Product Reviews

With IBM already holding the A-List spot for the best business notebook around, the T41 was an exciting prospect. Replacing the T40, the T41 sports a slightly enhanced specification and a new drive crash-protection system, while remaining very affordable.

Inside the machine lurks an Intel Centrino chipset ensemble, with the CPU side of things comprising a 1.4GHz Pentium-M processor. There's 256MB of DDR RAM and a 40GB Hitachi hard drive, a combo CD-RW and DVD-ROM disk, plus a very clear 14.1in, 1,024 x 768 resolution screen. What's more incredible is that, despite all these features, IBM has managed to keep the weight down to 2.25kg. The width of the body necessitated by the screen makes it a little unwieldy for the daily commute, but at 29mm thick you won't feel embarrassed about showing it off to your fellow travellers. A big boon over the T40 is an integrated Bluetooth adaptor, with activity indicators on the top of the lid and among the row of indicators above the keyboard.

No change to the famous business-like black styling: some may call it utilitarian, but the fact remains that a ThinkPad is the only notebook that most people could identify from across a room. Aside from being recognisable, the casing feels as tough as old boots, with no creaks and no flexing, even if you pick it up by one corner.

Neat design touches are one of IBM's fortes: the ubiquitous ThinkLight, a white LED set into the top of the lid to illuminate the keyboard, is present and correct, although we think it's about time it was updated to use multiple LEDs with a brightness level control. Usefully, the release for the lid is placed at the right-hand side of the lid, rather than the more usual central position, making it easier to open. There's also the dual-cursor control system, with both a touchpad and the traditional IBM trackpoint.

Despite all of the efficient usability features, there are still one or two aspects of the T41's design that grate. First is the lack of a physical switch to disconnect the WLAN adaptor: it's extremely useful to be able to flip a wireless adaptor on and off as and when it's needed, as with Sony VAIO and Toshiba notebooks. The ability to physically disable it eliminates

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any nagging security concerns in public places. And the fact that IBM still resolutely refuses to include a Windows key on any ThinkPad keyboard is something we find infuriating and completely illogical.

Talking of keyboards, when it comes to general feel, IBM rarely disappoints. And if you're looking for a notebook that will let you work the keys for long periods, the T41 is a dream. There's a decent amount of travel and a solid feel, with none of the indifferent sponginess of most notebook keyboards. Typing at full speed is no problem; budding novelists should consider this machine for that reason alone.

Other interesting features come under IBM's banner heading of ThinkVantage technologies. Most useful is the Access IBM button, which, when pressed before Windows starts up, produces a preload utility to restore the hard disk. Set it going, and a while later you have a pristine Windows installation; no need for mucking about with CD-ROMs. But the newest ThinkVantage feature is the hard disk protection system: the T41 has an accelerometer to detect movement in any direction. If there are any sudden movements the system identifies as being characteristic of an impending impact, it parks the hard disk heads within 500ms. IBM claims it gives 'up to four times more impact protection than systems without the feature'. But a bit of schoolboy physics reveals that 500ms equates to a minimum fall height of more than a metre before the heads are safe, so it isn't going to protect the drive if it slips out of your hand as you pick it up.

Looking around the edges shows the T41 to be a little light on ports and connectors, but the essentials are all there. On the left, there are two PC Card slots, headphone and mic jacks, an RJ-45 connector for the Intel PRO/1000 Gigabit Ethernet adaptor, a V.90 modem, S-Video out and two USB 2 ports. The rear sports a single parallel port, no serial connector, and the right-hand side has a VGA connector. Features are rounded off with the front-mounted infrared port. FireWire is conspicuous by its absence.

Performance-wise, the T41 didn't blow our socks off, with an application benchmark score of 1.18. This isn't a significant step up from that of the T40, but then the basic specification isn't very different. However, as with the T40, the payoff comes with superb battery life: the 4.4Ah power pack lasted one hour, 55 minutes in our intensive battery test and a full five hours under light use.

The T41 is an incremental improvement on previous models, although it nonetheless remains a superbly designed machine that will easily cope with the rigours of everyday use. We've seen faster notebooks, but rarely have we seen such a finely honed balance of features, battery life, ruggedness and portability for such a good price.