Lenovo ThinkPad T400s

Experts are mightily impressed with the Lenovo ThinkPad T400s, especially those who need a portable laptop that doesn't skimp on performance. There are lighter and thinner ultraportable laptops available, but reviewers say the Lenovo ThinkPad T400s is rock solid. It attracts a lot of praise for its stable build, while weighing less than 4 pounds. The 14.1-inch display is crisp and clear, and a number of experts prefer its matte display to the glossy coatings seen on many mainstream laptops. Battery life is also reasonable, lasting about four hours in performance tests.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T400s ships with Windows 7 Professional and includes a 120 GB hard drive, 2 GB of memory and a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. While reviewers are impressed with the performance overall, they caution not to mistake this laptop for a gaming or multimedia rig. The T400s doesn't include discrete graphics, so it posts pretty dismal scores in 3-D gaming and graphics tests. A newer version has just been released, the Lenovo ThinkPad T400s Multi-Touch (*Est. $2,000 and up), which is identical save for a multi-touch display. But unless you have a specific need for that functionality, reviewers recommend skipping that version in favor of the Lenovo ThinkPad T400s and saving $400. 

There is no shortage of reviews on the Lenovo ThinkPad T400s, with the best coverage coming from CNET, ComputerShopper.com, PCMag.com and Laptop Magazine. These sources provide the most thorough testing and analysis of the ultraportable laptop, and each rates the T400s. NotebookReview.com and HotHardware.com also have very detailed reviews, but don't rate the laptop. Shorter reviews from Wired and PC World are also helpful, although considerably less detailed. Most reviewers test the laptop with Windows Vista, but it now ships with Windows 7 and performance should be similar, if not better.