T440s Owner´s Thread

We have some IPS screens (x220) and the FHD did not come close to being as clear from wide angles. Straight on viewing was pretty good. We much prefer IPS. Too bad they don't come with IPS on the T440s (in spite of the web site's claims in error)

 

All FHD screens in the T440s are IPS.

 

Has anyone ordered one recently? How are the shipping times right now? It shows 15 business days right now, but at one point I believe these were taking over a month to ship, so just wondering if it has improved.

 

When I was checking the B&N configure page last week they were stating four weeks for delivery. I figured that was Lenovo-speak for 'you'll have it by Easter, maybe'...

 

Ordered two more a week ago. No updates on shipping yet.

 

Ordered two last week from Lenovo Canada, with identical configurations (on separate orders)

The first one is supposed to ship February 20th, the second one (ordered 15 minutes later) on February 7th. Ah Lenovo... makes no sense!

 

Also, quick question for those that have a T440s already (preferably touch version).

I see all the screen critique, how would the display compare to a 13" MacBook Air (which is TN) or even a typical TN notebook you'd find in the store. Not in terms of display resolution, but quality (viewing angles / color / bleeding / etc). I get the feeling its not typical IPS quality (which I'm okay with) but is it at least TN quality?

 

Ordered 12/31, no change to estimated shipping/delivery dates (1/28, 2/4) for the non-touch FHD, core i5, 500gb/4gb/6-cell.

 

Crap. We needed another laptop in the household and I was looking into giving a T440s a try (despite the screen lottery) so I could compare against the rMBP. 1 month wait doesn't sound great at all...

Hey, if anyone's selling one in Toronto let me know!

 

The viewing angle of the LG screen on mine is worse than my 2008 MacBook, because of the spotlight effect. Color is fine and there's not much bleeding. I can live with TN quality, but I can't live with the spotlight. Even when I barely move my head, I can see part of the screen becoming unreadably dark, while another part will remain at full brightness.

 

Ordered on the 6th, estimated shipping date is the 22nd, so far hasn't changed.

From Lenovo Canada (i7, intel dual band card, fhd, everything else base)

This is my second order, I cancelled my first order after waiting for more than a month, hopefully this one won't take that long.

 

I was thinking about cancelling to re-order as well if the timeline was shorter but im worried about panel selection. what was your motivation? Did you get the same setup cheaper?

 

I cancelled having in mind to get a mbp, but I didn't like the fact that I wouldn't be able to upgrade ram/hdd later on and I'm not a big fan of osx nor Apple. Plus I had already bought a 8gb stick, tried and liked the keyboard much more than the mac one.

The price was a bit higher due to intel's wifi card (I heard Lenovo's one has issues with linux) and extended warranty (got a discount from IBM EPP).

I hope I don't get any screen or similar issues, it would suck to have to ship it back for maintenance.

 

One option could be to just order from one of the resellers. As far as I can tell, prices are in the same range whether you order directly from lenovo or a reseller. If it weren't for the restocking fee, I'd probably order this one: 20AQ004GUS - Lenovo Thinkpad T440s 20aq004gus Ultrabook - PC-Canada.com

 

You can get good deals online by buying from Lenovo, I got an i7 for less than what pc-canada asks for (no ssd though, but it's much cheaper if you get it separately).

I guess you always win some and lose some.

 

As a follow up to my post for those on the fence about replacing the screen...

I received my laptop back from the repair depot today. I was very surprised as I hadn't heard a peep and was expecting it to take weeks. 10 days turn around, and 4 of those days they were sending it to the incorrect address.

Now for the screen. I'm completely amazed at the difference between this one and the previous. I will figure out how to post a video because it is like night and day. The new screen is incredibly better. Crisp viewing angles, whites and blacks are good and there is no back light bleed. Zero spot lighting, any angle looks good. I can't even tell they replaced the screen, it appears to be a good install job.

