ThinkPad T440s - Review

don't see a need for integrated battery, They could have used that slot for a 2nd hard drive or just to make it lighter.

 

What?

So you'd be okay with 1x 3 cell battery that nets you maybe 4 hours max battery life? On an ultrabook?

wat

 

It's ok, Lenovo is making a laptop just for people like you that wants feather light with lower battery life. Check out the thread about Thinkpad "9".

 

It is not a problem. People don't want their laptop screen opening when they drop it. I am pretty sure most people are able to use both hands to open up their laptop.

 

You might be surprised how often people ask me for that feature. Sometimes people use their laptops not only on a desk and sometimes they don't have both hand empty just to open them.

 

well, if they are persistent, they can always use some helps from feet, tongue, or another person limbs.

 

Maybe Lenovo can install hydraulics or something like on fifth car door to open lid
.
Man we are spoiled.

 

Hey Ibmthink,

I don't think anyone has asked this question, How long does it take to charge the laptop from a depleted state. Does it have Rapid Charge similar to the Carbon?

 

It doesn´t have Rapidcharge, but it does charge up very quickly (I have not measured exact numbers).

 

How's the sound from the speakers when the laptop is on your lap?

 

Still good and much better than the speakers of a T420. Of course, if you use it on a desk or a differen hard surface, they sound best.

 

Thank you.

 

Yep, or buy laptops with better hinges from Apple, Samsung or HP (in some cases).

 

Speakers are almost the same. Main difference is in a software audio enhancement (Dolby). It's a pitty that there is no detection for external speakers / headphones, so you have to disable it manually (from system tray) every time you connect/disconnect something to a laptop jack output. It doesn't remember separated settings for internal and external speakers.

I also recomend to disable "3D headphone" enhancement hidden in advanced audio setting for integrated codec. It destroys stereo effect in external output.

This is not specific only to T440s. I experienced the same with S440 a E531.

 

Its a feature, not a bug - the hinges are designed to hold the lid closed, and that why you have to open it with two hands.

On the T430u, the hinges were weaker and the system was top-heavie, but you could open the display with one hand. So, the hinges are not better, they are weaker.

And, by the way, as I said: I can open the T440s with one hand. The base doesn´t lift up more than 0.5 cm or so, and than it stops to lift up, when you open the lid futher than a specific point.

No, they are not. They are much better.

In the German ThinkPad Forum, one of the other T440s tested it with Linux, and he had many other ThinkPad systems to compare. And he confirmed that the speakers are much better than the ones you can find in X220, W510 or W500. I also compared T420 and T440s (without Dolby / standard Windows driver) and the T440s was clearly better.

Dolby does not help much if the speakers are crap. T430u also had Dolby, and the speakers were trash.

 

I have never been in a situation that I HAD to use one hand to open a lid w/o a desk. Actually the 180 degree hinge on the thinkpads are very useful when one in on the road, especially in a crowded place like a buy, subway or an airplane.

 

Out of curiosity, how is Linux working for that guy? Any driver issues or standby/resume issues? I wish I spoke German lol.

 

RapidCharge was a dud, i have had too many bad experiences of SMD's RapidCharge battery going kaput within 6 months of using the battery. I just want to use battery that lasts long enough to get through the day without charging it, so i don't have to bring a 400 grams 90 watts charger with me all the time.

 

I tried some touchpad drivers in linux distros and trackpoint buttons didn't work at all.

 

It depends heavily on usage. I like a posibility to open a lid with one hand when I'm on a roof holding a big directional anthena, when I hold hot soldering gun or when I hold a transmiter during flight tests with our octocopter drone (few examples from recent days). Some people need it, some not (it's the same with other features like bluetooth, LAN,...). I wrote my original post, because user channel169 asked and my T440s can not be opened easily with one hand.

Now I see the difference. In our language we have letters on a row where you have numbers. I have to have my wrists closer to that row and that's why I can't reach both trackpoint button zones without moving a hand. Looks like it's a problem only for some countries.

 

Google Search:

http://thinkpad-forum.de/forum.php

Then Google Translate.

I am also interested in Linux compatibility.

 

Oh ugh, that's terrible, hope they get fixed soon. The two reasons I decided to get a Thinkpad are good input devices and good Linux support (usually) and it's a bit annoying that one is affecting the other negatively :-(

Though I don't really mind using an external mouse and do so most of the time anyway, but I really want to use the track point more as it seems better ergonomically.

 

I searched the forums but cannot seem to find it, would you please post a link? I just found a topic about the t440s and FN buttons.

 

T440s ThinkPad T440s Review + Vergleich mit X1 Carbon! [ACHTUNG BILDER + VIDEOS!]!

