ThinkPad T440s - Review

Now that was a decent review. They actually used a quality speced machine instead of a stupid T440s with 1600x900 TN screen and 7200RPM HDD. All T440s users should have a 128GB SSD and a IPS screen.

PS, I appreciate the DisplayPort on all ThinkPad more than HDMI because my college comes equipped with projector that still have VGA but a lot of them also use DVI adapted to mini-DisplayPort for the iMacs. DP>HDMI.

 

Same here. Wish it could have both. I THINK the x240/240s has both.

 

The x240 only has VGA and mini-DP. It is mis-specced on some sites as having HDMI. Not really an issue given that DP > HDMI > DVI

 

Really. Alot of sites said HDMI. Alot. Kind of makes sense since the X and T are both business machines. And since the T is bigger I would expect it on the T before the X if it had to be on only one.

 

I think maybe those sites are sharing the same source of bad info. See pages 45 and 46 of the HMM:

X240 Hardware Maintenance Manual

 

Well, it's an issue if you want two digital outputs out of the box (VGA is crap for anything other than a projector) but I suppose that's what docking stations are for.

 

Two more reviews of the T440s

Lenovo ThinkPad T440s Ultrabook Review - PC World Business - Notebooks, PCs & Printers - PC World Business

http://translate.google.lt/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=lt&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lenovoblog.cz%2F2013%2F11%2Fthinkpad-t440s-vykon-zahrivani-vydrz.html%3Futm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BLenovoBlog%2B%28Lenovo%2BBlog%29

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=lt&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.lt&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.lenovoblog.cz/2013/10/thinkpad-t440s-prvni-pohled-zkusenosti.html&usg=ALkJrhg9HcV0PohEGTe3u8fcmlhBEWx1IQ

 

Excellent, the czech review has some of the best photos of the fhd viewing angles I've seen so far.

 

For $123.00 extra I can order a T440s with a 256GB SSD instead of a 128GB SSD. I have a X120e and have only used 69GB's out of 247GB's available in the last year.
I can't decide if the 128GB SSD is enough. The Black Friday Deal is awesome with 18% off and need to order pretty quick.

 

I couldn't imagine only having 128gb of space. But that's my usage; if you don't have much music/videos/games, then you won't need much.

Personally, I would simply get the HDD version and upgrade the SSD myself - you can get a quality 256gb SSD for just a bit more than $123. If you're happy with the RAM, however, and don't want to go through any extra hassle, then it might be worth it.

 

So that would give me the 500 GB HDD w/ the 16BB M.2 SSD Single. I haven't seen any reviews on this configuration and maybe the SSD add on would give me the speed I want. This would save me $ 221.00 and I could upgrade to a 256gb SSD and still be ahead.

Has anyone used the 500 HDD option and have any comments?

Thanks!

 

A nice picture comparison between T440s Multitouch and Non-Multitouch:
±Ê¼Ç±¾vs³¬¼«±¾ ThinkPad T440s¶Ô±È_ÍøÒ×ÊýÂë

 

The point is that upgrading the SSD yourself is far cheaper (maybe half the price) as getting it from Lenovo. So get the HDD and swap it out with an SSD of your choice. I wouldn't recommend sticking with just the HDD and M.2, it's much slower than the SSD. Literally, the SSD is the most worthwhile upgrade you can get for a computer.

You can also save $50 by deselecting the M.2 option (select SSD first, deselect M.2 option, then switch back to HDD). 16gb for $40 is not worth it, and, it's a hassle to get it working.

 

Thanks for the $50 tip!. So now I am saving $ 262 with your great advice and need to get a 256 SSD. You mentioned I could get one for a bit more than $123?...

Also would it be better to install the new SSD right out of the box?

I am really skeptical on doing the replacement myself after reading about you Pros having problems.

 

Check out slickdeals.net for SSD deals. There was a Samsung EVO 250gb for $120 earlier today, although some people are reporting problems. I myself got one easily for $140 earlier, although that's expired. But there's lots of under $140 SSD deals to be had right now.

