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Entered CNET Catalog: 05/22/2003
SKU: 237392U
Manufacturer: Lenovo
Manufacturer description
The ThinkPad T40 notebooks are a new benchmark of computing performance, battery life and mobility. Work unplugged longer by combining the ThinkPad T40 high-capacity battery with the optional ThinkPad Ultrabay Slim Li polymer battery for all-day computing (up to 9.5 hours). The unique Embedded Security Subsystem, a ThinkVantage Technology, is available on select models. This hardware and software solution can help safeguard data with encryption to virtually lock private information. Rapid Restore PC, another ThinkVantage Technology, is preloaded - giving you the power of a one-button recover and restore solution to save time and frustration. The ThinkPad T40 notebooks include the UltraConnect Antenna built into the cover. This can improve signal reception whether you choose models with integrated 11a/b Wi-Fi wireless, Cisco Aironet Wireless 802.11b or when used with compatible options on wireless-upgradeable models. Choose ThinkPad T40 notebooks - the perfect balance of performance and portability.Product summary
The good: Long battery life; slim case; very thin media modules; integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; embedded security system.
The bad: Not the fastest Pentium M laptop; expensive.
The bottom line: The thin-and-light IBM ThinkPad T40 series offers an innovative design, top-notch performance, and tons of features.
CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: Yes
- Reviewed on: 03/10/2003
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 The keyboard has a familiar, desktop-PC-like layout. |
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The ThinkPad T40's case contains an internal, swappable bay for very thin, 9.5mm-tall drives and modules including DVD and DVD/CD-RW. Fortunately, you can use these drives in the bays of other ThinkPads, such as the R40, but you'll also have to buy an adapter for the bay ($59). The smooth, black-rubber coating on the ThinkPad T40's lid makes it easy to get a grip on the system.
The T40 series also includes another ThinkPad staple: a great keyboard with a familiar desktoplike layout and springy keys but, unfortunately, no handy Windows key. IBM's signature red pointing stick sits above the B key, with corresponding mouse buttons and a third scroll button under the spacebar. You can put one of three texturized caps on the pointing stick depending on the feel you prefer, or you can skip the stick altogether and use the touchpad; some less-expensive models in the T40 series include the pointing stick only, however. Unfortunately, the touchpad's own set of mouse buttons might be a little too thin for some people. Additional buttons include three volume-adjustment buttons--up, down, and mute--above the keyboard, plus an Access IBM button, which takes you directly to the company's support software. A tiny light above the screen beams down on the keyboard when you need it.
 Choose one of three different red caps for the pointing stick. |
 The mouse buttons under the touchpad might be too thin for some users. |
The ThinkPad T40 features a fairly standard selection of ports and slots. You'll find two Type II PC Card slots; headphone and microphone jacks; 56Kbps modem and 10/100/1000 Ethernet; S-Video out; and two USB 2.0 ports on the left edge. The battery bay and a parallel port occupy the back edge. The VGA port and a swappable media bay sit on the right, while an IrDA port and two hollow-sounding speakers lie embedded in the front edge.
In true IBM style, the ThinkPad T40 series comes with a dizzying array of choices when you buy it at IBM.com. Whether you go with a preset system or a customized one, you get a decent variety of component choices, including Intel's new Pentium M processor in 1.3GHz, 1.5GHz, and 1.6GHz speeds; the new Intel 855PM chipset; anywhere from 256MB to a big 2GB of speedy 266MHz DDR SDRAM; either a 30GB, 4,200rpm hard drive or a 40GB, 5,400rpm drive; 32MB of dedicated video RAM attached to an ATI Mobility 7500 or Mobility 9000 graphics chip; a swappable DVD or DVD/CD-RW combo drive; and a choice of batteries. The bigger of the two batteries, which is what we tested in CNET Labs, costs an extra $189; we did not test the smaller battery. (Some configurations of the T40 include only the bigger battery.)
The only display choice is 14.1 inches, but it comes in two native resolutions: the cheaper 1,024x768 or 1,400x1,050, which captures fine graphics detail but makes text extremely small. For especially intense mobile users, IBM offers a version of the T40 with a workstation-class, 64MB ATI Mobility FireGL graphics chip and a giant 80GB, 4,200rpm hard drive. The company will also sell older T-series systems with Pentium 4-M processors through this summer.
