Lenovo ThinkPad T43 2687 (Pentium M 750 1.86 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB HDD)

Our ThinkPad T43 test model measured 12.2 inches wide, 10 inches deep, and just 1 inch thick. At 5.5 pounds, the ThinkPad T43 is of average weight for the thin-and-light category. The blackboard eraser-size AC adapter adds another 0.8 pound to its overall travel weight.

It's far from the sexiest laptop on the market, but the ThinkPad T43 is well designed, and it has a number of thoughtful touches, such as a spill-proof keyboard with drain holes. The notebook includes IBM's signature red eraser-head pointing stick, which has a nice, flat top that supports your finger better than the rounded tops on most pointing sticks; two corresponding mouse buttons and a handy scroll button sit just below the keyboard. Below its keyboard, the ThinkPad T43 also features a touch pad with its own two mouse buttons, which are a bit too small. The keyboard itself is wide and comfortable to use. Though there aren't many multimedia controls here--this is a business laptop, after all--you do get external volume controls, including a mute button, as well as a blue IBM button that brings up support information. Our ThinkPad T43 test unit featured a fingerprint sensor on the right-hand side of the wrist rest; swiping your finger over the sensor logs you onto the notebook in lieu of typing in a password (for more details about this biometric security feature, check out our review of the ThinkPad T42).

IBM's laptops are highly configurable, and there are dozens of different models available from a number of online resellers, local computer stores, or IBM's own Web site. CNET's ThinkPad T43 series review offers an overview of your choices.

Priced at $2,049 (as of April 2005), our ThinkPad T43 test unit featured a nice array of higher-end parts, including a fast 1.86GHz Intel Pentium M 750 Sonoma processor; 512MB of speedy, 533MHz RAM; and an ATI Mobility Radeon X300 graphics chip with 64MB of dedicated video memory. Also onboard was a 60GB hard drive spinning at a swift 7,200rpm; a 14.1-inch screen with a fine, 1,400x1,050 native resolution; a multiformat DVD burner in a hot-swappable bay; and an Intel 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi card. Configured this way, our test unit cost hundreds more than competing corporate thin-and-lights we've reviewed, such as the Dell Latitude D610 and the HP Compaq nc6230--both of which included 2GHz PM processors, 512MB of 400MHz memory, 64MB ATI X300 chips, 14.1-inch SXGA+ screens, 80GB 5,400rpm hard drives, and DVD/CD-RW drives.

In CNET Labs' benchmark tests, our test ThinkPad T43 turned in a solid performance. Equipped with specs almost identical to those of the Compaq nc6230 and Latitude D610 systems that we tested, the ThinkPad T43 was slightly faster--most likely because of its speedier hard drive. Still, performance-wise, all three machines are essentially equal. Our ThinkPad T43 test unit shipped with a high-capacity battery (which costs extra) that lasted for a long 306 minutes in our drain tests--at least one hour longer than the Latitude D610's and the nc6230's much smaller, standard cells.