t43 vs. t60 vs. z60 - what would you get if...

Hi,

Im wondering if everyone could just weigh in their opinions on this choice.

Basically, I am trying to decide between a 14" T60 or T43 (possibly the z60 as well). The main issue for me is portability. I work at Microsoft, but my home machine is Apple powerbook, which has spoiled me for laptop "thickness"

I REALLY want the thinnest laptop possible, but I do not want to go down to a 12" ... The z60 seems like its more thick than I would like, and It also seems that the T43 is the thinnest of the bunch...

However, I wouldnt want to miss out on a massive performance upgrade (with the duo chips) for a hair extra thickness...

I cant seem to find any good pic's comparing the 14" T60 to the 14" T43...

So, is the T60 small enough to warrant the wait, price, etc?

 

No notebook gurus at Microsoft? My own recollection is the T is a hair thinner if any. If you are looking for something thin and light, the Fujitsu S is very good though it is a tad thicker than the T since it uses a standard optical drive. It is a pound lighter and has a 13.3" glossy screen. Core Duo version isn't here yet.

 

I choose T60 over T43 as it has core duo proc although t60 is thicker than T43, but for me it not seems a big problem. You have to lug a notebook a bit heavier than t43 but has very good overall performance

 

Any word on when the Fujitsu S series is going dual core?

 

Check out this article on the "front" of NBR: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2792

S and E series Core Duos announced. Not sure of timing.

 

anyone have any experience with the 14" screens? I see that the 15" screens are very very nice (for an IBM) but I would like to know what people are saying about the 14"

 

The 14" screens are "ok". The Thinkpads (at least the T series) have not been known for their impressive screens. They're still high quality, IMO, but not as bright as many others.

 

The regular screens are average. The 15" SXGA+ and UXGA+ FlexView screens are fantastic.

 

You at least don't get any weird sparkle effects on any 14" ThinkPad screen or glossiness (assuming you don't like that). Basically they're not the brightest on the block -- I always tend to wish they could go one notch brighter, but I'm using a Dell D620 right now and it has a sparkle type of effect on the screen which turns out to be kind of annoying.

But yeah, the 15" FlexView screens or MaxBright screens are nice if you get a machine with such a config.

 

Yes, in the anti-glare field of TFT-panels the Thinkpad 15" IPS FlexView and the WXGA MaxBright panels are good panels. I'am actually typing this text on an 15" IPS UXGA FlexView panel, which is razor sharp with fine contrasts and viewing angles. The luminance is also Ok for most situations, even it could be a little step brighter for outside/sunshine situations. - However, nowadays I personally would possibly get a panel with an SXGA+ resolution in favor of the UXGA resolution, since it's more exhausting to work/program many hours on an UXGA resolution panel.

Related to 14" Thinkpads, I would opt there for an T60 or Z60t instead of an T43, even most 14" T-series panels aren't that spectucular at all. The 14" Z60t widescreen panels are Ok and slightly better in terms of luminance than the 14" T-series panels, as far as you get a good one, which has been carefully reviewed due the factory final checking. So all in all I would look after a 14" T60 or Z60t here.

In the glare TFT-panel field I would instead opt for an Sony panel.

 

The SXGA is the best combination of everything. As far as bright goes, it all depends where you work mostly. I work inside, so there is no such thing as sun getting into my eye, and as far as working at MS it all depends if you are along in the office and if your office is on the inside side where there are no windows. I guaranty that even half of IBM's brightness will be more than sufficient for programming work. I would also go for a 15 inch, it is not a big of a difference from the size point of view, will give you a better bigger screen, yet it is up to you and your goal for getting thinnest book though (to get programs out all you need is an iPod ).

 

No point in going with "last generation" P M processors when you can get Dual core T60 NOW at relatively same price. 43's will not have Core Duo Z60M a fat pig. I sent mine back waiting for T60 forever but not willing to go "backwards" to T43

 

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for the great responses and ideas/thoughts. I can tell that the TP users are as dedicated to their hardware as the Powerbook Apple users are frequently hit up for information.

I went ahead and submitted a hardware request for a T60 today, but I am starting to have second thoughts...mainly because I have just gotten so used to the widescreen design in my powerbook.

So, I started to panic...I dont think I can deal with the boxy design of the T60...Im starting to think I would value the hardware design of the widescreen z60, and I am having an even more difficult time believing that I would ever really need the core duo processor. The main tasks I will be doing on this machine are Outlook, Word, Project and Powerpoint (some Visio tasks as well)...oh, and I wouldnt mind a few games here or there. Of course, iTunes is running in the background along with a few other entertaintment items

So...I didnt realize this, but Office Depot has the z60t's on display near my house, so I went on down to check out the T43 and Z60t. Both screens seemed equally as bright...The z60t is amazingly light and thin. In fact, it's so thin that my new question is this:

Is the z60m that much larger and heavier...anyone have one that is regretting the size of this machine? Anyone wish they could go "down" to the 14.1" version? also, anyone with the z60m feel that the higher res screen makes text too small?

 

By the way, I really appreciate this post...this is making me think HARD about getting a z60m...that 15" panel seems like it would be excellent...

Oh, and of my 3 ipods, i used them constantly to port information around...best money I have ever spent...Oh, and its the main reason all of my MS stock was turned into Apple stock a few years back (yet another "best money I ever spent" decision...)

;-)

 

Well, the Z60m is of course heavier than a Z60t, but on the other side the Z60m is available with a 15,4" WXGA MaxBright panel, which is one of the best anti-glare widescreen panels I've seen so far. - On the other side the Z60t is more compact and lighter than it's big brother the Z60m. Also both will be soon available with Core Duo CPUs.

 

This is definitely true. When I first saw my current screen it amazed me. I thought the screen on my Inspiron 9300 (I liked the glossy look) and Latitude D610 were nice but now I see the noticeable difference. I'll never go back to Dell again unless they incorporate these screens.

 

DELETED. holy crap how did i go to such an old post.

 

DELETED. sorry about that. going flexview crazy.

 

if you are looking for a thin and light go for T43, some T43's are configured in such a way that i almost performs like a midrange core duos. And T43s were still designed by IBM, unlike T60's which is 100 % lenovo

 

ha anyone tried to go to BIOS setting and adjust the " display brightness" from " normal" to " bright" yet?