IBM THINKPAD T41

IN BRIEF: A ThinkPad that puts good all-round performance, features and usability into a box that’s still portable

IBM promotes its T-series ThinkPad laptops as the “perfect balance of performance and portability”. In other words, if you want a machine that’s easy to carry but still has plenty of power, this is the range to consider. Our review ThinkPad T41 (£1727 inc. VAT) combined a 1.4GHz Intel Pentium M processor with a dedicated graphics card and a 40GBHitachi hard drive, putting them together in a2.3kg ultraportable package. Other speeds of CPU are available up to 1.7GHz. Standard memory allocation is 256MB of DDR DRAM.

PERFORMANCE

In our MobileMark 2002 performance tests this system scored 130. For a 1.4GHz chip that’s disappointing, and we would have hoped for something closer to 150. Although it’s still a useful level of power, you might want to improve it by expanding the memory to 512MB. The battery life measured during testing was an impressive 282 minutes. This machine’s most unusual feature is IBM’s Active Protection System for the hard drive.

An accelerometer on the motherboard detects sudden movement, as would occur if you dropped the unit. Once triggered, it parks the hard drive’s read/write heads. A typical hard drive can withstand a shock up to 200G,but that rises to 800G with parked heads. Even if the rest of the laptop fails, there’s a greater chance that data can be recovered off the drive. ATi’s Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics card powers the screen and it has 32MB of VRAM onboard. A leading card over a year ago, it’s now firmly a mid-range performer, scoring 4117 with 3DMark 2001. However, it’s a logical choice for a system like the T41, offering enough 3D performance to handle standard graphics packages proficiently.

WEIGHT ISSUES

To keep weight down, IBM has used a 14.1-inch display, and at 1024 x 768 pixels text is comfortable to read. Our review system showed no defects and had both an even brightness and a good level of adjustment. The trim around the lid’s edge overlaps the base providing extra impact protection when closed, but it lacks the overlap on the left side to allow for two Type II PC Card slots (or one Type III) in the base.

The keyboard is of IBM’s typical high standard, and this machine has a trackpad and a pointing stick. Other controls make presentation work easier, including volume buttons and a function key combination to turn on a light, which shines onto the keyboard. You can burn CDs with the Toshiba DVD/CD-RW drive, which you can easily remove and swap with another device. Wireless LAN is provided by Intel’s PRO/wireless 802.11b card. Other connections include Gigabit Ethernet, modem, infrared, parallel, external monitor, S-Video and two USB 2.0 ports, but this model lacks FireWire.

Only the parallel port is on the rear of the chassis, so the bulk of the ports are all easy to access. Apart from the Active Protection System, a number of other features will attract business buyers, such as IBM’s imbedded security chip, the Rapid Restore recovery system and the compatibility of pre-load image and hardware options with both X and R series ThinkPads. That might not justify the premium price for individual buyers, but for corporate IT departments these features add extra value.

Although this system didn’t extract the full potential from its 1.4GHz processor, it offers a sensible level of power all round. More importantly, it gives you this in a lightweight system with excellent usability and battery life, making it a good travelling partner.

PRICE: £1470/£1727 (EX/INC. VAT)
PROCESSOR: INTEL PENTIUM M 1.4GHZ
MEMORY: 256MB DDR SDRAM
HARD DRIVE: HITACHI 40GB
SCREEN SIZE AND TYPE: 14.1-INCH TFT
DISPLAY RESOLUTION: 1024 X 768 PIXELS
GRAPHICS CARD: ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500
DIMENSIONS: 309 X 256 X 33MM
WEIGHT: 2.3KG
PC CARDS (TYPE II/III): 2/1
WIRELESS LAN: 802.11B
ETHERNET: YES
MODEM: YES
USB PORTS: 2 USB 2.0
FIREWIRE: NO
STANDARD WARRANTY: 3 YR RTB (1 YR FOR BATTERY)
WARRANTY UPGRADE: N/A
CONTACT: 0990 727272 WWW.IBM.COM/UK

BATTERY LIFE: 282 MINS
MOBILEMARK: 2002130
3DMARK 2001: 4117

RATINGS AND TEST RESULTS
VALUE FOR MONEY: 7
PERFORMANCE: 6
FEATURES: 8
MOBILITY: 8
BUILD QUALITY: 8
OVERALL: 7

Price correct at time of review