Review: Lenovo ThinkPad SL500

In the past few months, Lenovo has experimented to tremble up its merchandise accessibility a bit with the preamble of new-fangled lines of laptops. The SL series is a finances line of notebooks intended at the small business section.

Design

The 15.4-inch SL500 is a bigger adaptation, obviously, than the 13.3-inch SL300 or 14.1-inch SL400 that we've reviewed at previously. It trails the identical stylings, with a lustrous back lid and narrow piece underneath the LCD, while all over the place else is encrusted in a black matte plastic. Positioned in the corners of the slick back are the different Lenovo, ThinkPad and Energy Star logos.


Specifications

· Memory: 2GB PC2-5300 RAM
· storage space: 320GB SATA hard drive
· Optical Drive: DVD+/-RW
· Wireless Connectivity: Intel 5100 802.11 a/b/g/n
· Graphics Accelerator: NVIDIA Geforce 9300M GS 256MB


Performance

The SL500 is a commerce laptop, so don't be expecting disproportionate 3D/gaming presentation. That being alleged, it detained its own extremely well. Recital was satisfactory with even desktop rendering. The laptop never felt bogged down even with quite a few applications open at similar time appreciation to the dual-core Intel processor buried inside. Lenovo's laptop keyboards are branded for their constancy and effortlessness of typing, and the keyboard on this notebook is no omission.

Being a 15.4" laptop provides the SL500 the suppleness to proffer a number of dissimilar ports and extension technologies, and the SL500 takes benefit of the room. Lenovo also elegantly speckled the ports around the sides of the laptop rather than putting them all in the flipside, so users don't have to twist the laptop around anytime they desire to plug something in.
Lenovo did an unbelievable job when engineering the SL500's temperature dissipation techniques. Our laptop came with a 9-cell battery, which is a supplementary $79 but except your laptop stays plugged in all day, I'd say it's a requirement. For the battery test, I set the display to sixty percent vividness, wireless networking on, and loading different webpage’s every so frequently.


Overall

At the end of the day, the SL500 is a commendable accumulation to the ThinkPad line, as it permits consumers to forgo a definite degree of build excellence while saving adequate money to approximately buy a second computer. Small businesses glancing to swell their productivity while keeping prices down would do well to seem at the ThinkPad SL500 as a mobile elucidation.


Pros

+ Assortment of ports, together with FireWire and HDMI
+ Bodily wireless connectivity button for easy conformity with flight regulations
+ Far-fetched heat debauchery
+ Contemporary business plan
+ ThinkPad excellence devoid of ThinkPad prices!


Cons

- Intend makes accessing a few ports tricky
- Lustrous lid is a fingerprint attraction


Value For Money

Our Rating

Overview: Lenovo ThinkPad X200

Lenovo X200 Tablet PC specs:

• Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz L9400 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 160GB hard drive, 7200 rpm
• SSD optional
• Intel GMA X4500 graphics
• 12.1" WXGA (1280 x 800) display with active digitizer, touchscreen optional
• Optional optical drive with weight saver with dock
• Windows Vista Business OS
• 3x USB ports
• 1x Multicard Reader
• 1x PCI ExpressCard
• RJ-11 and RJ-45
• VGA-15pin
• Microphone and headphone
• 8-cell battery, 4-cell available
• Intel Wi-Fi 5300 and WWAN

Review: Lenovo ThinkPad X301

The review unit ThinkPad X301 we have comes with the following specs:

• Processor: 1.40GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 (1.40GHz, 3MB L2 cache, 800Mhz FSB)
• Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
• Screen: 13.3-inch WXGA+ (1440 x 900, 300 nit) LED backlit display
• Memory: 2GB (up to 4GB configurable)
• Storage: 64GB SSD (up to 128GB SSD optional)
• Optical Drive: Ultra-thin DVD Burner
• Wireless and Communications: Intel Wi-Fi Link 5100 (802.11 a/b/g/n wi-fi), BlueTooth 2.0 EDR (Verizon or AT&T 3G wireless available as option, not included)
• Battery: 6-cell Li-Polymer extended life battery (3-cell Li-Polymer battery available and multi-bay extended life 3-cell battery)
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports, Monitor out port, AC adapter, headphone/line-out, microphone/line-in, Gigabit Ethernet
• Dimensions: 12.4" x 9.1" x 0.73" - 0.92"
• Weight: from 2.93lbs with 3-cell battery and no optical drive to 3.32lbs with 6-cell battery and DVD Burner in
• Port Replicator: Via USB
• Input: Full sized keyboard, trackpoint navigation, touchpad, fingerprint reader
• Operating System: Windows XP Professional (Windows Vista available in various flavors)
• Other Features: Integrated web camera
• Price: About $3,000
• Warranty: 1-year

Conclusion

The ThinkPad X301 takes the original X300 and adds a nice performance jump with the new Intel SU9400 Montevina family processor plus adds a DisplayPort to the mix. Also available now is a 128GB SSD option, though this costs $400 more than the standard 64-bit SSD, if you're buying the X301 price probably isn't too much of a concern for you. The $3,000 laptop market is certainly an exclusive group of buyers, but for many business people their laptop and Blackberry are a lifeline to getting work and deals done, and thereby money made. So at the end of the day if you're a globe trotting executive that needs a reliable and top of the line work tool, the cost of the X301 can be jusitifed and this slim form factor machine can serve you well.