Another surprise was with the screen sizing. I have found I can view the screen at 100%, no magnification required and I don't get any eye strain. That may be in my head as I will see how it fairs over the next few days.

I recommend if you are not happy with the LG to change it out. Well worth it, although Lenovo should have sent this out with the proper screen in the first place. I'm pretty sure this will be the last Lenovo I purchase.

 

I've almost completely switched to the trackpad now. The trackpoint has become so terrible, and the trackpad has become so good, that at this point the switch is a no-brainer even for someone like me who's been using Thinkpad trackpoints for almost ten years.

Only thing that's annoying is that for the three-finger middle-click you need to depress the entire trackpad. Whereas, the two-finger right click only requires a tap.

 

Huh, that's interesting. As a brand new Thinkpad user I've gone completely the opposite direction, and disabled the trackpad in the BIOS. I think with the Clickpad it actually makes a decent substitute for buttons and I love keeping my fingers on the keyboard at all times.

 

Yep, I'm loving my trackpad and mac-style scrolling too. I have also managed to configure 3-finger tap in Linux, some details can be found here.

 

My laptop has been in the repair depot for 12 days waiting for the AUO screen, so it is good to hear that it might not take many weeks or months. However in my case I keep getting "peeps", in the form of emails, stating that the screen is still on backorder. Although with the scaling set to 100% the text is very tiny, I also felt that I should have been able to see it better on the LG display; I certainly have no problems viewing even smaller text on my smartphone. So, also good to hear that as well.

 

Did you just call Lenovo and tell them you want to have the LG panel replaced with the AUO? Do they consider this a "repair"?

I'm curious to know -- but at the same time I feel ridiculous having to take a defensive position even before actually buying the product. One should feel "empowered" when spending around $2K on something.

Kind of on the fence right now. Maybe I should ask lucky Thors.Hammer to give me his excellent T440s.

 

Sorry man. I guess I got lucky. Variable quality in a product is pretty unacceptable. But then again, that is what return periods are for. It's a hassle, but I would not think twice about returning a machine that doesn't meet your needs. Afterall, the main reason I bought the T440s was for the new screen.

 

+1. When mine arrives I'll run the check to ensure the screen is AUO before doing anything else. If not, back to China it goes.

 

In my experience their normal position is that they will replace a part if it is defective. If it is not defective, but you simply think it is not good enough, they will tell you to return it. I think you may need to get lucky with which CSR you get or be willing to put up a fuss. Or you can try lying about the screen being defective and just mention that you want a specific replacement part.

 

This is still taking forever to ship, funny how the new x1c is shipping within a week. I guess they "prepared" themselves with a nice stock.

I wouldn't be surprised to see x1c owners complaining about the screen soon.

 

I was one of the first, if not first (on this board anyway) to complain to Lenovo support regarding the screen. I gave them 3 reasons for it being defective in comparison to another T440s my father purchased at the same time, so I had side by side comparison and provided them with the specific FRU of the AUO screen part number I wanted it replaced with.

They did so without any hesitations and I had a tech out o my place next day (which is the warranty I paid for.) I agree, you can just say you dont like it... need to give them reason and comparison for defectiveness. If you give them part number they should replace accordingly. Unless of course so many people have done this they are tightening their belt on replacing the LG screens unless the screen is completely DOA.

Also, just as a followup, the AUO screen is gorgeous in comparison to the LG. The LG was a piece of junk if you looked at them side by side.

 

How is the battery life on the touchscreen model? I get upto 6hrs. Nowhere near 12 hours even with light use.

 

You won't get 12 hours unless you have the 6 cell. I have a maxed out touch model with the 6 cell and I get 8-12 hours with max brightness.

 

Have you bought your unit yet? Because to my knowledge you need a US Credit Card with a US Shipping Address that also matches your credit card's billing address. So please tell me if you manage to buy it yourself, unless you're buying it through a friend or something.

