<!-- Generated by XStandard version 1.7.1.0 on 2006-11-29T16:28:15 -->by Andrew Baxter
Lenovo has today announced a refresh to their T60 series notebook that introduces the widescreen form factor as an option. While many manufacturers have been shifting their business notebooks to widescreen, Lenovo will continue to offer the T60 in either a widescreen or standard 4:3 screen ratio format. Following is a review and discussion of the T60 widescreen.
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 widescreen version (view large image)Why go wide?
Lenovo will include widescreen on its 15.4" T60 offering (no 14.1" widescreen T60 for now). There will be a WSXGA+ and WXGA screen resolution option. Lenovo has in a way been forced to offer their flagship T-series with the option of widescreen, there are basically three business reasons for the company deciding to offer widescreen on the T-series:
- This year Dell and HP shifted nearly all of their business line laptops to being widescreen. Because of this Lenovo looked like the odd man out and possibly "old-fashioned" for not having a widescreen offering in their T-series.
- Business buyers are becoming more and more interested in widescreen and since that group is the bread and butter of sales for the T-series, Lenovo had to cater to what the customer is asking for.
- LCD makers such as Samsung, LG and AUO that supply Lenovo with screens are pushing the widescreen format by offering better prices and focusing innovation on this type of screen.
T60 15.4" wide on the left next to a T43 14.1" standard on the right, notice the screen heights are almost exactly the same despite the fact the T60 has a larger overall screen (view large image)The very important thing we must emphasize here is that the T60 is not converting entirely over to widescreen, this is simply an added option. Customers will be able to choose between having a widescreen or standard screen display. If you want to buy a Dell Latitude D820 15.4" business notebook or HP nc8430 15.4" screen business notebook your only choice is widescreen. So Lenovo deserves kudos for being flexible in now offering both widescreen and standard screen options within the same product line. I believe they're the only company providing this option within a single product family.
So what's better, T60 widescreen or T60 standard screen?
The discussion of whether widescreen (16:10 aspect ratio in this case) or standard screen (4:3 aspect ratio) displays are better comes down to personal preference and how you use your notebook. Let's look at some arguments for using each.
In no particular order, here are some advantages to using a widescreen display:
- If your screen resolution is high enough and you have a 15.4" size screen you can easily view two windows side by side when using widescreen, offering advantages for productivity.
- Users that deal with large spreadsheets or databases can see more column data at a time and don't need to horizontally scroll as much.
- Adobe Photoshop power users and other designers can have enough room to place panels and buttons off to the side of the main design area window. This is preferable to placing them on top of, above or below the design window.
- Viewing movies is more enjoyable, many movies are produced in widescreen format.
- A widescreen display means a shorter screen, this can be advantageous in the tight quarters of a plane or train so that the seat in front of you doesn't bump into your laptop display.
- The extra screen width can be useful to place chat windows off to the side of the screen and not have to put them on top of your main window.
- Extra keyboard width for possibly making the keys more full size and adding a number pad (assuming the laptop is a 15.4" or bigger).
- Triple pane applications such as Microsoft Outlook or RSS readers such as Feed Demon can benefit from a widescreen because you can view more information by moving your eyes and not scrolling up and down.
Here's a screenshot of the T60 SXGA+ widescreen, you an see that fitting two windows next to each other and being able to see each is quite possible. In this case we have the Lenovo.com homepage open and Outlook Express email client open next to it in a window (view large image)Now to the standard screen display advantages, in no particular order:
- Gaming graphics in widescreen format can sometimes get distorted or not fill the screen, especially in older games.
- Text tends to flow more naturally when it's more vertically oriented, in other words, it's easier for your eyes to move to the next line when the rows of text aren't extremely long like a widescreen would tend to lead to.
- A widescreen notebook means a wider more rectangular shape to the notebook, if you're working with a laptop on a small desk a widescreen may stick off of the edges if it's a larger laptop, therefore a standard screen is better for small desk areas as it is more square.
