Monday, September 15, 2008

Lenovo ThinkPad SL400


Lenovo ThinkPad SL400 is the latest addition to the ThinkPad family and promises to offer features and performance at a fraction of the cost of other ThinkPads. Lenovo's new IdeaPad line of notebooks might give consumers plenty of attractive options, but The new SL series is the first line of small business notebooks designed with ThinkPad styling at an affordable price. Is there more here than just traditional ThinkPad shape and a low price? We took a first look at the SL400 to give you some idea of whether this laptop is right for you.

ThinkPad SL400 has the following specifications:

* Processor: 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (1066MHz FSB, 3MB Cache)
* Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS 256MB
* Screen: 14.1" WXGA, Anti-glare (1280x800, 200nit)
* Memory: 2GB(up to 4GB configurable)
* Storage: 160GB SATA HDD (5400rpm)
* Optical Drive: Dual layer CD/DVD recordable drive
* Wireless and Communications: Intel 4965AGN (802.11 a/b/g/n wi-fi), BlueTooth 2.0 EDR
* Battery: 6-cell Li-Ion
* Dimensions: 13.2" x 9.7" x 1.3"-1.5")
* Weight: 5.5lbs with battery
* Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
* Warranty: 1-year

The pricing on the SL400 starts at around $799. Unfortuantely, at the time of this writing we don't have pricing information on the configuration that we are testing ... but we'll have that information in our full review coming soon. Needless to say, this is one of the more budget-friendly ThinkPads on the market. More to the point, Lenovo has gone out of its way to give you multiple reasons to consider the SL series over the competition.

ThinkPad SL400 is quite solid in terms of build quality, though the plastics used in the chassis construction do give in to some case flex when squeezed. The entire chassis exterior is plastic and while the appearance is nice, the "feel" of the notebook is a little less rugged than we've come to expect from ThinkPads. Unlike with the other ThinkPads, you don't get a double latch mechanism with button release to make sure the screen is held down when it is closed and being carried. Instead, the SL400 uses hinge tension to hold the screen in place.

The glossy black plastic display cover is probably the most interesting design element on the SL400. Lenovo also decided to modify the traditional ThinkPad logo by adding a small red LED to the dot above the "i" in ThinkPad. I suppose someone still thinks "bling is the thing" in the world of small business. In any case, this certainly isn't a boring ThinkPad

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