 

So I received my t440s two days ago.
I got the FHD screen with Nvidia graphics.
First thing I did was replacing the HDD and of course one of the latches broke. (Even if I followed the instructions to a T, used the right tools and took my sweet time.)
I also noticed that the top case had gotten a few scratches when laying upside down during the HDD replacement. I had a thick paper sheet (desksaver) underneath during the whole process.
And of course there's quite a bit of edge bleeding on the bottom of the screen.
I'm also bugged about that when I close the lid part of the keyboard and trackpoint touches the screen and leaves smearing. This worries me because I will use the computer on the go quite a lot and I'm afraid it will start leaving permanent marks pretty fast.

That said I really like the rest of it. The form factor, the overall feel, the keyboard, trackpad/point and the hotswap battery.
There are no alternatives that comes close to the t440s except for a mbp and that's a road I wont go down.

I haven't tried the lenovo support yet, and if they help me with the screen and the latches I would be happy to keep my t440s.
But I really need this machine for work so I'm reluctant to send it away for a long time. It's quite the pickle.

 

So which screen did you get? Did you use a spry tool? How long did you wait for it to ship?
Still waiting on mine, I got these to help me open the case: Set of Metal & Nylon Professional Laptop iPad iPod Pry Open Repair Spudger Tools - Amazon.com

This latches thing seems like a cheap approach from Lenovo.

Good luck replacing your screen.

 

I used those tools to open the T440s. No issues or difficulty at all.

 

I have not make my purchase. I am aware that it can only accept US Shipping Address. Hence, I intended to use a forward like VPost, Comgateway or Borderlinx. Works for most websites that accept US shipping address only. Though I wasn't aware of the US Credit Card thing.

I'm now torn between the T440s and the New X1 Carbon.

 

I was in Singapore recently and was also appalled at the range available at the local retailers.

I was also torn between the X1 Carbon and T440s, but I decided to go ahead with the T440s because of all the recent initial impression reviews that have come out on the X1 Carbon. Things like the new unorthodox keyboard layout, as well as the motherboard problem that has hit one of the owners have left me to consider the T440s for the better keyboard (I'm going to be doing typing on the laptop), as well as the FHD screen. (I think QHD might be a little too small for 14" right now, especially with a the crappy scaling that win8.1 has!

 

I also snapped a few of the retention latches when opening the case. It's not an issue of the tools, it's an issue of some of the latches being located in places where they are difficult to pry out directly, so you have to use some torsion from a different area of the case, which may snap them.

Ultimately, though, it doesn't really matter. The case still closes completely securely with a few snapped latches, so once you close the system back up you will never notice a difference.

 

Does everybody else have oddness with your "H" and "G" keys?

I remember reading somebody on one of these threads mentioning it, but have you ever tried to search for "H"? My "H" key in particular, and also the "G" key to a lesser extent feel different than the other keys on the keyboard. It feels like I was eating a bagel and a sesame seed got stuck under the key. That's not what's happened, as it did it right out of the box. If this is normal, then I can live with it, but if everybody elses "H" and "G" feel like every other key, then I'll get it repaired.

I just got my t440s this week, and it came with the dreaded LG display. Fortunately it seems fine to me. I can see it get a bit darker as I get outside of optimum viewing angle, but nothing I would even notice without looking for it.

I installed a 9.5mm SSD (Toshiba Q Series HDTS251XZSTA) and an 8GB SODIMM without any difficulty. I didn't have my plastic spudger thing, so I just pried the case apart with my fingers. None of the tabs broke. The keyboard oddness existed before I opened the computer, because I ran it a bit to create the system restore drive before opening anything.

The SSD had Linux from my Dell e6510 on it. When I put it in the T440s everything pretty much just worked. I had updated the system to make sure I had the Intel video drivers ahead of time, so it wasn't very surprising.

 

Yea, the problem with Lenovo Singapore is that they do not bring in the T440s in FHD display. Furthermore, they sell the laptops together with a 3-year on-site warranty which inflates the price of the laptop. I don't need the on-site service as the service centre is situated pretty near to my location.