What do you mean install the SSD right out of the box?

Replacing SSDs isn't trivial, but it isn't terribly complicated either. Just carefully remove the back, make sure your hard drive is backed-up, and make the switch, and either reinstall your OS or clone your hard drive (for Samsung, their software makes the latter ridiculously easy). You can read more in-depth guides online if you wish.

I'd also advise you to upgrade your RAM whilst your back cover is open.

 

ouch. I paid $42 more for leaving my 16GB useless cache SSD on there.
I almost feel like returning it, but since my 15 days with machine is quite valuable.

 

It's not that bad - 16gb is 16gb, but more importantly, it may be possible that those who didn't order a M.2 SSD (e.g. me) may not even get a slot. I heard that they did that with the Y510p. Although it's sort of weird to have two SSDs, more expansion possibilities are always good. (I'll report back whether I have the slot or not).

 

Thanks for the little trick. Just before I placed my order, I came across this post and used that technique.

 

Is one of these the 45W and the other 65W adapter?

 

I have the multitouch version and I was surprised at how much bigger and heavier it felt compared to a T431s.
Althought the biggest problem is that Yellow colors instead of whites. White color doesn't display even close to acceptable and I'm about to return the unit for good.

 

That's not comforting. I'm about to order a multi-touch unit.

 

Will a color calibration fix this?

Sent from my Galaxy Note 8.0

 

In this Chinese site with both screens side by side that ibmthink posted, they say the non-touch screen is brighter, sharper and 'more transparent' according to google translate. The colors look the same though. I'm really torn now, the touch functionality really does transform the way you work but there's a pretty big weight penalty as well as some loss of quality.

Google Translate

 

The yellow color is most likely due to a software or driver issue. Samsung Ativ Book 9 Ultrabooks also experience the same problems and it was fixed with an update. Is the color persistent at all times?

 

Yes the yellow color is persistent.
I tried calibrating the screen in all ways I know of and it still looks that ugly.
Problem having accurate colors is essential for my job (besides being unacceptable at this price point for a laptop).

The Yoga Pro 2 apparently has huge yellow issues as well, only partially fixed through drivers/Bios update.

For those who are thinking of buying this machine: beware, the yellow color issue is not a joke, it's a thing that you have in front of you in all documents, all webpages.

 

What I'm wondering is whether it's a manufacturing quality issue or inherent in these screens, or it could be a driver issue. Given that very few users seem to be getting the touch model, I suspect Lenovo will neglect to address this problem.

I'm leaning toward just getting a non-touch model, there are too many downsides with this now, mainly the weight.

 

I am very happy with the quality (color, brightness, etc.) of my touch FHD display. I suspect that some folks may have an issue if they install Windows from scratch, since it may be missing the appropriate display profile. Maybe some folks have received bum displays, but mine is great.

 

Can you post a picture with something as a reference, like a phone next to the screen. Please.

 

Looking at capflam's posts, he did do a clean install. Suggest using the recovery disks and going back to the Lenovo Windows image.

phamhlam may be right. The Asus UX31A had this issue as well and it was a drive problem.

 

Yoga 2 Pro had an entirely different problem I think. On the Yoga 2 Pro, it has to do with the pentile-matrix they used. The T440s FHD screen uses a normal pentile-matrix, its not the same problem.

Honestly, it doesn´t look so bad it think (beside the fact that the T440s display in this picture is not at full brightness, and the phone is). The one thats really miscalibrated it the T420 screen, with a horrible blueish-teint (which is normal for low-quality TN trash displays). High-quality screens tend to often look a bit yellowish, so does my Eizo monitor - because they have the correct colors.

 

Actually the T440s is at full brightness in this picture. The Nexus 5 is so much brighter that it makes the laptops displays look dimmer.
I can tell you that the T440s display really is very bad when it comes to white. It actually is impossible to have white, you get light yellow. Other colors are also a bit out of whack subsequently.
I'll post a picture showing REAL white vs T440s version of white and you'll see how bad that is.

