Tech Gear Guy

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Here’s an entry level laptop from Lenovo and not bearing a ThinkPad or IdeaPad moniker. While it’s not wearing one of those tags, it still shows solid build quality from Lenovo. I do have to mention that the G550 sports a “cheaper feeling” plastic material than what we are familiar with from ThinkPads.

The top lid has textured cover while the bottom has well laid out access panels for accessing internal matters for easy upgrades etc. Available ports are well laid out for ease of use. I especially love a HDMI port which makes this laptop easy to use for connecting to high-def displays for media consumption. The glossy 15.6inch screen is bright and crisp even on all 4 corners. Sporting such a large screen only means one thing, and that is how large this laptop is overall. See attached YouTube video of my comparison between the G550 and T400 in terms of size.

The laptop resulted in 2542 Geekbench index which is not bad for a laptop at this price point.

Those who do not wish to shell out serious money or simply looking into a 2nd laptop as a beater, this machine fills that void nicely without sacrificing too much of performance. Well that is as long as you don’t mind the sheer size.

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This post may or may not read a lot like my review of Lenovo ThinkPad T400.  At least when I refer to its legendary status in today’s corporate computing anyway…

As previously mentioned, The T series ThinkPads have been one of the most popular choice for IT managers worldwide for decades.  However, Lenovo’s attempt to freshen up the series is quite evident in this new model T410 which was released just hours before CES earlier this year.  Gone are the rubbery tactile lid top and top side magnesium roll cage.  WHAT?  No Magnesium roll cage?  Relax…  Not that I would risk dropping this laptop to test how sturdy it is, the unit’s build quality is solid as ever.  I’m not sure whether the visual illusion comes into play or not, but the symmetrical hinges appear to be strong as well.  Up until T400, the T series always used a bigger hinge on left and a smaller hinge on right.

But the real beauty of this new laptop is that you can configure it with up to Core i7 CPU.  This particular laptop registered 4900 in GeekBench benchmark test without any special tweaks and adjustments.  Paired up with 4Gb of DDR3 RAM, this laptop just quietly sits down and handles it all with flying color.  Does it have Vera Wang design lid?  No.  Does it have flames and neon lights on the outside?  No.  It looks all business and it handles all business as it is meant to do.

This reviewer made a mistake ordering Lenovo Port Replicator model 25o4 thinking it would use the same damn dock that T400 uses, but I was corrected the moment I tried to set it down on a dock.  Epic Fail.  The T410 uses Lenovo’s Mini Dock 3 series stuff and will not share its power adapter or a dock with T400.  (T400 uses 65w while T410 comes with 90w adapter)

Trackpad buttons are bigger and the pad itself is larger and somewhat better to use.  It sports a new trackpad that has tactile feedback rather than gliding your fingers on a smooth surface.  Inclusion of a display port is nice and many of familiar ports from old T series have been moved to different spots on the chassis.

All in all, there isn’t much to complain about this model as it is a yet another solid T series laptop from Lenovo.  It is deceptively thicker than what Lenovo’s website shows you and it is exact same dimension as the ol’ T400.  In a way you may feel the T400 could be lighter because the front part is more “wedged” creating a thinner profile.  T410 is more even in terms of thickness front and back.

This reviewer is anxiously waiting for more units to be available to get a few more in.

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Popularity: 100% [?]

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When I first saw this laptop out of its box, I felt the laptop was on a thick side.  I then compared its height against previously reviewed, T400, and was only thicker by 0.1 inch.  Very weird indeed.

This laptop was geared towards Small Business users and it shows Lenovo’s accommodations.  14.1 inch LCD is bright yet reflective, and inclusion of things like HDMI and eSATA is very nice at this price range.

Plastic used for its lid feel cheap compared to that of T400 but it is what’s expected at this price range.  Not only that, it is a fingerprint magnet.  The keyboard feels great just as in other ThinkPads.

At around $600 for a ThinkPad boasting a Core 2 Duo CPU & 3Gb of RAM, this is not a bad option for some Windows 7 computing at cheap entry price.

Full YouTube review can be found here.  ThinkPad SL410 Review.mov

Popularity: 13% [?]

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Many IT managers over the years have deployed ThinkPad line of notebooks for end-users at a company he or she works for.  Reason?  Quite simple.  ThinkPads are built like bricks and they are well engineered yielding solid usability and performance.

The old venerable T61 has now been replaced with T400 and it is a solid replacement.  Armed with an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and 4Gb of RAM, this is a solid workhorse that keeps working even after you retire to sleep.  The familiar ThinkPad keyboard renders comfort when you are finishing up that report or a story you have been working on.  The screen is bright and crisp.  The Anti-Glare matte LCD reduces glare which is welcome to those who prefer against glossy LCD.

It is superbly built and performance is legendary.  A 65w power adapter it comes with is smaller than many found in today’s laptops and easy to carry.  Along with Type 2504 port replicator, this is a desktop replacement for anyone looking for portable computing with power.

A video review can be found here on YouTube.  Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Review

Popularity: 13% [?]