He only had Linux on the T440s and he tested the speakers.

 

Thank you very much,

 

Awesome review! Like the new palm rest design. Decent number of ports and connectivity options. Very good screen. Too bad no 2 RAM slots and only ulv dual core CPU. Another deal breaker for me is the new trackpoint design. It may be just fine for most people but I find it much less usable (used to play FPS games on the classic trackpoint).

 

Lenovo doesn't provide a driver for trackpoint/touchpad under Linux. We have to wait for volunteers that write an alternative from sketch. Touchpad alone works ok with Linux (you don't need external mouse) so somebody only have to define zones and touchpad inactivity (for cursor moving) when trackpoint is used.

 

Sorry if this has been brought up already, but can anyone tell me if the T440s will come only with ULV processors?

 

Looks like standard processors are planned only for T440p.

 

"That guy" thought it worked fine with linux. Only the touchpad was causing some issues (pointer kept jumping) but apart from that it worked great. Newer distros should also recognize the wireless card. I didn't even hear the fan (not sure if it was even running) but the unit was always very cool so there wouldn't have been a need for it to run anyway. Amazing considering it wasn't optimized.

 

Hey ibmthink, thanks again for the review

Any word on boot time?

 

Another big thanks for the review! Very much appreciated.

S

 

When do the T440 series machines start selling in the USA? Looks like I was right that the Haswell machines wouldn't be here until October or November. Anyone have a better idea of the lenovo.com date for the USA?

 

Very nice review!

I have a couple of questions I hope one of you guys may be able to answer.

I currently have a Lenovo x120e, and I've been in the market for a new laptop for awhile now, the x120e just isn't cutting it for my needs lately.

I have a list of desired specifications, namely, full HD display, small/thin/light chassis, decent battery life (not a huge concern), user-upgradable ram, dedicated GPU, etc.

After doing a lot of research, I finally decided on the Thinkpad T430s, as it had almost everything I wanted, save for the full HD display. The mSata slot was appealing as well, as I had planned to buy a small and fast 30-40GB SSD and use it as my OS drive, while using the mechanical drive for storage.

However, I then heard the T440s should be available very soon, and after doing some reading about it, I decided to wait. However...

A couple of worries/questions I have about it...

Does it have a mSATA slot like the T430s does? (I saw something earlier in this thread about a cache drive, I'm assuming that's what it was referring to?)

Is the US version really going to lack a dedicated GPU option? (What is with that? I've read that some samsung laptops are being released in the US without dedicated GPU options as well?)

The majority of usage for this laptop will be general web surfing/email type stuff, along with frequent IDE use (NetBeans, Eclipse, Visual Studio) and light to moderate gaming. Is this something the T440s is going to be able to handle? Should I give the T430s another look since it has the dedicated GPU option? Or should I be looking at a different laptop all together? I also plan to dual-boot Linux on this laptop, but I'm not particularly worried about that, as I'm sure drivers for linux will -- if they haven't already, show up in time like they have for almost every other thinkpad.

 

Supposedly waiting for Win 8.1 to release, so Oct 17 or 18.

 

Thanks.

Any rumors on the next generation X1? I would like a Haswell version if the screen is improved. Sorry to hijack the thread but the people in it usually have pretty good insight.

 

The ThinkPad 9 slim might be the next X1. It has a 3200x1800 screen. There is a thread floating around here as well.

 

Even 64 GB will be tight for OS + apps if you keep any of your personal files there. Also keep in mind it's better for performance not to fill up your SSD.

It has an M.2 slot, aka NGFF. This standard is replacing mSATA. It offers better performance because it eliminates the SATA bus. Problem is there are no drives available yet, and Lenovo stupidly only made space for the smallest (42mm) drives in the T440s (and some Y-series machines,) severely limiting the models that will fit (as well as their performance due to fewer memory chips running in parallel on a tiny drive.)

Yes. The marketing people must think there isn't enough demand for the T440s with dGPU, or that Americans are too cheap to pay for it.

Not sure it's the best choice for gaming at FHD.

It has terrible battery life and a crappy LCD.

I don't know about Linux compatibility, but these models are competitors to the T440s:

Acer Aspire V7
Lenovo u430
Dell Latitude E7440
HP ZBook 14
Sony Vaio Pro 13
Clevo W740SU
Gigabyte P34G
Apple Macbook Air and Pro

IMHO the HP ZBook 14 is closest, but there are no reviews yet.

 

Here's another review (in German):

Test Lenovo ThinkPad T440s 20AQ-S00500 Notebook - Notebookcheck.com Tests

Thanks to user kordis for the link.


