Lenovo T400 - Smaller than I thought

I saw the Lenovo T400 in person at J+R as they had it on display.

I also saw the Sony VAIO and did not like the keyboard at all.

The T400 on display did not have the LCD screen, yet was very clear.

The T400 was smaller than I thought it would be. It is light enough (they did not have the battery in the unit however) however I am concerned about the cheap plastic lid which looks like it can crack easily.

It is pretty amazing how the miniturization process happened so quickly to make the new notebooks and I kept thinking about William Amelio (CEO OF Lenovo) and his background in chemical engineering as with a laptop I am keenly aware of every single component in it as well as the creation process of it, even what goes on in China and Taiwan.

T500 may even be small enough to travel with however T500 does not have the LCD screen. So the T400 seems like the one I will wind up getting once Wimax makes its way to the notebook itself.

The unit did not have the bezel installed for the pc card and express bus as it was empty on the side of the unit so I was unable to tell about the PC Card vs Media reader option.

As for the keyboard LED I just saw a small hole which was smaller on the top than the other units, however I did not see it on.

The Test Unit for the Review was a DEMO unit as marked on the bottom so it is quite possible that the shipping units do not have this problem or it will be rectified in the next batch of units sent out. I want Wimax and the bugs worked out so I will wait a little bit.

Thanks all for the comments on here.

J+R has a higher price for a barebones model than buying directly with Lenovo with coupon or CPP promotions.

 

JR has MS Live Cash back rewards of 12% .

 

J+R has discounts with Chase Rewards plus too. But it is a basic end top seller model and comes to a higher price than better promos.

I did not want the model they had which was a basic no frills model for 12% off.

Can I use MS Live with the CPP or Coupon code pricing on the T400 when they pop up with the Wimax, and if so, how do I sign up for MS Live pricing?

Chase Rewards Plus does Lenovo however it does not work with CPP pricing.

Checked MS Live, there is no coupon code for Lenovo and it is not on the list. You can get a Lenovo but not through Lenovo directly for the discount.

http://search.live.com/cashback/stores has no Lenovo store

 

Lenovo has tons of coupon codes for the laptops and discounts from Chase Shopping Rewards, VISA, and CPP pricing. VISA pricing is a straight 15% off. CPP pricing is coming to cheaper right now. MS Live does not have Lenovo as a merchant on the website unfortunately.

 

by LCD, u mean LED?

 

I meant LED backlight. I stand corrected. I don't know why I typed LCD. Yes, light emitting diode backlighting. The store model was the LCD without the LED

 

I don't know, I was really leaning towards the t400, but now I'm feeling its a little heavy....

 

Didn't seem so heavy, but then again the battery wasn't installed.

 

Yeah, battery is a nice chunk of weight.

 

I saw a T400 today at another store.

It just doesn't feel very solid... The unit has the PC card expansion slot I believe, and the lower left corner is still quite flimsy. And the keyboard flex did bother me a bit..

I placed an order yesterday but I'm really having second thoughts...

 

With media reader option there is additional flex by the palmrest. There is more flex in the new keyboard. However the keyboard is lighter.

As far as build quality, unless you get a full rugged design, they are more or less the same I would assume.

The Lenovo T400 seems to do what it needs to do extremely well. If you don't like the Lenovo due to build quality, the next step up IMHO would be a Panasonic Toughbook or something akin to that. I am not sure how other notebook's hold up.

I am still getting the Lenovo T400 but with the PC Card option due to the additional flex. If I need a reader I will buy a cheap usb device and keep it in the case.

 

that's a valuable advice, thx

 

The keyboard I was comparing to was the T61 vs T400.

The Media reader option on the Lenovo T400 doesn't have the spring based slot so theres more flex.

I am just waiting for Wimax before I make the purchase as well as a deep deep discounted price. Will wait it out for a little while yet.

 

I am actually quite disappointed at T400 and that's after I ordered one yesterday. I might cancel the order, here is why:

Dell Inspiron 1420 weights 5.39lbs, with CD/DVD drive and 6 cell battery.
T400 weights 4.7lbs, with only a 4 cell battery and no CD/DVD drive.

So if you bring T400 up to the equipments of Inspiron 1420, the weight difference is negligible.

 

Inspiron is not in the same league as Thinkpad.

 

Not the same league, which is exactly my point.

T serie is not any more portable than a low-end 14in machine.

T serie used to have an edge on weight but now that edge is pretty much washed. You are really only pay for the brand and build quality now.

 

T series are not meant to be lightweight, they're strong and durable business machines, you throw it against a that inspiron, the thinkpad will chop it in half

 

I disagree.