- Standard screen notebooks are more square and thus not as tall when placed on end into a backpack and so tend to fit better in most standard bags.
- Many web pages are made at a fixed width and cater to standard screen displays, not widescreen.
- Standard screen 4:3 aspect ratio has been around since laptops were first introduced, meaning that seamlessly connecting an external display or projector from a standard screen notebook is easy.
- A taller screen can often mean less scrolling vertically when dealing with fixed width web pages or when viewing computer code that tends to flow more vertically than horizontally
No doubt, advantages for individual tastes and cases could make each list much longer, but you get the idea.
And how is the quality of the widescreen display on the T60 wide?
15.4" WSXGA+ T60 display, notice the black bars on the side of this photo being displayed due to the extra screen width (view large image)Lenovo does a good job of offering various scren resolutions and enhanced screen options. In the T60 series Lenovo offers XGA, SXGA, SXGA+, UXGA and now WSXGA+ and WXGA. Lenovo also offers what is called FlexView or IPS display on the T60, that display provides for superb viewing angles. Check out my review from earlier in the year of a T60 with such a display.
The widescreen WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) display with the T60 I have doesn't offer any fancy tricks or innovations, but it's a solid display nonetheless. I found that the screen on my review unit is actually supplied by Samsung. It's part # is LTN154P2-L05, Dell happens to use this screen in many of their widescreen laptops as well.
Overall the display is very good. Its brightness is good for a business notebook, certainly as bright as I'd need it to be, but you couldn't call it blazingly bright. Light leakage is not a problem, the screen is evenly lit. Colors on the screen are crisp and bold. Reflection from the screen is almost non-existent as this is a matte screen, not glossy, matte screens are more conducive to working with and staring at for long hours. One downside of the display in this T60 wide review unit is that it has the same "sparkle" graininess effect that's often complained about with the equivalent Dell notebook screens. This means that on all white backgrounds you can see what appears to be some dirtiness, in that the white isn't pure white. Most people such as myself won't notice or be bothered by this, but some will, as evidenced by discussion threads such as this in the Dell forum.
ThinkPad T60 Wide Build and Design
The build and design of the T60 wide hasn't changed other than being wider but not as deep (wider and shorter). The build quality is top notch and I refer you to my previous review of the T60 for a more in depth look at this and various other features of the T60 that holds true for the wide and standard screen version. Notice that with the T60 wide the keyboard area obviously has more width. However, Lenovo has not changed the keyboard at all, you only get more space on the sides because of this additional horizontal real estate.
Widescreen T60 keyboard area (view large image)
Standard screen T60 keyboard area (view larger image)
While the T60 wide version is of course wider than the standard T60, it is still the same thickness at just over an inch and approximately the same weight of about 5.5lbs. While we don't have a 15.4" T60 standard screen notebook to offer side-by-side picture comparisons, a side-by-side picture comparison with the ThinkPad T43 14.1" screen notebook we have in hand gives you a good idea of how the 15.4" wide is the same depth as a regular 14.1" but of course much wider.
In this image you can see a 14.1" standard screen T43 resting on top of the T60 wide (view large image)
Again the 14.1" standard screen T43 is resting on top of the T60 wide, you can see how the two notebooks are almost the exact same depth here, but the 15.4" widescreen T60 is much wider (view large image)
Front view of the T43 14.1" standard screen resting on top of the 15.4" T60 widescreen (view large image)
Most consumer notebooks by now have moved to the widescreen format. Dell long ago moved their consumer notebooks to this format. Below are some pictures comparing a Dell consumer type notebook, the 15.4" widescreen AMD powered Inspiron 1501, with the ThinkPad T60 wide.
