Exactly how portable is the T400??

Hey,

Im still on the lookout for a new laptop (hopefully buying in mid-oct) and I've been looking at both the Dell E6400 and the Lenovo T400 and the T400s.

I was just curious as to how portable the T400 is? I would be carrying this laptop with me on a daily basis for UNI (Finance) between lectures and just random walking around campus. What I mean is that I obviously dont have desk at UNI which means I need to have the laptop on my backpack all the time.

I really like the T400 but Im afraid it might be abit to heavy and bulky to drag around all day, 5-6 days a week along with books and other stuff.

I have been looking at the T400s which I really love and it's basically the perfect machine for me. However the pricetag is not. I'm buying this in Norway and the T400s is very expensive here, especially for a student like me. We also dont have a lenovo outlet here and there's basically no used ones up for sale.

So would the T400 be too much to carry around day in and day out, 5-6 days a week several hours a day?

 

I carry my T400 five days a week around my Uni in a backpack. I'm only 5'8" 125lbs and it's fine. It's the other books I have to carry that weigh me down. Besides, the T400 is plenty small, thing, and relatively light. I have no problems using it on my lap for extended periods of time. It also cost A LOT less than a T400s or X301, if you can afford is the T400s or X301 will offer you lighter weight and even more portability.

If I had a larger budget I most certainly would have gotten a T400s or X301.

 

If portability is near the top of your list, I'd go for the T400S

My T400, with the 6-cell battery, while not heavy, it isn't something I'd recommend if you're going to carry it around a lot. This is a very personal/subjective thing, so ymmv. Maybe I'm just getting old.

 

What about the x200? You need to put portability in a more relative manner to what you want. If you consider 5-6lbs portable, sure a 14inch is fine.

But the t400s is just under 4lbs. The X series even more so.

 

You have to remember that Lenovo's are really expensive in europe in general, and even more so in Scandinavia.

A x301 would be around $3300
A T400S would be around $2600
whilst a T400 would be around $2000

Those are all just standard configs btw, so standard processor, 2 GB of RAM, standard screen, normal HD etc.

The x200 is about the same as the T400 but 12" screen is just to small for me as I do alot of work in both excel and SPSS with financial mathematics and statistics, and it would just be too much of a pain to work with such a small screen when you got about 2000 different data inputs in SPSS etc.

I've given this alot of thought and a 14" would be perfect for my needs in term of size (as long as it's a small footprint) but I still need it to be rather light. As I said, the T400s is PERFECT but out of my pricerange, and the T400 seems to be the next best thing at the moment. But I still had the concern about the weight/bulkyness of the machine as I plan to keep this laptop for several years and I just dont want to get disapointed, should I order it.

also, thanks for all the replies ;-)

 

A 14inch footprint is going to be pretty consistent because well it is 14inch. The weight factor will cost you but it sounds like you've pretty much made your decision.

 

I've carried my T400 around University for the past year and never found it to be a problem. Like stated the textbooks weigh more than it. Plus it replaced my paper notebooks so I cut down on clutter (I guess every laptop would do that though). Size is just right for Uni auditorium seats as well.

 

Wow, you need to come to the US and buy your laptop; you could buy the laptop, and the difference would pay for your plane ticket and a vacation!

$2000 for a T400? I guess that extra $1300 covers that universal healthcare

As for the T400, it's carryable, as long as you have a good bag. If I was just carrying it in a sleeve, I agree with the above person that it's can get a tad heavy.

But it's a great machine, not doubt.

I say you come here and get yourself a T400s for $1400. (I know, I know, not an option for you - I just always cringe at the cost of laptops in Canada and Europe compared to the US.)

 

I am in graduate school where laptops are required, and the t400 and its predecessors are perhaps the most popular model, followed by unibody macbooks, and then maybe the x200. The people with the T400 have no problem carrying them around. We do not have on-campus housing so most people are carrying their computers at least 15 minute walks to school. There are people with larger laptops too, I have no idea how they can stand lugging those...

You have to remember though, the way our school schedules are, I have yet to see anyone NOT carrying the power cord with them. If you have more than 3 hrs of class and plan to use it to study in addition to class, factor that power cord weight in.

Once a manufacturer figures out how to get 12 hours out of 6 cells, battery life will really hit the sweet spot because it allows you to leave the power cord at home.

 

Just out of curiousity, what's the price difference between the T400 and a similarly spec'd R400? They're virtually identical in all size, weight, thickness and they share the same basic ThinkPad construction (have ThinkPad Roll Cage in base and Top Cover Roll Cage behind the LCD)!

 

Well, the good thing is that ThinkPad AC adaptors are smaller and lighter compared to power bricks of other makes. And I'm sure we've seen netbooks with power bricks larger and heftier than our ThinkPads', lol.

... fellow X-series fan & user.

 

The R series has always been the budget line compared to the T series. It's slightly thicker and heavier. Get the T series unless you're really strapped for cash. Better resale value too, ceteris paribas. In any case, the T series now is more affordable than its predecessors. Afaik, the R series has been dropped from Lenovo's 2010 lineup.

