Why does the 6 cell stick out?

I had a 14" T40 years ago and the 6 cell was flush with the system. I currently have a 11" Acer netbook with 6 cell and it's flush with the body. Why does the 14" T400 have the 6 cell battery protrude out the back? It's a minor nitpick I guess, but it's just bewildering. It's much larger than a netbook, what is taking up all that space?

 

The change happened when the T61 went from 4:3 to 16:10. The 4:3 version of the T61 (like the T60 and T4x) had a 6 cell battery standard and flush, only the 9 cell stuck out. The 16:10 version of the T61 and the similar T400 are less deep and offer a 4 cell battery as standard, the 6/9 cell both stick out.

A new design may have a 6 cell battery that's flush, but for now that is what Lenovo offers for the T400/R400.

 

It's simply poor design, like the off-centred display. When other vendors can do it on batteries of similar capacity, you can bet that engineering wise, this is a poor compromise.

 

Even the Tablet batteries stick out of the back and yes they do look ugly sticking out and seem to be poorly designed. Imagine a car with a gas tank sticking out of the back

 

I don't really like mine sticking out at the back..I think it's better to cut it out and stick it at the bottom so it creates like a ventilation area under the laptop

 

sticking out the back is definitely better than sticking out the bottom - its fine when you're using the laptop, but if you are going to put it into, say, a laptop bag, a "sticking out the bottom" battery drives me crazy

the reason why it sticks out in the first place is obviously because that way you can have a battery that's bigger than what the laptop chassis allows. open up a thinkpad, and you'll see why. it's packed to the brim.

 

Okay I guess I'm weird, I actually like the looks of the ThinkPads with the batteries sticking out the back, which is why I like the looks of the T400 over that of the T400s. But I guess if a car had its fuel tanks sticking out the back it would look hideous.

 

Because it doesn't fit inside.

 

before our discussion (argument? ) continues, i should remind us that unlike that acer netbook, the t and x series thinkpads also have a rollcage built in. that actually takes quite a lot of space

 

the main disadvantage of the design of the t400s is that there's no way to put a bigger battery in. the only option is an ultrabay battery

 

Looking for a silver lining to the external battery design, does the battery hanging out the back help in any way minimizing heat transfer to the battery? We all hear batteries don't like heat, and a plugged in laptop can get warm... does the external, arse-hanging-out battery minimize this?

 

Probably, although I wouldn't think it's that significant. The main advantage is that the laptop can have large extended life batteries.

Personally, I don't mind the 9-cell on my T500 sticking out. I don't think it's a design flaw (although I also wouldn't mind if it is completely flush, without sacrificing anything).

 

Actually, a thinkpad is not more packed to the brim than say, a Sony vaio computer. They are all packed to the brim. It's poor design in my opinion.

 

well for a start, a vaio doesn't have a rollcage.

 

Volvo's don't have their gas tanks sticking out of their backs

 

It always surprises me that people care about this or the off centered screen.

 

I use the 6 cell rounded edge to hold my laptop.

 

Theres no room. Unless you want to notebook to be very thick.

 

I actually like the 6 cell sticking out.

 

the gas tank don't stick out of the back of the car, due to consideration for crash safety. For your information, most of the cars have their fuel tanks underneath the rear passenger seat. Laptop batteries don't get rammed by other laptops, so your comparision is not varied.

Regarding the battery design for 6 cells, i don't think it really matters, if you don't like it, don't buy it, why make such a big deal out of it.

The reason for the battery sticking out, is due to the ultrabay, which the HP or Sony laptops of similar screen size don't have.

 

No, that's not the reason. Dell has bay batteries and their batteries don't stick out. It's really just poor design and I can bet that in the next generation of Thinkpads, you'll most likely see flush batteries. Lenovo knows about it and will eventually fix this flaw. HP doesn't see the need for bay batteries because they chose to have their secondary battery attach to the bottom of the notebook. The placement of the battery connector does not affect this design wise if you examine the motherboard closely.

 

Dell latitude locates their battery at the front of their machine, which is a complete different from the location where the Thinkpads have them. Regarding what HP does, it is their business. Lenovo is not HP.

 

Well actually its not poor design.- Rather it is consumer deception. They of course show off the promotional pictures with the 4 cell that can last 5 minutes and use that to boast about how small thin and tiny the computer is.

But when it comes time to buy, you learn that you better buy the ugly looking one that has something sticking out the back.

In simple terms, this is called bait-and-switch. And computer makers will continue to do it as long as folks fall for it and keep paying money for the products made this way.

 

Well if the consumers are stupid enough to buy it without asking about the number of ampere hours or current or power then the issue is not lenovo's, it's that the consumer is ignorant. The question becomes "Does this battery meet my needs"? I don't think the consumer should be protected against levels of ignorance they have chosen.

Renee

 

So you think they should just include the bigger battery, in turn making the dimensions and weight larger by default? Even for people who don't need the extended battery life. No thanks. If you like the way another brand does it better, buy that brand.

 

I guess we are redefining what bait and switch is today.

I suppose using the phrase "starting at" isn't good enough.

 

I didn't say that. I think the user should be able to rationally choose her battery.

Renee

 

I completely agree. If Lenovo wants to offer batteries of different sizes, there are only two options:

1. Design the notebook for the smallest battery, and let the bigger battery stick out.
2. Design the notebook for the biggest battery (increase the size of the notebook so that the biggest battery does not stick out), and you get empty space inside the notebook when you use the smaller battery

I think option #1 is the better design. For people who complain about high-capacity batteries sticking out, what is your recommendation?

 

If you are the CEO of Lenovo, how would you change the way things work?

 

You are exaggerating the definition of bait and switch, and the battery capacity of the 4 cells. For your information, the battery life of the 4 cells with P8xxx CPU is similar to that of a 6 cells battery with a T7xxx CPU.

As the cpu and GPU becomes ever more power efficient, 4 cells will become ever more relevant.

 

It's called marketing. Who doesn't put the best face on their product? If you are dropping a wad of cash on a notebook and the battery is that important, you should do your homework.

 

"you should do your homework"

Golly. that sounds like what I said.

Renee