Lenovo ThinkPad T61 – It’s a pride of ownership thing!

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If you own any late model T Series Laptop you’ll know what pride of ownership means. The brand just engenders a loyalty that brings out a fervor in its loyal following. The ThinkPad T61 is no exception. It feels rock solid, well built and engineered and exudes the kind quality that other laptop manufacturers just don’t seem to be able to emulate.

Look at the T61 and it seems to be machined from a solid piece of black granite. Appearance belies its weight however. With an incredibly light weight chassis which incorporates a protective Top Cover Roll Cage to protect the screen and also incorporates an internal UltraConnect II wireless antenna.

Anyway, enough waxing lyrical….

How does it perform?

Technically, the performance is nothing short of excellent because this incarnation of the T Series uses the fastest Intel components available. The platform includes all the vital parts of Intel’s brand new Centrino platform, including new Core 2 Duo CPUs, extra onboard Turbo Memory which really boosts access times, and of course 802.11n Wi-Fi for ultra fast connectivity.

The T61 is the fastest performing T Series ever and delivers really excellent performance scores. You’ll achieve very good 3D scores with the Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics or you can upgrade to the NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M with 128MB memory for additional ‘gaming’ or ‘movie’ power for those hotel nights on the road!

You get a fast hard drive with choices from 80GB all the way up to 200GB 7200rpm with Disk Encryption. Combine that with the optional DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim drive, and you have plenty of storage options.

 

So, what’s it like to use?

The T61 series has the now renowned IBM keyboard with a familiar desktop look and feel so you really will feel at home using this baby on the road.

This really is a superb keyboard and if you have never typed on one you will be staggered by how good the response is. The trademark red TrackPoint sits in the middle with related left/right mouse buttons and scroll button all of which are situated under the spacebar. Alternately you can use the UltraNav touchpad which was first introduced on the T30 as a sop to users who couldn’t get to grips with the TrackPoint. Once you ‘get’ the TrackPoint, it’s hard to go back to a touchpad.

Additional function buttons include three volume adjustment up, down and mute which are set on the keyboard’s top edge just under the screen together with the blue ThinkVantage button, which takes you directly to the support software.

The now familiar and really functional ThinkLight on the top screen bezel illuminates the keyboard in low light conditions. It is amazing how often you will find this useful, either working on the plane, in bed next to your spouse (so as not to wake them up of course!) or a cosy corner in your hotel room.

On the Silver Screen

The T61 features a superb high resolution WXGA+ screen is which is extremely clear and very easy to read. Great for work, easy on the eye, and great for entertainment when the work days is over!

Conclusion

With its stunning build quality, great looks and superb user experience, the ThinkPad T61 is the Laptop of choice for the business and power user who wants the best there is with no compromise. Already an Editor’s Choice Award Winner, the ThinkPad T61 will be a difficult Laptop to beat for the next couple of years.