T400s Review by ptrn

im just copying and pasting ptrn's post, thought it deserves its own thread. (all credit goes to him):

"Hi guys!

I came over a T400s machine today, and I took the liberty to write a tiny review on it, take some pictures, and write some information about the specs that will be possible.

As far as I know, these are the only pictures of the machine to be found on the web, so consider it an exclusive

Check it out

Review/Hands-on of Lenovo ThinkPad T400s

ptrn"

UPDATE
New Review: http://jkontherun.com/2009/06/11/thinkpad-t400s-arrives-thin-and-light-14-inch/

 

niceeee

I want one with 4gb ram and 500gb hard drive

=D

 

Nice. Best sort of confirmation on the specs we can get (mostly). Nice to see weight just under 4lbs. So probably 4.25lbs with a 6cell.

 

Nice review. Loved how they moved the Ethernet plug to the back and added display port. The curves on the trackpoint key seems like something nice to have! But don't really like the reduced left shift key and the new thinkvantage/volume/pwr buttoms

 

if this turns out to be under a grand im going to feel bad about buying my t400 that shipped this week.

heres to hoping its well over a grand!

 

I believe this weight is with the 6 cell installed. I'm not sure, but I don't think you can get anything lower than 6 cell on this machine

 

yeah that battery looks pretty big:

http://www.superonsdag.no/blog.superonsdag.no/wp-content/uploads/img_4627.jpg

guess most people are used to seeing a 6 cell pop out the back of the t400.

 

Well even better if so.

The docking station compatibility is a little annoying for corporate clients though, but oh well.

Thanks for the info.

 

Considering the location of the battery, there's probably only one battery pack possible. A 9 cell popping out underneath there isn't the most convenient thing to have

 

There are some bizarre (and some interesting) things going on here. The keyboard is of course what is most bizarre... I agree with the reviewer's assessment that the changes don't seem to be for any purpose but to change it. What's the point of the oversized ESC and DEL?

Yet the thing that I'm least sure about is the oversized Enter key. When did they start (return to?) this sort of layout? Is this normal? It seems very odd to me. Maybe this is the UK layout?

Also, perhaps I'm the only confused person on this, but what's the extra button to the right of the volume keys? Is that to mute the mic?

I like the combined audio jack, and especially that it's on the side - one of the main reasons I didn't go for a T400 for my use. Other updated ports are a plus, and the new dock connector may be useful, especially if it extends to the X302, which is still the size/weight factor I'd prefer.

Any photos of the right side? Anything to see there but the optical drive?

 

To be honest, I forgot the right side in the moment of enthusiasm I can try to get some updated pictures by tomorrow, including the right side.

Anything else that people want me to take a shot of? Oh, and I'll try to find out more about the battery issue

By the way; the new, strange button. I think I mentioned it in the review, but if not: I think it's for muting the microphone. Makes sense when you look at the symbol, any how

Edit: If I remember correctly, there's nothing on the right side. Just the ultrabay. Again, I'll recheck this tomorrow

 

The keyboard is the UK layout (based on the looks of the Enter & Backspace keys), so it will be slightly different from the US version.

I'm glad Lenovo finally adopted those USB/eSATA combined ports though. Asthetically, I wish the ridges on the bezels of the current T-series were kept on the T400s though.

 

The Integrated Graphics really disappointed me.

If there is no discrete graphics on T400s, I'd rather to buy T400.

 

wow. This is all good news. It looks like lenovo made changes that fixes most of the issues I'd otherwise have with the new T series, which are: centered screen, mouse buttons, on/off et al buttons, and hopefully the keyboard flex also.

Firstly from the looks:

I think I like the new button designs on the on/off switch et al. I think it is certainly a dramatic improvement from current buttons.

I think I like the new mouse button design. It seems like the mouse buttons are thicker on the side than in the inside portion where the other mouse button meets on the symmetry axis thus making a U shaped valley in the center. I wouldnt know if I prefer that or the current where the thickness is even throughout until I try it I suppose. Undoubtedly the design is certainly better than the current. The fact that they brought the red stripes back is also definately good news. I am wondering if making the center mouse scroll button equal size to the mouse click buttons is better or not? Both for practical, design and an engineering perspective in terms of reliability over time. Might be a non-issue. Looks wise its ok though.

