finally got my T60. First impressions !!

I finally got my T60. It is one of the 14" models. The specs are:
CPU: core duo T2500
Memory: 1 Gigs
Harddrive: 80 GB 5400 RPM
Screen: 14" SXGA
Video: Ati X1300

There are few things I am not happy with it. First of all, I bought a bluetooth mouse for use with T60. It is a logitech v270. The mouse drops off from the bluetooth quite often. Another thing I am not happy about is the screen. I had the chance to test a macbook (13" one) and a dell 1505 with truelife screen. I must say, both have much better screens. especially the screen of macbook is awesome.

Anyway, I am happy with my T60. BTW, for those who wonders about 3dmark score of x1300, I did a test with 3dmark 2006, and the score is 697.

 

Well the screen on the T60 is certainly does not appear as bright and bold as those consumer notebooks you speak of, mostly because it is not a glossy screen, I assure you the T60 you bought is much, much more durable though. If you really love the glossy screen effect, you can actually buy an LCD upgrade from www.screentekltd.com but it's pricey and I think you'll find that when using a notebook in a brightly lit room for a long period of time the glossy screen actually gets annoying when you see all the lights reflecting behind you.

The ThinkPad will grow on you, the pointing stick is soooo nice to have, I can't live without it now, and the more I use different notebooks the more I run back to my ThinkPad T43 (or whatever T I happen to have at the time). It's all in the keyboard and mouse buttons for me, power and style and new consumer features are all cool for the first day or two, but in the end the T series usability ends up being more important.

congrats on the purchase, good luck, and thanks for the feedback.

 

If you read reviews of the V270, you'd find out that quite a number of users faced this same problem. Don't think it's a problem with the T60. I however don't know of any other bluetooth mouse which doesn't require a dongle and which provides the quality that Logitech does. A certain Kensington mouse comes close, but it does seem rather small for extended usage. Have no idea about quality either.

The screen on the 14" T60 isn't all that great. Which is why I personally decided on the 15" T60. Screen quality was very important for me.

 

The battery life is amazing. I was able to get a battery life around 3 hours 48and 48 minutes with wireless and bluetooth on. I have the standard battery. I must say, it is a pleasure to type on this machine.

 

are the screen hook thingies plastic and flimpsy?

mine seems so ...=(

 

hmm... they seem to be plastic. But I would not say that they are flimpsy. They seem to be as durable as the rest of the machine.

 

can you get any pics, possibly comparing it in size to any other notebook you may have? I am highly interested in the t60, but the screen is a major hold back for me.

 

I will try to put it side by side with a macbook and a dell 1505 when I get the chance. But if the screen is a major issue for you, then I would recommend the 15" t60 with flexview screen.

 

That would be a perfect comparison. I think the screen will be ok, as I currently have a Toshiba Satelite series, and the screen isn't so great, however it is pretty bright in my opinion. I think the 15" would be too large for my likings. I do have intentions on useing an external monitor so maybe that will make the screen of the laptop not as important. IBM's quality is very attractive along with the battery life. I'd really prefer a Wxga+ resolution, but the 14" z61t does not have the dedicated gpu which is a deal breaker.

 

I think the logitech bluetooth mouse is crap. i sent it back after i had to pair it evey time I turned the machine on or off aor logged out or went away for over five minutes. I bought a kensington bleutooth and it pairs immediately everytime. durable too I threw it against the wall while having a temper tantrum the cover and batteries flew everywhere but it fired right up as if nothing has hapened and continues to do so

 

Can you specify what complaints you have with the screen??? Is it light leakage? not bright enough? Dull colors?

THanks

 

The fact is, a regular screen isn't going to look anywhere near as good as the glossy trulife screens. Simply put, they're amazing, in fact, I'm getting a glossy-screened monitor to bring with me to college for dorm use. But the regular screen on a laptop has a significant advantage in that it has FAR less glare, especially if you're going to be taking it outside.

 

Some further thoughts:
The bluetooth conenction drop off issue I experienced with t60 and logitech v270 mouse does not stem from the mouse actually. I tried the mouse with the macbook, and I didnt experience a single drop off problem. When it comes to the screen, the screen is grainy. In addition, the brightness is not very satisfactory in my opinion also the contrast ratio seems to be poor. As a result the colors seem dull. I have attached some pictures for comparison with dell e1505 and apple macbook. I must add, this pictures does not do justice for e1505 and macbook

 

Apples and oranges.

If you like glossy screens, you should have considered one of the Lenovo 3K laptops - N100 (which I really like), C100 or V100...the later two I have no experience with, but all are glossy.

What the T60 screen gives you is good viewing angles, glare reduction and good resolution, depending on the model you got.

 

even if the pictures don't do any justice for e1505, at least show some differences...

i see absolutely no difference in terms of screen between t60 and e1505....

 

irfan, would you mind posting the FRU part number of the 14inch SXGA+ screen that was shipped with your T60? You can find that by going to this site:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/s...peind=10&template=/partslookup/partsLookup.vm

I found here:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-62784
that there are three different 14inch SXGA+ screens used on the ThinkPads, and the FRU number I found for mine indicates I received the TMD screen. From your pictures, I think the lighting of your screen is more even than mine, and thus I wonder if you received a different panel. Thanks.