Pros

• Under 1-inch thick, the thinnest ThinkPad ever
• Light weight and easy for carrying around in a bag
• Superb build quality and feel, nice design touches added
• Built-in optical drive for such a thin notebook is a rarity
• Improved performance over the X300. Great for normal business tasks, very fast bootup with the SSD
• Very bright screen for easy viewing

Cons

• No SD media card reader
• No expansion dock capability, USB based port replicator only
• No ExpressCard or PC card slot
• Starting price of $2,500 is out of range for many people

Review: Lenovo ThinkPad SL500

Our SL500 had the following specifications:

• Screen: 15.4" 1680x1050 (WSXGA+) matte finish display
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz, 533MHz FSB, 2MB cache)
• Memory: 2GB PC2-5300 RAM (one DIMM)
• Storage: 320GB SATA hard drive (5400RPM)
• Optical Drive: DVD+/-RW
• Wireless: Intel 5100 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS 256MB
• Built-in webcam
• Battery: 10.8V, 7.8AH
• Dimensions: 14" x 11.2" x 1.5" (including feet and 9-cell battery)
• Weight: 6lbs, 11.8oz
• Price as configured: $1,393.

Conclusion

Lenovo has managed to put together a business notebook computer for the budget conscious market. They've cut costs while remaining true to the ThinkPad's image as a solid computer built to take the abuse today's executives dish out. While there are notable difference in construction between the SL500 and the T500, there are also notable differences in price, as the SL500 has a base price of around $500 less than its T-series counterpart. This can add up to a monumentous cost savings when you consider that a company might deploy several hundred laptops for employees.

At the end of the day, the SL500 is a worthy addition to the ThinkPad line, as it allows consumers to sacrifice a certain degree of build quality while saving enough money to almost buy a second computer. Small businesses looking to expand their productivity while keeping costs down would do well to look at the ThinkPad SL500 as a mobile solution.

Pros:

• Lots of ports, including FireWire and HDMI
• Physical wireless connectivity switch for easy compliance with flight regulations
• Fantastic heat dissipation
• Modern business design
• ThinkPad quality without ThinkPad prices!

Cons:

• Wedge design makes accessing some ports difficult
• Glossy lid is a fingerprint magnet
• Wasted space that could have been used for full-sized arrow keys
• Excellent TouchPad but buggy TouchPad drivers

Review: Lenovo ThinkPad SL300

Our review unit specifications:

• Processor: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (1066MHz FSB, 3MB Cache)
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS 128MB
• Screen: 13.3" WXGA LED-Backlit Glossy VibrantView (1280x800, 300nit)
• Memory: 2GB(up to 4GB configurable)
• Storage: 250GB SATA HDD (5400rpm)
• Optical Drive: Dual layer CD/DVD recordable drive
• Wireless and Communications: Intel 5100 (802.11 a/b/g/n wi-fi), BlueTooth 2.0 EDR
• Battery: 6-cell Li-Ion 51Wh
• Dimensions: 12.5 x 9.4 x 1.3-1.5"
• Weight: 4lbs 14oz with battery
• Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium SP1
• Warranty: 1-year

Conclusion

The Lenovo ThinkPad SL300 turned out be to be very capable business notebook, with most of the ThinkPad durability and features we are used to, but with a much lower cost. This notebook had more than enough power to plow through daily tasks, heavily influenced by the 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor and NVIDIA 9300M GS graphics card. Battery life was good reaching above 4 hours of life in our testing, compared to the 14" T400 which could break six hours with switchable graphics. Overall the SL300 is a solid notebook for those looking to purchase something more durable than a consumer notebook, but don't want to make a jump into the full-on business notebook category.

Pros

• Very good performance
• Cool to the touch; is it even on?
• Easy to upgrade components in compared to regular ThinkPad
• Good battery life

Cons

• Squeaky TouchPoint button
• Laggy non-Synaptics touchpad

Overview: Thinkpad T500

The Thinkpad T500 is a new 15.4-inch laptop in the refreshed T Series. The notebook features the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors and switchable graphics.


The Thinkpad T500 is very powerful, “close to workstation or gaming notebook levels”. It’s cool, and quiet. The laptop has a great battery life with a 9-cell unit - 5.25 hours when the dedicated video card is used, and almost 7 hours with integrated graphics.


The Thinkpad T500 had completely redesigned the keyboard, in order to decrease notebook’s weight. However, the new keyboard has flex and is not as great as those in older ThinkPad models, NBR says. Another downside is the screen, which could be brighter.


InsideHW says the T500 successfully continues Thinkpad tradition, but also points out keyboard, “that will probably bring controversy among ThinkPad fans”.


“ThinkPad still stays synonym for quality notebook and dual graphics subsystem gives it whole new dimension by joining two, up to now, not joinable worlds – mobility and great performances,” InsideHW concludes.

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