My impressions on T420

I know there are a bunch of these threads but I thought I'd like to contribute.

Keyboard: Best keyboard on the market, period! I love the feedback of the keyboard, its the most accurate, comfortable keyboard I've ever used in my life. This is the main reason I chose a Thinkpad.

Screen: Yea this is the reason why I've been reading numerous reviews to see what people say about this. I absolutely love my display and this is from someone who's anal about screen quality (originally bought 15" and 17" hi resolution antiglare macbook pros just for its screen).

I think the matte display is very easy on the eyes and the black level is really good for a TN panel. My minor and its a VERY minor gripe, is that the horizontal viewing angle is not too great when looking at the display from the bottom or top but surprisingly good looking at the display from the side. But I think its not too bad as long as your not viewing the display at extreme angles from the bottom or the top.

One test that I do to test the black level of the display is to read some online Manga that is all black and white. Usually this gives me an idea of how well the black level looks to me. From this test, I can say that I love the black level of this notebook, it looks very dark, clean, and bold.

I also found that the ability for the display to fold back all the way is very useful in certain situations.

The bottom line is that if your nervous about ordering the T420 because you heard about its crappy display, dont be nervous and just do it! Although I did get the LG display, which I've heard is better of the two, the display is very good. Unfortunately I'm not too sure about the quality of the display on the AUO.

Sound: I wasnt expecting anything great at all and actually expected the sound quality to be tiny and very bad, BUT I was surprised here once again. While its not very deep with bass the sound is loud and sufficient enough to watch shows online as well as to listen to music comfortably.

Build Quality: There is no question that the Thinkpad has one of the best build quality in the notebook industry. I think the build is really solid and superb. I love grabbing this notebook with one hand without feeling it flex. This thing feels like its going to outlast anything that I've ever owned in the past.

One Other Gripe: One other minor grip besides the horizontal viewing angle is the DVD drive on the right side. Since owning the T420 for the past 3 days, I keep pressing the button on the DVD drive to the right on accident. I'm starting to get used to avoiding the button but it is still a little annoying. I'm thinking about replacing that portion with a HDD caddy anyway so its ok.

My newest love, the Ultra Nav: Yes I've gotten used to the little red dot in the middle and then I discovered that it had two buttons underneath it, especially the middle scroll button! Now I dont ever take my hands off the awesome keyboard because I use the ultra nav and its scrolling functions. I'm a believer!

Overall I give this notebook a 9.5/10! Yes .5 is from those minor gripes but in my eyes its a perfect notebook!

 

Nice to see you're happy with the T420, makes me wonder what the LG Display really is like since I got an AUO panel on mine... with a stuck pixel. I guess you can't get worst than that but I stickied your review to the T420 thread on the OP.

 

Yes, when you turn your machine for the first time it is both the best and worst of times while you await to see if you've gotten the dreaded dead or stuck pixel(s). I've been lucky. I've never gotten one on a laptop, but have had a few on desktop LCDs.