THINKPAD T60 -- From IBM

THINKPAD T60
(Lenovo)
Business notebook PC
Processor: Intel Core Duo T2400 (1.83GHz)
Memory: 512MB DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics: Intel GMA 950, shared memory
Display: 14.1in LCD (1,024 x 768pixels)
Storage: 60GB hard disk, DVD/CD-RW combo drive.
Connectivity: WiFi (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth 2.0, 56K modem, Gigabit Ethernet, I/O ports: Three USB 2.0 ports, PC Card Type II slot, ExpressCard/54 slot, 15-pin VGA port, mini S-Video out, headphone jack, mic input.
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2
Other features: ThinkPad Shock-Mounted hard drive, spill-proof keyboard
Dimensions (w x d x h): 31.1 x 24.8 x 3.1cm
Weight: 2.32kg
Price: RM6,498
Website: http://www.lenovo.com/


ARE you the sort of person who accidentally drops notebook PCson a fairly regular basis (in which case, are you sure you’re doing it “accidentally”?). If you are, then the Lenovo ThinkPad T60 is the notebook for you. It’s one of those business class notebook PCs that have been designed to withstand the abuse normally associated with frequent travelling businessmen in nicely pressed suits.

Thanks to a choice of sturdy, scratch-resistant materials and no-nonsense design, the T60 absolutely reeks of quality. I’d use one to stop a bullet, if I had to. But simply being near indestructible is no longer enough. Nowadays, the security of your personal information and documents are as important as the survival of your notebook. And data security is one of the T60’s many tricks.

Soft advantage
Like all ThinkPads, the T60 comes with Lenovo’s ThinkVantage software utilities. At a press of a button, ThinkVantage gives you quick access to all the notebook’s bespoke security settings, power management settings, location managers (for various network settings), backup utilities and software updates for the T60.

While not essential, these tools do make it a lot easier to configure the T60 for different tasks in a hurry and to keep it in tip-top running condition. And if you’re not sure about anything, there’s a very comprehensive HTML user manual for quick reference. The T60 comes with a fingerprint scanner for secure login. While it works very reliably, the setup software recommends you configure it to work with at least two fingers —presumably in case you lose a digit or a whole hand.

And if you’re a systems administrator, you can make fingerprint recognition a requirement for other users when logging on to the T60. And if that wasn’t enough, you can even allocate space in its hard disk for a secure, encrypted disk image — so even if your hard disk is stolen, there’s no way to extract the data inside without a password.

These are just a few examples. I won’t go into more details but take my word for it — the ThinkVantage utilities are a significant part of the ThinkPad experience.
Peace of mind is always a good feature.

Built to go places
SECURE: Fingerprint scanners are the norm these days for logging in securely At about 2.3kg, the T60 isn’t a featherweight but is light and compact enough to fit into most backpacks or briefcases without much fuss. However, you won’t be worrying too much about knocking it about. It’s not to say that you can’t destroy a T60, it just requires more effort (or carelessness) to crack this nut.

Believe me, someone actually gave me a live demonstration, although I’d rather not try it with the review unit — just to be safe.There are a lot of neat touches that make the T60 easier to live with on the road — such as a night light (located above the LCD) that illuminates the keyboard if used in the dark. the T60 runs almost silently as well, which is nice.

There are also a huge number of useful “Fn+key” shortcut buttons to change everything from your WiFi status to your power management mode. The keyboard feels incredibly rugged and is a proper spill-proof design with drainage — pour stuff onto it and it’ll come out from the bottom. And if that’s not enough to convince you, Lenovo even has drainage statistics for fluids of different viscosity (Coke, milk, water, etc).

It’s really nice to type on and even all the secondary keys (the ones above the standard Qwerty section) are large. The T60 also has the famous ThinkPad Shock-Mounted hard drive system that parks the hard disk’s read head in the event of physical shock.

Its sensitivity can be adjusted, which is important because you don’t want the hard disk to park itself at the slightest movement (likely to happen if you’ve got it on your lap). Battery life is rated at up to six-hours per charge on standard batteries and nine hours with the extended nine-cell battery (which nicely slots into the optical drive bay).

In real-world tests, I managed about 4 hours and 15 minutes with the T60 – doing some web browsing (via WiFi), typing documents and occasionally listening to MP3s. You’d be able to get more life out of the T60 by turning off all wireless connections, disabling the hard disk shock protection sensors and performing tasks that don’t require constant access to the hard disk (allowing it to sleep).

In any case, it has one of the most extensive power-saving settings of any laptop I’ve ever seen.
More than just tough Like all Core Duo-based laptops, the T60 is really fast. Unless you absolutely need the extra speed, you won’t need anything faster than the base 1.83GHz model reviewed here. The 14.1in LCD is bright, has excellent contrast, good colours and very good viewing angles. It’s matte too, which rules out distracting reflections when used in brightly lit places.

However, it has a native resolution of just 1,024 x 768pixels — not quite enough for serious Photoshop usage or huge, multi-windowed video editing suites but enough for just about everything else. It’s loaded with an integrated Intel GMA950 graphics card, which isn’t fast enough for the latest PC games. However, its low power consumption does play a part in the T60’s fantastic battery life (the versions with discrete graphics chips have about 20% poorer battery life). This base model comes with a DVD/CD-RW combo drive rather than a full-blown DVD writer. A little disappointing, but you can upgrade for a small fee.

Conclusion
Rather than dazzling users with fancy colour schemes, exotic materials and superfluous accessories, the Lenovo ThinkPad T60 is a no-nonsense business notebook that places function over form — it impresses by virtue of being competent in all the things that really matter. With such comprehensive security and safety features, rock-solid construction and general peace of mind, the Lenovo ThinkPad T60 is a bulletproof proposition.