Even though it is still one factor, the build quality of a notebook is a major one. You're also paying for the most up-to-date hardwares, extraordinary keyboard, fantastic LED LCD, unique features like ThinkLight, and the list goes on.

I don't know about you, but to me, if a ThinkPad is nearly the same weight as an Inspiron 1420 yet still has a handful more features, I'll take the ThinkPad. If you want a lighter weight ThinkPad, I recommend the X series.

 

Arkit3kt,

I know I am taking an unpopular position here, but it's been twice that you disagreed with me on something that you actually agreed on.

"build quality is a major one" ....isn't that what I just said? Extraordinary keyboard (build quality), LED (optional, it's not like it comes free), Thinklight doesn't help, back-lid keyboard is the only solution.

Not trying to get you agree with me, build quality means something and it's worth paying more, but the weight advantage of T serie is gone.

 

Twice? When was the other time?

Even though it's an unpopular position, doesn't make it completely wrong. I just disagree with you that when purchasing a ThinkPad, the only advantages that a consumer is paying for, and I'll quote you, is "really only paying for the brand and build quality now." When buying a ThinkPad, I believe it's much more than that.

That is not what you said, you said along with brand name, it is the "only one."

Weight is only one aspect of a notebook and if you want a lightweight ThinkPad, then again, I recommend the X series. The T series is pretty much the mainstream ThinkPad now so of course it has to appeal to the professional mainstream. The few features that I've listed were just handful. Intuitive cooling system is another. And I'd like you to name me a 14.1" laptop that can pull off 7-hours of battery life with a dedicated GPU.

I really can't think of an overall better 14.1" notebook than the T400. I find it surprising you consider cancelling your order because it almost weighs as much as the 1420. That's rather silly.

edit: I find the ThinkLight to be a very adequate source of keyboard lighting. Backlit keyboard is not the only solution and, in my opinion, it looks unprofessional.

 

After playing around with my new T400, I don't think I could ever go back to a Dell Inspiron series. My dell feels like a toy, and the build is no where up to par with the thinkpad.

As far as the T400 not being sturdy, perhaps compared to previous iterations of the laptop, it may not be as sturdy, but its still one of the sturdiest laptops I've handled.

On a different note, however, I must say that the PC card slot is flimsy with the media reader, but how often will you be pressing down on the edge? in my opinion, with the lid shut it doesn't make a difference.

As far as a back-lit keyboard goes. IMHO somehow I feel like its more of a battery draining gimmick. If you know where the F and J key are, you shouldn't really need any extra light. The thinklight on my laptop is not blinding like kevins, so I'm not sure what was up with his demo unit but it does its job, albeit its a little dim.

As far as the LED display goes. its bright.. too bright. I haven't used it outdoors yet but I did use it in a well lit kitchen with the sun to my back and I had absolutely no problem seeing the screen.

 

1. Twice - The first time you said Inspiron is not in the same league which I fully agreed with and which actually made my point even stronger.

2. "...and I'll quote you, is really only paying for the brand and build quality now. When buying a ThinkPad, I believe it's much more than that."

Much more? Like what? ThinkLight? Intuitive cooling? The only thing I can agree with is the battery life, but that may be due to the new Intel processor/chipset, which will be available to all manufacturers.

3. I actually don't need a recommendation, and I didn't ask for one. So thanks anyway. Btw, if you don't care about weight, why not get a 17incher? Isn't portability the most obvious reason why we all get a laptop instead of a desktop?

 

"The thinklight on my laptop is not blinding like kevins, so I'm not sure what was up with his demo unit but it does its job, albeit its a little dim."

Looks like the issue was on his Demo unit as it was clearly marked Demo unit from 2007 on the bottom of his. On regular builds it looks like it was cleared up.

As far as this notebook goes, it is definitely the one to get for me. The problem for me is the lack of Wimax compatibility and I am looking to see if I can nab better pricing to boot. Wimax capability will be added later this year so I will wait for it.

I will get the PC Card option not the Media Card Reader, 4GB Ram, Vista Business 64, Turbo ram, LED screen, 160 Gig 7200 RPM, 5350 Wireless Wimax option and DVDRW option and Discrete graphics and I will be happy. As for CPU I will probably be getting the laptop with newer cpus since I bet the CPU options will change by the time I order one. I will get the best of the lower wattage cpus at the time.

 

Um...what? I think you need to go back and check to see who said what because I wasn't the one that said that.

I can pretty much guarantee you that the main consensus of this forum is that the engineers behind the ThinkPad machine is better than Dell's. And yes, ThinkPad's cooling system is intuitive and that's a rather big advantage compared to other 14.1-inch notebooks.

