Review: The Core 2 Duo-based T60 Widescreen offers a wealth of features and decent battery life.The latest addition to Lenovos T-series family introduces a wide-screen format to the venerable business notebook line.
The ThinkPad T60 Widescreen, which was released in late November, measures 14 by 10 by 1.1 inches and can be configured with either a 15.4-inch WXGA (Wide XGA) TFT (thin-film transistor) display with 1,280-by-800 native resolution or a 15.4-inch WSXGA+ (Wide Super XGA) TFT wide-screen display with 1,680-by-1,050 native resolution.
While the T60 Widescreen is the first business-oriented ThinkPad to offer a wide-screen format, this is Lenovos second wide-screen ThinkPad. The more consumer-oriented ThinkPad Z-series notebooks offer many of the same features found in the T60 Widescreen.
The T60 Widescreen that eWEEK Labs tested featured Intels 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo T7400 processor, 1GB of DDR2 (double data rate 2) SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM) and a 100GB hard drive. This configuration costs $1,999. A similarly configured Dell Latitude D620 with a 14.1-inch wide-screen display costs slightly less, at $1,824.
Our laptop was armed with ATIs Mobility Radeon X1400 discrete graphics card with 128MB of RAM. It also came with a DVD-ROM drive. A CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive costs an extra $10, while a dual-layer DVD burner is an additional $60 (but currently on sale for an additional $10).
The T60 Widescreen has wireless covered well. The system we evaluated included an Intel Pro/Wireless 2945ABG module and Bluetooth connectivity. Users also can opt to add an 802.11n wireless module to access MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) networks. (IT managers, however, should keep in mind that 802.11n is still a draft specification.)
Users who need to have broadband access at all times can add a third-generation wireless WAN module for use on Cingular or Verizon Wireless cellular networks. With Cingular, the network is HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access); with Verizon, the network is EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized).
Click here to read more about PC makers offering different sizes in notebooks displays.
We couldnt be more enthusiastic about the keyboard and track-point mouse found on ThinkPads, including on, were happy to report, the T60 Widescreen.
The T60 Widescreen has three USB 2.0 ports, a Type II PC Card slot and a fingerprint reader that works with an embedded TPM (Trusted Platform Module) that manages encryption keys and passwords. (The fingerprint reader costs an extra $30.)
The T60 Widescreen is chock-full of features, but we were disappointed that it offers neither a FireWire port nor an SD card reader. Both of these features can be found on the Z-series ThinkPads.
However, as with all ThinkPads, the T60 Widescreen boasts the ThinkVantage Technologies suite of tools, including active hard drive protection. The laptop has a one-year warranty.
The T60 Widescreen also offers decent battery life. With a six-cell battery, our test unit scored 230, or 3 hours and 50 minutes of battery life, on the MobileMark test. With a nine-cell battery, our test unit got a score of 372, or 6 hours and 12 minutes of battery life.
Senior Writer Anne Chen can be reached at anne_chen@ziffdavis.com.
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