ThinkPad T440s - Review

I just wanted to say thanks IBMThink for contributing your time and ( surprisingly in-depth) knowledge covering the latest Thinkpads. It's helpful, even if all this information is leading me to paralysis by analysis!

 

Thanks IBMThink for the review. I like my T440s too although there are some things that sucks and I need time to adjust.

So yes, since I said I like the T440s, call me a Lenovo shill if you want, I don't give a damn. Stick to whatever thinkpad (maybe 600 series, x220 or whatever it is)

 

Here is a YouTube video giving a product overview of the T440s.
Lenovo ThinkPad T440s - první pohled (Lenovo Blog CZ) - YouTube

 

Does the t440s come with any battery management software that sets thresholds for not charging/discharging too much?

 

What are things you don't like?

 

Only if you use Windows 7. If you use Windows 8.x, you can´t define own thresholds, you only have to option for a "50 % threshold.

I wouldn´t recommend to set your own thresholds. Its contra-productve for newer ThinkPads I think. The T440s already discharges "smart".

 

Could you elaborate a bit more on the "smart" technology? As I know it doesn't charge anymore when it is 100%. But it would still let discharging when there's less than let's say 10%, wouldn't it? And as I know the closer you get to 0% the less healthier it is. And does that "smart" work on linux too?

 

The external battery is discharged first (as this one it the one you can replace very easiely), and then the internal battery. The external battery is discharged until ~ 5 %, and then the internal battery is discharged.

 

Already said it in a post in another thread but at the moment - but on recall, i need to get used to the following things (new or again):

1. ctrl and fn switched around and swapped fn keys
2. the noisy clickpad
3. how i use the touchpoint because it has no dedicated buttons anymore
4. scaling on some non MS programs not that good
5. W8 - but it is faster than w7 on startup.

 

There is also a Lenovo setting that allows lets you not charge the battery often (i.e. it knows you are plugged in all the time with the battery inside so it makes sure it doesn't overcharge the battery).

 

How long did you use the machine for?

And what are you going to get instead?

S

 

Had it for one day and bought it from a German online shop.

I am considering the new macbook pro but I wait for some in depth reviews (from an unbiased source).

 

A 50% max? If so, then that's not too good. I like having the flexibility of setting one's own thresholds because you know what kind usage you need. For instance, having only a 50% charged battery means less battery time. If you had the choice of setting your own, you can put the max threshold to 85% or something like that.

One advantage of choosing Windows 7.

 

Has anyone noticed from this video that there is a "green indicator" between Fn and Ctrl. Does anyone know what that green light is?

 

It indicates whether Fn lock is on or off.

 

Probably it's because of the camera. I thought it was a build quality problem resulting in a port indicator on the side leaking through the keyboard.
Since we have a Fn lock indicator of the Fn key, do we have a caps-lock indicator on the key as well?

 

The user manual shows indicators for:

Fn lock
Mic mute
Speaker mute
Camera live

but not Caps lock.

 

I can sort of understand why Lenovo did this design. When people type, they keep their eyes on the display and the Caps icon is closer to where they are looking at. Whereas when people use the Fn key, they look down at the keyboard. But still since we have the Fn indicator, it would be nice if we could choose either the green light on the key or the on screen icon or perhaps both.

 

It works fine if you install the driver in a virtual machine.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

 

Does the T440s have stereo mix enabled?

Stereo mix is a sound input option where the input source is the output source of the speaker. This in effect allows you to record any sound on the computer. You can find it through Control Panel->Sound->Recording, then right click and check "show disabled devices." Enable it to use stereo mix input.

This option was disabled since the T61 generation because of pressure from the RIAA. But I recently found out that it was enabled on Haswell IdeaPads that were on display in the store. Is this an IdeaPad only option, or did Lenovo reverse the stereo mix policy?

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Can you invert the f1-12 keys through the BIOS (as opposed to using fn lock)? I use f1-12 a lot more often than the media keys.

