with the keyboard, which for us, has always been one of the most important features of any ThinkPad. Typing on a ThinkPad keyboard has always been a joy and it has been a feature that most other manufacturers just dont seem to be able to get close to.

In other words, ThinkPad keyboards are just the best of any notebook, period!

We started to get concerned when we saw posts appearing on several blogs that the keyboard on the new ThinkPad T400/T500 was not as good as previous models and had a lot of flex.

We just did not think this was true and it seems that David Hill from http://lenovoblogs.com/designmatters/ was also concerned. Well, he would be, he is one of the lead designers at Lenovo and has a hand in making sure that all is well with traditional ThinkPad values!

You can read David’s full post here, and it debunks the myth that the keyboard on the latest ThinkPad T series is not as good as the T61.

http://lenovoblogs.com/designmatters/?p=228

Thanks David, keep up the good work!

Lenovo Introduces SSD and Backlit LED’s on new ThinkPad’s

SED and LED options for the new ThinkPad T400, T500, ThinkPad W500 and the New ThinkPad X200

Lenovo has announced several new full laptop ranges which will include SSDs (solid-state drives) as a storage option and LED backlit displays.

The new ThinkPad T400 may have an SSD option (soon as we have news we’ll let you know) but the ThinkPad T500 will have a 64 GB Solid State drive as an option and will also include an LED display Read more

How to refurbish an old IBM ThinkPad

A real quickie this one but just read a great post on the PCWorld Site about revitalizing an old laptop. Really super stuff and great for anybody who has a much loved older IBM ThinkPad and just wants to keep it because it works!

PC World Article ‘Revitalize an Aging Notebook on the Cheap’

Very often we can spend more than we need when a simple home refurb will suffice, or maybe you’ve bought a bargain from ebay and want to spruce it up?

Great article by Brian Nadel.

Lenovo ThinkPad R61 based Thin Client

Lenovo ThinkPad R61 based Thin Client. Lenovo and Devon IT, the Pennsylvania Server Based Technology Company has teamed up to produce a thin client laptop.

Devon IT, Inc., an alternative desktop solution company and the fastest growing provider of thin client terminals, has announced the availability of the new SafeBook LVO, a mobile thin client laptop built on the Lenovo R61 ThinkPad. This is a bold move and collaboration by Lenovo and Devon is a pretty exciting development in the thin client world. Read more

The Legend of the Burning ThinkPad

The burning ThinkPad! One of the most amazing stories I have seen in the Lenovo Vision ‘Legends Series’ is the video of the burning ThinkPad.

Keith Jones is a computer technician for a major newspaper, and the day this all happened is one of those ‘don’t let anything go wrong today’ days! Why? Well, it’s his daughters wedding day. Keith is in church for in the middle of the wedding ceremony and a neighbor comes running in screaming that his house is on fire!

Keith arrived back at the house just in time to watch a fire fighter throwing his beloved ThinkPad out of an upstairs window!

Now this goes back to 2002, and so its likely that this was a ThinkPad T30, but even so, it shows just where the awesome ThinkPad reputation for build quality comes from!

This poor T30 ends up melted, water soaked and, well, I won’t spoil the story ….

Enjoy the video, and make sure that you catch some more of the great videos at Lenovo Vision.

 

Lenovo ThinkPad T61 breaks the 4 gig frontier

The Quest for 4 Gigs continues

In a recent article by Mark Minasi in Windows IT Pro Magazine, he talks about the quest to install Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit and get full use of 4GB of RAM.

It looks like it’s not as easy as it seems and most Laptops with the exception of the Lenovo ThinkPad T61 just will not address this amount of memory.

Open up task manager with 4 gig installed and the most you will see with most laptops is just under 3 gig.

Mark goes on to comment …….

“On to the good news: There are laptops that can deliver a full four gigs to 64-bit Vista. I’ve heard from three users of Lenovo’s T61 ThinkPad that the T61 can easily accommodate and use four gigs with Vista (and yes, I did ask them if they verified that through Task Manager rather than the System applet).”

If your really into the technical side of Windows you can read Marks fascinating article at ……………….

http://windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/97762/the-quest-for-4-gigs-continues.html

Just another vindication that Lenovo really do make the best engineered Laptops in the world? We think so.

