Well I finally received my new laptop computer today and thought I might share some thoughts regarding the latest in IBM notebooks in case anyone is considering a purchase...
First, this is the one with a 1.7 Centrino (fast!) and 1GB of RAM, 60 GB drive with active hard drive protection.
There is quite an improvement on the hard drive side:
1) first, this baby is fast.
2) second, the active protection works by holding the disc reader when the laptop senses sudden movement. Very nice!
3) Read times are very fast.
Combined with the DVD Rom drive, the installation of software just takes seconds literally.
The graphics are where this one has improved over the T23 which I still have. We have ATI Mobility 9000 and it makes a difference on my risk curves...
I also sense that improvements have been made in the keyboard based on feel. Always the best in keyboards, the T41 further shores up IBM's stellar reputation here and also offers an effective touch pad and the trackpoint (new design with more sensitivity/features) that I prefer (more accurate for my risk work).
The screen is a shade brighter but only marginally. They located the keyboard light better but I still think it needs a bit more juice. I use a plug in Kensington Fly Light when I go overseas....
The battery life is outstanding...I hear that 7 hours is possible and they claim 4.5-5 hours. That's just awesome. I could only get 2.5 hours on my T23.
CD-RW/DVD ROM is also faster, although it appears I need to purchase some DVD decoder software to play DVDs...let me know if you have any suggestions for that. The CD writing software is Toshiba Sonic/DLA.
The software is where things really kick butt...Access IBM the built-in support menu and web connection is superb and all driver updating is automated and user friendly, a big improvement over the T23 which had some annoying features in this area.
Dimensions are good with less than one inch thickness and about 4.5 lbs weight. Very good for something that will keep up with high performance desktops. As always this thing is built like a tank.
The wifi and networking technology is state-of-the-art but honestly with all the software downloads I have not had time to try these features.
Overall, I am really, really happy-definitely an early Christmas around here.
IBM also has lowered prices top get closer to $3K for the fully loaded version and $1,500 approx for the entry T40 which is also fantastic. May get one for the wife.
Let me know if you have any DVD software suggestions...thanks!
I will be receiving Office 2003 anyday now and will report back on how I like that. I am an expert in PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook so I should be a qualified evaluator in those areas.
We use IBM's T series at work as well and make my lowly Dell notebook feel cheap ...and I definatly agree about the keyboards
