travel weight vs weight

[wiesl]

Hello!

Has anyone the definition of travel weight vs weight.

Thnx.

Ciao,
Wiesl

[Scorpiontico]

Hello!

Has anyone the definition of travel weight vs weight.

Thnx.

Ciao,
Wiesl

dude what are you asking?

[wiesl]

Hello!

Has anyone the definition of travel weight vs weight.

Thnx.

Ciao,
Wiesl

dude what are you asking?

What is the difference between travel weight and weight?

A possible answer might be: Travel weight is without battery and Power Supply ...

Ciao,
Wiesl

[verktyg]

IIR, Travel weight was with battery installed but no removeable drives in the TP and no power supply.

Weight was with battery and removeable drives installed.

The travel weight for my T20 was 4.6 Lbs and the weight was 5.5 Lbs.

[wiesl]

IIR, Travel weight was with battery installed but no removeable drives in the TP and no power supply.

Weight was with battery and removeable drives installed.

The travel weight for my T20 was 4.6 Lbs and the weight was 5.5 Lbs.

Removeable drives are harddisk and DVD/CROM or only DVD/CDROM?

Ciao,
Wiesl

[skystorm]

Removeable drives are harddisk and DVD/CROM or only DVD/CDROM?

Although one can remove the hard drive as well, "removable drives" should only refer to the DVD- or CD-drive. Without the latter the laptop is still functioning, whereas a missing HD is in general a bad idea

[Inky]

One definition of travel weight is the lightest possible configuration that makes sense for a commuter who takes the ThinkPad to work and back home, and keeps the add-ons he needs in both places. An AC adapter at each location, maybe a CD-ROM and battery at each location. That way you could argue that a ThinkPad with no battery is "Travel Weight"

A more conservative definition would include at least a six cell battery so you can use it WHILE you are commuting.

The most conservative definition would include all the laptop items needed when you go on a long trip. That means including the AC adapter for when the battery runs down.

One thing is for sure, and that is the "Travel Weight" means there is nothing in the ultrabay.

I agree it would be nice to know which of these scenarios IBM has in mind when THEY say "Travel Weight".

For all I know there might be the agressive marketing definition of travel weight: ThinkPad with screen, hard drive, and keyboard removed. After all, you could still use it with a properly outfitted dock II.

-Inky

[verktyg]

"Travel Weight" is a very specific IBM TP marketing description (read marketing BS) . It's the weight of the TP with 1 battery and the HDD plus the Travel Bezel which is a piece of black plastic which fills the removable drive cavity or cavities. No removable drives or accessories: FDD, CD, CDR, DVD, DVDR, Zip, Super 120, extra battery, extra HDD, PC Cards or any thing else that might fit in the removable category.

This misleading descriptive terminology started sometime after the Sept. 1998 600 series TPs. See Tabook descriptions.

[GomJabbar]

I just checked in two different versions of Tabook as verktyg mentioned. It's just as he says. I guess "Travel Weight" does not include the AC adapter either, although it's not specifically mentioned.

[Jmmmmm]

I just checked in two different versions of Tabook as verktyg mentioned. It's just as he says. I guess "Travel Weight" does not include the AC adapter either, although it's not specifically mentioned.

Well the normal weight listed of the computer doesn't take the ac adapter into account, so I don't see why they would all of a sudden include it in the lighter 'travel weight'.

[aamsel]

This is a term used by almost every laptop manufacturer. It is in no way unique to IBM/Lenovo. ASUS, Dell, many others use it.

IBM may have started the use of the term, but they are by no means alone in using it at this time.

Andrew
Austin, TX

..."Travel Weight" is a very specific IBM TP marketing description (read marketing BS)...

[Charles Krug]

I understand that marketing has their job to do. Still, when a user says to me, "Hey, the TP web site says this T43 is only 3.8 lbs -- I want it!", the fine print is met with some dismay. All my mobile users ALWAYS travel with the power supply, & they never pull the optical drive.
-- Jim

[GomJabbar]

I agree with Charles Krug. If you take your laptop out for the day, generally speaking you need either the power brick or a second battery. The difference in weight between the two is not that substantial. On the other hand, if you are only bringing your laptop to college classes, or to business meetings, the 'official' travel weight might be what you are looking for.

The optical drive is certainly useful if you like to watch your own DVD's while out on the road. Some people have a stack of CD's or MP3's that they like to listen to when they travel. Of course they could put this music on the hard drive, but many want to save hard disk space for more 'important' things.

[verktyg]

I used a 3 Lb. Sony 505G for several years: 8" x 10" x .900" with a 10.5" screen. I added up the 505G's actual "travel weight" (what I carried with me on the road) which included an extra battery, AC adapter, external 1.44MB floppy, Port Replicator, PCMCIA CD drive and PC Card NIC. It was over 6.5 Lbs. !

I bought a T20 in 2000 partially based on the "Travel Weight" specs of less than 5 Lbs. (supposed to have been 4.3 Lbs) which it wasn't!

I carried around the T20 for the next 3 1/2 years with an extra battery, AC adapter, USB FDD, CDRW/DVD, PC Card Modem & NIC plus cables and a surge protector. The weight of all of this junk was over 8 lbs. but it had the advange of a larger screen and at least 1 internal drive.

There was a some flack about the laptop travel weight issue a few years ago comparing it with false advertising about monitor screen size.

