T400s Review by ptrn

1.8" drive?! oh no!

 

Sounds promising.

http://www.crn.com/mobile/217900177;jsessionid=RHNZXINWRRPGGQSNDLPSKHSCJUNN2JVN

 

Can't wait for Canadian pricing . Hope they don't jack up the price too much .

 

interesting about the multitouch tablet
i'm a bit confused about the quote about the new line of 10-17 inch "PCs"
typically i take "PC" to mean a desktop machine
but a 10-inch desktop would be a bit ridiculous
if there are new thinkpads coming out at the end of the summer, i hope we can get info on them soon
i'll probably hold of on my purchase until we learn what's coming

 

Don't worry man I'm sure they mean laptops - these days even a 17" desktop is a bit ridiculous

 

I even heard someone mention that Lenovo might be working on a 14.1" tablet!? Sound's crazy, doesn't it? But who knows. I thought the exact same thing when the announced the W700ds.

 

T400s is out for me. I saw the crash tests and you can tell that the screen has horrible contrast ratio already...even from that video. There's alot of backlight bleed and I know it's nowhere near a good screen. The tradition continues.

 

Damn, we got a lot of Thinkpad haters in here.

 

how so? this thread seems to be filled with people eager to learn more about this new thinkpad. how is that hating?

 

I bet its same old LG/Samsung LED panels found in regular T400. Perhaps they discontinued the option for regular orders in T400 to build up stocks for T400s, considering that LED panel is the only option there. The timing would make perfect sense. After late march there was not shortage/delays on thinkpads with those screens when ordered through educational ordering.

Its not like there alot of other manufacturers who make matte 14.1 LED WXGA+ panels.

 

I'm talking about the forum in general, in every thread there are always a few people bashing Thinkpads, it's almost as if they're hired trolls, it's not the same for other forums on here though.

 

i agree with you - the t400s must be the reason lenovo has intentionally hidden the 14.1 LED WXGA+ option for the t400 in the US the last few months

 

That's what it looks like, but than x200s has 2.5" drive so why wouldn't they implement the same? I have been uberly optimistic about T400s, but this hard drive limitation might be a deal breaker for me. I tried searching for 1.8" drives and choices are pretty slim, slow (4200rpm or 5400rpm), and expensive. 128GB SSD will not be enough for me, so I was hopping for 320GB 7200rpm hard drive

 

well lets wait and see - with all the things that lenovo got right with the t400s, hopefully it will be capable of using 2.5" drives

 

Looking at the tornado chaser videos it looked like a 2.5inch drive was removed. They said they didn't cheat and use a SSD drive but used a conventional spinning drive. It wasn't small enough to be a 1.8inch.

Edit: I think I might be wrong. Other users are saying it is a 1.8inch drive but I guess that isn't fully confirmed. Guess I didn't look at the video closely enough.

 

I think it is most definitely a 1.8" HD. You can tell from the size when he is holding it:



And when he flips it around (around 1:55) it looks basically identical to this:

http://www.itechnews.net/2008/09/25/toshiba-mk2529gsg-18-inch-250gb-sata-hard-drive/

A 1.8" drive is basically the size of a credit card, and that's excatly what it looks like when he's holding it..

And btw, for the people who are worrying about not having enough storage: I think it would be very reasonable to have a 64GB SSD + a 500GB 2.5" drive in the Ultrabay. Who needs an optical drive anyway?

 

Is this a confirmed option for hd in ultrabay? Do they offer it with any other laptops? Is it going to be like an adapter where you can fit in any 3rd party hd?

 

Last I knew, we weren't even sure it has an ultrabay, let alone a disk drive option for it. Maybe I missed something?

A 128GB (or even 80GB) SSD would meet my needs, although probably not my financial resources

 

k3davis: If it has a DVD drive it means it has an Ultrabay.. So either it has a regular Ultrabay like all the other Thinkpads, or it has the Ultrabay Slim like the X300/X301.

In either case, Lenovo has SATA Ultrabay Hard drive adaptors for about $50 (the prices in the link are Canadian dollars btw):

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...?category-id=6D8E5191FB0B45CBB39F45EB5B2B986E

twister: HD Ultrabay adaptors have been around for a long time and yes don't worry you can buy any standard 2.5" drive for it

Edit: I clicked on "Details" for the Ultrabay Slim adaptor and it does not list the X300/X301 in the compatibility list.. I'm not sure why. So I guess we can only hope that the T400s will have a standard ultrabay

 

Thanks for the info... I too hope (if it's slim) it will have an adapter. I'd read somewhere else that the drive may be fixed, so at least that's good news.

 

drive doesnt look like itll be able to come out like the ultrabay, doesnt have the little tab under it and it looks different from the one in my t400.

http://jkontherun.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/thinkpad-t400s-right-side.jpg

but there could be a switch (like a battery switch) under the laptop to pop the drive out but i doubt it.

