Half the ordeal of finding a laptop for yourself is recognizing what you need it for and where you can get the best hardware for your money. As I stated earlier, as a college student, I need a light machine that has extreme battery life, but doesn’t sacrifice features or performance in exchange for juice. I also need this machine for my work as a computer consultant, as I use it for checking signals of wireless networks in people’s homes as well as remotely administering routers and checking hard wired Ethernet installations. Don’t forget about my media-minded side that loves watching my TV shows, movies, and listening to web radio streams. I edit photos in Fireworks a lot, and use the Microsoft Office suite all the way around, including the new OneNote 2003 program. The only ceiling I haven’t hit yet is having to play PC games on my laptop, but will probably someday be a concern for me. Thankfully, IBM has this covered as well, by providing the latest ATI graphics chips in most of their high end machines offered.

I cornered my purchase to either ebay as a refurbished laptop or from IBM direct as a new machine. Don’t get me wrong; just taking a look at IBM’s cheapest new laptops, the prices of these machines will make you think twice about going with them. They definitely don’t fit the bill of the average Dell or Gateway buyer, as they charge about a 15-20% premium on every “similar” laptop. The reason I say they are only comparable on the outset is because IBM’s machine are built much better, come with rock solid warranties, and have the best possible hardware installed. I’m not saying Dell and Gateway aren’t fine machines, but when the corporate world has shunned these same companies, they don’t even think twice about going IBM any longer. I read some reviews online about buying refurb IBM machines, and my worries had since been exonerated. The best care is put into these machines as they are looked upon by some of the best techs in the industry. After learning the ins and the outs, researching my prices, I decided to buy a refurb from an ebay seller by the name of Thinkpadworld. I am not going to say that I had the smoothest ride from this seller; in the end, however, I did receive everything I was promised. A Thinkpad T40p with 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and a not-bad-at-all 3 year warranty ending in mid 2008. I’ve already used their warranty service to get a new hard drive and they ship FAST and ask no questions when it comes to a hardware issue. I was even shipped recovery CDs at no extra charge (I expect it, however, since IBM no longer ships computers with physical CDs – they expect you to burn your own thru IBM’s preinstalled software. Not exactly the most appealing method of keep a hard copy of your Windows disc, but in the end, it works fine.

For what I received, I think it was a great deal. I can proudly say that I would have spent half this amount just for the great warranty I got, but it ended up coming with my laptop at no extra (or limited) cost. For $1300, I received a Pentium M processor clocked at 1.6GHz, 1GB of PC2700 SODIMM RAM, a 64MB ATI FireGL 9000 videocard, a CD-RW/DVD combo player, onboard GB LAN, A/B wireless Intel Wifi, a 14.1 inch TFT LCD screen, onboard audio, and a small AC adapter. After some research, I found out thru IBM that my unit went thru a total of 3 previous owners before it reached me, but if you took a look at the unit I have, you would say it looks like it’s been in use for maybe 5 months by me. I was shocked; no dings, no scratches, a perfect LCD screen, a new keyboard, and covers that seem brand new. I guess when IBM says authorized refurb, they truly mean it!

Since I opened the laptop back in June, I’ve been using it for a good 80+ hours now, and have only encountered a dead hard drive. No worries; IBM shipped a new one out via next day along with recovery discs. Other than this, I’ve been loving my unit. The processor is truly amazing; as a former Intel lover, I have been going strong with an AMD64 processor on my desktop for the last year. I game on it often, and Intel can’t touch this area of computing now. However, battery life on my Pentium M is definitely something AMD has to loathe on their laptop processors. With my extended 9 cell battery, I can clock in at a good 5.5 hours watching movies while typing in Word, having my Google Talk and Trillian running, even Fireworks here and there! Light internet only usage can clock in at an astonishing near 8 hours! I don’t know what IBM did to pump this kind of battery life off a single charge, but they have me hooked. From what I read, the next best is Dell’s Latitude at 4.5 hours on a light load. Unbelievable if you ask me, and exactly what I was hoping for in a notebook.

