SL500 Review: Above Expectations
Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 3:53 pm
A fair amount has been made about this machine (and series) not being "true thinkpads" (reported to have Ideapad Bios, inferior build quality compared to traditional thinkpads, etc.).
Prior to taking delivery of the SL500, my experience with modern thinkpads was limited to a T500 - otherwise I have been using A31p's and 770x's for years.
My impression of the SL500 is very favorable so far and I would summarize as follows:
1) Excellent value - was able to build a machine for under $525 (before taxes, fees) including a T6570 Core 2 Duo, wireless N, bluetooth, Camera as upgrades over the stock (1GB ram, 160GB 5400rpm, DVD writer, Vista home basic), AND including a 1680x1050 matte screen. I don't where to buy a $500ish notebook from any other vendor with a High Res Screen, matte or otherwise.
2) Very good build quality - no flex - don't know what people are talking about when they say it's of poor build quality. Actually the T500 feels a bit suspect to me to be honest. Now the T500 is packing more into a much smaller package.
3) Very cool running, perhaps not having a discrete video card helps, but it's the coolest notebook I have used including the T500.
4) It's big by todays standards no doubt, but it's smaller than an A31p/770X brick (yes, I know those are old and ancient machines). Despite the SL500 being big, it has a very nice and agreeable weight distribution - it feels balanced and I think there is something to be said for that.
5) Battery life is sub-par for a 6 Cell LION battery - about 2 hours at max brightness and running on Desktop profile and High performance. That is how I generally run, so what that means is that a T500 would be better, but how much better, perhaps another 30 to 40 minutes?
6) HDMI built in. Display Port sans audio support (as with the current T series) is a misstep to say the least. No way Lenovo should have adopted Display Port until one could at least use an HDMI adapter with full support (i.e. including audio). So, if I understand things correctly, the SL series may be the only Thinkpad available with a fully functional HDMI port.
7) Glossy top of the laptop is lame just because it shows and seems to grab fingerprints, etc.
It has almost everything else - firewire, Express card 54 slot, memory card reader, etc.
9) Personally I would like a built in smart card reader or at least the option to add it like the T series.
10) Oops almost left this out - keyboard and trackpoint are excellent - trackpad seems fine but I don't like them so I don't care about it anyways.
11) The screen is acceptably bright, but I would like it a bit brighter. The T500 has the same resolution screen but it's generally "docked" (plugged into an external screen), so I can't say if it's the same panel as the SL500 or not or therefore whether it's the same quality, better, or worse. One more note on the T500 - it's driving the external monitor via the VGA port (because I have not yet purchased a Display Port to HDMI or DP to DVI adapter or cable, etc.). The quality of the VGA output seem low on the T500 - or maybe it's the external Samsung monitor, I don't know - both the monitor and T500 are new. However, when I drive the monitor via HDMI from the SL500 it looks perfect.
Conclusions:
The consensus bashing of this series on this forum is misguided at best, and is missing a key point I believe. As a long time Thinkpad user, I have for years wanted access to it's core features at a lower cost. In fact most thinkpads I have owned have been purchased as used machine - often several years behind.
Lenovo should build on this Series. One question I have is how profitable is this series versus the other series - I would suspect and be somewhat concerned that they aren't all that profitable at the price points they have been available at in the recent past?
Prior to taking delivery of the SL500, my experience with modern thinkpads was limited to a T500 - otherwise I have been using A31p's and 770x's for years.
My impression of the SL500 is very favorable so far and I would summarize as follows:
1) Excellent value - was able to build a machine for under $525 (before taxes, fees) including a T6570 Core 2 Duo, wireless N, bluetooth, Camera as upgrades over the stock (1GB ram, 160GB 5400rpm, DVD writer, Vista home basic), AND including a 1680x1050 matte screen. I don't where to buy a $500ish notebook from any other vendor with a High Res Screen, matte or otherwise.
2) Very good build quality - no flex - don't know what people are talking about when they say it's of poor build quality. Actually the T500 feels a bit suspect to me to be honest. Now the T500 is packing more into a much smaller package.
3) Very cool running, perhaps not having a discrete video card helps, but it's the coolest notebook I have used including the T500.
4) It's big by todays standards no doubt, but it's smaller than an A31p/770X brick (yes, I know those are old and ancient machines). Despite the SL500 being big, it has a very nice and agreeable weight distribution - it feels balanced and I think there is something to be said for that.
5) Battery life is sub-par for a 6 Cell LION battery - about 2 hours at max brightness and running on Desktop profile and High performance. That is how I generally run, so what that means is that a T500 would be better, but how much better, perhaps another 30 to 40 minutes?
6) HDMI built in. Display Port sans audio support (as with the current T series) is a misstep to say the least. No way Lenovo should have adopted Display Port until one could at least use an HDMI adapter with full support (i.e. including audio). So, if I understand things correctly, the SL series may be the only Thinkpad available with a fully functional HDMI port.
7) Glossy top of the laptop is lame just because it shows and seems to grab fingerprints, etc.
It has almost everything else - firewire, Express card 54 slot, memory card reader, etc.9) Personally I would like a built in smart card reader or at least the option to add it like the T series.
10) Oops almost left this out - keyboard and trackpoint are excellent - trackpad seems fine but I don't like them so I don't care about it anyways.
11) The screen is acceptably bright, but I would like it a bit brighter. The T500 has the same resolution screen but it's generally "docked" (plugged into an external screen), so I can't say if it's the same panel as the SL500 or not or therefore whether it's the same quality, better, or worse. One more note on the T500 - it's driving the external monitor via the VGA port (because I have not yet purchased a Display Port to HDMI or DP to DVI adapter or cable, etc.). The quality of the VGA output seem low on the T500 - or maybe it's the external Samsung monitor, I don't know - both the monitor and T500 are new. However, when I drive the monitor via HDMI from the SL500 it looks perfect.
Conclusions:
The consensus bashing of this series on this forum is misguided at best, and is missing a key point I believe. As a long time Thinkpad user, I have for years wanted access to it's core features at a lower cost. In fact most thinkpads I have owned have been purchased as used machine - often several years behind.
Lenovo should build on this Series. One question I have is how profitable is this series versus the other series - I would suspect and be somewhat concerned that they aren't all that profitable at the price points they have been available at in the recent past?