 

Just wanted to let folks know that Power Manager for Windows 7 works on my T440s with Windows 8.1. I had to run the install using Windows 7 compatibility mode but everything works fine. Havent done a lot of extensive testing, however the battery gauge shows up fine and the Power Manager UI also works fine and shows both the batteries with their individual stats. The link that I used to download is:

Power Manager for Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), Vista (32-bit, 64-bit) - Notebook

 

I apologize if this post doesn't belong here. I want to ask you since you have a Yoga 2 Pro and a T440s. I am torn between the two laptops. I just reserved the Y2P (i7 4500/8GB/256GB) at Best Buy and I am also looking at the T440s (i5 4300/8GB/500GB0FHD/3/6cell battery). Which one has a better battery life, display and overall performance?

Thank you so much

 

Hi, I dont own the Y2P; my GF bought it and I got to use it for a week or so to set things up and "make sure everything is working correctly" The Y2P is a very sleek machine compared to the T440s. Its screen is also way better, though my T440s has the crappy LG IPS display so I cant tell you about the the AUO display which I was 'supposed' to get with the T440s.

I did not like the keyboard on the Y2P; its too shallow and does not come anywhere close to the T440s. During my usage of the Y2P + T440s side by side, I think the Y2P had a better battery life. Performance wise, I dont think you would see much of a difference since all the procs are ULV.

I personally prefer the Thinkpad line over the Y2P since I can open it up and put in my own parts. The Y2P has soldered RAM and a mSATA SSD so you cant upgrade those very easily. Oh, before I forget, the Y2P also has a SD card reader where the card sticks out. This is a big deal for me since I have a 64GB SD card permanently in the SD card slot for extra storage.

These are my personal opinions and YMMV.

 

I am going with the 500GB HDD but really want to get the 256GB SSD and I can't justify the cost. Is it really a pain to replace the HDD down the road?

Does your T440s have the 6 Cell battery? I am surprised that the Y2P has a better battery life.

 

Hey guys,

as a potential T440s owner, do you guys know what timings the onboard RAM has? Should I look at getting CL9 or 11? And I noticed some people buying 1600 RAM which ended up running at 1333, is anyone else having the same problem?

 

I too ordered with the 500 GB HDD and replaced it with a 256GB SSD on my own. The base cover was a bit tricky to remove but if you have good tools, its just a matter of patience. Well worth the saving IMHO. I ordered with the 3 cell battery since I did not want the extra bulk.

 

Just go to crucial.com and use their memory advisor tool, got mine from there.

 

Any major difference in terms of performance between the i7 and the i5 4300? Is the 7260 AC card better that the 2 x 2?

Thanks for the help

 

I got some GSkill Riptide which says it's 1600 but it only registered as 1333. I'm not going to bother trying to exchange it though, which involves the usual hassle + re-opening the laptop.

 

IIRC if your 1600 MHz RAM is running at 1333 MHz, then you can change the frequency setting in the BIOS. Generally, there's no point to this, since the speed difference is pretty negligible (perhaps around 1%).

 

I think the 7260AC card is dual band, and performs much better, but I have been reading that it has been plagued with a multitude of connectivity issues which is why I was conservative and went with the thinkvantage card

 

Really? Are OEM bios-es that custimizable?

On another hand, it seems corsair RAMs are the safest choice to go for.

 

I got my T440s with an I5-4300u, FDH touch, 4gb RAM, 500gb HDD, wireless AC, and 6 cell battery. Upgraded to 12gb RAM and 250GB Samsung 840 SSD. From my usage, which is mostly just listening to hours and hours of lectures each day, I can easily get at least 14-16 hours. Once I start web browsing or watching videos, that drops to a little bit, but still 11+ hours. The larger battery does raise the laptop about half an inch or so, but I personally like that elevation, and the extra battery life is well worth the extra weight.