Which version of Vista is right for your ThinkPad?

When you’re ready to order your next ThinkPad, which version of Windows Vista should you choose?

At both ends of the scale Vista Home basic is just that, very basic without the gorgeous Aero interface and let’s face it, if you’re going to have Vista, you may as well have Aero!

At the other end of the scale Vista Ultimate has all the bells and whistles you could wish for! Ultimate offers everything you could want in an operating system and has every feature Microsoft can throw at you.

The downside however is that it costs … literally!

Add Ultimate to your shopping cart and you’ve just stuck $90 on the price of your ThinkPad.

There is one clear favourite though and that’s the edition that Lenovo ships as standard with all current ThinkPad laptops from the T Series to the X300, and its Vista Home Premium.

Windows Vista Home Premium includes everything in Windows Vista Home Basic, plus the Windows Vista Aero™ and Media Center and Tablet PC capabilities.

If your ordering an ThinkPad X61 Tablet then you’ll love all the Tablet capabilities that Home premium offers, but you’ll need to get yourself a copy of OneNote!

According to IDC Research, almost 75% of all consumer PC’s shipped with Vista Home Premium in 2007. For business users though, XP pro still rules the roost, although that seems to be changing with Vista Business rising in popularity.

Most people we speak to love Vista Home Premium, but maybe that’s because they are running it on a fairly powerful ThinkPad?

Our recommendation? Go with Home Premium if you are a student, home or small business user, but if you are a business user working for a company with an established IT department, you probably wont have the choice and you will end up with XP Pro!

ThinkPad T61 resale value, is it important? 8 Tips to protect your investment.

Having sold literally 1000’s of refurbished ThinkPad models in the past from venerable 600 Series models, through to T20’s and T40’s we appreciate the fact that in general, a pre owned ThinkPad will fetch more than most other second user laptops.

As ThinkPad users in our own business we also appreciate the overall benefits that the lower ‘Total Cost of Ownership’ the ThinkPad Range has. With its rock solid build quality, superb engineering and great usability a ThinkPad T61 or X61 Series machine should reward you over the next 3 or 4 years with great service. It may cost you a little more at the outset but you’ll be rewarded over the lifetime of ownership and if you follow our tips, you should get more for your pre owned machine when its time to trade up.

Read more

ThinkPad Laptop Resale Value – 10 Tips to get more

Are you thinking of upgrading a venerable ThinkPad T20, T30 or in fact any older ThinkPad T Series to a brand new ThinkPad T61?

Want to swap in your older ThinkPad X Series for a shiny new X61 or even a ThinkPad X300? Well, however much you get for your much loved ‘pre-owed’ ThinkPad, every little helps as they say! Read more

ThinkPad Engineer takes T61 Apart!

Ever wanted to upgrade stuff in your ThinkPad? Watch a Lenovo Engineer as he takes every current model ThinkPad apart. Then put them back together again! It takes him about 10 minutes to disassemble a ThinkPad T61!

I have just discovered the Lenovo Maintenance and Training Site and was absolutely amazed to watch videos of Lenovo Engineers stripping down and re assembling all of the current ThinkPad model range.

The videos are broken down into segments so whatever you want to do is covered. Want to replace the battery, hard disk drive, memory DIMM or even the backup battery? It’s all there.

How about replacing your ThinkPad T61 Modem Daughter Card, Keyboard Bezel or even the CPU?

These videos go into incredible detail and not only cover all of Lenovo’s current range of ThinkPad models, they also give you the complete breakdown for the Lenovo 3000 range. The archives cover both the ThinkPad 60 and 61 series machines as well as the brand new Lenovo ThinkPad X300.

There is a great intro to the ThinkPad X300 by Ian Frid, the Worldwide Service and Support Curriculum Manager for Lenovo.

All in all a superb resource for the ThinkPad engineer and service technician. Oh how I wish we had this sort of instructional video in the days of the T20! Can’t tell you how many of those we have taken apart and repaired for clients!

This must be Lenovo’s best kept secret.

WARNING! Do not do this at home. Use this wisely and only if you are qualified. Tinkering with your brand new ThinkPad may invalidate the warranty. Don’t go taking your T61 apart and then send it back to Lenovo for re assembly!

The links to these resources are for informational purposes only.