Finally got my T61 - My review as compared to my Z61t

[kingweb]

Well after waiting a long time for a 14.1 Widescreen with WXGA+ and a camera, I finally got it.

I still have my older Thinkpad Z61T. For those interested in the differences, here you go:

The T is thinner than the Z (at least the one I have with Titanium). There is about a 3mm difference. Not significant though.

The Z has S-Video out. Nice feature, I don't know why they left it out of the T.

The T feels a little more solid than the Z, but not anything significant.

One thing that I really don't like on the T is that on the left side where the express card/pcmcia slot is, the plastic is very thin and almost feels fragile.

The T's speakers seem better. The Z's speakers were absolutely awful. The slightest background noise, and you can't hear anything with full volume. You can take a good set of headphones, and turn the volume up, leave them on the table, and you will hear better than the Z's speakers.

The T's camera is better protected and built in better into the screen than the Z. Although the Z's was ok too.

The T's keyboard seems a little bit crisper. Again, the Z's was still ok though. One thing that I can't stand about all Lenovo/IBM is that the FN key is where the CTRL should be in the bottom left corner. They should be swapped.

The T is a bit hotter, but then again, I have the NVIDIA, and that is to be expected I guess.

I won't compare benchmarks, because my T just has a better CPU, so it wouldn't be a fair test.

Another thing that I wish that they would change is put the headphone jack on the side. If you plug a headphone into the jack and put the laptop on your lap, then the hadphone jack is stuck in your *@#$%.

On the T at least the 14.1 inch that I have, the screen is actually of center from the frame of the laptop. Weird.

Another thing, and I think that this was done so that Lenovo can make a few more$$$. The battery is different between the Z and the T. The size and shape of the Laptops are almost identical, and I am sure that if they wanted, they could have used the same battery. But instead I now have to buy a new spare battery instead of using the one from my previous model.

Lastly about my T, the left "tooth" that holds the lid shut when I close the laptop has a bit of freeplay. Not the end of the world and I am certainly not going to send it back or for repair. Maybe if I ever need warranty service, I will ask that they fix that too.

Overall, I think that it is a great machine, and I would recommend this laptop to others.

The system that I have is:
T61 14.1 WXGA+ with Camera
2.4 GHZ Core 2 Duo
2GB RAM
Cingular WWAN

My Z61T has:
14.1 WXGA+ with Camera
2.0 Ghz Core Duo
2GB RAM
Verizon WWAN

[mattbiernat]

nice review. thank you.
the screen off center is the biggest turn off in my opinion. the interchangable batteries is another problem.

[kingweb]

Well, now that I have the T for a few more days, I have noticed some more things.
I don't see the IR anymore. Not that it is a big deal, I never used it anyway, and I think that in today's world, it is about as useful as a floppy drive.

Also, I didn't notice before, the T is actually bigger when measured from front to back. It is bigger by about 1/3 of an inch.

The T has the WWAN antenna built in which is nice.

The T's screen is deinately brighter. I turned down the brightness to about 75% to match the Z's 100%. This might have something to do with the fact that my T has NVIDIA and the Z has Intel onboard graphics. Not sure.

The T's power adapter is 90W instead of 65w, and it is also a bit bigger, so that isn't good for travel. Also, I tired the Z's 65w adapter on the T and it didn't work. I did not try the T's adapter on the Z for fear of burning something.

But if I had a choice, and the same configuration available to me on a T or a Z, I would take the Z with the titanium. It just feels a little better, looks better, a little more compact. Although I still think that the T is a great machine, and would recommend it.

[eyecon82]

i thought you could only get the camera with the wxga..not +?

my left hook also has more freeplay than the right..by 1mm or so

no IR..instead we have the firewire to replace it

[kingweb]

If you call and ask for the WXGA+ with the camera, they can give it to you. Only about $20 more.

[eyecon82]

If you call and ask for the WXGA+ with the camera, they can give it to you. Only about $20 more.

oh awesome..a wxga+ is too small for my needs anyways

the camera is an awesome upgrade! especially if you leave it locked in a public place such as a univ library. I have it set to motion detection and email. so if anyone even attempted to somehow cut the metal wire and steal it..their photo would be sent via email

the scary thing is you notice how many people like to 'stare' at unattended notebooks; I can just imagine what is going on in their heads (to steal or not to steal)

[kingweb]

How do you do the motion detection/email?

[eyecon82]

use yawcam; and they have a preference to email motion detected 'snapshots'

[Hellbore]

...the camera is an awesome upgrade! especially if you leave it locked in a public place such as a univ library. I have it set to motion detection and email. so if anyone even attempted to somehow cut the metal wire and steal it..their photo would be sent via email...

I keep reading your posts about leaving your laptop unattended at the library, and I haven't said anything before but... I just have to ask...

Why the hell would you leave your laptop unattended in a public place? WTF man!

[eyecon82]

lol...it was a 1-time deal...but that 1 hour experience has taught me a lot...

I also have my notebook covered for theft under rental insurance. also keep a cable lock on it too

The reason why i leave it open is because I usually have torrent files downloading and it downloads REALLY QUICK at the library. I can download a 600mb show in 30 minutes or so...so sometimes i let files download...go grab a bite to eat and i have what i need by the time i come back...sounds risky...but there are other cameras everywhere here and also security, they walk by once every few minutes to quiet down the noisy kids as well. I'm not really worried about someone taking