T43 question

[Thinker]

Hi,

A very simple question for the insiders in the board
Will the fingerprint reader be a standard feature in the T43, or will it be optional?
I personally dislike the fingerprint reader (as I do the touchpad), but I'm sure many people can't get enough of those gadgets that now populate the one time elegant T-series palmrest.

Ruben

[Steve007]

We will include it in certain models only.

It will be standard in the Leadership T43 models, included in all but one of the T43p models and it will be included in 7 out of the 15 WH models but will not be present in the entry WH models.

[Thinker]

Steve,

Thanks, that's very reassuring. By the way, what does WH stand for? Workhorse maybe?

Also, if you have this information available and are in the position to disclose it (very unlikely, I'm sure), when is the T43 line shipping?
And, how long after the T43 is shipping will the T42 cease being sold?
To be honest with you, the only thing stopping me from getting a T42 right now are all these reports about flaws with the construction of the T42.
(By the way, how reliable are these reports? Do most T42 units flex and click, or is this just a statistical aberration whose significance is increased without any substantial justification by some notorious threads in this forum?)

Since the T43 is around the corner, I might as well wait and see what customer feedback is. Hopefully the design of the unit has been perfected (as it seems was the case with the T23 as opposed to the previous members of the T2x series).

Ruben

[Steve007]

Thanks, that's very reassuring. By the way, what does WH stand for? Workhorse maybe?

Yep!

Also, if you have this information available and are in the position to disclose it (very unlikely, I'm sure), when is the T43 line shipping?

Can’t say at the moment, sorry!

And, how long after the T43 is shipping will the T42 cease being sold?

Quite a long while. The remaining T41’s will run up until May 05 and the T42’s will run up until August 05 with quite a few models running until November 05.

To be honest with you, the only thing stopping me from getting a T42 right now are all these reports about flaws with the construction of the T42.
(By the way, how reliable are these reports? Do most T42 units flex and click, or is this just a statistical aberration whose significance is increased without any substantial justification by some notorious threads in this forum?)

Now is the best time possible to buy a T42. I’d personally recommend potential ThinkPad buyers to look out for some great deals that are bound to surface as soon as the T43 is formally announced.

As for the flaws, it only affecting a small number of units.

Since the T43 is around the corner, I might as well wait and see what customer feedback is. Hopefully the design of the unit has been perfected (as it seems was the case with the T23 as opposed to the previous members of the T2x series).

By all means wait to see what the feedback on the T43 is like, but look out for decent deals for T42 units!

[ehd]

i'm waiting for those t42 deals.. cmon cmon!!!!

[Hangfire]

I've got a T-42 and could not be happier, never had a problem with it and got a great deal from Bill!

[Thinker]

As for the flaws, it only affecting a small number of units.

Steve,

Thanks for all the information. Regarding the flaws, I suppose that someone with a perfect computer is much less likely to report than those who are having these problems.

Ruben

[ehd]

i think its just that some people are less anal about 'squeaks' here and there

[Thinker]

I've got a T-42 and could not be happier, never had a problem with it and got a great deal from Bill!

Congratulations on that. I think your model is a 15 inch screen model, right?
Apparently the 15 inch models don't have any build problems. I would really like to get a 14 inch model though, if possible on SXGA.

[Thinker]

i think its just that some people are less anal about 'squeaks' here and there

Yes, I'm sure some people (like me for example ) have less tolerance for squeaks. To be honest, I wouldn't care too much as long as it isn't too severe, and as long as it is not a sign of potential long term problems.
I mean, if you hear something that shouldn't be there it is because something is hitting or rubbing something which it shouldn't be hitting or rubbing, or because of mechanical stress on some piece.

That being said, I own now a Certified Used T23, and the keyboard flexes quite a bit on the left side. I am not really worried, because it is a Certified Used product and even considering this minor problem it looks like a very solid laptop. However, when I buy a new T-series I expect it to be as close to perfection as possible.

Ruben

[jenny-m]

Thinkpad T43p 15"

Pentium M processor 770
(2.1GHz, 533MHz FSB, 2MB L2 cache),
15" UXGA, 1600 x 1200,1GB RAM
60GB 7200rpm,
9-cell Li-Ion, Modem, Gigabit-Ethernet
ESS, M24GL-128MB VRAM(MOBILITY RADEON X600), Bluetooth

with Fingerprint-Reader:

2668-H1U Centrino a/b/g, Combo, FPR
2668-H2U Centrino b/g, Multi-Burner, FPR

wuthout Fingerprint Reader:

2668-H4U Centrino a/b/g, Combo
2668-H5U Centrino a/b/g, Multi-Burner

Thinkpad T43p 14"

Pentium M processor 770
(2.1GHz, 533MHz FSB, 2MB L2 cache), 14.1" SXGA+, 1GB, 60GB 7200rpm,
9-cell Li-Ion, Modem, Gigabit-Ethernet
ESS, M24GL-128MB VRAM(MOBILITY RADEON X600), Bluetooth

with Fingerprint Reader :

2668-G1U Centrino a/b/g, Combo, FPR
2668-G2U Centrino a/b/g, Multi-Burner, FPR

without Fingerprint Reader:

2668-G3U Centrino a/b/g, Combo

source of this information: http://www.ip-web.de/d/hardware/laptop/ ... d_T43p.htm

[jenny-m]

just saw that there is already a more detailed list in this forum under the discussion thread:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... c&start=15

[TimWang]

any ideas yet on the cost?