 

X300/X301 uses a 7.5mm optical drive.
Ultrabay slim are 9.5mm SATA optical drives.

Ie: You can't fit a 9.5mm HDD into the X300/X301's optical drive bay. Unless you dremel it down and then fit a < 7.5mm 2.5" SSD into it (without case?).

 

Where's the review? Clicked the link on the post, gone to some foreign site.

 

the foreign site is where the review was

as for where it went no one knows, im assuming lenovo contacted him to take it down, but jkontherun has a few pics of it as well.

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

 

This is going from bad to worse. Hard drive option is a really big deal to me. So its 1.8", fine as long as you can pop 2nd hard drive into ultra bay and thanks for pointing this option out since I always thought it was for extra battery only. But now different sources indicate there is NO ultra bay and optical drive is fixed inside (thinkpads forum confirm that too). Common, are they trying to shoot themselves in a foot?

Lenovo sales rep playing dumb either about not being aware of or release being out in 4 month. Every hint of valuable online review was taken down. I guess its part of their marketing not to slow down any Father's day sales or whatever, so hopefully more info will be available next week.

Now I see why so many people are confused why this is T series and not x400s. Why would you take their flagship premier performance series, strip its manhood (no choice of graphics, extremely limited choice of hard drive, etc.), and pretty much align it with their X-series? What's next, integrated battery pack that can't be removed? I have read other on-line references about T400s being targeted at Mac Book Air, but this is ridiculous. Oh, and I'm in no way bashing Lenovo since ThinkPad are the ONLY notebooks I ever owned (600x, T23, T42, and T60).

I just hope next week Lenovo will lift its ban off those who received their T400s models and will allow to post reviews to clear all this smoke

 

twister: I completely agree with you.. this is just ridiculous. If the Ultrabay does not have an option for a 2.5" drive I will almost definitely not buy one of these.

I hate how they are blurring the line between "thin and light" and workstation notebooks. If you're going to make a thin-and-light like the X300, why would you waste all that space to put a huge optical drive, but then sacrifice on CPU/graphics power and HD by making it 1.8"? They could have used that extra space to fit a 2.5" HD and provide better cooling for a GF9300/9400m. Having an optical drive in a laptop is useless imo. I have an X200 and I also bought a USB DVD-RW drive, which I *barely* use.

And anyway, in the case of this T400s, it seems they have put in an optical drive since workstation laptops just "need" to have one, but on the other hand they skimp on the HD and make it a 1.8"? And you can't even replace the optical drive with an HD? Then what the hell's the point of making it a workstation if you can barely even store your data on it? Even 128GB SSDs (if you can afford them) are considered small compared to regular HDs. And integrated graphics? Please...

Bleh.. I was optimistic about this one at first, but I think Lenovo's just gonna ruin it this time. I'd love to be proven wrong though.

 

Hey guys, I think the DVD drive is removable due to the picture below, but we still don't know if it is a slim 7.5mm bay, or a standard 9.5mm

http://jkontherun.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/thinkpad-t400s-bottom.jpg

You can see a switch right under the DVD with a locked/unlocked position, so I am assuming this would be for the DVD drive..

Edit: It might help to compare the two:

T400: http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/35854.jpg

T400s: http://jkontherun.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/thinkpad-t400s-right-side.jpg

 

Not sure to what extent it is reliable, but at these sites:

• http://www.newtechnology.co.in/lenovo-thinkpad-t400s-pricespecifications/ and
• http://www.aquilatech.co.nz/productDetail.asp?idProduct=LEN5410

they unanimously say it is "9.5mm"... and "Ultrabay" at the former...
Kevin? :wink:

 

I hope you guys are right. Now we need official review from NBR team, hopefully next week

 

Ya just wait for confirmation guys. I still see the lines of the thinkpad brands blurring, which is unfortunate. But I feel as if the T series HAS to support ultrabay functions. And I thought the x30x was suppose to fight with the MBA >.>.

 

Uh, more news:

http://justplaintech.com/blog/2009/06/18/lenovo-thinkpad-t400s-to-be-announced-next-tuesday/ - possibility that T400s will be announced on Tuesday, June 23rd. As I expected, they waited to squeeze out more sales from Fathers Day special before making announcement about new model

Another one from Lenovoblogs with Dave Hill's preview of T400s: http://lenovoblogs.com/designmatters/?p=1489

Lets wait and see!!!

 

interesting..

the open lid mechanism is on the body and not on the monitor?

might make it hard to open with one hand style?

 

I do not use the Ecs and delete key that much . And even if I did I don't need them bigger for the sake of. I guess it wouldn't really be that big of a deal. Tighter tolerance on the keys is nice though.

userof: the x200 has the open lid slider on the body as well.

 

Yeah, I tend to use "backspace" instead of delete. And Escape ? Almost never. (Only to exit full screen videos).