I did not say I don't care about weight. Again, you should go back and reread some because you've seemed to be confused there.

Sure, portability is the most obvious reason, but it's not the only. It'd be ignorant to assume all potential notebook buyers are in it for portability.

What exactly is your point?

 

I've already said what I needed to say. This back and forth ends now.

 

Leave it Arkit3kt. When somebody doesn't want to understand, or is with and idea in his mind, he won't change.

As kevin said and everybody that has received his T400, is th best 14inch laptop around. It has the 4 P's: Price, power, portability and Pretty Design (this P is veeery controversial lol).

 

My girlfriend has a Dell Inspiron 1420 and it is a pretty nice laptop. The build quality and overall features are perfect for her and the way she uses it (multimedia, websurfing, email, and other general home use). It did come with a built in card reader though.

I, on the other hand, ordered a T400 (her 1420 convinced me to go to 14.1" from a 15.4" toshiba m-45 that I have now). My company issues dell latitude notebooks and they are good also, although they gave me an old inspiron 6000 handmedown. I ordered a T400 to use as a personal computer. I wanted something easy to travel with my DSLR camera (a 13.3" is not the best for editing 12mp pictures!), but still full-featured enough for multimedia, personal finances, interwebz, yada yada. In my case, the T400 fits the bill.

Another thing, I don't understand about the flex and the card reader? the PC card slot will be an empty void, unless there is a card in it, but the card reader occupies the slot full time. How does the palmrest flex, if there is something in the slot?

 

It appears there are two slots on the T400:

The bottom one has the card reader, and the top one has the PC card slot.

If the plastic cover/card is not in the upper PC card slot, there will be some flex.

Otherwise without the card reader, there is no flex in the upper or lower slots.

 

Even with the plastic card in the upper PC card slot there is a good amount of flex. Its possible that I got a psuedo bogus plastic card for the slot, but hearing that kevin's exhibited similar problems and other people in the forum who have theirs/have seen it in stores also say the same thing.

 

t400 is made of plastic cover now? no longer magnesium like the old T6x?

 

The T61 wasn't magnesium either. They added the rollcage, and dropped the magnesium in order to get better wireless reception from the antennas in the lid.

 

I don’t get this either—I’m still kind of confused. By default there’s an Express Card on top and PC Card on the bottom. In the NBR review there a blank in the Express Card and, apparently, a memory card reader in the bottom. Why would the flex be any greater with the memory reader versus a blank in both the PC and Express Card slots?

 

Exactly,

Regardless of what config you order, the top slot will be a express card slot with a plastic blank. If anything having the card reader should reduce flex because the slot is occupied permanently, compared to a pc slot which is empty.

1. Express card slot w/ PC card slot = 2 empty slots

2. Express card slot w/ 4 in 1 card reader = 1 empty slot

Also, if you read Kevin's review, he clearly states that the flex is present when the plastic blank is removed!

I'm considering this a non-issue.

 

i got mine today right in front of me. express slot and pc card. the express slot if always on top and the (insert choice) is on the bottom. the flex will always be there cuz its the plastic palm rest cover that flexes but the slots dont shrink or anything. unless you put something in the expresscard slot to reduce fled the palmrest will still bow a bit. and YES theres flex but NO its not under normal use. you have to do that I did and literally push down with some force with my finger to initiate the flex. also (cuz i've seen it asked too many times) with the express/pc card there is one large flap to cover both slots and NO it does not reduce flex or add 5 extra horsepower .

 

Thanks for the details. Mind taking a picture of your Express and PC Card slots?

 

My T43p even has flex above the expansion slots there. How much of this is just being nitpicky?

 

no problem. when i get home from work in a few hrs ill put up a few pics.

 

It's definitely smaller than I thought too,

 

Great photo! Thanks!

 

Keltix,

could we trouble you for a shot of your hand holding the laptop from the side, to give an idea of the thickness?

 

Notebook is best of breed based on price/performance ratio.

T400 with Intel Wifi Link 5350 + Intel Anti Theft Technology. When this comes out, this notebook is mine. I need the best price on it I can get.

 

my hands are not small, btw

i'll gladly grant any more more requests for pics

 

Looks like the notebook for me. Better performance than the X301 although heavier and larger for less money.

Seems to hit the price/performance sweetspot along with mobility.

 

No kidding! a maxed out X301 is pushing $3500!

 

X301's users are for those who absolutely 100% can not stand the bigger footprint and weight since performance is worse than the T400 and screensize is bigger.

T400 is the sweetspot for sure and is what I am getting soon.

 

Which size battery is that?

 

looks a lot like my 6 cell

 

yup; 6-cell