IBM's ThinkPad T23 - Think it's an ordinary laptop? Think Again...
Written: May 20 '02
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Pros: Desktop quality processor and hard drive. Nice screen. Loaded with ports. Affordable.
Cons: Soft keyboard. Limited mouse options.
The Bottom Line: If you want the power of a desktop in the convenience of a laptop, then check out the T23 from IBM. It'll make a laptop believer out of you.
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| jag2112's Full Review: Lenovo ThinkPad T23 2647 (26472U7) PC Notebook |
Recently, my company decided to go through a complete overhaul of everyone's PCs - doing away with the thousands of different (and unsupported models/platforms) and unifying the organization under one happy IT umbrella. The pc and platform of choice was the IBM ThinkPad T23 laptop, running a Pentium III processor, 30 gig hard drive, DVD/CD player and a port replicator.
Being a fan (and user) of Toshiba laptops all my professional life, I was a little cautious about going to an IBM platform. But, truth be told, I wasn't thrilled to death with my Toshiba Tecra 8100 as it had a history of unexplained lock ups that I was all to happy to get rid of.
But in a business environment, when you discount the flexibility of having a laptop, typically you want the fastest, most powerful PC you can have. And, typically, a laptop isn't the way to go. But in today's tele-commuting, portable-everything environment, laptops are becoming more and more common place in the world place, and now, they're almost on par, performance wise, with their larger desktop counterparts.
The IBM ThinkPad T23 is a prime example of this because through the use of its Intel Pentium III processor, running at 1.13 GHz, it gives you all the power and feel of a desktop in far less space. For my own use, I need a quick processor with an ultra fast hard drive as most of the applications I run utilize enormous files linked to Microsoft Access ( a database application ). When you're dealing with tens of thousands of rows of data, speed is of the utmost essence. Moving from my Tecra 8100 to the IBM ThinkPad T23, the difference was immediately noticeable. In almost every regard, the performance of the IBM ThinkPad T23 was far superior. Tables opened up faster, queries were processed quicker, database compacting routines were done in nearly half the time and more. The combination of this processor, coupled with the speedy 30 gig hard drive and a bus speed of 133 Mhz makes this the fastest laptop, and close to the fastest computer I've ever had the pleasure of using.
But speed isn't quite everything when you consider a laptop computer. And fortunately, speed isn't the IBM ThinkPad T23's only high point. The screen display on the T23 is also superb; measuring in at 14.1 inches (diagonal) with a TFT Active Matrix display, this built in monitor crisply handles text and colors beautifully. But as with most LCD displays, as your viewing angle changes, so does the brightness and quality of the image. But for the most part, that isn't much of an issue to the typical user. Continuing with the display, the T23 offers an XGA video card with a maximum internal resolution of 1024 x 768 and a maximum external resolution (depending on your monitor) of 1600 x 1200; both allowing for 16 million colors.
The keyboard, as with most laptops, is a bit cramp and feels just a little soft to my touch, especially on the left side for some reason. I initially thought the problem was unique to my laptop, until I tested it on half a dozen other models being used by my co-workers. It's not so bad to the point of making the keyboard unusable - and I use an external keyboard anyway - but it was noticeable enough to warrant mention here.
The 'mouse' on the T23 is a typical finger-grip in the middle of the keyboard with buttons on the bottom of the opened case. For most people, this works well enough, but I would have expected a touch-tablet mouse configuration in addition to the finger-grip version.
The T23 has all the connections you would expect, including a USB port, serial port, a parallel port, two PCMCIA ports, PS/2 port and more. Most configurations come with a 56k internal modem and a DVD/CD rom drive which works nicely with DVD movies. The built in speakers leave a lot to be desired, but they are far better than anything Toshiba ever included in their line of laptops.
The casing itself is a nice, durable plastic composite with a grip-positive exterior which aids when carrying the laptop sans a carry-case. Closed, the T23 is small indeed, measuring in at just over 1 1/4 inches tall and covering a surface area of less than a square foot (12 x 10 inches). And the weight, with battery, is a modest 5 lbs.
Speaking of the Lithium Ion battery, depending on usage it lasts a solid 2 hours - more if you're using an external monitor.
Overall, the IBM ThinkPad T23 is a solid performer in the over-crowded laptop market. Through the use of a port replicator, you can hook up an external monitor, mouse, keyboard and more and essentially give yourself the flexibility and power of a desktop computer without taking up the space. And at roughly $2,000 (depending on your configuration) the T23 is reasonably to say the least.
A complete T23 specification listing follows.
Thanks, as always, for reading...
IBM ThinkPad T23 Specifications
CPU
* Processor Type: Mobile Intel Pentium III -M Processor, supporting Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology
* Processor Speed: 1.13 GHz
* Processor Manufacturer: Intel
* Level 2 Cache: 512 KB
* Bus Speed: 133 MHz
Display
* Display Type: TFT (Active Matrix)
* Display Size (inches): 14.1
* Screen: Regular
Video
* Graphics Type: XGA
* Maximum Internal Resolution: 1024 x 768
* Maximum Internal Colors: 16M
* Maximum External Resolution: 1600 x 1200
* Maximum External Colors: 16M
* Graphics Bus Interface: AGP 4x
* Video RAM Size: 16 MB
* Video RAM Type: SDRAM
* Video Chipset: S3 Graphics SuperSavage / IXC16
RAM
* Memory (RAM) Standard: 256 MB
* Memory (RAM) Maximum: 1024 MB
vMemory (RAM) Type: 133 MHz SDRAM
Design and Drives
* Design: Modular (Hot Swap)
* Hard Drive Size: 30.0 GB
* Hard Drive Type: EIDE
* Devices, supported by the Modular Bay: Floppy Drive, CD Drive, DVD-Drive, CDRW Drive, DVD/CDRW Drive, Second Hard Drive, Second Battery
* CD/DVD/CDRW-ROM: DVD-ROM, Internal, Swappable with Floppy Drive
* CD/DVD/CDRW-ROM Speed: 8x
vFloppy Drive: 1.44MB, Internal, Swappable with CDD/DVD
Audio
* Audio Type: 16 Bit Sound Blaster Compatible
* Audio Manufacturer: ICH AC97 controller, CS4299 AC97 codec
Communications
* Pointing Device: TrackPoint
* Modem: 56K v.90
* Network Card: 10/100 Mbps NIC
Power
* Battery Type: Lithium Ion
* Worldwide A/C Compatibility: Supports both 110-120 and 220-240 voltage systems
Ports
* Infra-Red Port: 4 Mbps, IRDA Compatible
* External Monitor Port: Yes
* PCMCIA Slots: Two Type II or one Type III
* Zoomed Video Support: No
* Parallel Port: Yes
* Serial Port: Yes
* PS/2 Port: Yes
* USB Port: 2
* TV Out: Yes
* IEEE 1394 Port: No
* Audio Out: Yes
* Microphone In: Yes
* Other Ports: UltraPort connector, Docking Connector
Software
* Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP pro
* Software Included: Access ThinkPad, Access Connections, Access Help, ConfigSafe, Mediamatics DVD (DVD models), PC-Doctor, SystemSoft CardWizard, ThinkPad Utilities, Disk-to-Disk Recovery, Veritas RecordNOW (CD-RW mod), Lotus SmartSuite Millennium and Lotus Notes Client 5.0
Dimensions and Weight
* Height (inches): 1.3
* Width (inches): 12.0
* Depth (inches): 9.8
* Weight (lbs): 5.2
Warranty
* Warranty Period: Three (3) years
* International Warranty: Yes
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2100
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 14
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 31-40
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