 

The FRU part number is 13N7061. And mfg part number is 13N7060. I wonder what brand it is. The only way to really appreciate the difference between the WSXGA+ truelife screen of e1505, you really have to see it yourself. But I beleive, even, the pictures show some differences in sharpness, contrast ratio and brightness. But as I said, you got to try to watch a movie on both of them, and try to see it from different angles. We watched a movie with 5 friends in a large room on e1505 with no complaints.

EDT: The brand is hydis. That explains the uneven lightning.

 

Is it the mfg # or the FRU # that identifies the manufacturer of a component?

 

The IBM service page is using the FRU number to indicate the make of the parts. It seems irfan's BOE-Hydis panel is a better one than the TMD one I received. Time to send this laptop back...

 

my only real complaint with the t60 I am currently using is the bluetooth issue. Otherwise, I like it very much. The display might not be as beautiful as macbooks, but still, it is ok for me.

 

Looks like the t60 is slightly thicker than the Macbook, correct me if im wrong, my perception isnt so great. Also, which in your opinion is easier to carry and tote around size wise, the t60 or macbook? Also, thanks for the pics.

 

macbook is thinner and size wise easier to carry. But the weight difference isnt so much. Somehow, macbook feels as heavy as t60. Also, macbook gets really hot till a point. Then the fans kick in and it gets less hot.

 

Question: are the post-Lenovo-takeover keyboards as good as the 'original recipe' IBMs'? I just got a T-60, and am loving it - but my recollection of trying out a T-42 many moons ago was of a keyboard with a more substantial feel (can't find a better way of describing this). Am I wrong? I know the layout has changed as well, but that doesn't trouble me so much at the moment.

 

I can not compare with the previous T4x notebooks. But I can compare with a sony FS series notebook, a dell e1505 notebook, a macbook notebook and an asus notebook. I can safely say that t60 has the best keyboard. I like typing on it. I like the feel, the travel distance, the little typing noise and the feedback.

 

There are 3 different keyboard manufacturers for the T60. The purpoted best and rarest would be NMB, which many people feel, is the best. The T42 you tried out probably had an NMB keyboard as well while your current T60 may most probably have a Chicony or an ALPS keyboard. This could explain the different feel that you've experienced.
I've got a Chicony keyboard on mine, and I'm still growing used to it. My old T30 had an ALPS keyboard while the T42 had a NMB keyboard. I would really like to get an NMB keyboard for my T60, it is apparently out of stock AND is apparenly being replaced by the ALPS/Chicony keyboards and so I'm going to have to learn to live with it. I can't touch-type as fast as I used to on my T42 and I'm tend to make more errors now on my T60, but I think it's just a matter of getting used to the keyboard.

 

ramian, would you please post a picture of your keyboard? From, what I can tell from the FRU part numbers, I got the NMB keyboard. It would be usefull to figure out the differences.

 

The NMB keyboard on my friend's t60 felt exactly the same as my t43's NMB keyboard.

 

I have attached some detailed pictures of the keyboard. I hope these may help for people who wanna learn about the keyboard.

 

I understand the concern about the screen (and even the looks of Thinkpads). Its either a love it or hate it thing. So I guess it really depends on your priorities when choosing a computer.

I used to have a bluetooth mouse with my HP DV1000 but I didn't use it anymore after a few months due to connectivity issues. Now, I'm just using a Logitech corded notebook mouse and I have no problems with it.

 

Thanks for the info, ramian! I really can't complain about the keyboard. What I do find a little alarming is the loose battery latch, which seems to be a complaint about the T series in general, unless I'm wrong. I have a 6 cell, with a 9 cell in reserve.

 

I did a small performance test by using the SuperPi application. Amazingly, it was able to calculate pi to 2M digits in 01m 11 secs.

 

I have a 14.1" T60 (X1400 as the video) and all I can say is I love the 14.1" size and the screen is great. I got mine w/ 512 MB of RAM and ordered a 2nd stick from NewEgg as I wanted 1GB total, taking full advantage of the DDR architecture. About the only issue I have with the T60 is the touchpad is a very small area, compared to my old Inspiron 4100 (14.1" also), though I've started using the trackpoint more and I like it much better than other pointing sticks I've used.

 

pbdavey can you refer to my post here and post the FRU part number of your 14.1inch screen as well? I suspect that the Samsung panel may be the best out of the three, and perhaps that might just be the panel you received.

 

I wonder that too. The hydis display is grainy. But on the other hand from what I have seen, there is a distracting pinkish hue on the samsung display. Would it be possible for you guys to take pictures of your LCD displays. Well pictures never do justice. But with a proper reference point on, say a point on the keyboard, we may calibrate our pictures.