On the left is the ThinkPad T60 widescreen, on the right is the Dell Inspiron 1501 15.4" widescreen notebook. Notice that the Dell 1501 is overall bigger in terms of height, depth and thickness (view large image)In the image above, a direct view from the front of the T60 next to the Dell 1501, we see that the Dell 1501 is much thicker than the comparably slim ThinkPad T60, despite the fact they're both 15.4" widescreen notebooks
The Dell 1501 on top of the ThinkPad T60 wide shows that both notebooks are the same width, notice the more convincing and strong thick steel hinges you see on the T60 (view large image)
A right side view of both the T60 and Dell Inspiron 1501 which again displays greater overall depth as it sticks out over the top of the T60 (view large image)
Front view of ThinkPad T60 with Inspiron 1501 on top (view large image)
Right side view of Inspiron 1501 on top of ThinkPad T60 (view large image)
Core 2 Duo and ATI X1400 Benchmarks for T60 Wide
Since doing my last review of the ThinkPad T60 the Core 2 Duo processor has been released and is now available in the T60. With this review unit the hardware specs of the notebook are as follows:
- ThinkPad T60 Wide CTO-1 {8741-4VU} (Serial # L3AA166)
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz
- Graphics: ATI X1400
- Display: 15.4" WSXGA+
- Memory: 1GB SDRAM
- Hard Drive: 120GB 5400RPM Fujitsu hard drive
- Optical Drive: DVD / CD Multiburner
- Wireless: 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless (Atheros)
Given the higher specs, it's worth running the benchmarks again for this T60 to see how it performs.
Super Pi Benchmark Results
Below are comparison results for running the program Super Pi that forces the processor to calculate the number Pi to 2 million digits of accuracy, the Core 2 Duo is clearly a champ at this and improves upon the original Core Duo.
Notebook Time Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo) 1m 03s Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo) 1m 18s Dell Inspiron e1705 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo) 1m 02s Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo) 1m 18s Toshiba A100 (2.0GHz Core Duo) 1m 18s Samsung X60 (1.66GHz Core Duo) 1m 29s Sony VAIO FS680 (1.86GHz Pentium M) 1m 53s IBM ThinkPad T43 (1.86GHz Pentium M) 1m 45s HP dv5000z (2.0GHz Sempron 3300+) 2m 02s
3DMark05 Benchmark Results
Futuremark’s 3DMark05 graphics benchmarking software gives a good idea of a notebooks graphics processing capabilities. Below is a comparison table of how the T60 wide with an ATI X1400 card faired:
Notebook 3D Mark 05 Results Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, ATI X1400 128MB) 2,465 3D Marks Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400 128MB) 2,092 3D Marks Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 256MB) 4,236 3DMarks Alienware Aurora M-7700(AMD Dual Core FX-60, ATI X1600 256MB) 7,078 3D Marks Dell Inspiron e1705 (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400) 1,791 3DMarks Asus V6Va (2.13 GHz Pentium M, ATI x700 128 MB) 2,530 3D Marks Fujitsu n6410 (1.66 GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400 128MB) 2,273 3DMarks HP Pavilion dv4000 (1.86 GHz Pentium M, ATI X700 128MB) 2,536 3D Marks Dell XPS M1210 (2.16 GHz Core Duo, nVidia Go 7400 256MB) 2,090 3D Marks
PCMark05 Benchmark Results
PCMark05 gives a good idea of overall system performance, below are comparison results for the T60 with Core 2 Duo compared to other notebooks:
Notebook PCMark05 Score Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, ATI X1400) 4,177 PCMarks Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (1.83 GHz Core Duo, ATI X1300) 3,197 PCMarks Fujitsu LifeBook A6010 (1.66GHz Core 2 Duo, Intel GMA 950) 2,994 PCMarks Fujitsu N6410 (1.66GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400) 3,487 PCMarks Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60, Nvidia Go 7800GTX) 5,597 PCMarks Sony Vaio SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400) 3,637 PCMarks Toshiba Tecra M6 (1.66GHz Intel T2300E, Intel GMA 950) 2,732 PCMarks Asus V6J (1.86GHz Core Duo T2400, Nvidia Go 7400) 3,646 PCMarks Sony VAIO FE590 (1.83GHz Core Duo) 3,427 PCMarks
Cinebench CPU Results
Cinebench is a good rendering benchmark tool based on the powerful 3D software, CINEMA 4D. Its rendering tasks can stress up to sixteen multiprocessors on the same computer. It is a free benchmarking tool, and can be found here: http://www.cinebench.com. The basic CPU test provided the following results, you can see the T60 Core 2 Duo was able outperform the older ThinkPad T43 and edge out the Dell e1505 Core 2 Duo laptop:
Test Lenovo ThinkPad T60 Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz ThinkPad T43 Pentium M 2.0GHz Dell e1505 Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz Single Core rendering mode 327 CB-CPU points 222 CB-CPU points 325 CB-CPU points Dual Core rendering mode 592 CB-CPU points not available 592 CB-CPU points
Everest Benchmarks and Report
Everest is an application that runs a full analysis of a notebooks components and drivers and creates a report, we ran this on the T60 wide, here is the report Everest produced.