512MB of RAM is today’s minimum for power users like me, and 1GB is enough headroom to move into Windows Vista next year. A good amount of Thinkpad users already came to have 2GB of ram pushed into their systems with no true performance benefits. I haven’t run into any shortcomings with 1GB of RAM and feel this is a sweet spot when it comes to performance benefits for the dollar, pertaining to upgrades that are the best to make for your laptop or PC.

One of the most important areas on the laptop, besides the processor and memory, incorporates the networking features. Onboard LAN is still king today, no matter how far Wifi claims it can go to untether our lives. The cream of the crop, when it comes to onboard LAN, is gigabit. Many laptops feature this now, but not all home laptops have it yet; however, most business class machines do. This T40p proudly has GB lan onboard by Intel and works wonders. I have a semi-networked home and use this jack half of the time, next to my 802.11g network. The onboard wifi is good, but doesn’t have the range and throughput of my Netgear WPN511 PCMCIA card. Since I use a G network at home, a/b support is useless. Also, I will be utilizing the wifi at my college on a daily basis when I can’t find a nearby LAN jack. IBM knew that when they were building their Thinkpad series, they could not skimp on this area. What else can I tell you about my onboard gigabit LAN other than it works!

I would like to touch a bit on portability for a second. I have already taken my laptop on the job in my nifty carrying case, and have to say it’s MUCH lighter than my old Inspiron 5000e, weighing in at only a minimal ~5 pounds. My old laptop came in at about 9, and the difference it made is mind-blowing. I can carry this laptop, with AC adaptor and extended battery, in my backup and barely feel the added weight. Its footprint matches this as well. It’s about a foot wide and long, and an inch in height. Amazing if you ask me, especially since the same powered units from Dell are about 14 inches wide and long, and roughly 2.5 inches in height. Thanks to IBM for making one well rounded machine in this aspect.

I couldn’t do my beloved laptop justice if I didn’t mention its durability. Ever since the T40 line of Thinkpads, IBM started inserting bits of Magnesium into the top covers of their notebooks. Unlike the usual hard (or not so hard) plastic that you find in many notebooks today, this unit is very sturdy and doesn’t budge or buckle under pressure. Even though my work doesn’t put this laptop at any risk of exposure to dangerous activity, it’s nice to know that I can drop it a few times or spill something on its cover and not risk damaged plastic or a broken lid (worst yet, a damaged LCD!) Even the underside, made of plastic-only, is solid and feels reinforced. The keyboard IBM puts into Thinkpads is much more respectable than the usual QWERTYs found in today’s notebooks. As other OEMs like Dell try to make their keyboards smaller and smaller, IBM has opted to keep the keyboards as large as possible without losing their notebook appeal. I applaud them for doing so, and many others praise this aspect as well. This also applies to the all-black décor that IBM has refused to let go. With all the flashy silver laptops on the market today, I welcome IBM’s industry-leading all-black color scheme that should never change. It’s what distinguishes IBM from all the other OEMs today. We usually think changes are for the better, but black notebooks won’t be old-fashioned anytime soon. Just don’t think this means I condone OEMs to start making ugly gray machines as they did in the late 80’s! ARGH!

The 14 inch LCD screen is something I also cannot complain about. As many others, I thought the increasing number of 15 and 16 inch widescreen LCDs were a good thing, but after you look at the battery life on these new units, you see that in exchange for more screen real estate, you are giving up battery life in a near 2-1 ratio. The fact is, we haven’t improved battery technology in the same amount as screen sizes have increased. Therefore, aside from carrying bricks on our laptops to account for the increased screen size, we are being forced to utilize such large screens with no backup in extended battery life in return. I am not a media hog, as some of these desktop-replacement laptop owners would say they are. I know a 16” widescreen LCD would be nice, but if I had to exchange my 5 hours of battery life for it, leave me out of it. I can write in Word, work on spreadsheets in Excel, edit photos, and browse my websites FINE without an extra inch or two on me screen. If I want to view videos and TV shows in their full glory, I’ll go to my desktop. I think the lugs people call “desktop replacement machines” this day in age is overdone and don’t deserve the title of being a “laptop” – besides, can you handle 13 pounds of machinery on your lap for over an hour, anyway? Didn’t think so.

