Lenovo ThinkPad T400s hands-on and impressions
By Nilay Patel 
posted June 23rd 2009 11:00AM
posted June 23rd 2009 11:00AM
Other nice tweaks include a revised keyboard layout with larger escape and delete keys and tighter spacing, louder speakers and a mute button to make VOIP calls easier, a powered USB port for device charging on the road, and our favorite, a new texturized multitouch trackpad that's one of the best we've ever used. Seriously. In contrast to the hyper-smooth glass pads found on the MacBook Pro, the T400s's pad is covered in tiny nubs, which feel amazing under your fingers and make gestures like pinch-to-zoom feel more precise, even if they actually contribute nothing. It's pretty great -- we wish all trackpads were like this.
The only real problem we see with the T400s is the price tag. Starting sticker is $1,599, meaning size and weight have to be your foremost priorities if you're picking this guy over the straight T400, which opens at $750 and arrives almost fully kitted out for $1,500. On paper it's a no-brainer, but side by side the clean lines and trimmed-down looks of the T400s make it a much harder decision. We just wish we could get one with a real graphics card.
Nate, are you seriously telling me you LIKE text that is 0.12" tall when in 12 point font? Or do you use an operating system that is resolution independent?
For business users that don't have better than 20/20 vision, 120+ DPI is very straining to do productive work like word processing, technical reviews, or anything else that requires reading.
1440x900 is already pushing it at 120dpi (WIndows XP only allows for 96/120 dpi, and does a poor job at it, it just changes _some_ fonts, not all, and makes max/min/close buttons larger)
I know gnome on Linux and Solaris do a good job of scaling the UI to a manageable scale if you set the proper dpi, but since these laptops are sold with Vista, I'm willing to bet the majority of users are running Windows on them.
Reply fail... Sorry
I don't get the "business users" stuff all the time. I'm no businessman, but I game on my T61p all the time. They're just built great and look better than everything else since they're all black, like electronics should be. You can keep your Dells and Macbooks. I just wish they would make a true 10" Thinkpad netbook with the same materials.
You're right.
Also, insert generic "wish I could edit comments" comment here; I meant to say "PRESS".
I would hate for the trackpad on a Lenovo to be huge like Apple's.
I just got a loaded T400 (30% off!) to replay my XPSM1330.
The screen is not as bright because it is not LED but it's OK.
Reason I went for the T400 was because my relationship with the local Dell repair guy was on the rocks.
Yeah the T400 has been on sale recently. I guess it was because these were about to be released. $535.58! (Slickdeals) for a well equipped Lenovo w/ LED backlight, I couldn't resist. :)
Haha.
Seriously though. I took a chance on Dell last year, coming from a T41. The m1330 has had three major faults in 18 months and the warranty is up at the end of 2009. 90% chance I'll go back to the good old T-series.
The screen isn't as bright because Lenovo doesn't use glass screens like some other crappy manufactures.
I am typing this on a T500 and see that the 400 is pretty similar.
I would personally not buy this laptop and prefer HPs; I have it because my company issued me one.
Some pet peeves:
1. I feel that the keyboard is not practical to use. Fn and Ctrl key positions are swapped and the arrow keys are too small.
I dislike the soft keyboard and how the keys are tapered and raised which give it a floppy feel, as opposed to the tight and flat keys my HP notebooks have had.
2. Display is not as good as others out there.
3. There is no HDMI port. Granted, they're following another standard but monitors don't come with cables for that standard. So, you have to buy one for below $50. The graphics driver for my external Samsung Syncmaster monitor blue-screens sometimes.
4. I do not like the super-slick track-pad at all...it's too slippery for me. It may be a little different in the T400 (not sure).
5. The USB port placement will not work for some external hard-drives that need 2 ports. The ports are vertical and, in my case, the HDD cables need more room at the base (=|= is taller than =) and I can only use my HDD with my laptop at the edge of the table.
6. I felt the price for the T500 was higher than comparable HPs and Dells, and the build quality might beat a Dell but is not as good as an HP.
The only thing I like about it is the matte black finish.
Hope that helps...
I actually like sober, durable Thinkpads... If they could only come with an OS that's tough as nails too, instead of the crash-o-matic, we'll get it right eventually you know what...
i love thinkpads
Now if only they made an X200 with ION, or some hybrid graphics solutions, and....
i would never buy anything but a thinkpad in my life.
not that i would anyways.
Really no dedicated graphics? You just lost a customer.
If lenovo would just stick a real graphics card in these things they would dominate the market. I've had two T30's (one linux) and a T60p and I will keep going back, but I cant do integrated graphics :( :(
Sadly, I think you're underestimating the people who like flashy shiny notebooks. There are a lot of them out there. I wish they could just realize that their nice colorful notebook is going to look dated just a couple months down the road when the next model is released while the Thinkpad will remain as timeless as ever.
I was going to buy my second Acer Aspire One, but instead I just bought a refurb IBM T43 and love it. For the same price refurb, this beats a netbook. I love the trackpoint. I love the solid feel of the computer since I usually am lying back in my recliner with it on my lap. A few months ago I bought a sony Vaio to do video and audio editing. It is simply a very uncomfortable computer to use.
I am now a huge Thinkpad fan!
They only use 1.8 inch hard drives. Which is bad.
The trackpad does not match up to the MacBook Pro's.
"joe23521 @ Jun 23rd 2009 11:42AM
Having used the unibody MBP for the past few months, I have to say the trackpad is simply the worst piece of hardware on that machine, glossy screen included. It's good for two things: size, and the two finger scroll. Everything else you have to do with it is not pleasant, especially the "the-entire-pad-is-a-button" piece of crap feature. This machine is unusable without an external mouse."
Not to anyone I know and my company has thousands of them. The Unibody MBP's had trackpad issues at first but a firmware update fixed that.
/rant.
Change the ungodly switch of Fn & Ctrl keys and I'm sold... the sole reason I got rid of my t60 within a week after the purchase was I found that I can no longer copy, paste, cut, save, undo, redo, select-all, duck, use my foobar global hotkyes & about 80 other things effectively... grrr I'm exasperated to think of it even now!!
Weird buzzing noise is coming out of the computer (probably internal power supply) like on the early macbook pros. Anyone else having this problem?
T400s is strong laptop, good machine..!