HDTune Hard Drive Benchmarks
HDTune is used to run benchmarks against a notebook's hard drive, following are the results gained from the Fuitsu 120GB 5400RPM drive the T60 has:
Conclusion
While the introduction of the Z-series carried the ThinkPad line into the world of the widescreen format last year, many look upon the current Z1m and Z61t notebooks as being somewhat consumer oriented. The T-series is all business, and it's a sure sign of the times that Lenovo has decided to create an offshoot of this model that evolves into widescreen. Widescreen is just where things are going right now. The widescreen format really does offer a productivity advantage for some people in the work that they do, it's not just about being able to watch movies more favorably.
Although some ThinkPad fans will say a widescreen T60 is a weird mutation and not evolution, a majority of people will welcome the extra choice. While some would like to see a 14.1" widescreen offering, that may come in time if the 15.4" widescreen T-series format is a success.
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Cool review...good to see that they are finally offering buyers more choice.
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I guess the subtleties of the differences between the Z-series and widescreen T-series must be lost on me...it's not like there wasn't a widescreen Thinkpad before. Will there still be room in the market for the Z when now you can have a wide T for the same price? (as I assume would be the case.)
Great review on a classic notebook whose change to widescreen surely embodies the "sign of the times" as you put it. -
Metamorphical Good computer user
Great review as always Andrew!
The biggest difference between the two is one is a professional, business type notebook that is thinner and lighter (the T60) the other is a true Multimedia notebook with a media card reader, a camera in the lid, and all thsoe toys (The Z61m.)
It does seem kind of redundant to me though. Lenovo hasn't sold out and copied the HP Business line enough for me with the T60 yet, an SD card reader would finish the job. -
two questions:
1.) so a 15.4 WSXGA+ IPS screen will be available, correct?
2.) when will the widescreens be available for purchase (tomorrow I hope? ) -
I dont know, theres three conflicting ones here:
ThinkPad T60 Widescreen
ThinkPad Z61m
Lenovo N100
The T60w renders the Z series useless, because if you need a consumer model or a cheaper model, theres always the lenovo. I guess the Z series mixes both, but it doesnt matter all that much. At the end of the day, you have the Z conflicting with both the T60w and the N100.
Next step: bring in a 14" T60w with an X1400 and axe the Z series altogether.
Hey, whats the weight on this thing? Didnt see it mentioned in the review, hopefully its close to the nc8340... -
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2) This week, if not tomorrow! -
From a business selling perspective, certain organizations will only buy the T60 and don't want to support a Z-series laptop so that's not an option for those types of buyers. -
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Do you have any idea when they might port the screen over to the 14.1 display? I was planning on picking up a t60 a month ago, heard about the widescreen, then waited. Now it seems that lenovo is going to gauge public response before offering wsxga to the 14 inch models....
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Btw, is the battery life going to fall at all with the wide? I'm assuming both displays have an equal area, so it shouldnt differ too much.
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I thought they were going to discontinue the z-series? if not, maybe they'll take some more steps to differentiate the z-series on its next revamp. I guess we'll have to wait til someone can directly compare the z61 and widescreen t60 to see how different they really are.