 The DVD drive is very thin at just 9.5mm high. |
 Handy buttons reside above the keyboard. |
Whether the T40 is an official Centrino depends on your choice of wireless hardware. If you opt for an Intel Pro wireless 802.11b mini-PCI card, you can count yourself among the Centrino crowd. But it's not a Centrino if you choose one of the other mini-PCI options: Philips Agere 802.11a/b or Cisco Aironet 802.11b. What to choose depends on a couple of factors, namely, if you want to use the faster (though currently less pervasive) 802.11a Wi-Fi standard; so far, the Intel wireless radio is 802.11b-only. Want 802.11a in an Intel Wi-Fi chip? You'll have to wait until later this year.
Whichever wireless solution you choose, the built-in, dual-band antenna on the side of the ThinkPad T40's display will help you maintain your wireless connection. In addition to a Philips Agere 802.11b/a chip, our evaluation unit included a 1.6GHz PM processor, 512MB of memory, a 32MB ATI Mobility 9000 chip, and a 14.1-inch display at 1,400x1,050 pixels.
The ThinkPad T40's corporate bent comes through in its software. A host of operating systems serves businesses that use both old and new OSs: You'll get your choice of Windows XP Professional, XP Home, 2000, 98 Gold, 98 SE, or NT 4.0 (with Service Pack 6a). Microsoft Office XP Professional and Small Business Edition are options for smaller companies that don't already own software licenses; licenses for Notes are also available. Optional titles in finance, education/entertainment, graphics/Web design, and utilities/security can be bought at varying prices. IBM's hardware- and software-based Embedded Security System comes with all but a few of the lowest-priced T40s; the notebook offers an extra layer of security to prevent the pilfering of important info in PKI (public key infrastructure), VPN (virtual private network), and other secure environments. Finally, the T40 ships with InterVideo WinDVD for DVD play, as well as Norton AntiVirus 2003 and PC-Doctor for antiviral duties.
Mobile application performance
Compared to other Pentium M-based thin-and-lights, the ThinkPad T40 demonstrates below-average mobile performance. The 1.6GHz PM-based system came in last place in the pure-business notebook category, 12 points behind its nearest competitor, the Dell Latitude D600. This lag is likely due to the T40's 4,200rpm hard drive, which is slower than the 5,400rpm hard drives of the other systems we tested. However, while not the mobile-performance king, the ThinkPad T40 still scored better than most non-Pentium M notebooks we've tested.
Mobile application performance (Longer bars indicate faster performance)
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SysMark2002 performance
The ThinkPad T40 scored the lowest overall in maximum performance in this Pentium M test group. The T40's bottom-rung office-productivity score was likely due to its relatively slow, 4,200rpm hard drive. Its Internet-content-creation score, which does not depend as much on hard drive speed, proved a more palatable five points lower than the second-place Dell Latitude D600. These differences would not be discernible to an everyday user, but ultimate speed-seekers such as gamers or multimedia pros may not be satisfied with the ThinkPad T40.
Maximum application performance (Longer bars indicate faster performance)
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To measure maximum notebook application performance, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's SysMark2002, an industry-standard benchmark. Using off-the-shelf applications, SysMark measures a desktop's performance using office-productivity applications (such as Microsoft Office and McAfee VirusScan) and Internet-content-creation applications (such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Dreamweaver).
3D graphics performance
The ThinkPad T40 edged the Dell Latitude D600 out of the second-place spot in our 3D graphics test. But while the IBM's 32MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 graphics adapter proved powerful, it wasn't brawny enough to beat the Acer TravelMate 803LCi's Mobility Radeon 9000 chip with twice the amount of video RAM.
3D graphics performance (Longer bars indicate faster performance)
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To measure 3D graphics performance, CNET Labs uses Futuremark's 3DMark2001 SE. We use 3DMark to measure desktop replacement notebook performance with the DirectX 8.1 interface at the 32-bit color setting at a resolution of 1,024x768.
Find out more about how we test notebook systems.
