T400s Review by ptrn

I think they mean Multitouch-Touchpad, so you can do finger-acrobatics like the apple dudes .

 

Only one audio jack? oO

 

does the T400 use a 1.3mp camera? those slides show the T400s using a 2mp one so thats another plus...

god, this T400s is so much better than something released less than a year ago.

edit:

nevermind a slide further down shows the two side by side; even shows the fact that the T400 camera displays a yellowish image.

 

looking good

 

It might not be totally unreasonable to assume they do mean "multitouch display." The translation (not that I can vouch for its accuracy) says that it would come alongside Windows 7, which would make sense, given the trackpad itself is labeled as multitouch from the start. (The x301 already has a multitouch trackpad option, so this isn't "new").

This is my dilemma with the T400s, though - that it evolves so quickly. Presuming it can be ordered in July, and will be updated in October for W7, and then upgraded to the T410s in January with the platform change, where do you step in and actually buy the thing knowing it's getting replaced in a matter of months?

 

As a native Chinese speaker, I'm sure my translation is alright.
The problem is the multitouch function would almost definitely make the LCD panel thicker and heavier. Unless this later turns out to be a T400T tablet, it doesn't make much sense. Nevertheless I think I won't be the only one to welcome a Tablet-level (Multi-view/AAFS/PVA/IPS) panel in T400s. We'll see...

 

Lenovo used to make fun of Dell and HP for putting rubber cushions on their lids to prevent the keyboards from scratching the screen because the existing Thinkpad lid design doesn't require it and now they are doing it. Hypocrites.

 

when did they do this?

Its a nice feature anyway. Overtime you can get scratches but it feels nice and looks good when brand new. actually even after many years mine still looks pretty good. Plain plastic with rough finishing over time becomes smooth shiny plastic with continued wear which is equally if not more ugly

and I was not aware dell or HP added rubber paddings. Even if they did I doubt its the style thinkpads have done it. i.e. a thin paint-replacement type layer whereas dell and HP probably did that thinking it makes it more rugged. The difference is doing it for looks vs percieved requirement/function.

 

my thoughts exactly. it's an x301 with a fast chip and slightly bigger screen.

been telling myself I'd spring for an x301 if it weren't so &*%& slow.

as long as the DVD drive can be swapped out for a battery then we're all set.

my only worry is there's been zero talk of battery life, so I'm guessing with the full-speed chip and not as much battery space it's gonna be weak-ish.

 

They came to their senses probably. They should know what's best to their little baby.

 

Not yet but very close... AFFS WSXGA+ would make it ideal, however... :wink:

 

the 1.8" drive kills it IMO.

 

with good 64gb ssds going for 150€ or 128gb ssds for ~300€ this a 1,8" drive this is no longer an issue as it was, i think. you pay a small premium for mobility with the t400s. paying another small premium for performance is ok for me. at least there are choices now.

however, if i had the choice, i would sacrifice the dvd drive bay for a dediacted gpu and a 2,5" drive. i think lenovo might be the last company to make such move, with their conservative changes to thinkpads over the years.

but really, i haven't used my dvd drive in my notebook for months and i could very well live with an external drive.

 

Whoah that is a very ignorant view of things (one thing I loathe about the generalisations people make about HP and Dells here). Sometimes Lenovo isn't all godly and perfect. They learn and copy from others, just as others do to them.

 

If I'm not mistaken the original ptrn review with pictures (before it was taken down) had 5 hour mark in the battery taskbar icon. Anybody saved that picture? I mean, that's not a real test but at least some indicator.

 

Looking at the hardware and battery spec I wouldnt be surprised to see something in the 5+ hour mark,

 

From what I have seen at the Lenovo Singapore site the T400s has 2.5 Hard Drive

http://shopap.lenovo.com/SEUILibrar...-category-id=41AB4B1B55F74FF8833753D7713BB6D6

 

It only states, it is 250GB/5400rpm. Which matches, for instance, the following Toshiba drive: http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=StorageSolutions/1.8-inchHardDiskDrives/MKxx29GSGSeries

 

Wow.. that price translates to $2500 Canadian dollars. Compared to the T400 starting at like $800...

 

Correct. It seems the two options will be either 120GB SSD or 250GB 5400rpm, both 1.8". As it was mentioned in the last couple of days (please, read every post in this thread before asking questions or making comments) - ultrabay option will be available where 9.5mm DVD drive can be removed and replaced with 2.5" external hard drive of your choice. Big kudos to Lenovo!!!

 

Ouch I completely missed that point

Look at T400 and T400s prices at Singapore lenovo website. It definitely doesn't give a right feeling to me . Direct conversion makes things even worse .

 

... and most of the electronics in EU or Asia cost 3x as much for the same gadgets we buy here in US. So, don't panic and let’s wait for the official announcement and pricing.

 

1.8" primary drive, the 2.5" goes in the optical bay adapter

 

Good to know. So that means a hybrid storage solution (small/fast 1.8" SSD and large/slow 2.5" HDD) is a possibility for people that want the best of both worlds.

 

Why "large/slow 2.5" hdd" when there are number of choices for 2.5" 320GB 7200rpm hdd that cost around $70?

