ThinkPad L412

Hi.

Has anyone got this notebook? The L412 offers an excellent spec for a very good price. Now, I'm a little curious as to why this is a cheap ThinkPad - in all my experience they have always been very expensive!?

How is the build quality? Will it be better than the other brands? For example, an Acer, Dell, or HP home laptop?

I'd appreciate all feedback for this laptop.

Thanks.

 

It's cheaper because it's cheaper....

It's not going to be as well built as traditional Thinkpad laptops,(T,X,W) but it will be far better quality than most consumer(home) based laptops.

 

The L series is considered one of the two low-end ThinkPad series.

The L series lacks some traditional features that make a ThinkPad what it truly is today such as a ThinkLight, magnesium alloy roll cage, ultra-Bay, lid latch, and the traditional 7-row keyboard.

Check out this review for some more information: Review Lenovo Thinkpad L412 Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

 

Your alternative right now is the Dell Latitude E5410, which offers a competitive price, similar build, a lid latch, and a 7-row keyboard.

 

I think it looks like a decent laptop, but it doesn't have any standout features. I think it would be a reliable, decent machine for the price. It seems purely utilitarian, whereas the T series boast a thin, business-like design. At least its design is clean. I wish it had a 7-row keyboard, since its omission seems to me to be deliberate product differentiation.

The dell has its own downsides too; it is also a plain laptop. I don't think it boasts a roll cage either. Although it has a 7-row keyboard, I'd rather have the menu key, which dell does not seem to like including. The L412 will offer better cooling with its two sided vent design. On the plus-side, the 5410 still uses a widescreen non-HD design.

 

It is cheap, because it lacks lot of expensive features that is adorned in the X, W, T series laptop as mentioned by Marcham93. Basically, Thinkpad L series is more of a consumer grade laptop with certain business related features. This is what makes it cheap.

I would rather look for some bargain T series and pay that little bit extra for a real classic thinkpad.

 

I think it is a good laptop if you want a good keyboard, trackpad and a matte screen. The downsides is a 1 year warranty and it probably won't stand heavy abuse in the deserts and jungles where everyone totes their X or T models.

There's always a risk that with options or extras, the L will come close to a T or X, so look at the prices and compare.

 

Just ordered my L412 ThinkPad! I was absolutley blown away with the price. The specs were slightly better than the Dell Latitude. But the price was what ticked the box! I added a few extras such as a webcam, fingerprint reader, and a 320gb 7200 hardrive and of course Win 7 64bit to use the max 8gb ram. It was about £200 cheaper for the ThinkPad. Which to me, is excellent value!

Core i3-380, 2GB Ram, 320GB 7200 HD, 14" HD Anti-Glare screen, fingerprint reader, webcam, and Windows 7 64bit for £200 less than the equivilent Dell!

I haven't got the confirmation email... but it did say within 24 hours. Just surprised it isn't instant. I really hope this lives up to my expectations of ThinkPad quality. This will be my second purchase as my Samsung was returned due to appaling build quality - the Samsung was £30 cheaper at the time.

Can't wait!!!

 

Good luck! Let us know how you like your new system when you get it! =]

 

Yeah, good luck and would be nice to hear back from your regarding build quality, user experience, battery life, heat and noise

 

I got my confirmation email today and it is in progress! I think I should have it by next week. Yes I will be posting my feedback! I am hoping that this will be a very high quality computer with very little flaws on the construction, keyboard, and overall feel. I hope this is the case! I have only once seen a T series and I will try to compare the two.

Watch this space!