As to what the T400s is intended to compete against, well, I myself have considered getting a Fujitsu S6520 (but just can't cope with white keyboard sold here in the US. ).

 

more specs here, in Chinese but still mostly self-explanatory...

snapped webpage:

 

you are right. Lenovo better fix this before final release. They have no right to change one of THE characteristics of the IBM Thinkpad!

 

A few other laptops have those indicators so its not THE characteristic of thinkpads. Interestingly I remember using an NEC laptop a long time ago that had an active LCD indicator screen (the cheap type you find on calculators today) for those system activity indications.

And they DO have the right to change it. YOUR right is not not agree and possibly not buy.

 

Holy ing , I think I'm going to stop reading this thread now. Lenovo is on the wrong path. No row of indicator lights? No Thinklight? Why the hell would I buy a "Thinkpad" now if it's just a black HP/black Dell...

I knew the SL series was only the beginning...

 

Obviously they do, but they don't don't you see. It's an IBM Thinkpad, along with the light, it's what defines a Thinkpad. Lenovo is F-ing crazy. How much do you guys want to bet... keyboard flex.

Kevin, please chime in soon, before we loose hope.

 

Fujitsu still uses those on some of their laptops. Thankfully, not on mine, though.

LCD panel status display:
http://www.shopfujitsu.com/images/notebooks/e8420_photogal/e_8420_securitypanel.jpg


[/tangent]

 

Iif theres anything that can be judged from your name, then its possibly potetial prejudice of an obvious nature.

But besides that speculation, and onto facts: its basically the same people that designed IBM thinkpads in the past designing Lenovo thinkpads today. What happened was, IBM sold their PC division to Lenovo. All this really means is former IBM employees in the PC division become Lenovo employees. The PC team just loses IBM's legendary technical services team (scientists with Nobel prize winner alumnus), in which IBM is keeping for themselves to continue doing research. So, technically then since its the same bunch designing thinkpads pretty much, then what 'was' thinkpad, still 'is' thinkpad if thats their vision they are carrying out. Although I'm sure lenovo themselves put in new people to kinda steer the vision also.

Granted however I too disagree with many things theyve been doing lately such as technical issues like the keyboard flex, and style issues like the off centered screen and ugly mouse buttons and on/off et al buttons, etc the list goes on.

The think light was a pretty new addition ot thinkpads. I believe they were first introduced in the T4x series. This is when Lenovo started building laptops for IBM btw. So the thinklight is hardly what 'makes a thinkpad'. Plus its an added plus but in all fairness its a little gimmicky since it doesnt work that well and I hardly hardly ever use it as I suspect others don't either.

I think only the day they start building colorful thinkpads in the color spectrum other than BLACK, is when all truely hell goes loose. Product identity of thinkpad is only: all black + red trackpoint, IMHO as far as I can see.

 

haha yes, although if they do them nicely it 'may' work. I think Dell XPS laptops had one like that too. I cant rmember but it was all flashy and it displays what music youre playing or something like that. I'd have to research to make sure but its something like that.

 

Read the thread. There is a ThinkLight; we were speculating and overruled. There are 3 indicator lights. There are other indicator lights added to the keyboard (caps lock, mute, power).

Whether you like this or not is your deal. I will withhold my doom and gloom until there's an actual review.

Chill, alarmists... I think this laptop has potential.

 

It reads something about having only a 1.8" hard drive but lenovo offers the ultrabay adapter for 2.5" hard drives; ie the optical drive is a 9.5 mm drive so you can install a 2.5" hard drive there. They also mention the new dock but we already found out about that. Being limited to a 1.8" hard drive is annoying and it costs extra to equip another hard drive and buy the caddy but I guess this thing is on a premium price level.

I agree with what David Hill stated in his blog about the thinkpad keyboard. I love the delete button and use it very often and I'm glad it's easier to press.
edit: beijing --> being

 

I like how you said "Beijing limiting". Heh.

 

sorry was sleepy

 

sorry, didnt realize you couldnt see the images if not registered...

sanpped webpage:

 

Thanks for posting the scanned webpage, avisio. Is this an official Lenovo product presentation or a user compilation?

Anyway, i'm glad to see that the t400s will feature a thinklight (could't figure it out on the pics we knew so far ). What's also interesting: it looks that the biggest Dock will feature 2x Digital-Out, doesn't it? That would be great!

PS: And could you be so kind and translate the last slide for me? Just the part where it says "34mm" (34mm what, ExpressCard?) thx!

 

Not sure about the source, fs005.
Yes. Adv Mini Dock III has 2 DVI + 2 Displayports.
Though not indicated in the slide, I think it's the 34mm expresscard slot.

Here are the slides with some translation.

"Multitouch Display"?!

 

Holy shiet, perfect Thinkpad anybody?