Z61t impressions

Hi, here are my knee-jerk reactions to my Z61t:

Core2 Duo 1.66
1 gb ram
120 gb 5400 rpm hard drive
bluetooth (at least I was supposed to get it)
ibm a/b/g
webcam
fingerprint
titanium lid
4 cell battery
wxga+ 1440x900 pixels, none dead

1. Where is the bluetooth module? It doesn't light up, and on my receipt it clearly states that I've ordered one. :< I think they forgot it. It doesn't show up in the device manager. Is there a way to make sure that it's not my ineptitude?

2. Fatter than I thought it'd be. "About" 1 inch thick is generous. It's more like 1. 2- 1.3 inches thick.

3. Heavier than I thought it would be.

4. Screen is bright and milky and creamy white. Colors a bit muted but superb brightness and uniformity! I do not think that I have complaints about the screen. It's not an x-brite in terms of richness and saturation, but it's so uniform and the viewing angles are good. WAY better than my asus a8jp.

5. Keyboard is a dream. Absolutely everything that I had expected it to be. Amazing amounts of travel and rock solid without any flex.

6. Unit is built-like a tank. But when pushing the titanium lid I can see the ripples/puddle of light effect, but yet the lid is solid. The entire thing feels so tough.

7. Sticker that says "IBM Thinkpad" was half coming off when I got it. Shoddy.

8. Atrocious battery life. 2 hrs max with 4 cell, more like 1.5 hours. BAD. I have no clue why IBM's have good reps for battery life, b/c I've had a T42 that was not impressive either. I'm not saying that I know how to conserve a battery, but when compared to a Sony SZ or apple macbook pro, the battery life was inferior.

9. Heavy. I don't have a scale, but I pondered this over and over again. I weighed a macbook pro and ibm z61t in my hands and they seemed identical in weight time and again. One of them is lying about the weight of the laptop, and I think it's IBM. I think this sucker is 5.1 pounds, if not 5.5.

10. Tiny ac adapter. Very nice.

11. Webcam is acceptable, with the SZ's being atrocious and the macbook pro's being very nice.

12. Noise--quiet as a fish. Absolutely no cooling problems whatsoever.

13. Ultranav--dual options, with everything being rock solid and responsive.

14. Design--ugly, I mean, classic.

Overall: If the battery life was better and if I could go and weigh the thing exactly to confirm it is 4.5 or so pounds, then I would keep it. But as things stand now, I'll keep the macbook pro b/c I think that it's noticeably thinner, feels more maneuverable, and is not any heavier with definitely longer battery life.

 

Thanks for the feedback, I think they're a fair assessment. I once had an X60 where a label flaked off, if you call Lenovo they'll actually fix that regarding the IBM sticker because that is garbage.

To check the Bluetooth, run Everest http://www.notebookreview.com/everest.exe and see if it shows up. Sounds like they forgot it to me.

 

hi guys, regarding BT issue, you might check Function+F5. I tried that on my z61t. I thought the BT is missing too until I pushed Function + F5 and you have to manually turn it on

hope this helps

 

MBP comes with a 4cell battery like your Z61t?

I think 1.5hrs on a 4cell is pretty decent.

My T60 that has a 6cell lasts a little over 2hr15min.

 

When I first got my Z61t with a 4 cell battery, I got almost 3 hours with the screen brightness set to the lowest. Now after about a year, I get 2.5hrs. I am usually using wireless also.

I doubt it makes much difference, but I have the Core Duo, not the Core 2 Duo.