 

It's hard to do apples to apple, as certain things are not available on the R400 and are on the T400. But I ran a comparison of base R400 to T400, and the difference was about $90, but that got you a LED backlit screen and an extra gig of memory, plus all the extra features of the T400.

To me, you go T400 and forget the R400.

 

I agree; it looks like R series is going to be phased on in 2010; the options are getting fewer and fewer.

 

The price difference between the R400 and the T400 between somewhat similar specs is just about $150ish. Even then the R400 is alot lower specced than the T400 so I would probably still opt for the T400 as this is within my pricerange.

And yeah, prices in Norway in particular are really expensive but in return we have some of the highest wages in the world (on the normal level of the scale, like our minimum wage if you're above 18 is about $20 an hour and the standard wage for a normal job is about $50.000 a year, and alot more if you get an education etc).

However, I'm from Sweden, just doing my studies here, so I dont get to partake in these benefits, I only see the downside of high prices really hehe.

I am in dire need of a new laptop as it's required for alot of my course work when doing analysis and the likes. I'm just really skeptical that the T400s will drop significantly in price once the T410s is realesed Q1 2010, but I really cant wait that long.

I'm probably reading way too much in to the details and it's rather hard to judge a notebooks size/bulkyness from just looking at pictures on the internet (never seen one hands on) and there's basically no stores that showcase them here, mainly internet suppliers.

what to do, what to do ;-)

 

Option 1
Get a friend to buy from the US on your behalf. But make sure you shell out for the 3 year International Warranty (IWS). It well worth it since it's pricey at your neck of the woods.

Option 2
Settle for the T400, but pay extra for 1440 resolution if you need additional screen real estate. What's a few hundred grams more than the T400s? Your fully filled water bottle probably weighs more than the difference.

Option 3
Settle for the X200, and enjoy the light weight, full-sized keyboard and awesome battery life with its extended battery. T400 with the 9c batt is not light.

Option 4
Settle for a resale T400s or even cheaper a T61 or T60p (15"), hopefully with an outstanding warranty.

One drawback of the T400s is that it uses 1.8" HDD. And we all know what kind of pain that size drive brings (remember the X40/41?) - ie. unless you go for SSD, which in this situation is moot, given budgetary constraints. Moreover, the T400s has limited battery options = say bye to extended battery life.

 

Nick,

I hear ya...decisions, decisions. There is always going to be something cheaper out there, so you should buy based on your need, not on future price drops.

If it is any consolation, I bought a T400 exactly a year ago. It was pretty much maxed out at $1350. The same T400 today is....drumrolll...$1215.
So $135 difference. Really not that much; about 10%.

I say get the T400 and be happy.

 

Thinkpad.Forever:
Yeah I have been thinking about getting it from the U.S but someone told me there might be some price differences even so as I would have to register it in Norway (or file something saying it's being shipped to a owner over seas). Not quite sure what it was but it was something wierd that got explained to me on these forums a couple of weeks back.

The reason for getting the T400s woulden't really be because of the weight difference, as you said it's insignificant really. I was more looking at the thinner form factor making it more portable.

Also, and I dont why, but there's litteraly no resales of the T400s here. I've been looking on a weekly basis since July and I am yet to stumble over one for sales.

To Mikec:
You are totally right, it's just hard to make a decision and I always tend to be very detail orientated in everything I do, a really annoying "flaw" sometimes hehe. Seeing as alot of people use the T400 for UNI, drag it along all day etc I'm sure I wouldent have the slightest problem with it. I just wish I could see it in real use as most computers are smaller hands on than on pictures. I wish I could see a good picture taken from the front/side whilst someone sat down and typing on the machine or something, which would give me a better impression.

I'm like 99% sure that I will get the T400 as it has better price value and is an excellent computer, I just need to convince myself to let go of the insignificant details that I keep rambeling about ;-)


EDIT: I found this one http://www.amentio.no/PartDetail.aspx?q=p:2447033;c:36159;r:pg . It's the cheapest one I've found in Norway, about $1700. I know it dosen't have the 1440 display but rather the 1280x800. Is this a huge drawback when working in excel/SPSS with alot of coloumns and rows?
I found the the 1440 display on the site as well but it came with the radeon gfx card and I dont really need it (I dont play any games at all) but it was about $400 extra, which to me seems alot just to get a higher resolution screen. Now I dont really know the difference between the two so not sure if it's really worth the extra cash? Mind you it would only be for the extra screen estate as the integrated HD4500 gfx card is more than enough for what I do.

 

Erhm an additional comment. I just stumbled upon this video on youtube, which is a review of a Lenovo T400 and it didn't really impress me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8sOO-8LP4E

is it really that bad or is he baised in his views?

 

His comparison isn't really fair, that and I've had my T400 for a year now and the only flex I have is over the optical drive.

Read Icepick's response in the lenovo forums