Addition: I called IBM today and they told me they didn't have an estimated ship date on the T43 yet, but the person told me it was going to be at least a month...

[JLai]

I've got a T-42 and could not be happier, never had a problem with it and got a great deal from Bill!

Congratulations on that. I think your model is a 15 inch screen model, right?
Apparently the 15 inch models don't have any build problems. I would really like to get a 14 inch model though, if possible on SXGA.

I have a T42 14" SXGA+ with a 9600 Radeon...I'm very very satisfied. So satisfied, that I can't see myself buying anything other than a ThinkPad in the future. Everything is so easily upgradable too. Had no problems putting in a 100 GB Momentus drive or the extra 1 GB of ram.

I'm gonna have to go with the consensus...if the laptop is perfect, there's no reason to post that everything is working correctly.

[rocketman]

I've had my T42 2379R9U for 6 weeks now, it is the best experience I've had with a laptop computer. To be honest I'm usually the type who like to have the "latest" but I'm so satisfied with my T42 I have no desire to get a T43.

[K. Eng]

Most people will probably not notice the difference between a T42 and T43. I expect the T43 to have the edge in multimedia content creation due to the faster FSB.

[ehd]

the standard battery is 9 cell? hrmm interesting... i dont really like UXGA so i think the 14" sxga sounds pretty good.... wish they'd have a 15" sxga model tho =x btw are these video cards better then t42s?

[Thinker]

just saw that there is already a more detailed list in this forum under the discussion thread:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... c&start=15

Jenny,

Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't realize about the FPR specification in that page actually meant Finger Print Reader. DOH!

Ruben

[Thinker]

Congratulations on that. I think your model is a 15 inch screen model, right?
Apparently the 15 inch models don't have any build problems. I would really like to get a 14 inch model though, if possible on SXGA.

I have a T42 14" SXGA+ with a 9600 Radeon...I'm very very satisfied. So satisfied, that I can't see myself buying anything other than a ThinkPad in the future. Everything is so easily upgradable too. Had no problems putting in a 100 GB Momentus drive or the extra 1 GB of ram.

I'm gonna have to go with the consensus...if the laptop is perfect, there's no reason to post that everything is working correctly.

JLai,

It seems that you have the 2378FVU (correct me if I'm wrong).
It sounds like you are happy with it. So you don't have any flexing or clicking in the keyboard? Pretty cool!

I've had a Certified Used T23 for a week now, and although I'm sure it doesn't compare to the T42 I'm very happy with it. The screen is very bright and nice. The only thing is that the keyboard flexes quite a bit on the left side, but I'm not concerned about it. the only thing I need to do now is find reasonably priced 512 Mb RAM modules for it

Ruben

[Thinker]

I've had my T42 2379R9U for 6 weeks now, it is the best experience I've had with a laptop computer. To be honest I'm usually the type who like to have the "latest" but I'm so satisfied with my T42 I have no desire to get a T43.

Do you mind if I ask you how does the Mobility Radeon 9600 perform?
Have you used Photoshop on it, or any 3D app? How about games?

Now you say you won't want to get a T43 because you are in T42 nirvana, but a few months from now you might want to get a T43 while still keeping your T42 for "backup"

Ruben

[JLai]

I have a T42 14" SXGA+ with a 9600 Radeon...I'm very very satisfied. So satisfied, that I can't see myself buying anything other than a ThinkPad in the future. Everything is so easily upgradable too. Had no problems putting in a 100 GB Momentus drive or the extra 1 GB of ram.

I'm gonna have to go with the consensus...if the laptop is perfect, there's no reason to post that everything is working correctly.

JLai,

It seems that you have the 2378FVU (correct me if I'm wrong).
It sounds like you are happy with it. So you don't have any flexing or clicking in the keyboard? Pretty cool!

I've had a Certified Used T23 for a week now, and although I'm sure it doesn't compare to the T42 I'm very happy with it. The screen is very bright and nice. The only thing is that the keyboard flexes quite a bit on the left side, but I'm not concerned about it. the only thing I need to do now is find reasonably priced 512 Mb RAM modules for it

Ruben

Yep...thats the one. There's defintely no click of the keyboard. As far as flexing goes, its not bad at all...I only notice it alittle bit if I old it near the front with the lcd up (I'm also using a 9 cell + a slim polymer battery in the back, so its a little bit heavier than a normal 6 cell). Its really not a big deal at all. Couldn't be more satisfied.

[JLai]

I've had my T42 2379R9U for 6 weeks now, it is the best experience I've had with a laptop computer. To be honest I'm usually the type who like to have the "latest" but I'm so satisfied with my T42 I have no desire to get a T43.

Do you mind if I ask you how does the Mobility Radeon 9600 perform?
Have you used Photoshop on it, or any 3D app? How about games?

Now you say you won't want to get a T43 because you are in T42 nirvana, but a few months from now you might want to get a T43 while still keeping your T42 for "backup"

Ruben

I use photoshop on it quite alot. Works perfectly fine. I also play Unreal Tournament 2004 using all normal detail settings...It runs really smooth without any frame lag. I've also gotten doom 3 to run on it using medium settings and no frame lag.

[CChoi83]

I've had my T42 2379R9U for 6 weeks now, it is the best experience I've had with a laptop computer. To be honest I'm usually the type who like to have the "latest" but I'm so satisfied with my T42 I have no desire to get a T43.

You and I both know this Rocketman: You're a liar.