I have to say I'm surprised they came out with it so soon. I hope they come out with a 14" version though. -
My how technology changes. Almost makes you want to step back and look at what people were saying just last August about the possibility of a widescreen T-Series.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=1523280&postcount=5 -
my... i just seen the nightmare my lappy doesn't want to happen.
anyway, i bought mine because of the thinkpad name and the webcam, badly needed it... now my lappy's jealous of that thin body -
Great review! Its nice to see the widescreen option available for the T-series.
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Yeah thats nice but they still forgot to add an S-video jack and firewire! What modern notebook doesn't have these?
Wake me up when there is a 14" Widescreen T with an ATI card. -
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I think Lenovo made a bad decision here. They should've gone with a 14" widescreen, otherwise it would disrupt sales of the Z series.
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Darn....as I clicked into this review I too was hoping for 14, or 13" screen size too. THanks for the review & the notes on the 15" weight (its the main reason for wanting the smaller screen).
Keep us posted on release of smaller versions. -
I'm jealous to see this. After waiting for a while to get my Z61m I was pretty disappointed at how fricking huge it is. I was gunning for a work laptop that would compare to my MacBook Pro in terms of hardware specs and size and I just failed to estimate how much bigger/heavier the Z61m is. It's great for what it is - a consumer-oriented laptop with the Thinkpad build quality - but a bit heavy to lug around. The widescreen T60 would be perfect for me as I don't need the firewire or the card reader (although the webcam has come in handy). *sigh* I doubt I can get them to repace mine...it's too new...
BTW - I thought I read someone in this thread saying that the Z61m has the X1300 card. It has the X1400 like the T60 does. (I just wish it had the X1600 with 256MB like my MBP.) -
I'm skeptical about the weight specs, lenovo has often been wrong before... Look at how BIG this brick is, so i gotta think it'll weigh more more than the 15" T which is 6 pounds Live. -
How come the T43 14.1" screen looks a bit greenish compare to the 15.4" wide screen which appears to be pitch black? Also..what's the battery life for this wide screen laptop?
Thanks -
I would like 16:9 in this case, however
By the way: Why Lenovo/IBM and HP do not introduce DVI ports?
Are these ports (much) more expensive?
Will they use HDMI instead in a future? -
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nice, i just wish they'd offer a glossy screen option though.
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so I called up and asked to configure a Lenovo Widescreen. It came to about $1500. The same configured HP dv6000t configured is $1150. Is it really worth it to go with the thinkpad over the HP? Especially when the HP's video card is far superior to the x1400.
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I'm confused. Is this widescreen panel IPS/flexview or not?
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chalk me in with the group that is waiting for a 14 inch wide screen T60.
anybody have any info on a release for that? PLEASE clue me in. i'm getting awfully tempted to either settle with the integrated video on the Z61t or to go with another company. -
I WANT ONE . . . so does anyone know when it'll be up for sale? I just tried to call Lenovo, but they're closed for the night :-(
EDIT:
Ok, I called lenovo and spoke to a rep. He said that as far as they were informed, the widescreen T should already be on sale, and he has no clue why it is not. I guess it's just a waiting game now. I really really hope they start selling in time to get holiday discounts. -
I see only minor advantages this T series over Z. Its thinner and have slight quality improvement -yes. But some design aspects and features that i questioned:
a. Where is the speaker? The picture is not so bright but, is that a speaker at above right and above left edge of the keyboard? Z series have the most ideal speakers from all Thinkpad located at almost middle left and right side of the keyboard. But i think the quality is the same and the difference is minimal (?).
b. It still does not have a multi card reader, firewire and built in webcam. Counter argument would say business user wont need this. Or will it eventually have?
c. Any titanium for T?
So summary, the difference between Z series and T series for the firsts there are some features that will exclusively belong to Z. Second, the thin and lighter structure exclusively belong to T.
If A, B, C is finally implemented to T series, that will become the doomsday for Z. Customer will not see any benefit buying Z. Heck, even now customer will at least have a lust with the thinness of T.