 

Thanks for this review the pictures really help.

May I request even more pictures, something to compare with for those who don't know how fat the t420 looks like. Maybe put it next to a pencil, usb, coke bottle etc. I'm unfamiliar with European coins.

 

@Raftina,
nope, no Stereo mix for the T440s.

There is no need to revert the F-keys back through the BIOS. If you use FNLock, the machine remembers it if you reboot your system.

@ryukenden,
Well, I will see what I can do, but I don´t have much time, I don´t know if I can make more pictures very soon. Maybe you could use the shown ports (Ethernet, USB etc.) as a measurement of the thickness.

 

Boo to the stereo mix. Thank you for checking.

Is it possible to invert the fn keys through the BIOS though? It would be a nice option to keep the fn lock light off, for example.

 

No, thats not possible. There is no such option in the UEFI-BIOS of the T440s.

 

It is confirmed that in the states, T440s and T440 don't have the the optional GT 730M graphic.
According to the Lenovo Japan site, the T440s won't have the docking port once the dedicated graphic card is installed.

Now that the new T series is on Lenovo US site for about a week, why are we not seeing any owner's thread?

 

On the T4402 the HD+ display is 250 nits and the FHD with or without touch is 300 nits. Lenovo is usually accurate about the display brightness. This is also from Lenovo Japan site.

 

There is already an owner thread. My T440s is coming in next week. Lenovo just bumped up the ship date. My L440 also got shipped 6 days ahead of schedule.

 

Oh dang, what did they bump it from and to? Just put in my order today so probably not gonna get it for a while but sooner than expected would make me very happy.

 

What processor did you get in the L440? I am interested in how hot the quad core gets and how quiet it stays. I wish the L440 had an FHD screen, but I'm wondering if its i7-4702MQ processor might allow the L440 to be cooler / quieter than a t440p with an i7-4700MQ processor. I think I might value a quiet / cool L440 with a decent screen more than a warm / noisy t440p with a fabulous screen.

 

I have always used a glossy screen and when I look at matte displays, I can always see that pixel grid on HD+ and especially on HD screens. Is it the same on the T440s FHD?

 

Thank you. Apart from the brightness, and the resolution, are there any other differences between the two displays? I'm not familiar with IPS, VA, and such acronyms. The UK Lenovo site only calls them HD+ and FHD, but does one of the two have better color? Viewing angle? Latency? Contrast?

 

I have not seen the HD+ screen, but our FHD screens are quite excellent (apart from the physical problems with some pixels on each one - I'm assuming replacements will fix this). Contrast ratio is awesome, whites are extremely white, viewing angles show little color shift until the angle is extreme, and even then, it's minimal. As someone who spends most of my time using an iPad at home, these screens make me ok with using a laptop again. (well, sometimes!)

 

I thought this machine is user friendly for upgrading, I dont see an easy way of upgrading the memory without taking off the entire back

 

I have seen the HD+ screen in the T431s. One of the worst I've ever come across. If there's one mandatory upgrade it's the FHD screen.

 

Maybe compared to and FHD+ the the HD+screen was no different than the one offered on the T430, T420 etc. I do feel as if once you go to FHD it would be hard to go back but if one has not then it may not necessarily be an mandatory upgrade. But I am got FHD! for future proofing and viewing angles.

 

The AUO HD+ screen in the T431s was much worse than the LG and Samsung screens in the T420/T430(s). I'd guess the AUO HD+ in the previous models was as bad as this one.

 

Much worse is relative and subjective. I used a T430 at work and I have a 200 unit ThinkpadEdge 1366 X 766? 200 nit screen. Couldn't really tell a difference. I have been playing with the T431s quite reguarly in my school's computer store as I wait on the T440s and it is fine. ANd there are not many/any T431s users on this or any other forum so very few to tell as opposed to T420/T430 users. Cant' compare an HD+ to FHD. HD+ screens were liveable.