System configurations:
Acer TravelMate 803LCi
Windows XP Professional; 1.6GHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 64MB; Toshiba MK6022GAX 60GB 5,400rpm
Compaq Evo N620c
Windows XP Professional; 1.5GHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 32MB; Hitachi DK23EB-40 40GB 5,400rpm
Dell Latitude D600
Windows XP Professional; 1.6GHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 32MB; IBM Travelstar 40GNX 40GB 5,400rpm
IBM ThinkPad T40
Windows XP Professional; 1.6GHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 32MB; IBM Travelstar 80GN 80GB 4,200rpm
All of the Pentium M-based systems we tested showed impressive battery lives of four hours or more. But the IBM ThinkPad T40, which blew everyone away by chugging along for nearly seven hours, had a major advantage: a huge 10.8V, 6,600mAh battery that's so big it sticks out about an inch from the back of the notebook. (The battery slot is on the back of the T40.) While our evaluation system included this big battery, most ThinkPad T40 configurations include a smaller, less expensive 10.8V, 4,400mAh battery.
Battery life (Longer bars indicate longer battery life)
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To measure mobile application performance and battery life, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's MobileMark2002. MobileMark measures both application performance and battery life concurrently using a number of popular applications (Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Excel 2002, Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, Microsoft Outlook 2002, Netscape Communicator 6.0, WinZip Computing WinZip 8.0, McAfee VirusScan 5.13, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1, and Macromedia Flash 5.0).
System configurations:
Acer TravelMate 803LCi
Windows XP Professional; 1.6GHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 64MB; Toshiba MK6022GAX 60GB 5,400rpm
Compaq Evo N620c
Windows XP Professional; 1.5GHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 32MB; Hitachi DK23EB-40 40GB 5,400rpm
Dell Latitude D600
Windows XP Professional; 1.6GHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 32MB; IBM Travelstar 40GNX 40GB 5,400rpm
IBM ThinkPad T40
Windows XP Professional; 1.6GHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 32MB; IBM Travelstar 80GN 80GB 4,200rpm
The ThinkPad T40 is expensive, but as usual, you get what you pay for. Whereas cheaper laptops ship with a one-year parts-and-labor warranty, the T40 comes standard with a three-year warranty on everything but the battery, which is covered for one year. You can increase the coverage with a range of options lasting up to five years with onsite service for $549. Around-the-clock, toll-free phone support endures throughout the warranty.
IBM offers one of the better support sites among laptop makers, too. The extensive site includes decently intuitive navigation through helpful sections, such as an online troubleshooting assistant and a user forum for chatting with other customers and IBM support representatives. Like Dell, IBM preloads its own help application, called Access IBM, which provides tips and tricks, as well as links to online support.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 User Rating: 
8/10
a tank of a laptop
Pros: It has survived several drops, impacts, and pushy fingers. It still runs well.
Cons: the drivers/modules can be a pain for usb2 and BT. You have to take it apart to get at the second memory slot.
User Rating: 
10/10
Tough, and built to last. First class support.
Pros: This is a business-class machine built to last. The online support that Lenovo gives to their products is second to none.
The system integration belies its seemingly slow numbers on paper. M-class Pentiums are much faster than many realize.
Cons: The T40 suffers from the dreaded GPU (graphics processor) solder-cracking issue.
Some users pick this laptop up by the front corner one-handed with the screen up, and this is really hard on the mainboard which suffers flexing. Don't do that!
One can count on finding drivers, FAQ's, self-loading update programs, OEM- included software downloads, even technician-level repair manuals for FREE on the Lenovo site seemingly forever. Thinkpads by Lenovo (and pretty much ALL their products) are the Lexus of laptops.
Most producers of laptops (and consumer-grade products in general) have a hard time admitting they even MADE a product 3-4 years down the line. Good luck trying to find drivers, manuals or any type of troubleshooting support for them. But Lenovo's website has information on how to rebuild, reload and put ancient laptops back out in the field that were made back in the EARLY 90's. The stuff is available forever and it is all FREE. This alone makes their products worth more as they are not considered disposable junk by the manufacturer. Sure, they want you to buy a new one someday -but they aren't going to leave you in the lurch in the meantime when you have a problem with a 5 year old laptop. Who else in the business has this kind of policy?
I was really concerned when IBM sold off their laptop lines to Lenovo. But that concern was unwarranted. IBM was the standard-bearer at the time for top-end service and support, but Lenovo took that standard and ran with it, taking it to even greater heights. Today, I wouldn't think of getting anything else. I've had Compaq's, HP's and the others in the past. I won't go back to Chevy after getting Lexus treatment for only Toyota prices.
Don't buy one new.
The T40 is a good deal these days as it can be found used/refurbished/off-lease for a song -less than most of the "netbooks" that seem to be so popular today. I wouldn't trade a T40 for any of them. With the T40 you get a full-sized keyboard and a full-sized screen and an M-class Pentium that gives the performance of machines running nearly twice the speed on paper. It's thin and light yet not cramped. What's not to like?
