Thinkpads Forum

Hi

The other day I tried the SL500 a bit and found the touchpad to be very small. I have considered to buy a T500, but i'm not so sure since I tried the SL500, is the touchpad size the same? I really want to like the T500 but i'm not sure i can live with a small touchpad. I'm starting to lean towards a macbook pro, can you tell why i should buy a t500 and not a MBP?

Can anybody argue why i should choose a t500 instead of a macbook pro?

If the touchpad is very important the macbook might be the best solution for you. Its touchpad is even clickable The T500 has also some advantages over the macbook having WWAN (UMTS), matte screen, docking solution, better keyboard, battery options.

IMHO, once you try trackpoint (if not already) you'll never need touchpad again...

beGi wrote:IMHO, once you try trackpoint (if not already) you'll never need touchpad again...

I have a laptop with trackpoint but i can't get used to it.

How does the MBP and T500 compare in durability?

The T500 looks and feels sturdy - as the unibody macbook. When some parts of the T500 are defect you can buy and replace just these parts. Lenovo has documents how to install everything. So you can repair your thinkpad on your own. You need a new keyboard? Just buy it for 50 €. Your DVDRW is defect? Buy a new one and plug it in. Apple on the other hand has the unibody design which should be undestructible.

ssd_thinkpad wrote:The T500 looks and feels sturdy - as the unibody macbook. When some parts of the T500 are defect you can buy and replace just these parts. Lenovo has documents how to install everything. So you can repair your thinkpad on your own. You need a new keyboard? Just buy it for 50 €. Your DVDRW is defect? Buy a new one and plug it in. Apple on the other hand has the unibody design which should be undestructible.

I didn't know that lenovo supplied such information, that's nice.

Does anybody have some experience with the t500 in particular the touchpad? If so how is the touchpad for everyday use?

ebp wrote:Can anybody argue why i should choose a t500 instead of a macbook pro?

Sure, but first I have one question.... how many hours do you have? ....ha...ha...ha... OK. Getting serious here.

I'm very open minded when it comes to brands and models, since at the end of the day I'm always searching for the best, embracing change and love to try different makes and models even though I cannot imagine using anything else than a ThinkPad Workstation for my daily work. There are only two Laptop Makers that I believe create top shelf equipment, and that is Lenovo and Apple. I've had many of each, over the years so the only point is I have some first hand experience. It truly is like comparing Apples and Oranges as they each have their target markets and they are indeed quite different. That line is beginning to blur a bit since Apple caved and began using Intel chips, yet nonetheless they are far from ready to be taken seriously as business machines largely because they continue to cater to the consumer that buys flashy styling over functionality. Most specifically (even though I new better) I recently bought one of the new Unibody MacBook Pros. This despite the super reflective mirror like display, I was keen on trying it, as I fell in love with the touchpad. That is a significant statement as generally I deplore touch pads. In fact I simply don't use them as the TrackPoint on a ThinkPad is as familiar and preferable to me as a desktop user with a mouse. However the new "glass" over sized touchpad on the MacBooks / MBP's is outstanding. Especially since the fixed the early issues of failure to register movements and clicks. Now they are actually _fun_ to use. However the glossy screen is simply dreadful, as no matter where I'm at, (other than my windowless home office) they simply reflect the slightest bit of light back at you. As far as the display there is only one resolution for the MBP and it's just 1440x900 @ 15.4" which is not fine enough for me. Yet for general usage it's ok and that's what I use if for anyway. Nothing serious, just kind of fun to play with. Overall durability is good, but certainly does not exceed that of the legendary ThinkPad nor does Apple have the same deep reservoir of resources on their web site as Lenovo does. I find the flat topped keys less than as accurate to touch type on and ones fingers can slip off if not centered properly. While not a bad keyboard, I find the VAIO's implementation of the same style keys much better. However compared to a ThinkPad keyboard neither is as fast, accurate and as mistake free as the concave tops of ThinkPad keys. At the end of the day, it's really a matter of how you use your laptop. If for fun, recreational movie watching and other entertainment uses, then a MacBook or MBP is fine. If however you use it for work and other mission critical tasks, a ThinkPad is simply far and away the best, at least in my personal opinion. Your mileage may vary....

That was a great post

In the summer i'm going to start studying structural engineering(i don't know the exact english term) at a university. I'm mainly going to use Autocad, other types of cad software and matlab, so i guess the obvious choice would be the thinkpad, but i have some concerns. I have heard that the quality isn't that great any more and it seem like the MBP has the better graphics solution.

ebp wrote:<snip> I'm mainly going to use Autocad, other types of cad software and matlab, so i guess the obvious choice would be the thinkpad, but i have some concerns. I have heard that the quality isn't that great any more and it seem like the MBP has the better graphics solution.<snip>

I also use Autocad, Maya, Matlab, and a host of other engineering & design apps that require a workstation class machine. I've been using ThinkPad workstations since they were first introduced with the Txxp series being my favorites. Now I use a W500 fully maxed out with the fastest processor, max ram etc and find that it's quality is every bit as good if not better than the older ThinkPads I have (see list below). My W series runs fast, cool and quiet. In addition, something I left out of my prior post on TouchPads is that the new W500's TouchPad is an exemplary performer, the best of any ThinkPad so far. All this discussion about Lenovo and declining quality in my personal opinion is largely unfounded, and more of a negative assumption by those who do not embrace change. In some cases, these are reports from people that do not even own the models in question. I have carefully inspected each ThinkPad I own and will say that I too had concerns when Lenovo took over, but I'm satisfied with most everything they've done. Durability is outstanding as always, as is about everything else. This issue of 4:3 format (my favorite) no longer being available as well as the IPS Flexview displays which I have on my T4xxp and T60/T60p machines, is just a fact of life. I do not blame that on Lenovo. However that said I would be very pleased if they would put a bit more effort into at least providing LED back lighting for every model in the lineup and raise the nits rating. Yet none of that is a deal breaker for me.

As far as the graphics performance is concerned, an in house comparison between my equally configured Unibody MacBook Pro and my ThinkPad W500 reveals the Mac is not a top performer, as compared to the ThinkPad. Hands down for the type of work that you are going to be doing the ATI Mobility FireGL V5700, PCI Express x16, 512MB graphics subsystem is the latest state of the art from ATI, fully certified and ideal for the job.

In the final analysis, I can rely on my ThinkPad W500 to do a stellar job, it's a machine one can count on.

Cheers...

I haven't considered the w500 as an option, but upon investigation it seems like the ideal choice. The only problem is still the touchpad, but i guess i have to live with what

ebp wrote:I haven't considered the w500 as an option, but upon investigation it seems like the ideal choice. The only problem is still the touchpad, but i guess i have to live with what

Yes, compared to the Unibody Macs, the ThinkPad TouchPad is smaller, however compared to most of the competition it's right sized. Remember that if you buy from Lenovo direct you have a 21 day trial period in which to decide if you are going to keep it or not. You may be pleasantly surprised. I know I was as usually I disable the TouchPads on my ThinkPads, but not this one. I use it as a nice break after a long day of work to do a little surfing using the TouchPad since it is so accurate and fun to use.

Cheers...

I'm not sure that i can buy them directly from lenovo since i live in denmark I've heard that lenovo has world warranty, is it true?