[Jmmmmm]

I understand that marketing has their job to do. Still, when a user says to me, "Hey, the TP web site says this T43 is only 3.8 lbs -- I want it!", the fine print is met with some dismay. All my mobile users ALWAYS travel with the power supply, & they never pull the optical drive.
-- Jim

I agree for the most part. But, ever since I got the t43 with extended battery, the battery lasts me all day (usually with a lot left over), and I don't need the cd drive at school, so I have actually not been taking the ac adapter. The cd drive really adds so little weight, it's a tossup whether to take it or not.

So, while the 'travel weight' is obviously used as a marketing tool now, it's not complete bs. If you're going on a real trip, you're going to need the ac adapter, extra batteries, etc etc. But that's true for any computer, so I wouldn't really blame IBM for that. The lower the base weight, though, the better. I'm glad the IBM ac adapter is so small, my dell's adapter weighed like two pounds alone!

Has anyone actually verified that the 3.8lbs is true or a typo? After that stunt they pulled calling the new dvdrw "4x", I wouldn't put it past them to call the new 'travel weight' without the screen and harddrive...

[simscitizen]

I used a 3 Lb. Sony 505G for several years: 8" x 10" x .900" with a 10.5" screen. I added up the 505G's actual "travel weight" (what I carried with me on the road) which included an extra battery, AC adapter, external 1.44MB floppy, Port Replicator, PCMCIA CD drive and PC Card NIC. It was over 6.5 Lbs. !

I bought a T20 in 2000 partially based on the "Travel Weight" specs of less than 5 Lbs. (supposed to have been 4.3 Lbs) which it wasn't!

I carried around the T20 for the next 3 1/2 years with an extra battery, AC adapter, USB FDD, CDRW/DVD, PC Card Modem & NIC plus cables and a surge protector. The weight of all of this junk was over 8 lbs. but it had the advange of a larger screen and at least 1 internal drive.

There was a some flack about the laptop travel weight issue a few years ago comparing it with false advertising about monitor screen size.

You actually USE all that stuff? I've never used a floppy in years. If you had just carried around the T20 with the standard cell and the ultrabay battery you would have shaved your travel weight nearly in half. When traveling I put my ac adapter in the carry-on baggage or the checked-in luggage so I don't have to haul it on my back.

Personally I carry around my T43 with the 6-cell + ultrabay and have an extra ac adapter at work. I never understood the fascination with internal optical drive bays--just extra dead weight for me, at least, when you could just rip the DVD's you need to you hard drive ahead of time. And when I need a DVD at work I just pop it into an unused machine and mount it over the network...although I suppose not everyone has this option.

[anthony]

You actually USE all that stuff? I've never used a floppy in years. If you had just carried around the T20 with the standard cell and the ultrabay battery you would have shaved your travel weight nearly in half. When traveling I put my ac adapter in the carry-on baggage or the checked-in luggage so I don't have to haul it on my back.

Personally I carry around my T43 with the 6-cell + ultrabay and have an extra ac adapter at work. I never understood the fascination with internal optical drive bays--just extra dead weight for me, at least, when you could just rip the DVD's you need to you hard drive ahead of time. And when I need a DVD at work I just pop it into an unused machine and mount it over the network...although I suppose not everyone has this option.

Ditto. Either my 9-cell or my 6 cell + ultrabay keeps me going all day. But I don't keep the notebook working away all day. I use it in spurts. Maybe 4 hrs total. Yes, you need the discipline to charge it everyday, but that's easier for me. And I have the 6-cell as backup when I forget.

Of course, we're complaining about the difference of a pound or so. Nothing that is going to cause a hernia. My girlfriend purse sometimes weighs more than my laptop with battery and optical drive in the TransNote folio.

[GomJabbar]

My girlfriend purse sometimes weighs more than my laptop with battery and optical drive in the TransNote folio.

I could probably empty out my wifes purse and put in the laptop, and she wouldn't know the difference until she had to open it.

[verktyg]

You actually USE all that stuff? I've never used a floppy in years.

From mid 1999 through mid 2004, I was on the road, traveling around the US, Canada and Mexico about 35 weeks a year. At 6.5 Lbs, the 505G was still lighter than most of the 3 spindle laptops on the market. I did a lot of work with it. For short day trips I used it without any accessories, even after I got my T20.

I still use floppies. Last week I had to give some one a 700k Excel file. It was easier to put it on a floppy than waste a CD. I used the burner in my T20 quite often on the road for giving people a lot of data. I've never used the DVD for entertainment.

If you had just carried around the T20 with the standard cell and the ultrabay battery you would have shaved your travel weight nearly in half. When traveling I put my ac adapter in the carry-on baggage or the checked-in luggage so I don't have to haul it on my back.

I needed the Ultrabay CDROM for WORK related CDs. The T20 used 2 batteries on a 5-6 hour cross country flight. Very few planes have laptop power outlets (Aug. 2003 to Aug. 2004 - 80 flights on 8 airlines). Most of my work was in the field so I needed to have a mobile office.

At one point I even tried several portable printers but they were more hassle than they were worth. It was easier to use the IR port or copy files to floppies and then print them on a client's PC. Most companies frown on an outsider coming in and trying to connect to their network.

From the comments over the last few years, there seems to be a lot of members who use their laptops between home and office or school rather than hard core road warriors. I changed jobs a year ago and I don't go out of Northern CA very often any more (15+ years on the road). I do day trips and have an IBM AC/DC adapter in my car but I still carry the CDRW/DVD in my T20 and X31.