User Rating: 
6/10
Good for its time but now surpassed by netbooks
Pros: Very sturdy, survived someone knocking it off a table while it was open, no cracks. Fairly light.
Cons: The RAM is insufficient for good web browsing and even working on some wordprocessing and spreadsheets when they get large. If you can find this model refurbished it may be okay.
User Rating: 10/10
GREAT, SOLID performing laptop!
Pros: Tough as nails, has survived luggin about in a backpack for over a year, and kids beating on it playing games. Memory upgrades and component level replacement are a SNAP. Easy to install larger hard drive, more memory, wi-fi card, etc.
Cons: The one I purchased for my son developed one bad pixel, and he damaged two keyboards playing games on it, but they were simple and easy to replace. My personal IBM T-40 still looks like new and has a high re-sale value with no problems.
User Rating: 
2/10
horrible, to slow, inefficient
Pros: good travel size, CD burner other than that, horrible.
Cons: CPU is horrible along with its horrible RAM, HDD memory is horrible, no dvd burner, horible display, terrible speakers, no match for a top notch computer like the Macbook Pro 2007
User Rating: 
9/10
Wonderful Machine!
Pros: Weight, Battery life, Size and only useful things.
Cons: Fragile board.
Great networking possibilities, burn cds, SMALL SIZE, speed and an Intel processor is all I need to work. This machine has it all just in the box.
I love it.
I recommend it.
User Rating: 8/10
Great laptop to get used
Pros: IBM quality, light weight
Cons: Loose feeling mouse buttons, backlight power consumption
User Rating: 9/10
Just the Ticket
Pros: Lightweight, affordable, durable, great keyboard, love the keyboard light, keyboard volume controls, eraserhead mouse + touchpad
Cons: Hard Drive fan runs *slightly* loud ( but then I'm supersensitive to sound)
As soon as I snapped in an Ethernet cable I was zooming. Compared to what I was used to, the T40 loads and plays GoogleVideo, YouTube, etc. lickity split fast.
If this laptop keeps me going for the next couple of years I will consider it a steal at $435.
User Rating: 9/10
great laptop
Pros: light, long battery life, good performance
Cons: only 32 bit max for video memory
User Rating: 
1/10
I too would throw it out a window
Pros: Size and battery life
Cons: Everything else is junk
The motherboards buzzes, it blue screens, runs slow, and I recommend anyone considering an IBM think different?remember, these are Leveno notebooks?not ?IBM??only the logo was made in USA?
You can rub two sticks together and start a fire before this PC will even launch an application!
FYI, should you be unfortunate and have this laptop?the only way I could even endure this PC was to uninstall EVERYTHING IBM (i.e., the drivers and apps) and use XP native drivers?
Buyer beware?
User Rating: 
4/10
It's a waste of money for this expensive machine
Pros: Good screen, reasonable sound speaker, thin and light, good processor during the 1st year.
Cons: Expensive, gets hot easily, poor online support, crush most of the time, made in China,
User Rating: 9/10
Fast, Reliable, Great for Gaming, Long Battery Life.
Pros: Built in keyboard light, Very fast, Plays games smoothly
Cons: Sometimes get alittle hot on your lap
User Rating: 9/10
I love this laptop
Pros: light, long battery life, easy to use
Cons: pad very sensitive, number lock, sometimes locks up
User Rating: 6/10
This laptop is awesome
Pros: Lightweight, long battery, love the mouse, and the keyboard light really makes a difference.
Cons: IBM Support Site and customer service are not the greatest.
User Rating: 1/10
I'd throw it out the window if it were mine
Pros: I've been using this laptop as a development workstation at my place of work for 6 months w/ Win XP SP2. The best thing I can say is that it's usable with an external docking station and monitor.