 

There are HD+ screen that aren't washed out and don't have a horrendous anti-glare coating. The T431s isn't one of them. Lenovo has for the most part gone for bottom of the barrel TN panels and this one is particularly bad, most of which is probably down to the matte finish they use. Fyi the store I was in has every single current Thinkpad model on display and running.

 

Still saying it was subjective and relative. I am done on my part. Been reading way to many THinkpads posts and reviews to believe any extreme reviews ("The worst"and so on).Plus you can't convince me. Compared the T431 to the T431s can't tell the difference.

 

It is user friendly as it means that you don't have soldered on RAM. You must take off the entire back like everyone else. How often do you change RAM?

 

Hah yeah, generally you always have to take off the back cover of a laptop to install anything, otherwise I don't know how your laptop survives anything. But I think the fact that it's not a nice sliding cover or something like some laptops is indeed very annoying. My previous laptop was super easy to access the RAM and SATA slots, but at the end of the day you do those things once or twice so it's not a huge deal (unless you mess something up during the upgrade which is definitely more possible with a more intricate process). My T440s made a weird click when I pulled it out of my backpack earlier today, wondering if one of the tabs was bent and broke inside or something. I didn't really notice any tabs breaking when I installed my SSD but it's possible that I didn't put it on completely right. One of the screws was very annoying to screw back in compared to the others so I'm a little suspicious of it.

 

Some things got harder to upgrade, some easier. RAM and HDD used to be more accessible through those small, dedicated panels that were on the bottom of Thinkpads, for example (dropping the dedicated HDD access panel was a bad move IMO), but other components were only accessible by removing the keyboard, which was a far more involved process than simply removing the entire base.

Ultimately, however, it's true that upgrading RAM, SSD etc. is a rare procedure that in my case happens about once a year, if that. The lack of easy hard drive access, however, kinda bugs me. I know a lot of business users who routinely remove drives for security reasons and it used to be a lot easier to do that on Thinkpads.

And don't even get me started on the new "Modular Ultrabay" design in the T440p. Once upon a time, like way back in 2012, the ultrabay in a Thinkpad was an easy, 2-second swap (flick a locking switch and remove). Now, replacing it requires removing the base of the machine and unscrewing it. Not exactly progress!

 

Lenovo probably thought it would be much better to have one solid bottom then leave windows or slots in it to access the HDD, RAM, WLAN, etc. I just wished Lenovo drop 2.5in SSD for PCI-E SSD like most other manufacture.

 

I was seriously considering buying a T430s, but they are no longer available on Lenovo's website (US and Canada)
Logically the T440s would be my next choice.
However, can anybody confirm that the Ctrl and Fn can be swapped in the BIOS? If not (as trivial as it may seem) this could be a deal breaker for me.
I also wish that they had kept the dedicated volume up/down /mute buttons on the top of the keyboard instead of integrating them it into a Fn command. Not a deal breaker, but a feature I liked in the T430s

 

Yes, FN and Ctrl can still be switched in the BIOS.

 

Maybe somebody who has T440s FHD screen could answer whether the pixel grid could be seen and how grainy it is. I'm really worried when I see lower resolution TN panels that it will be the same on T440s.

 

There is no visible grid on mine, the screen is seriously amazing. I've been using my T440s over my desktop (also with an FHD IPS display, though obviously bigger) because I just like looking at the screen.

 

Nope screen is excellent, even compared directly to my ipad Air it still looks great. My Surface Pro actually looks kind of poor in comparison.

 

I did not see a grid, but I did see vertical lines when displaying certain colors on mine. Don't know if it was a defect or if I am just more sensitive to it than others. I noticed it most on primary colors like green and blue, which would make sense, since they would have 2 of the 3 subpixels turned off, creating vertical lines of unlit subpixels.

I ended up sending the unit back due to a stuck red pixel near the center of the screen, so I'll see if the replacement also has the vertical line issue.

 

New Review by Laptop Magazine. Google or link

Lenovo ThinkPad T440s Review - Best Business Laptop - LAPTOP