IBM ThinkPad T30 TC082UK review

I was going to save it up for later, but I just couldn't contain myself. There are lots of things to say about the T30, most of them complimentary, but top of the list has to be the touchpad.

That's right, I did indeed say touchpad. After years of resolutely ignoring the even split between touchpad and trackpoint fans, IBM has finally given in to common sense and provided both. At last, you can have a ThinkPad with your choice of pointing device.

The T Series ThinkPads are relatively high-end machines like the A Series, but lighter and more compact thanks to a two-spindle design and a smaller screen. This means the T30 can offer a fistful of features, including a 1.8GHz Pentium 4-M processor, 256Mb of PC2100 DDR memory, SXGA+ graphics and a DVD/CD-RW combo drive.

The case measures less than the typical 40mm thick with the lid shut, and the footprint is much closer to the A4 ideal than many other full-sized notebooks. When you get to grips with it, the T30 feels dense and well engineered, but it still only weighs a traveller-friendly 2.4kg. However, the 70-minute battery life in our intensive test was disappointing, although it lasted for 202 minutes under lighter use.

ThinkPads are built to last, with no-nonsense exposed steel for the screen hinges and titanium composite reinforcing the case and lid. They're also built to be used, and some intelligent design features emerge on closer inspection. Take the battery out, and to the right of the underneath is the system clock battery ready for painless replacement. The little button that turns the integrated Bluetooth adaptor on and off sits next to an indicator LED, so you can tell if it's switched on at a glance without needing to ferret around in software.

ThinkPads are also among the most ergonomic notebooks, thanks to their keyboards. The T30 carries on the tradition and is up there with the best - spacious, well organised and proportioned, firm and quiet in use. There's still no Windows key, but I'm prepared to overlook that and hit or instead for a quick shutdown.

The screen is bright and even, with a broad viewing angle, but I suspect not everybody will take to its ambitious combination of an SXGA+ (1,400 x 1,050) native resolution with a 14.1in diagonal. I'm blessed with good eyesight, but I still find SXGA+ on less than a 15in diagonal is edging into the land of diminishing returns. It doesn't matter how much application workspace you have on screen if it's too small to see.

The power behind the scenes is provided by an ATi Mobility Radeon 7500 GPU, which also means respectable 3D performance. 3DMark2001 returned a score of 2,788 in 32-bit XGA, so anyone seeking a recreational dimension to their notebook will be well served.

Speed isn't limited to graphics either. The combination of the 1.8GHz Pentium 4-M with 256Mb of DDR memory works a treat, as does the 40Gb Toshiba hard disk. The overall rating of 0.88 in our 2D speed tests is persuasive evidence of internal quality. It's not as fast as some of the performance notebooks in our Labs (see p54), but it's well over the requirements of a thin and light notebook.

Like the larger A31p (see Reviews, issue 94, p120), the T30 comes with both Bluetooth and 802.11b hardware. This is looking like the way forward, so the ThinkPad scores points for supporting both standards here and now. The rest of us can carry on as usual with the integrated Intel PRO/100 VE Ethernet adaptor and Agere V.92 modem, which sit behind their old-fashioned sockets on the back panel. Speaking of which, IBM has retained the conventional serial and parallel ports alongside a pair of USB connectors. Only PS/2 has bitten the dust.