Cons: Hard drive is phenomenally slow. 1 or 2 blue screen hardware crashes per week. Integrated trackpoint / touchpad have poor response. IBM USB Mouse thumbwheel scrolls way too fast; not adjustable; don't know how other USB mouses will fair. LCD screen ha
User Rating: 
7/10
A solid machine
Pros: Light, nicely made. Price was surprisingly good. 3 year warranty swung it for me...... That's worth a lot. Nice screen (even if it's a bit low res) it goes both dark and bright enough - some other laptop displays can't dim enough and give you sore eyes at
Cons: Nice to have the touchpad and the "nipple" but ergonomically it's really designed for the latter and I prefer the touchpad. For a product that's supposed to travel, they could have designed a better / more universal plug for the power supply. I can't cus
User Rating: 10/10
Top Quality in every respect
Pros: I have had this T40 2372-72U for 1.5 years now.This is my 2nd IBM laptop.Only reason I got rid of the first was that it was a 486/33. For me it is a perfect size, form, and weight.Screen is great, love the feel of the keys, and the trackpoint mouse is the
Cons: Wish I had the DVD writer. They just didnt offer it when I purchased. Would be nice if someone could invent a battery that lasted longer than a year or 2 (everyone has this problem..not just IBM or this computer)
User Rating: 9/10
Best Laptop I've Ever Owned
Pros: Feels absolutely solid, yet still very slim and light. Insane battery life. Superb graphics performance with the T40p.
Cons: Not cheap, but worth the extra money. Bought a comparable Dell for cheaper and sold it at my first opportunity to pay more money for my T40p.
User Rating: 10/10
best laptop
Pros: the best laptop I have used so far, I have used HP omnibook to dell to apple and by far T40 has given me a very good exp. Primarily due to a custom config of 1 GB RAM and 80 Gigs HDD.
Cons: Sometimes it crashes but after all the BIOS upgrades its better , but i guess its due to the thermal shutdown.
User Rating: 9/10
high quality, good for business
Pros: very sturdy, thin, super long battery life, light weight
Cons: a little pricy, but you get what you pay for!
User Rating: 2/10
LCD Design Fault
Pros:
Cons: Using LCD test program this screen is inferior to older ThinkPads. Poor contrast, pixel respond time slow, colors are off. All together totally dissatisfied. Are they making them all in China?
User Rating: 10/10
Best Portable Solution
Pros: Very light and powerfull laptop. I used to have toshibe Satellite before and it was twise the weight. I have T40p with 9 cell battery and it last 6 hours easily doing tasks like browsing the web or word processing. I carry it with me everyday to college
Cons: Made of cheap plastic.
User Rating: 10/10
I Agree with Everyone Else, The Best Laptop Money Can Buy
Pros: This laptop is the best. It is engineered so well, really don't know how a 14.1" laptop with an optical drive could be made any thinner and lighter. This really is the best full-sized laptop with optical drive a person can buy. And prices aren't as h
Cons: Nothing. Top of the line laptop.
User Rating: 9/10
That T30 owner is the exception not the rule
Pros: The T30 is incredibly reliable and efficient at productivity tasks, including MS Office, statistical analysis, database management. After one and a half years of intense use I had to have the cooling fan replaced. It came back within two days!
Cons: I can't afford one yet.
User Rating: 10/10
Excellent, Quality Product
Pros: Lightweight, Titanium case. Solid Dependable IBM support. I've used DELL Latitude notebooks over the years and with 18 "road Warriors" to support, I wouldn't take anything for an IBM. They DELL products just can't come close. Do yourself a favor. Buy an
Cons: Absolutely NONE.
User Rating: 9/10
There are various models of T40
Pros: Everyone complaining about lack of certain wireless features or the 1024 resolution need to know there are various models of T40 out there. You can get a 1024 res or a 1400x1050 res model. There are also options for 802.11 a/b/g + bluetooth. The batter
Cons:
User Rating: 8/10
I left for Dell and came back to IBM
Pros: Sleek, thin design that is also very functional, reliable. Easy to tote around. The thing just WORKS well.
Cons: Not the smallest or the lightest out there, but did I say that it WORKS well?!?!
User Rating: 
3/10
Not your father's thinkpad
Pros: beautiful to look at, joy to use
Cons: construction of case has dropped to slightly above other manufactures, (toshiba/dell). hard to justify price premium - don't limit yourself to thinkpad brand, be wise and compare without thinkpad stigma or hyperbole.
User Rating: 7/10
Trade features for quality
Pros: * Looks great, feels great * Thin and light * Battery life * T40 2379D5U offers great features for that price for IBM standards * Keyboard feels great * Feels robust, not as cheap as all the others * Trackpoint plus touchpad I wish CNET offered a fi
Cons: * Loud fan and HD * No windows key!!!!! Wasn't that introduced in 1995????? * No firewire * Wireless a/b but no g * Keyboard layout (small cursor keys -> easy to miss, ESC above, not left of, F1, INS/DEL/HOME/END/PgUp/PgDn as a block on the upper rig
User Rating: 9/10
Before the t40, i had never owned a computer i liked.