 

If you have the boe-hydis 14.1' LCD, you may check the specs from http://www.boehydis.com/eng/03_products/productKind.asp?L1=4&L2=0&pdG_Code=3&pd_Num=48&pdvName=Notebook&openBox=2&subBox=null&openSubBox=null

The specs doesnt seem so bright to me :-( BTW, Hydis display is slightly more expensive than the samsung display
Screen size 14.1"
Model HT14P12
Resolution SXGA+
Outline Dimension (typ.) mm 299.0(W)×228.0(H)×5.2(D)
Active Area mm 285.6(H)×214.3(D)
Number of Pixels 1400(H)×1050(V)
Pixel Pitch mm 0.204(H)×0.204(V)
Weight g 405typ
Number of Colors 262K
Supply Voltage v 3.3
Power Consumption 5.2
Brightness (typ.) cd/㎡ 150typ.
Contrast Ratio 200 : 1
Backlight 1CCFL
View Angle (typ.)
(CR 10:1) L/R 45° / 45°
15° / 35°
Signal Interface LVDS 1ch/2ch Selectable
Response Time ms 25typ


The specs for the samsung display are as follows:

SIZE 14.1"

RESOLUTION SXGA+

NUMBER OF PIXELS 1,400 x 1,050

ACTIVE AREA(mm² 285.6 x 214.2

PIXEL PITCH(mm) 0.204

NUMBER OF COLORS 262K

Color Gamut(%) 45

CONTRAST RATIO 300:1

BRIGHTNESS(cd/m² 175

RESPONSE TIME(ms at 25 °C) 25

VIEWING ANGLE(U/D/L/R) 20/45/45/45

INTERFACE LVDS(2ch)

OUTLINE DIMENSION(mm) 299.0 x 228.0 x 5.5

WEIGHT(g) 420

PRODUCTION Mass Production

 

13N7063 is my FRU, which is the TMD screen. Finally remembered to look this up.

 

TMD seems to have nice specs. Though the best judge is the eye. I finally resolved the problem with my screen. It is boe-hydis made. There seems to be an issue with the latest bios release from lenovo which causes screen to look grainy. I found out that some other users also have confirmed this issue. Anyway, I really like the hydis screen. It is crisp. White is white. And blacks look nice on it. Unfortunately, I lost the files that I was preparing for the review while I did a full recovery. I think I went through all aspects of my T60 in these past sleepless 4-5 days

 

Unfortunately the TMD screen has very narrow vertical viewing angles and a slow response time (50ms compared to 25ms for Samsung and BOE-Hydis). This is very noticable, as any sort of scrolling on the TMD panel will result in trailing. It seems the Samsung panel must be rare, like the NMB keyboard. I will contact Lenovo and see if I can get both of those things.

 

i got a samsung screen with alps keyboard. bought it the week before last week from buy.com (t60)

 

santasballz, would you please comment on the samsung display? I mean about the brightness, contrast ratio, viewing angle, light leakage, uniformity and etc... Also did you have a chance to use some other thinkpads with different screens. In that case, how is the samsung compared to other screens. Thanks a lot.

I also had the chance to compare the NMB keyboard and the Chicony Keyboard. There are noticeable differences. I had to apply more pressure on the NMB keyboard to press any key. NMB keyboard seems to have a strong feedback and also sounds louder when I type on it. I can not tell which one is better. But I like the strong feedback of NMB. and as a clumsy person I like the NMB for I need to press harder to push a key.

 

That's interesting... While I've never tried an NMB keyboard on a T60, the NMB on my T42 feels a lot better than the Chicony keyboard on my T60. Keys are much easier to hit and is almost completely silent. While I'm already getting used to the Chicony keyboard, I'm wishing that I had the NMB keyboard for the T60 as well.

 

So how will I be able to tell which keyboard/monitor I have once I get it? I am getting the 14.1 SXGA+ model. Then, if I find I like another keyboard better, will I be able to swap it out myself easily and without voiding the warranty?

Also, irfan I'd love to know what camera you used to take those pictures.

 

You can use the parts lookup here.

 

I used a Canon Powershot S1 IS with the highest image quality settings. Changing the display might be an issue. But it seems that several users were able to change the keyboards by calling lenovo and telling them they find the keyboard unsatisfactory. BTW, if you can tell us the FRU part numbers, we can easily find the manufacturer of that particular device like keyboard or lcd screen.

 

Thanks for the great pics irfan, nice to see some shots of the 14" model, only been able to find pics of the 15" until now. Any chance of us getting a few shots of the whole screen? Especially one with some text on it, just open up any website or something, I'm trying to get a feel for how the 1400x1050 resolution looks on a 14" screen.

Last, a quick question, how warm does it get? I've read the 15" stays very cool, but of course, the 14" is all the same components squeezed into a smaller package. I'm especially interested in how warm the palm rests get.

 

I will try to take some pictures with text on the screen when I return back to home from my office.

The right-hand side of the palmrest becomes warm. This is I beleive due to the Harddisk and the RAM modules. On the other hand, the left-hand side is cool. In addition, you may experience some flex on the palmrest area, especially on the left-hand side. Practically, there is nothing beneath the left-hand side palmrest area, it is empty. This part is for expresscards. I wish there were something dummy to fill this part.

 

here are some pictures with some text on the screen. Pictures were taken in the presence of some daylight. So there is some grayish hue.

 

here some more pictures with text on the screen for those interested to get a feel of the SXGA+ screen.

 

Are you using cleartype or not?

 

cleartype is on