The 2722-22U Model is a 1.4 GHz Pentium M processor, with Intel’s new Centrino power-saving, predictive-branch instruction processor. The result is a system that feels much faster than the numbers would indicate and a battery life of 4 hours with all the power saving features turned off (I hate having the screen turn off and the hard drive spin down).

The R40 has a very sturdy, long lasting feel to it, unlike many of the Toshibas that seem to be made with cheap materials. It has two USB 2.0 ports, one in the back and one on the left side (nice touch not to put them together), one firewire port and, unfortunately, only one PC Card slot. It has a parallel port, but does not come with a serial port (a serial port can be important to engineers who need to console to Cisco devices or to those who use older PDA's). It is "wireless ready", so I ordered the IBM Wireless A/B/G mini-PCI card, which I have not received.

The screen is flawless and somehow seems brighter and sharper than even the ThinkPad A21 that it replaced. There is a light built into the top middle of the screen which you can activate by using the FN and Page-Up keys (the bottom leftmost key and the top rightmost key, which is intuitive). This will light up your keyboard in the evenings without disturbing your partner, roommate, etc. Very cool feature. I used this a lot with the A21 and the light never burnt out.

IBM has decided not to ship any CD’s with their systems – instead they make a hidden drive partition for system-restore utilities. This gobbles up about 5 or 6 Gigs of space. Not a good feature, in my opinion. It does not come with any productivity software, but if you are one of the few who read the manual from start to finish, you will find a page that mentions that you are entitled to one licensed copy of Lotus SmartSuite. To retrieve it, you must call IBM and have your computer's serial number handy (info on Page 94 of the Service and Troubleshooting Guide; phone number is 800-690-3899).

The keyboard includes both a touch pad and IBM's traditional "TrackPoint" pointing device, each with its own mouse buttons. It comes with a new mushroom-shaped "eraserhead" pointer that is easier to use than the old ones. The keyboards on ThinkPads are indisputably the best in the industry; they are well laid out and give a satisfying click when depressed.

The floppy drive is extra, you can buy either an external USB or one that fits into the UltraBay 2000. My R40 came with a regular CD drive that I swapped out with the DVD/CDRW drive I had in my A21. IBM has a variety of UltraBay 2000 devices, including a spacer (to save on weight) and a second battery. Speakers are acceptable and actually better than previous ThinkPads, but they are still not great.

The ThinkPad R40 series weighs in between the T-series and the A-series at about 5.5 to 6.5 pounds, depending on which exact model you get.

Overall, the ThinkPad R40 is a great machine, well worth the premium paid for the IBM name.


Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1199.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 14 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-ROM
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30