Pros: thin, light, very functional (i.e. not a lot of hangs, freezes, etc), quiet, cool (as in not hot), cool (as in sleek), good screen (no dead pixels after 6 months of 10+ hour-per-day use)
Cons: mediocre graphic performance, mediocre sound. the sound can be fixed with one of those external soundcards they have now, but the gpu really could've been better.
User Rating: 4/10
Lousy Wireless and Screen Resolution
Pros: Battary life and wieght is not bad.
Cons: Wireless goes up and down constantly. It is VERY frustrating. I can not go to a higher screen resoltuion than 1024 x 768. Ridiculous! Give me back my Sony Vaio!
User Rating: 3/10
I thought it was great
Pros: Thin, light and loaded with everything I needed.
Cons: I have had it for 9 months and the main board has failed for a second time. First time in November. Service was great, picked it up on Wednesday and had it back by Friday. January roles around and THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM occurs. However, since it is a F
User Rating: 8/10
Blows me away!!!!!
Pros: Lightweight, 2 USB ports, 2 PCMCIA ports, bright screen, Thinklight, firm keyboard decent if not amazing speakers, long battery life, Internet Explorer backwards and forwards keys
Cons: No Windows key, touchpad is a useless waste of space
User Rating: 10/10
The ONLY laptop which works!
Pros: Best CASE! Best and only working LAPTOP! Best Service! I however recommend to wait with purchase of any PCs for release of IBM laptops with ATHLON 64 bit and ATi graphics! Athlon 64 bit is on fire! INTEL and any 32 bit is a waste of money! See
Cons: To bsad it is NOT AMD ATHLON 64 with ATi graphic card! The era of 32 bit PCs is over! Microsoft withold the release of Windows 64 ONLY cause warehouses are stuffed with 32 bit antics!
User Rating: 7/10
Great balance between desktop replacement and portability. Very Reliable
Pros: This laptop has not let me down since I got it. It is very reliable. At 5 lbs it can be carrying around everyday. Great battery life and screen.
Cons:
User Rating: 8/10
The Cat's Pajamas
Pros: *Great Battery life *Solid keyboard with great feel *Lightweight, solid, well balanced feel *special hard disk protection (don't think lesser models didn't have it) *Loads of unique features its competitors don't have *Great alternatives to the Windows b
Cons: *No Window buttons, which really teed me til I realized their alternative gave me much more *No printed instructions or letter telling you to press the IBM access button to access the manual stored on the computer *No CD disks. scary til you realize all t
User Rating: 8/10
Not cheap, but well worth it!
Pros: My T40 is fantastic... beautiful display, built in wireless, great battery life. This is my third ThinkPad, and the first one I've had no complaints about.
Cons:
User Rating: 9/10
The Best Notebook yet
Pros: I've had my T40 for 3 months now and must say it is flat out the best notebook I have ever owned (out of 4). I have yet to have any problems with the unit at all and have put it through some very rough use (it already has suffered cosmetic damage). The sy
Cons: The Centrino Wireless is at times unstable and doesn't work well with certain wireless networks, get the cisco instead.
User Rating: 
5/10
Could have been a masterpeice
Pros: (2373-92U) Thin, light, high-res screen, good software, some nice features (think light lights up keyboard), accesories (docking station etc but extra), IBM online support (compare that to Sony for example!)
Cons: BUT! Not as sturdy as I might hope -Loose screen at hinges, loose battery (EVERYone is complaining about this) poor design of CD (for $3000 wheres my slot-loader!) only x2 USB, inclusion of parallel port (do u corporate guys REALLY still need this?!) no f
User Rating: 8/10
Most stable system out there
Pros: I've owned this system now for four months and it hasn't crashed or done so much as hiccupped around me. The wireless antenna works great and I've had absolutely no software conflicts. The SXGA screen is fantastic, also.
Cons: Sure, you pay more for this system compared to HP, but, after having a lemon for an HP for a year and a half, I wanted quality. That's what I got with the T40.