And next question : will there be a SQUARE screen version of Z???? It is too crowded and become complicated. -
Ooh, I like it! I was liking the Z61t but I've been waiting for this release. I'm kind of doubtful of the financial feasibility of carrying both a standard and widescreen chassis for the same system over time. Just extra inventory (screens and chassis) to deal with. I could see the standard version slowly fading into obscurity. Kudos to Lenovo for offering both though--hopefully they can keep it up.
Is that a fixed pixel(s) on the right edge of the screen (visible in the first photo of a photo (LOL) in standard aspect)? -
Yes, the Z does have some features that I would like in a notebook, but 97% of the time I won't use those features (card reader, firewire - I have no use for a camera)
I can get the T and buy an expresscard 11-1 flash card reader that sits flush with the side for about $30 and a pcmcia firewire card for when I need that for about the same money. When I don't need those things I do not have to carry them and I will save space and weight.
The speakers are not a concern because lets face it, it's a notebook and the sound sucks no matter what. I'll be getting the m-audio usb card anyway b/c I need quality output for a project I'm doing in a few months.
Titanium looks kinda nice, but at the end of the day it's just more dead weight to carry around. As long as everything is sturdy I say lenovo should stick with the black.
I should add that I will use it for college stuff at first, but in a year or so I'll need it for audio production. Can anyone find a reason why I would be making a mistake getting this with the add on cards when the time comes? -
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now i just realized i wish my Z is this wide T...
maybe they really did not included the webcam, firewire, S-vid so that other consumers who would like to have those in a laptop will go with Z... and those who does not need them go with the T
i think titanium in T will be a comedy... i mean, just kill the Z if that is to happen.
now what would it be next year for me... T60 14" 4:3, X60, or this T60 wide? hehe -
Thanks for the review and the photos! I canceled my z61m order 2 days ago in anticipation for this T60. I really like the idea of a webcam and the card reader on the Z (I use a Nikon D70 so I am stuck with CF card anyway). But I really didn't like the extra weight and thickness.
So I ordered the T60 widescreen (87445BU) this morning and should be shipped on 12/13! -
Sweet...what are the specs of your new box? I am waiting for my quote from them about a T60 15.4
Scott -
Core 2 Duo T7200 2GHz 15.4" 1680x1050
128MB ATI X1400
120GB HDD 5400
1GB memory 1Dimm
DVD Recordable
WiFi/Bluetooth
3 yr warranty
I got it with EPP pricing. -
sounds like what i am looking for.
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Andrew,
From the photos you took, it doesn't appear there is a s-video port, but looking at the Lenovo website, it listed s-video as one of the ports.
"Port connectors 3 USB 2.0, Expansion Bus port (for Dock II or Port Replicator II), External Display (VGA), External Microphone/Line-In, Headphone / Line out, RJ-11, RJ-45, S-Video out"
Is the model you reviewed a pre-production or did Lenovo post incorrect specs?
Thanks.
Mike -
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anyone know the size/weight comparison between this and the z61t? Obviously the z61t will be smaller since it has a 14.1 in screen, but if this is roughly the same weight/thickness, then this might be a better buy over the z61t.
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for those curious about this issue, I just called and spoke with a Lenovo rep who assured me that an IPS/Flexview version would ultimately be available in widescreen format (just not immediately); his estimate was a couple/few weeks into Dec, so I'm going to wait (even longer......argh...........); I'm hoping he knows what he's talking about.
if anyone (abaxter?) happens to hear anything in support of this assertion, or to the contrary, please post a response....... -
T60 Widescreen 15.4"
Height 1.13 in
Depth 10.0 in
Width 14.1 in
Travel weight (No Optical Drive) = 5.20 lbs
Travel weight (w/ Optical Drive) = 5.70 lbs (Based on .5 pound weight of Optical Drive).
Andrew,
Could you possibly verify the weight of the T60 widescreen? I remember you doing that with the X60s and it was really informative. If you could do it with the optical removed and with it installed would be even better. Thanks!
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 Widescreen Review
Discussion in 'Notebook News and Reviews' started by Andrew Baxter, Nov 27, 2006.