I don't know about the large escape and delete key. I think I would prefer the old layout where the insert is on top of the delete key. I also think I prefer the horizontally longer enter key present in current keyboard layouts although I know this type of enter key shown in the pictures of the t400s has been tried in the past. But its just that it seems most of the keyboards I use nowadays (across more then 4-5 different brands) all have similar layouts. DOnt know if this is the keyboard country layout issue.

Another plus I think is that the headphone jacks are back on the left side!! A huge plus in my opinion.

Unfortunately for me the T400s comes without the discrete graphics apparently? (hope its not true) but if thats the case it means I cant buy it anyway as I'd prob need the discrete graphics. But I think this new release deems former glory status of the thinkpad t series to me, just like the new X series improved. The current T series has its ugly sides but this one seems to be a thing of beauty.

I'm wondering if I can order this keyboard and get the normal T400. I might like their centered screen too.

 

Well that's why you have that option. It is suppose to just be another option. Cooling would be more of an issue with a thinner laptop.

 

I just noticed that there is no wireless antenna on T400s

 

what do you mean? theres wifi and wwan.

 

Then don't get the notebook then, it's for a different market. Almost all the new thin and lights will use integrated graphics. The ones that use discrete will be low end GPUs.

 

Is there a hardware switch still present for controlling the wifi radio? I think this would be handy, though I've never had it (still on a T42... hard to give up ) so I can't say it's a priority. The standard T400 has this, I think.

 

Yea about that.. I think I like the software controlled wifi on/off better.

 

This is very interesting. I actually like the keyboard because it makes more sense to me. It's not very often that I use the insert key and all it does for me is turn on overwrite which is very annoying. On the other hand, I use the delete key so much, from deleting files to typing. On the left side, I like the expansion of the escape key. What also changed because of this is that the F keys are moved to the right. This is a move that I agree with because on previous keyboards, the F keys are kind of shifted over to the left and it's incongruous with normal desktop keyboards. I wonder if it's possible to buy this keyboard and install it on my T400?

The only other things I'm jealous about compared to my own T400 are the extra ports (which I don't really need but it would be nice to have), the lighter weight, and thinner dimensions. I don't like that the battery is under the machine and not at the rear end. I feel like having the battery there makes it inconvenient to leave unattached and exposes the battery to more heat, shortening its lifespan.

 

yea the insert key leading to overwrite on text is annoying. but I still think its better on normal keyboard format due to convention and familiarity.

For the escape key, I think its more silly looking than anything thats the issue. I dont think it affects user performance in typing but that it would seem irry to users cause it just looks out of place.

I also wonder if I can buy this keyboard. Although I know that IBM parts sell keyboards @ well above $200+ US before shipping. so i have been told anyway. I'd imagine given all things being constant this wont be any different.

The battery at the bottom kinda means you prob wont be getting extended batteries. A lot of thinkpads have their batteries on the bottom currently and historically. the x30x has their battery at the bottom now too.

 

There is a hardware button. This button is placed at the right side of the machine, near the front. If I remember correctly, this button has been changed, and is now much smaller than previous ones.

 

And about the keyboard; if you look underneath the machine, it looks like the scews are lined up in a totally different way. Comparing this to the T400, it looks like they are fitted differently.

 

I notice there is still only DisplayPort on this. Does this mean that, like with Apple notebooks, only video and no audio will be transferred to an HDTV?

 

We don't know right now. The chipset certainly supports audio but so far lenovo's iterations of displayport have not supported audio.

 

umm, google'd t400s and went to shopping and most places are listing it at around 1400-1500 USD.

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=lenovo t400s&sa=N&tab=wf&um=1

 

ptrn, are there more ports on the back than we can see on the picture? There at least has to be VGA? An what about the firewire-port? thx

 

I have one more picture of the back, showing the VGA port and power connector, but the picture is rather blurry.