Quick summary in English:

Build quality is top notch.

802.11n WiFi works at normal speeds.

Excellent keyboard, backlight works fine.

Touchpad is fine, Trackpoint hard to use due to buttons integrated into touchpad.

HD+ TN panel has the usual TN defects.

The CPU gets throttled to roughly 1/2 speed when the GPU is loaded, more so than on the Dell E7240.

The test model suffered in some benchmarks due to the HDD (instead of SSD) and single-channel 4 GB onboard RAM.

VERY quiet, even under load.

VERY cool-running.

Speakers are too crummy for presentations, movies, and games.

6 h battery life for web surfing, 109 minutes under full load.


They mention the 6-cell 72 Wh battery weighs ~150 g more.

 

This is not true. The speakers are way better than in previous 14" T-series models. I have to say I don't really trust NBC anymore, their review quality can vary dramatically.

 

will 802.11 AC be available on this or any of the new thinkpads?

doesnt it require 3 antennas so i wouldnt be able to just put my own card in if the t440s only has 2 antennas?

 

Yes, the AC version of the Intel 7260 (I have the AN version) will be available later.

 

Well, of those two things the crappy LCD is the only thing that particularly bothers me. I'm used to horrible battery life in laptops, (I still use my X40 with cheap knock-off 3 cell battery regularly out in my shop), so that is no issue at all. The reviews I read of the T430s rated it's gaming performance right in the range I was looking for, and knowing the 440s doesn't have a dedicated CPU, I'm starting to feel like I might as well just buy the T430s and give it a nice SSD. From what I've seen, it seems like buying the T430s would be cheaper as well, and have much better performance for 3D applications than an imported T440s would, given the CPU downclocking under CPU load.

Is the canadian model going to have the dedicated GPU?

 

It feels wrong to buy the discontinued model unless you get it used, or get a substantial discount on a new one.

No info, but I doubt it.

 

The GPU of the T430s is not much better than Intel 4000. You will still get beter performance out of a Haswell

 

I haven't followed the whole discussion, but only the last pages. The T440s is already available in Germany for students via lenovo campus. I purchased it today an from my research I did during the past days I can clear some things up. The review done here: Test Lenovo ThinkPad T440s 20AQ-S00500 Notebook - Notebookcheck.com Tests
has already been mentioned above, but the translation lacks some major issues (on the list are some facts that weren't on the review).
- 1600*900 HD+ TFT and 1600*1050 FHD IPS are already listed, there seems to be coming a touch version of THE IPS as well
- 4GB RAM welded (I don't know the exact english expression) onto Mainboard, 1 slot available.
- Mini ePCI express slot available, if you don't choose WWAN, later upgradable with e.g. not yet available ssd with m. 2 formfactor and 42mm
- these are ULV processors
- dGPU not available yet, haven't heard anything about it being planned later

I payed 1213€ for FHD IPS, 12 gig RAM, 250 GB Samsung EVO SSD. That is 1640 USD according to Google.

 

I was waiting for T440S but with NBC review i am finished,i wanted to buy Thinkpad so much.I think i will go with Macbook Air and it will be my first Apple product.I very much believe NBC because they reviews are very detail.I don't get it how they cant make good ultrabook.X1 carbon was so close,so close.
It seems to me like they,in fact every laptop manufacturer don't want to make perfect notebook.Why to sell one model when you can sell 3 models to one person.W540 for gaming,Yoga for couch and X1 just for the work.And everything that can be in one 20mm notebook
See you

 

W540 is rather poor choice for gaming; there is Y510p and Alienware with faster GPUs. Can be used on couch and for the work (certainly they'll cope with do any work that X1 can). As to 20mm or 30 or 40mm, well, the other dimensions are like 250x350 anyway

So every laptop is perfect. A person who buys W540 and Yoga and X1 of the same generation is a some kind of collector, and will end up with at least 2 hardly used machines

 

Almost there now. Resellers will have stock in about a week. Hopefully CTO machines don't ship out too late from China.

 

Upsss.
Sorry guys i made confusing post.I wrote some things then i didn't delete everything.
First i don't have Lenovo laptops.About selling three laptops to one person, i was talking generally.
But i still stand to my words that manufacturers can make but they wont,perfect ultrabook.
Let say this,why we dont have more 3g or lte in laptops(except Lenovo)because they want from us to buy also theire phone.One of them is Apple.Why to put 3g in Macbookair,its like they saying to us:you dont have to buy iphone(Samsung same thing with Galaxy).So we have tiny ultrabooks with 3g dongle bigger then ultrabook.So whats the point of Ultrabook?
<i will not bother you anymore i just want to point about mistake in my previous post.