Lenovo Thinkpad T400S: Powerful Portability

The Lenovo Thinkpad T400S brings all the features to the table that you expect of a Thinkpad -- sturdy construction, powerful business-caliber processing, and a fantastic keyboard -- compressed into an ultraportable frame. At only 1" thick, the Thinkpad T400S is one of the very few machines on the market that include an optical drive in such a slender profile, and with its release, the T400S became the lightest laptop with a 14" screen (a mere 3.9 pounds).

Lenovo Thinkpad T400S

While some sacrifices had to be made to achieve the light, thin design, overall performance was not one of them. The T400S boasts a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It comes standard with 2GB of DDR3 memory but can be configured up to 8 GB. Finally, the 128 GB SDD solid state hard drive provides better speeds than traditional spinning drives. This is enough horsepower to tackle most any workload. The integrated graphics card, Intel's 4500MHD, cannot be upgraded however. While this will be fine for most users, it does mean that the Thinkpad T400S is not a machine for serious gamers.

The display, with a 1440 x 900 resolution, is bright and the colors are crisp, and the use of LED technology means elimination of hazardous materials like mercury along with increased energy efficiency. In fact, the T400s is certified Energy Star 5.0. Also a winner is the new multi-touch trackpad, which is covered in small nubs. The texturing provides a unique and highly agreeable user experience.

Now for those sacrifices. There was not room for both an ExpressCard slot and a multi-card reader. The standard configuration includes an ExpressCard 34 slot, but it can be swapped out for an SD card slot. There is also no Firewire port, and fewer USB ports than many mainstream laptops in its class: one eSATA/USB combo port and two standard USB ports. Perhaps more significantly, the thin profile can only accommodate a standard battery. Extended batteries are not available. Fortunately the battery performance on the T400s is decent. You can reasonably expect over 4 hours of typical usage.

Additionally, the price-point on the Lenovo Thinkpad T400s is somewhat higher than other laptops in its performance class, meaning it will likely appeal most to those users who require a highly portable laptop but still need the computing power of larger models. For deals on this lightweight powerhouse, check out eBay.com.