I didn't see a firewire port, but again, it was a quick look, so I might as well have missed it. But if I did, it must have been on the right side.

UPDATE: I've added the blurry picture of the VGA and power connector. This image should give you a good indication of how thin this machine is.

Watch it at the top of the gallery, at the bottom of the page. LINK

 

New Docks for T400s:

ThinkPad Mini Dock T400S 433710U
ThinkPad Mini Dock Series 3 for T400S - 6 USB Ports - RJ-45, Headphone out, Microphone in, Cable Lock Slot, Key Lock Security, Power Adapter included

ThinkPad T400S Port Replicator 433610W
ThinkPad Port Replicator Series 3 - 4 USB ports, RJ-45, Cable Lock slot

ThinkPad Mini Dock T400S Plus 433810U
ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 for T400S - 6 USB Ports - 3-sata storage connector, RJ-45, Headphone out, Microphone in, Cable Lock Slot, Key Lock Security, Power Adapter included

 

Thx, Selborne. Where did you get this from?. Ist there an official announcement letter out by now?

 

Is it possible none of the docks include video?

 

I bet the docks have video. These descriptions just showed up on a supplier site that I do business with.

 

I'd like to know if the hard disk is 2.5 or 1.8" and if the ultrabay supports an additional battery or hard disk in a RAIDed configuration like the current T400.

 

Overall the T400s looks pretty good. DisplayPort and USB/eSATA are certainly welcome additions, as is the apparent weight reduction.

However, I am perplexed by the keyboard change. Lenovo got a pretty good thrashing for the weight reduction on the original T400 keyboard; so their solution is to mess with the layout of the top two rows? My hope is the layout change is partly due to the fact that this is a sample from Europe. However, I fear that all future ThinkPads will sport this crazy layout as a segue to the universal 6 row keyboard of other manufacturers.

It also look like the T400s has a hybrid headphone/microphone port. This is not a welcome change as it won't support most options for separate headphones/microphones (will need a dedicated headset that carries both in one cable).

 

I wondered about this as well. I am assuming an adapter exists (or is included? ha!). In my particular use the return to the side rather than in front of the touchpad is still a welcome improvement over the T400, though.

 

Review is on Engadget

 

not a review but its where i first heard of the T400s so i ran here to see if you guys got the news, and you did.

i'm excited for this thing. i got my T400 less than a year ago and am wondering whether to buy this T400s or wait til the new chipset is releases and put into a T400s.

edit: actually, how does this compare to a X series in terms of weight?

 

can't wait until NBR gets their hands on one of these

 

yeh i'd love them to compare to it to the current T400.

 

If it really is 3.8lbs and includes a 6 cell, it is identical to my x200T w/ 8 cell, about 0.5 lbs. more than the x200/x301 with 6 cell, and about 1.0 lbs. more than the x200s with 6 cell.

Therefore, it's a pretty good option if you prefer the 14.1" size (although both LED and WXGA+ can be had in lighter models).

 

so the t400s comes with a 14.1" LED WXGA+ screen?
i'm interested to see if lenovo is using the t400s as an opportunity to use a higher quality 14.1" LED WXGA+ screen than the one you can currently get in the t400
i sure hope so - especially if the rumors of the substantial price premium are true - some of that extra $$$ hopefully goes to a nicer screen!

 

cool cool. so as someone looking to buy a new notebook, i guess the question becomes: when and how much will the new intel platform affect the t series?

 

Will the T400s have discreet graphics? I was about to take the plunge on a T400, but maybe I should wait?

 

Not from what we've heard.

 

No, the laptop is likely too thin/small to handle the cooling system necessary for discrete graphics. It will come with Intel integrated graphics.

 

Thanks jaredy and MidnightSun

 

even a 9400m would be better than intel's graphics solution

 

Really impressive... although I wish they would have ditched the DVD drive and went with either the nvidia 9300 or 9400 integrated graphics! Maybe there will be an option to have no DVD drive?

I might replace my X200 with one of these.. I guess I'll just have to wait for NBR to review the actual production model Maybe there could be some surprise changes?

 

JKOntheRun just received one.