ThinkPad Z60t

There are other nice touches too. The ports around the machine - three USB, one FireWire, a Type II PC Card slot, D-SUB output, modem and Gigabit Ethernet - are all clearly labelled, and there's a wireless switch for activating the 802.11a/b/g WLAN radio. You can optionally use the switch to activate Bluetooth too.

It adds up to a well-built, attractive notebook that meets the needs of Lenovo's target market for the Z60t, the small business, very well. However, in terms of hardware, you're paying more than the market rate: the Sony VAIO VGN-FJ1S has a similar spec (albeit a 1.73GHz processor and Windows XP Home) but costs £769 plus VAT. And it includes a DVD writer, while the Z60t includes only a combo CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive.

This leaves the Z60t looking relatively poor value for money, especially as the two products proved neck-and-neck for speed in our tests: the VAIO scored 0.70 overall, the ThinkPad 0.72. So the question then becomes whether the Z60t's ThinkVantage features, excellent build quality and award-winning support are worth the extra £200. For the home user, the answer is almost certainly no, but businesses should find that users are able to solve more problems themselves without support, and that price then starts to look rather cheap. Just remember that you'll probably need to buy an extra battery too.

Author: Tim Danton