Bad feel about SL500: it is not Thinkpad

Recently I bought a SL500 and hoping it would be good for my daughter to use in college. But when got it, I was really disappointed.

1. it is big and heavy. Obviously bigger and feels clumsy

2. The layout of ports, etc. is very different from T500 and 400 and feels awkward. I feel it is a Lenovo product trying to have Thinkpad appearance in order to have more sells.

I put it on eBay but unable to sell it. Finally, returned it to Lenovo.

 

I think the SL500 has its place, but for a mobile college student is not it. You could say that about any 15" notebook. I personally don't think calling the SLs ThinkPads is right, but they didn't really ask me. What would I know?

 

You are so humorous!

SL500 should be called ThinkHeavy or ThinkBig

 

People at the Lenovo forums seem to consider the SL series ThinkPads as rebadged IdeaPads. But as ZaZ stated,..."I think the SL500 has its place,..."

 

I agree with you—it’s bit out of place. When I originally looked at the SL series, I thought, well, “nice.” As I dug deeper, I realized it was more consumer oriented with a “small business” multimedia moniker (the thing has a shiny lid!). As such, I wanted the more hardcore ThinkPad and, very happily, went with the T400.

 

Thank you, thank you very much. I'll be at Carolines and the Laugh Factory all next week. :laugh:

I almost bought a SL300 as a counterweight to my heavy R60 when they had them for $500. They ran out before I got my act together. I sort of knew what I was getting into, but didn't mind. The problem is a lot of people don't. When you say "ThinkPad" that implies certain things like steel hinges to secure the LCD, a rigid frame with rugged case, a modular bay, not a ton of bloatware, etc. These aren't offered on the SL series, but people see "ThinkPad" and assume they're good, when they're not. It sort of tarnishes the brand if you ask me. Not that the SL are perfectly acceptable for what they are and I'm all for Lenovo expanding the options, but they are not ThinkPads in the traditional sense.

 

SL400. All the Ugly. None of the durability.

 

If I needed a reliable laptop that I needed to take to college everyday, I would definitely would go for a "real" Thinkpad with a full roll cage in the LCD and base.

So you returned the SL, that was a good move. What are you doing now? Did you go for a T400 or T500?

 

they're all real thinkpads in that they all bear the name but i think only the x series lives up to the physical standards of the past.

 

I think this is the reason why SLs is cheaper than T series!

 

The SLs are better as budget-minded desktop replacements... no roll cage, low build quality... ideaPads are better than them.

 

Boy am I glad I got a t series.

 

Bought a T400. Now I am looking for a X301.

 

T400 is a good idea. Vary happy with it now.

 

SL's are not at all bad,
they compete with Dell / HP systems and offer a better bang for the buck and offer much better performance.....yeah the bulky design kinda sucks......
and yes, I do miss the roll cage and sort but which company gives you a Blu Ray, a HDMI port, a LED screen, bluetooth, integrated camera and a dedicated video card, all with pretty good performance (P8600 processor, 2gb ram) for 900 bucks

I got the SL 400 and it is not the lightest (5.5 punds) but with a T series I dont get a Blu ray ROM or HDMI - (for college laptops its good to have em), and if I move to dell I pay over $1000 for the studio xps line of laptops.....Hp's just overheat so I dont even consider them in contention here......

If you think otherwise let me know....if convinced I do have the option of returning my SL400....

Config - P8600, 2gb ram, 256mb video card, Blue Ray, int camera, bluetooth, 250gb HDD - $870 before tax.....

 

yea in terms of starting cost the SL series are pretty good. If you decide to upgrade to higher specs however, you're running up the cost to being near the R and T series so you might as well get those instead for a little more money

 

I am all willing to pay more for the T series but the T series does not offer a Blu Ray ROM or a HDMI.....and the dedicated graphics model is a bit expensive......unsure of it is worth the money?!?!

 

which country are you ordering from. custom models offer blu ray drives. maybe there are some pre-built models that have blu ray as well. yes they don't have hdmi but I dont think many laptop manufacturers are offering them though. The transition is slow. Plus thinkpads are for buiness users in mind and a lot of projectors I know are still the VGA type.

dedicated graphics are a little more expensive but I'd say buying one or two less blu ray movie probably saves you close to enough to make this upgrade for the long term benefit

 

Thanks...Im buying from the US...I guess when I ordered they had Blu ray writers for a steep 500 bucs..and no ROM's

I have a business laptop (its old though) so going for another thinkpad for personal use was probably not the greatest idea....but this one seemed to be a better bang for the buck than apple (expensive), dell (studio xps is expensive, the rest dont have blu ray / hdmi) and hp (cheap quality)

I got it such that I could play some games, watch blu ray by conecting to my lcd (saving money for a dedicated player...blu ray is becoming a standard) but it came at the cost mentioned above plus it is not as thin and light as i thought.....

any recommendations of other laptops in the market which offer a better deal?

 

thats not totally true. for example dell has a few laptops with base models that have discrete graphics under $800 (listed price for the SL right now with discount included). but to keep under that price, those models have 128mb so slightly lower than the SL 400.

However, at that price range you can definately get a HP dv4t laptop with a gefore 512MB dedicated graphics (starting with their base model and up the graphics).

 

LOL

no, since it's ThinkPad, IdeaPad, then SLs should be the other way around:

HeavyPad or BigPad

 

yea i hear a lot of complaints from toshiba users on reliability. I also don't like those pattern stuff hp does on pretty much all of their products. i've always stuck with thinkpads personally too.

 

This is why I waited all year for the right T400 deal