Thinking of getting a T60 but have some questions.

[vinny77]

1. On the T60's is the button or latch to open the notebook grey in the front compared to the standard bladk one on the T4X series. If it is i probrolly wont want this laptop. any pics would be great.

2. How much power will I get from the standatd battery. I dont want to have to use any power conservation or enery saving modes. I bought the laptop I want the full power from it. I dont want to get like 40 minutes on full powered mode from a battery, to me this is just not worth it.

3. How fast does the batterys life degenerate. I had a friends T42 over for the past few days and it wouldent hold a change for more than 10 minutes.

[astro]

1. Yes, it is grey. I can't see how this could influence your purchase so dramatically, but hey, each to their own.

Note to mods: The pictures in the 2nd sticky are broken now...

2. Depends on which model you buy. It is mostly dependent on three things:
- Battery size: 6-cell or 9-cell, or more if you want.
- Graphics chipset: GMA950, X1300, X1400 or V5200
- Screen size: 14.1" or 15.0" Flexview
I have heard of people getting 2.5hrs from the 9-cell on a T60p (V5200, 15" Flexview) playing games at maximum.

3. No idea. It may be too early to tell.

[archer6]

vinny77 -

1) Yes the button is gray, but very dark and hardly noticeable.

2) I have many years of ThinkPad ownership, and I can say first hand that the battery life is better than nearly every other laptop out there. Especially in real world usage, as compared to the battery tests in the labs of the magazines. Not that there testing is wrong, it's just that in actual usage I find the run time is quite good. I'm not quoting a maximum time because there are so many variables. I will say that on my T60 for example I always get at least 2.5 hours. That's with the standard 6 cell battery. I easily get over 4.5 hours with the 9 cell.

3) I find that I get at least a minimum of 12-16 months out of a battery and I run mine on battery every day. It's my main computer and I travel constantly for work, so it get heavy usage.

I am confident that not only will you NOT be disappointed with a ThinkPad, but you will be very pleased.

[christopher_wolf]

Just a note on the battery robustness, if you will...I suspect your friend's T42 battery had a long haul and/or frequent run-downs to alomst 0% and an increased wear rate; on the kind of batteries in Thinkpads, a 0% deep-discharge should not occur too often else you increase the wear level dramatically. It is OK if done as part of a recalibration on the Thinkpad's part, but it is not advised for everyday operation. The Same goes for the T60 batteries.