ThinkPad T61 Review

It has has been 15 years since IBM launched its first ThinkPad 700C.
ThinkPad T60 gives away to the new T61 with the announce of the Santa Rosa platform, People at the Lenovo have made quite a few changes in the new T61 Firstly the name is change to Just ThinkPad not IBM ThinkPad, The rollcage extends to whole of the laptop even the LCD more of the new features later on in the review.

The following are the specs of the 14.1” T61 being reviewed:



Screen: WXGA+ 1440 x 900 (LG screen)
Processor: Intel T7300 Core 2 Duo (2.0GHz, 800MHz FSB, 4MB Cache)
Hard Drive: 120 GB hard drive
Memory: 1GB x 2 RAM (PC5300, 667 MHz, DDR2 SDRAM), up to 4GB max memory
Optical Drive: DVD+-R Double layer / DVD+-RW Drive (Ultra-slim Super-Multi Drive)
External Ports and Slots: Three USB 2.0, Firewire 400, one SmartCard Reader, one VGA, one 4-in-1 card reader, headphone / line-out, microphone-in, modem, 1Gb Ethernet, Fingerprint reader, Secure chip,webcam
Wireless: WiFi Intel 802.11agn(n-disabled), Bluetooth 2.0 w/ EDR
Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB)
Operating System: Windows Vista Business
6-cell Li-Ion battery

Reasons for buying/Competition

The competition to Thinkpad T61 series is:
#Dell Latitude series
#Toshiba Tecra series
#HP business series (nx, nc, etc )
It took me lot of time when deciding on my next IT companion, I finally decided on T61 as it gave me the right mix of business and pleasure features which I was looking for, as luck would have it was not available here in India so I purchase it from Funan IT market from Singapore, where I got a great deal with the purchase I got the additional 1GB (677mhz) of ram and ThinkPad optical notebook mouse and a carry case.

The Features

Software
“Access IBM” is now “ThinkVantage” If you ever seen a Thinkpad notebook you will seen a blue button on the keyboard that is the “ThinkVantage” button it gives access to all Lenovo ThainkVantage software
Access Connections, Active Protection System, Rescue and Recovery, Client Security Solution, Secure Data Disposal, Fingerprint software,System Migration Assistant, System Update
Other notebook makers do have some amount of software but they do not come as close to what ThinkVantage has to offer.

Hardware
It has spill free keyboard, so you don’t have to cry over spilled coffee
The hard drive is protected within the magnesium roll cage and shock mounted. Even if your T61 is dropped the included Active Protection System (APS) software will work with the on board accelerometer to detect a fall situation and end hard drive activity to prevent data loss. This rollcage now even extends to the LCD screen which allows for better singale of WiFi, it holds the LCD in its proper place.
There is Security embedded chip which protects your data physically.
The DVD drive is swapable which means you could take out the DVD drive and swap it with extra battery, and you now have full more than 9hours of standby or swap it with Blueray drive which will be out soon.
The ThinkPad T61 is a premium product with a durable build, it is geared towards business users or simply those willing to pay a bit more to get something that won't fall apart after 1-year of use.

Input and Output Ports
T61 has 3x USB 2.0 ports, 1 firewire port, Smart card, MMC card reader, monitor out port, modem and Ethernet LAN port.

Heat and Fan
The bottom never got as hot on the T61, and all around it just felt cooler. Since there’s a lot more heat vents on the T61, the fan doesn’t need to run as much. But even when it does run, the T61 fan is very quiet. The addition of more vents on the T61 really goes a long way to keeping the system cool, but internally the T61 uses a new cooling system too, so some true design innovation is at work here.

Keyboard
The ThinkPad keyboard is one of, if not the best, notebook keyboards out there. There's zero flex, every key feels individual, every key has great travel/feedback and the keyboard is full-size.

Warranty
I got 3 years international warranty .ThinkPad warranties are different than most other notebooks. They follow the machine, not the buyer. No registration or proof of purchase is ever necessary. If you sell your ThinkPad, there is no need to transfer the warranty. Machine type and serial number are required to look it up.

Pros
Excellent build quality, magnesium internal cage in lid and body provide extra protection
Keyboard is highly usable, one of the best in the industry
System runs cool, even though it now has more powerful processor
FireWire and media card reader are nice new port options for the T-series
Great performance and good battery life with integrated graphics
Integrated WWAN and web camera are nice options to have

Cons
Screen brightness is lacking, in strong lighting situations screen appears washed out
Would rather not have the Windows Live toolbar built-in
T61 is thicker than the ThinkPad T60 and T43 notebooks
Screen is not centered