User Rating: 8/10
Good solid NB, nice design
Pros: Thin design, solid case/construction, long battery life, reasonable performance. Initially, I had a random blue screen problem, but the automatic Access IBM feature alerted me to some updates. So I loaded new Centrino and UltraNav (touchpad) drivers and
Cons: The 3D processor on my T40 model is an older ATi 7500 which isn't the greatest, but it's actually not bad. If you're buying this solely to play games, you're not a very smart shopper. However, I ran the Call of Duty demo in native 1024x768 and it ran fine
User Rating: 8/10
Good overall - problem with the RAM
Pros: Very light, long battery life, looks good, good quality materials, excellent keyboard.
Cons: Only one additional RAM slot available, no serial port, USB ports too close to each other, slot for PCM cards badly placed because it's just below left wrist so the surface bends when too much weight is applied (especially from resting the hands).
User Rating: 6/10
My System Board Failed after five months.
Pros: Great software. Great design. Great Battery Life.
Cons: Crappy Quality
User Rating: 10/10
Go for the best resolution
Pros: The SXGA+ is worth it. It's excellent. I have both a 1024x768 and a 1400x1050 available to me of the T40 and I'd choose the 1400x1050 any day of the week for the added real estate. The precision is excellent. Unless you have eyesight issues, this resoluti
Cons: No firewire.. that's it.
User Rating: 9/10
Indestructability, ulta-reliability and great preformance
Pros: I'm about to order a new T-41, but I wanted to include a note on my T21, which I've had for almost three years (after many other notebooks, including Toshiba, Gateway, Dell, Sony and TPs A20 and X20). I went to a big desert last year. Our team's first c
Cons: Just before I went, the battery inexplicably died - from perfect one day to dead the next, so I had to buy a new one. Also, the DVD/CDRW sometimes doesn't open on the first try - which isn't surprising since it grates from the sand.
User Rating: 9/10
Best Laptop Line yet
Pros: I support 50+ laptops, for our company. Buy far the t40 is the best yet. Users say nothing but positives. Had to place a support call about a wi-fi card gone bad in one of then. Had the part in my office the next day with IBM support quickly walking
Cons: no serial port
User Rating: 7/10
Lightweight Slimline Dream
Pros: Weight, Screen Size, Integrated Wireless, battery life. It felt like carrying a portfolio around.
Cons: Lack of 3rd Spidle, loss of feaures from previous A2x/3x series. Slimline vice standard components - parts not usable from previous models. Lack of COM port on main chassis.
User Rating: 9/10
You won't go wrong with the T40
Pros: So far, IBM laptops are the best ones in the marketplace. So far, I have had five IBM laptops and they have proved themselves over the years. The other laptops never reached IBM's level. You get what you pay for!
Cons: None
User Rating: 8/10
Terrific, Well Made
Pros: Most solid-feeling laptop I've owned. It simply feels more durable than many machines on the market. It has worked flawlessly through set up and several weeks of work. I could not be happier and, I must say, the 1.5 MHz processor seems very fast to me.
Cons: It is not as small as the X31 or other small computers.
User Rating: 4/10
Would be a great laptop, but breaks too often
Pros: Great battery life, good features, plenty fast
Cons: Not reliable, hard drive breaks often, service not as good as Dell
User Rating: 2/10
used to love ibm, dissapointed now
Pros: nothing could be a pro if you've paid over $2500 for a machine that breaks down easily when your only justification to pay that much was for QUALITY!
Cons: system unstable. keeps on crashing (blue screen). usb and cd drive doesn't recognized often, have to insert usb or cd twice for it to realize that there is a disk inside. installed os three times! once factory setting, second time, factory setting, th
User Rating: 6/10
It's a great machine
Pros: 7200rpm drive, 6 hrs bat w/wireless, light, 1400x1050 LCD, excellent keyboard, Bluetooth+802.11b/a, IBM waranty, up to 2G RAM
Cons: No 802.11g, pricey, apparently not the fastest, odd key placements (esp. left ctl/Fn)
User Rating: 10/10
The Perfect THIN AND LIGHT not Desktop Replacement
Pros: This post is kind of to balance the double post below. The Titanium LCD top is _under_ the rubberized coating (which protects the laptop from scratches) This machine is killer on performance and extremely efficient in processing. Battery life is incredibl
Cons: The lappy has a small viewing angle, but not as severe as some have reported. No firewire ports. THIS IS NOT A DESKTOP REPLACEMENT; this is for the mobile workforce warrior.
