good light and powerful laptop
Written: Nov 29 '04
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Pros: light, powerful, great screen, good keyboard, docks well
Cons: bad Function key placement, no Windows key, wireless connectivity app doesn't play well with others
The Bottom Line: This is an excellent business machine that provides a wealth of functionality and usability in a really small package.
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| seanmcleary's Full Review: Lenovo ThinkPad® T42 (2379DXU) PC Notebook |
This is my first laptop since an Apple Powerbook back in 1997. I use it either at work for design (while docked and attached to a 20" CRT) or for toting around from one meeting to another, or at home for checking my email or web browsing when I want more freedom than my desktop machine can provide.
Mobility and Usability
It's been a great laptop especially because of how light it is while still being powerful and incredibly usable. I haul the laptop between work and home everyday on the bus and appreciate that it doesn't weigh much or have much thickness while still maintaining a solid keyboard, a good screen and a very usable touchpad.
The keyboard feels nearly full-sized and only has a few flaws. The placement of the Function key at the bottom left-hand corner frequently causes me to hit it instead of the Control key I'm searching for. The lack of a Windows key is annoying since I'm frequently using shortcuts like Windows-D to minimize all 5-10 windows I have open at any given time. (By the way, there seems to be plenty of room for this key had IBM made the space bar or one of the Alt keys smaller.) And the number keypad which is integrated into the regular keypad when Num Lock is active (U-I-O becomes 4-5-6, etc.) is troublesome when undocking from a keyboard that has a dedicated number keypad, especially since I never use the feature. (I frequently mistype my password because I've forgotten to turn off Num Lock after undocking.)
Otherwise, however, the keyboard is really good. I also like that you have an option to use the red thumbpad "joystick", which comes with several different tops to suit your tactile tastes, or the touchpad. Mouse buttons are situated at the top and bottom of the touchpad depending on your usage or choice of thumbpad or touchpad.
Wireless
I've been very happy being wireless and have gotten very strong signal strength from the built-in wireless capabilities of the T42. Connecting to an access point, however, can sometimes be troublesome. The IBM Access software that manages different connection profiles (both wired and wireless connections can be contained within a profile) frequently has trouble connecting and tends to conflict with Windows' built-in wireless software. Some days I get a connection right away but most days I have to retry a connection a few times. However, once connected, I get good throughput and signal strength.
Buy The Dock!
Unless you plan on always using this laptop while traveling, buy the dock. I've found it the most useful piece of equipment for the computer. In the morning, I drop my computer in while still close and hit the power button on the dock. Since I have a mouse, a keyboard and a monitor hooked up to the dock, my laptop functions as a desktop machine easily driving a 1280x1024 resolution.
When I head home or off to a meeting, I hit the sleep button my keyboard, snatch the laptop out of the dock, and I'm off. It's brilliantly easy.
Cost, Multimedia, etc.
Since I didn't buy this equipment, I can't speak to the price-to-quality ratio, nor the warranty, service, etc. I also don't use it to listen to music on the speakers, watch anything more than a couple videos, or do any major gaming. It seems to handle what multimedia tasks I do through at it but if this is one of your main interests, I'd seek other reviews.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): N/A
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: 701-800
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: DVD
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Epinions.com ID:
seanmcleary
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Location: San Francisco, California
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 0 members
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