Another step up the quality chain
Written: Sep 18 '99 (Updated Oct 06 '99)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Speed; modular design; superb keyboard; light weight
Cons: Pricey; some fragility in chassis construction
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| Meatloaf's Full Review: Lenovo ThinkPad 570 (5703BUK) PC Notebook |
I came to the 570 after three years with its predecessor, the TP560, and five years or so before that with earlier, bulkier TP models (360 etc) -- and before that, Texas Instruments 2000 and the like. The 570 is my personal machine; at work, I have a company-supplied Portege. With one predictable exception -- its current premium-level pricing -- the 570 seems to me the best of existing laptops. In specific:
* It is noticeably faster than the 560 series, so that in most operations performance is not an issue at all.
* The screen is bright and high-rez. Easy to read from a variety of angles. I have had trouble reading it only when outside in direct sunshine.
* Compared to any other line of laptops, the ThinkPad in general and the 560/570 in particular have *superb* keyboards. The more keyboard feel matters to you, the more the 560/570 series is worthwhile. The Portege keyboard is particularly annoying by comparison.
* My model came with a 4Gig hard drive, large enough that I never have to worry about downloads, file deletions etc. Also large enough that I can easily have dual boot system, Win98 and WinNT.
*Modular design means that I can have CD available when I want it -- but when I don't, have extremely slim, very light typing/writing unit to take around.
I have noticed only one performance drawback of the machine: probably because it is so thin, it is somewhat too senstive to being carried or handled the wrong way. That is, if the machine is running, and if you try to lift it just by one corner (with a pincer movement of your thumb and fingers), the machine will often reboot. The flex on the circuit board creates a short circuit. On the brighter side: (a) after rebooting, it's fine, and (b) this doesn't happen if you support it from underneath to avoid flexing. But a minor worry nonetheless. [Update: through trial and error I have recently determined that this reboot fragility is far more likely if the computer has the workbase, with CD and extra battery attached, than if the base is removed. So the cause probably originates less in the computer's own circuit board than in the attachments to the base. It IS still a factor to consider when the base is connected.]
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Meatloaf
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Location: Seattle
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 16 members
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