User Rating: 2/10
Better Shop Around!!!(long)
Pros: Keyboard feel, slim design-Black, wireless antenee strenght,ultranav
Cons: I wanted to like these units ,after reviewing on cnet (here)and anandetech.com purchased the 237393u,hard drive crash, dull LCD and 2 hr battery life. The replacement was the Top of the line 2373g5u workstaion class with the new 8 meg hard drive ,high spe
User Rating: 2/10
Read This First!!!!!
Pros: slim design,keyboard feel,antenea for wirelss is strong
Cons: Titanium cover is really a rubber coat that scrapes off,lousy dull screen, tinty speakers, Toshiba and Sony Products blow this away, i had to return both ibms!!!
User Rating: 8/10
Rock solid, dependable, quality - IBM
Pros: Stellar keyboard, great screen, good (but not great) performance (needs more ram), rock-hard case, great WI-FI antenae - great range, good battery life with standard battery, very, very, very thin. Essentially - IBM quality with little frills
Cons: I had to call IBM to get them to give me a recovery cd. Not that I need it - yet. But it should have been included. No windows key. I didn't think it would be a big deal but I now wish I had it. I had to map my right alt key to be the windows key. Some ma
User Rating: 5/10
IBM Service is real Bad
Pros: Very good machine if all features are as promised and unfortunate users like me dont get harassed
Cons: I have a few bad pixels and some service agent tells me that 11 have got to go to get a replacement. So i see these spots(not 11 as yet) on my screen every day. I heard some story about millions of pixels and how I am lucky that only a few are bad. Is thi
User Rating: 10/10
Excellent notebook!
Pros: Extremely light and elegant machine. DVD movies look outstanding. Sound is very good for a laptop. Battery life is more than 5 hours depending in your choices for display brightness, etc. I would definitively buy it again.
Cons: None at this point.
User Rating: 8/10
What a laptop should be
Pros: Fantastic product! My fifth IBM laptop. I am upgrading from my trusty T20, 2.5 years and still strong. Well, I thought it was time to try other manufacturers, surely they must have caught-up to IBM. Tried in flesh - Dell, Toshiba and Compaq, latest mod
Cons: Wait!
User Rating: 8/10
IBM Cist Service - 100%
Pros: My 20month old A30P failed again (for the 3 time) this time due to thermal issues. Called IBM Sunday night, determined it was a bad CPU (naturally). Monday afternoon received a call from IBM Customer Servr offering me a FULL REFUND on my purchase price
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User Rating: 8/10
Three movies simultaneously!
Pros: This machine is awesome. It's fast, light and tough. I've owned Dell inspiron 4150. Now this machine (1.6GHz, 512Mb, 80Gb, SXGA) makes me wonder how I could live with that monster. I played three DIVX movies. Cool~ All my colleges are drooling over my n
Cons: no firewire?
User Rating: 8/10
Wonderful notebook for just about anyone!
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User Rating: 9/10
The best for the long haul
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User Rating: 4/10
T40 Quality Control Problem
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User Rating: 7/10
Terrible quality, big design flaw
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User Rating: 10/10
Excellent ThankPad - Class of it's own...
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User Rating: 9/10
Best notebook ever!
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User Rating: 9/10
Buy Before You Review
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User Rating: 6/10
They do not care about their customers.
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User Rating: 3/10
3K system Hangs ??????
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User Rating: 5/10
Quality control issues
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User Rating: 9/10
Latest & Greatest
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User Rating: 8/10
An Excellent Laptop
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User Rating: 9/10
The best laptop money can buy
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User Rating: 8/10
Living with a T40...
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User Rating: 4/10
Disappointed Customer: Quality Problem without Exchange
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User Rating: 9/10
IBM T40's worlds best notebooks
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User Rating: 8/10
Great notebook; good price
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User Rating: 4/10
Why did the price go up?
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User Rating: 10/10
Perfect for what it needs to be..
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User Rating: 1/10
What happened to all the ports?
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User Rating: 10/10
best thinkpad yet
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User Rating: 7/10
How long must one wait?
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User Rating: 7/10
Waiting
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User Rating: 10/10
IBM is the premier laptop builder!
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User Rating: 7/10
Strangely fast delivery
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User Rating: 4/10
IBM is a rip off
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User Rating: 9/10
Absolutely awesome.
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User Rating: 8/10
Quality Notebook
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User Rating: 8/10
T40 is the best
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