Got my T61 today. Love it!

Ordered: 06/21
Shipped: 06/25
Received: 06/27

I ordered through the IBM EPP, so that may have something to do with how fast it was built and shipped. It got here from Hong Kong in just two days - awesome.

I got the 14.1" widescreen model (no camera) with the WXGA+ screen, integrated video card, and the 7-cell battery. OS: Windows XP Professional.

Some first impressions...

The unit is larger than I expected. It definitely feels thicker, bulkier, and heavier than I thought. Feels like it's quite a bit bulkier than my old T41 (yes, I know it's 0.1 inches thicker).

The keyboard is pretty good, no flex... but the keys are not as firm as on my T41. I wish the keys were a bit firmer, but I am sure I'll get used to it in a couple days. I think my T41 has an NMB keyboard - this one isn't (my T61 has white under the keys, not blue). I guess it's all a matter of preference.

The screen is great - bright and with decent horizontal viewing angles (vertical ones are worse, as usual). I am impressed, though - I expected a dimmer screen, so this is quite a pleasant surprise. It's very crisp and is a pleasure to work on. By the way, all the heads-up displays (brightness, volume, etc.) work fine on XP.

I love the fingerprint reader. It recognizes my fingerprints perfectly.

The battery life is decent. The 7-cell battery lasted me 3 hours 30 minutes with wireless on and screen brightness at max. During that time I browsed the web, downloaded stuff, installed Microsoft Office, and played around with GTA Vice City (hehe, old school) for a while. So, this is pretty serious usage. I am guessing that you can extend the battery life quite a bit by turning down screen brightness and turning wireless off - at least to 4 hours.

The software that came with the ThinkPad works well. I actually got a BSOD when trying to install my school's Symantec AntiVirus on top of Norton's Client Security - which is basically my fault. After a reboot (and a cleanup of all the Symantec crap), everything worked perfectly.

The machine is fast, responsive, and feels great. Overall, I'm very satisfied, even though it's a bit larger than I had hoped.

If anyone has any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

 

what's the weight with the 7 cell?

 

Seems like Lenovo is getting its act together.

 

Wait a second, somebody actually loves their T61? Is this possible?

Quite a few people have complained about the palm rests being a little "bouncy", like they're not set correctly. Did you notice this on your machine?

 

Wow, that's one of the fastest shipping I've ever seen from Lenovo.lol

 

just wondering when it said your expected shipping date was? because I just configured and it said it was to be shipped 8/28 (after I leave for school) so that does me no good unless I want to get the regular WXGA screen w/o webcam

 

i used a friend's EPP and it came today. took about a week to come...and the shipping was overnight.

i think it's pretty good. first thinkpad and i love the keyboard. i had to shut off that stupid beeping thing though. the thinklight is a bit useless. i dont notice any bounce on the palmrest, although if i push down hard enough on the right side, there is some flex whereas the left doesnt have any.

 

congrats on your first thinkpad!

 

Glad you like it. Sounds pretty similar to what I got except no fingerprint reader. Mine BSOD'ed several times after a later startup on the first day.

Turn it on, when you see the first screen, hit the Thinkpad button to get to the Thinkpad sofware. I did a total check of my machine's hardware (you can select that option) and it reported SMBIOS test - failed. Select the option to check everything if you want to check out your machine -- and maybe deselect the things you don't care about (some take a long time, like the disk check). I'd be interested to know if your machine claims a failed bios.

Oh, a few quirky things with my laptop -- sometimes the battery display would disappear. It's supposedly being repaired right now.

 

jaebekae - sorry, I am not sure, since I don't have a scale anywhere in the house. The battery itself doesn't seem too heavy - you can find the actual weight in one of the reviews.

fd9_ - nope, I haven't noticed any bounce in the palm rests. Feels as sturdy as a rock right there for me.

Yankees9920 - my estimated shipping date was 7/24. So I was pretty surprised when it shipped a month earlier. Mine was a WXGA+ screen w/o a webcam.

derp - yep, I know what you mean about the little bit of flex - the right speaker. But as long as it's not in the keyboard or the palm wrests, I'm fine. Ah, so yours was also through EPP - yep, I think the EPP has something to do with the order going through and shipping so fast.

ezlynx - weird, I'll check that out. I'll let you know if mine fails anything. But so far I haven't see any of the issues you experienced.

 

epp has nothing to do with an order being shipped faster

 

I think lenovo is doing a good job ( atleat for the orders placed in the last 2 weeks )

I also like my T61 very much

 

I feel there is hope after seeing you sig

"Ord on 06/17
ESD 08/09
Received 06/26"

just ordered mine today with ESD 8/20, a little ridiculous if you ask me. Guess thats what I get because I want a camera in my computer