Am I pleased to say that my Thinkpad is everything I wanted it to be? Yes and no. In the most general regards, the machine is exceeding my expectations in most areas. It’s got the best battery life in the industry, it’s powerful for being such a small unit, and is portable enough for me to be able to carry it almost anywhere. I have a few gripes, however, that cannot be passed up, as what kind of review is all positive? First off, price. I wish IBM could compete with Dell a little better and not offer only singular deals on their site, such as a free AC adapter or a memory upgrade for half off. Dell has gotten so large and powerful because of what kind of deals it can cut with consumers. I hope IBM is reading this. My own company would love to push more IBM units into consumer hands but with prices starting at $1200 for good NEW (not used) units, we have no way of marketing the machines to our customers over an $800 Dell unit that does the same (even though we know the IBM is better.) Next, I would like to tell everyone that IBM’s docking station units aren’t the most compatible on the planet. I use one with my Thinkpad and a KVM switch, so I can dock my laptop after school and recharge it and use it a little on my large LCD screen monitor, while using a single mouse and keyboard on my desk that are shared between the desktop and notebook. For some odd reason, IBM didn’t test their machines in this type of setup and therefore the PS/2 ports that I initially used to connect my KVM to did not work right. I got a working keyboard, but my mouse was non-functional. After some research on forums, I found out that a USB to PS/2 converter would fix this issue; now, I use an IOgear converter that allows me to plug in both mouse and keyboard into a single USB port. It works, but I had to go thru $13 and a week’s worth of waiting to get it working. Otherwise, the dock is awesome and at $80 it was well worth the time I save in plugging in each and every cable. I also must scrutinize IBM for not including some Windows CD or recovery discs by default; I had to get a new Hard Drive in order to be shipped official IBM made CDs with my system. I see how it saves on CDs on their end, but it just ends up requiring us to make our own, so there’s no true savings here. Why doesn’t AOL just donate some millions of discs to IBM for printing instead of shipping out with useless AOL trials? Lastly, I have to ask why there is no Windows key by default on any Thinkpads today. I know IBM and Microsoft have had a strained relationship ever since the days of Gates fighting Big Blue, but can’t we settle out differences in private and allow the consumer to live in peace? It’s even stranger that not only is the Windows key left off the keyboard, but then you are given the option to assign a key as your Windows key. I have made my right Alt key the designated pseudo-Windows key; I would have preferred one physically on my keyboard, just as every other keyboard has built in since, oh, the year 1995 or so! Aside from these minor issues, this Thinkpad is a phenomenal product.

I rarely go into so much depth with a review unless I really like a product and hope others have the same confidence in buying the product that I have. Don’t get me wrong; you can go out and buy a Dell, with a measly one year, hassle-full warranty and think you got a great deal. You did, but then again, you didn’t. Many machines today are built, for what odd reason I won’t say, to fail around the time the warranty ends. In my computer company, we see this with Hard Drives and their warranties and it applies to notebooks as well. Nevertheless, I can truthfully say that this IBM is about the best purchase I’ve made when it comes to a laptop. It’s my third machine to have in the notebook class of computers, and my best yet. I’m no fanboy of Big Blue as some holdouts are today, but when they can manage to create such a durable, lasting workhorse as their Thinkpad line of notebooks, I have no worries about rooting for them. I’ve already recommended an IBM to a friend and family member, and they are really interested in getting one now, especially after watching DVD movies on mine for hours without having the battery go out. One of them exclaimed, “The battery was supposed to be dead already?!” I simply nodded in amusement.

You can find your own personal Thinkpad over at www.thinkpad.com or you can buy new from any of the various dealers such as CDW.com; for used refurbs such as mine (I don’t know how it can be called a refurb when it looks brand new!) shop on froogle.com and be sure to check out Thinkpadworld.com both on the web and ebay. For what I paid, my product is exceeding what I thought a refurb was supposed to be like. No understatement, indeed.

Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1300
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 14 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 31-40