Lenovo ThinkPad T400s Review and further thoughts

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When we reviewed the ThinkPad T400s at launch, we were incredibly impressed, and it seems that the discerning notebook buyer has agreed with us, because judging by sales, it has been a major success.

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There is no doubt that the T400s is a superbly engineered notebook with both brains and brawn, the Lenovo ThinkPad T400s has got plenty going for it, from its top-notch processing power to its superbly durable light weith shell based on the same technology that protects the X300 Series.

With a starting price of $1,599, the ThinkPad T400s has been a real a hit with its target audience, businesspeople that need full-fledged desktop power engineered into a durable and compact body.

Well Equipped

Equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo SP9400 (2.4GHz) processor and up to 4GB of RAM, the ThinkPad T400s has plenty of power to run a full suite of office programs, from word processing to presentation creation. If you have a great deal of data to store, the 250GB hard drive will provide you with plenty of space. For a little more money, you can also opt for a solid-state hard drive, which, although it provides less space, is much faster and more efficient than traditional disc-based hard drives.

The 14.1-inch LED backlit WXGA display on the ThinkPad T400s, with a native resolution of 1,440 x 900, is bright, crisp, easy to read and displays pristine graphics and images. It’s also matte-finished, so you don’t have to worry too much about irritating reflections.

Superb T400s Keyboard

The keyboard, too, is a work of art, with a solid feel and very responsive keys. The TouchPad in the T400s is covered with a dimpled matte finish, which users say makes for a much more pleasing navigation; the TouchPad buttons are large for easy clicking and the center-mounted TrackPoint remains as a ThinkPad staple.

Since the ThinkPad T400s is a business-oriented machine, there are plenty of connectivity options to ensure that the owner is always in touch. Standard with the T400s is an integrated Ethernet card and an integrated Intel WiFi Link 5300 WLAN card. Should that not be enough, there are also optional 3G Mobile Broadband cards. Whatever the choice, the ThinkPad T400s will keep colleagues and business within reach. Also available is a Bluetooth chip for the use of wireless peripherals.

The ThinkPad T400s comes with a standard 6-cell battery, which when operating a full power with a suite of programs – including video playback – will run for more than three hours, an impressive feat by any measure. For casual to moderate use, expect to get more than four hours on a single charge.

With a host of input and output ports, the ThinkPad T400s allows for plenty of peripheral usage. There are 3 USB ports, VGA output, headphone input, microphone output, 5-in-1 multimedia card reader, an ExpressCard/34 port, Ethernet input, and more. There’s also an integrated DVD-R optical drive.

Your Data is safe with the T400s!

The now famous DOW truck test shows a T400s being run over by a truck and still having a fully operational Hard Drive thanks in large part to the extremely tough carbon fiber roll cage, which acts as the super-skeleton of the magnesium alloy frame. While it’s probably not a good idea to test the truck claim, it does illustrate that your precious data will be safe, should your T400s come to any serious harm!

Conclusion

Tough and light, the ThinkPad T400s is the ideal portable business notebook. It has a long battery life, it’s powerful and fast, and it is durable enough to handle the most rigorous travel. The entire machine, fully equipped still manages to weigh in at less than four pounds, so you may even forget you have it tucked in your bag.