 

Makes sense, cause the camera focuses then on the Nexus 5 brightness.

Well, not mine, I can see it for myself. The display itself is nearly perfect in this aspect. If there is really something, that it has to do with the Touch-layer.

But then again, vancamp seems to have no problems with the color of his T440s Touch and the picture that vinuneuro has linked from the chinese test also shows that the Touch-version and the non-Touch version have the same colors.

Edit: Here is a picture. A very bright, very natural white:

It looks even brighter in reality than it looks on this picture.

 

This is real white from Photoshop compared to RGB 255,255,255 on my T440s. Sure the camera is not helping the T440s but it's close to reality enough to show you how bad the display is. And that's after trying to calibrate this thing for hours:

Real white: .....and here is what you get with the T440s:

I don't know what you guys call it, but I think that's really bad.

According to the support there are other cases. Maybe it's just bad luck, I'll let you guys know if I decide to get a replacement instead of returning the laptop.

 

This is the non-touch version correct?

 

Yes. This is the non-Touch FHD screen.

 

I also restored the Lenovo install and had the exact same issue. If yours is great then there is hope I guess.

 

What do you mean by "calibrating the screen in all ways I know"? Did you at least use a hardware colorimeter? I've not received my unit yet but I intend to do photographic work with it, so accurate colors are important to me. That's something I'm going to check in the first place (I have a calibrated IPS panel at home, a retina IPad, and a Dell precision with ultrasharp display so I'll be able to perform some comparisons). Be sure I'll report back if I find any issue. I should receive mine next thursday (non touch FHD display).

 

Mine is the T440s Multi Touch and no calibration done. Looks decent white.

 

Ugh.... thinking of canceling my order and getting non-touch model instead.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk Pro

 

Pictures courtesy of user vancamp. They look normal to me. I looked at some youtube videos of T440s touch models which also look fine. Unfortunately, I think capflam got a bad panel.

 

(first post - hello everyone!)

As soon as I'm getting the green light from my boss, I am buying this laptop (in its 20AQ0069MB version). Can't wait



edit: and thank you ibmthink for the initial review!

 

They're both 65w. The lower one is the Thinkpad Edge adapter I believe. The text in picture was wondering if packaging messed the models up.
I prefer the edge one.

 

is the lenovo t440s with the 1600x900 resolution display an ips panel or the the FHD 1920x1080 resolution the only ips panel?

 

Only the FHD display is IPS.

This review had the 1600x900 model and you can see the narrow viewing angles:
Review Lenovo ThinkPad T440s 20AQ-S00500 Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

 

Couple new reviews:

Google Translate

Lenovo ThinkPad T440s review | Digital Trends Reviews

 

The Digital Trends review was a brutal about the new touchpad... "Simply put, the T440s has the worst touchpad we’ve used all year". And they didn't even comment on its functionality with the trackpoint, which is where most complaints here seem to focus.

 

The Digital Trends Review is really bad. There are many Notebooks on the market with worse TouchPads. In my opinion, the T440s is one of the best (beside the Macbook maybe) and it works even better for me as a TrackPoint-button than a TouchPad.

 

Yeah, totally disagree with that assessment of the touchpad. This is the best touchpad I've ever used on a Windows computer, by a long shot.

 

The Digital Trends review is overall good because it is honest. Still can't wait until my T440s comes in. I could have chosen differently but did not despite some truths. No perfect laptop but I will take an honest review before I take a "perfect" review.

 

I love this touchpad; literally my only complaint is that I can't modify the three finger swipe to work like I want. There is no option to make 3-finger-swipe-left act as the "back" button, and 3-finger-swipe-right act as the "forward" button. I've been told that disabling natural scrolling or whatever will fix it, but it doesn't -- it fixes the two finger scrolling, but three finger swiping remains "backwards".

It's got a really good feel to it though. Definitely the right mix of texture, size, and features. It's not too easy to depress so I can reliably use it as a touch-to-click touchpad only (as I prefer).