I don't know much about Intel turbo memory option yet, but just thinking out loud would like to run OS and all the main applications on 120GB SSD, load antivirus into turbo memory, and use 320GB 7200rpm in ultrabay to store my data.

 

The ultrabay drives are usually designed for extra storage, not really a fast boot drive. 5400rpm drives use less power and put of less heat.

 

Kevin, but if my main application will be relying on constant access of data in ultrabay drive, wouldn't I benefit more while using 7200rpm drive? Also, is there a penalty in read/write speed while running hdd from ultrabay adapter?

 

is that true for ultrabay HDD for normal T400 also?

 

can you plz give reference to the models you are referring to of HP and dell putting rubberized finishing on their products? I am not aware they did this.

can you also put a reference about when lenovo (IBM) or thinkpad poked fun @ dell and HP as you say?

True everyone copies each other sometimes. Sometimes theres only so much one can do to make themselves novel. Thats why build construction and build quality is the deal breaker most of the time. Since everyone can do the same designs, its up to build/construction quality and in that regard, thinkpads have been ahead of dell and HP in the past. recently they seem to have hit a bump but hopefully in the future its still going strong. Although I have to say the dells are improving fast on the quality of their products in general.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyL9U3SHMxk&feature=related

Every other notebook vendor has rubber bumpers on their lids for protection.

 

A few USA online retailers (cost central, bottom line electronics) seem to have a small stock of preconfigured T400s machines, of specific configuration 2808-C4U. One could probably order now and have it by Wednesday. But it's hard to say what that configuration includes exactly, or whether it is on the low or high end of how the machine can be configured, as it is not in the tabook yet and I don't see any specs for 2808-C4U that I would trust yet. But at $1450 it doesn't seem like they are going to price it out of the stratosphere... more expensive than T400 certainly, but not nearly as expensive as say the X300 when it was introduced.

 

2808C4U = TOPSELLER T400S SP9400 2.4G 2GB 120GB DVDRW 14.1-WXGA FP XPP (source: costcentral)

FP is fingerprint reader
XPP is Windows XP Pro
The rest is pretty straightforward.

At $1,420.00 the price seems reasonable...

 

Wow. XP PRO still on new machines.

 

*cough* http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5097 *cough*

 

Right on a dot. Kevin, I had no doubt about your "12:00 a.m." comment

THANK YOU!!!

 

sorry bad post

 

thank you kevin
read your review and it answered all my questions about the t400s
now just waiting for it to show up on lenovo's site to see pricing
then i'll have to make a purchasing decision! right now leaning towards no based on the review...

 

I think I'm sold (and of course also one unit of this - judging from the review and the specs - great notebook). Pitty though that I'll have to wait for them to be sold in Europe. I'm definitely gonna buy one with LED screen ... hope it won't be too expensive.

 

I hardly think that guy is representative of the company's corporate aim

its like how you get rogue cops once in a while. doesnt mean the gov is corrupted

 

He does represent Lenovo and I can also tell you that their sales people used to tout that feature quite often. If you are familiar with these products, you should not have blind faith in Thinkpads. I own a Thinkpad myself and I'd say while they are excellent business notebooks, they are in no way superior (like many like to claim here) to what Dell and HP can offer in their equivalent premium business line up. On average, they are all the same and I'm still not very impressed by Lenovo's service (2 weeks EasyServ turnaround compared to 4 days with HP and 2 days with Dell).

 

Have been using an HP nx8220 for almost four years on daily basis - it was a genuine workhorse.

Then moved to Thinkpad camp. Mainly because of substandard (fragile) power connector - but the rubber bumpers (or rather their unfortunate placement) were also the factor - see my review.

 

From reading the reviews, I get the impression that the t400s has a rather ok screen, but some people claims it's horrible. Wonder how it actually is...

One thing I noticed when speccing this baby on the Lenovo site was a "Video controller" on the 220$ Mini Dock Plus Series 3. Could this actually give you 5 external displays? Or maybe a total of 8 with the built in and the onboard VGA and DisplayPort?

 

I doubt that you can use all four digital-outs at a time. But on the other hand, if that would be true - why would Lenovo put the 2 DVI-ports on at all? Hmm, we'll see.

 

The T400s has the rubber footing on the screen lid itself, rather than the body of the laptop like HP. So its a little bit different. Thinkpads have been putting these plastic stubs on the screens since forever though. Its only a matter of changing material.

Also, hes just some employee. I doubt it represents the corporate vision of the higher executivies or the BODs. Its like customer service. You call one they wil ltell you one thing and call another they will tell you another. Does it mean the company is confused? It most likely means one doesnt know what theyre talking about and one does. Just a bad apple.

Youre right, nobody should have blind faith in any company. And any company can build good laptops. I wouldnt say thinkpads are always superior in build quality or as business laptops as the T400 demonstrates this with build quality. I too have heard of bad lenovo technical support stories also, as any other companies will have on their resume due to bad apples they werent able to weed out of their system. I think the minimum satisfaction level of customer service should be to do all due dilligence on their part and never ever resort to blaming the customer at whatever cost then they are going to be ok.