Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8ghz, 6MB L2 Cache
4GB DDR3 RAM
160GB 7200 RPM HD
ATI Mobility 3470, 256mb
Vista 64, Business
Bluetooth
14 inch WXGA (1280x800)
Not too shabby if I do say so myself. I plan to do some light gaming and a lot of programming work on this computer, hence the upgraded CPU, memory, and discrete graphics. Total, just about $900 before tax.
ShippingA lot of people in the forums seemed to have had problems with shipping from Lenovo. Understadably of course, as Lenovo ships its laptops straight from its factories in China. The build process seemed to take 3-4 days and it took another few days to clear customs. But since I'm on the West Coast, it was a quick sprint from L.A. to San Francisco.
Estimate Delivery: October 15, 2009
Actual Delivery: October 14, 2009
Not bad, no?
Out of the BoxIn any case, it took awhile to get the laptop up to snuff. I'm coming from a Macbook Pro that I've been using for the last two years. It's a 4 year old model, but it was still pretty solid. Without a doubt OS X is a lot slicker and a lot more polished. Everything works out of the box without too much tweaking besides the usual bloatware.
Vista 64, however, took a little bit of time to go through the regular barrage of software and driver updates. I'd say it took about 2 or 3 restarts for everything to settle down.
Battery Tweaking I also got the T400 with the extended 9 cell battery and the 3 cell ultra bay battery for an estimated 12+ hour battery life. I was so excited that day I stayed on the computer all day just to drain it. Check out this screen:
It's been about two weeks and the battery's still holding strong. Bother batteries come with a standard 1 year warranty, one which I plan to fully use/abuse.
On regular use I get about 9 or 10 hours on full charge. Not bad, it's good to finally be mobile. My Macbook used to get a good 40 minutes of battery life before pooping out.
Build QualityGenerally, I'm happy. But I do have some nitpicky issues.
Ask anyone who knows anything about laptops and they'll tell you that Apple has the best build quality. Regardless of operating system and other non issues, Macbook Pros just have the look and the feel down. It's great engineering really. Nothing is broken or doesn't fit. Everything works just as its supposed to, in harmony and perfection.
Judging from this Thinkpad, Lenovo has a long way to go before bringing the Thinkpad name back to its former glory. The T400 I has a LCD assembly that was slightly bowed. Bowed meaning that towards the middle the screen begins to arch ever so slightly. Ultimately destroying any clean lines that it might have had were the assembly properly fabricated. I suspect it to be more of an issue with the front and rear bezels as opposed to the magnesium frame everything's sitting on. It's still an annoyange though, and still a hit against Lenovo.
Typing on the Thinkpad, though, is a lot nicer than the Macbook. I'm not sure if it's the key spacing or the amount of effort to key in things, but the Thinkpad has it just right, making it a breeze to type long winded reviews.
However! My Thinkpad does appear to have some nagging issues with rigidity. I'm finding, especially as I type this, that the right side of the keyboard is super flexy. So much so that there's a slight echo whenever I hit any of the keys on the lefts side. I suspect that I might have gotten a defective keyboard, and I think Lenovo will replace it. It is, however, another annoyance.
Speaking of flexy, the ultrabay area and the express card slots both appear to exhibit a good deal of flex. Not terribly much, but still a noticeable amount.
Final sayIt's a great machine, plenty powerful. I think the only thing I can think of is to replace the keyboard and to replace the LCD screen.
