Received T400!! First impressions

Hi all,
I thought I may share my first impressions of my new T400. It seems much lighter than what I expected. I tried an X61 before and my mother's Z61. This one is just the right size and weight. In terms of the plastic on top of the card reader, it is not very sturdy. But you won't notice any flex unless you really press hard. The keyboard has a springy feeling to it (as opposed to the Z61 which feels hard like a rock). The screen is nothing short of amazing and extremely bright. I have to put it down to 60% brightness in order to write this in the dark. The lenovo light doesn't really bother as kevin noticed in his review. It is recessed and doesn't cause glare.

I got Vista business and just finished doing all the updates. So far, no problem. Very solid computer indeed and a great balance between size and portability.

 

can you post a pic of the card reader and the flimsy plastic

 

thx for the update and +1 on keltix's request

 

Thanks for your first impressions! How's your battery life? What battery did you get? Integrated or discrete graphics?

 

Here you go:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=15v4sn6h.88hlcv4t&x=0&y=-k3g8c3&localeid=en_US

 

I got discrete graphics, 6 cell. I haven't checked the battery life yet.

 

can't see the pic

 

Sorry. Try again with the above link.

 

Thank you sir! Doesn’t look as bad as the commentary on this forum would lead one to believe, but that little bit of springiness does not ring out quality.

 

ARGH!!! They won't get away with turning out a crummy keyboard. Just mark my words.

 

I don't think the keyboard is a major problem. Just needs a little getting used to. I have defnitely tried several laptops and the XPS1330 keyboard was terrible compared to this one (some keys were loose when the computer was new which is why I returned it). This one shows no discernable flexing as mentionned by Kevin (his judgement maybe a little more sophisticated though due to his experience).

 

Great first impression.....tell us how are you doing with your new batteries too

 

I didn't realize how rock solid the T60p keyboard was until I used another laptop. I mean that T60p has absolutely NO flex. I don't think I want anything less!

 

Ok for the battery life, I just unplugged from the outlet. Word and Powerpoint open, IE with 4 windows including youtube playing in the background, needle half way between performance and energy save, screen about 60%, integrated graphics

estimated time left: 3 hours, 59 mintues.
6 cell battery

 

YouTube/Flash is a CPU pig…

 

This is funny, with all this keyboard paranoia I started pressing down the keys on my powerbook and macbook pro. I notice my powerbook was rock solid and my macbook pro was good, but definitely has some flex when pressing down hard. However, in the years that I've had them, I never noticed. In everyday use, it simply didn't matter and wasn't noticeable whatsoever.

 

funny for the keyboard thing. I think if you are good at typing, you don't need to press the keys too hard. My wife use to play piano and her HP nc8430 keyboard is literally gone already

 

Well, the Vostro 1400 is a cut above the XPS if that is the case.

At any rate, I still wouldn't settle for less than the ThinkPad keyboard. That's the legacy, and it's stupid to undermine it now.

 

Yeah, keyboard flex doesnt seem like that big of an issue. when i really push down on keys it flexes a tiny bit, but for normal typing i dont even notice. the palmrest is a little more annoying to me, both left and right side. i ordered my t400 with the express card and pc card slot and the fingerprint scanner. for a thinkpad t series, the left side above the card slots flexes a lot under normal usage. the right side flexes a little, but its not that noticable to me.

also the thinklight doesnt blind me. the shroud could have been designed a lot better, but light doesnt hit my eyes directly until after the screen is angled past a point where it gets too dark.

so far the only two things that have disappointed me with this laptop is that there is only one video output and vista. i gotta install xp soon

 

Mind taking a picture of your Express and PC Card slots?

 

I totally agree with this. Cheapening the keyboard is a bad move. People dont buy Thinkpads so they can get average quality.

Bring back the butterfly keyboard!!! I wish I had a chance to use one. That would be awesome!!!

 

i have to agree about the keyboard. its not a BAD keyboard but its not a thinkpad keyboard. i have an x61. i was going to sell to offset the cost of the t400. its keyboard is so much more solid and robust. I don't meanthe flex, i mean that when I type the keys feel solid. while the t400 keys feel lighter and almost cheap in comparison. if it was just flex i wouldnt care as much, but it honestly feels like the keyboard from a tx2500 I tried at staples (only without loose keys) i actually feel ripped off. I used to have a d830 with better quality keys. (again not a flex comparison).

maybe its the backplate of the keyboard and not cheap keys. either way. i am honestly debating whether to keep the system because I miss the FEEL of the thinkpad keyboard. dont wana buy my own keyboard because i just bought a lappy.

EDIT h heck i might keep it just cuz everything else is better than the x61 lol

 

A lot of people are buying the keyboards to the T60 and T61 to replace what is in the T400. I'm waiting to get my T400 to see how bad it really is. People on the interwebs always complain and things tend to get exaggerated. Whether or not it's as good as the keyboard in my T43p or X31? Well, I prefer to find out myself. It wouldn't make me hate or send back the laptop but I might replace the keyboard with one from the T60 or something.