Which one to choose? T400 or T400s or X200?

[nomoreno]

I am considering to buy either T400 or T400s. What I like about the T400s is that it's lighter and slimmer. Given my configuration (plus the docking station), I will be paying at least $500~600 more for T400s. However, without feeling them physically, I don't know whether the difference in terms of size and weight between T400 and T400s justifies the price difference. What about their build quality?

I would appreciate if anyone can offer their advice on whether T400s worth the price. Or I should go for X200 if the difference is small, but both of them are still heavy and big. I do carry my computer to work everyday. My worry of X200 is lack of CD-ROM.

Thanks a ton in advance!

[jgrahs]

Having used all three (well, the X200s, but close enough) I'm hopefully qualified to comment. I was hesitant to give up the small form factor of the X200s when I got the T400s (my current machine), but I've not looked back. The T400 is just plain bulky next to the T400s... it's like the difference between the T30 and T40, if you go back that far.

The only thing I miss from the X200s is the battery life, which was unreal with the 9-cell. Worth the compromise to have the Ultrabay (I use a 2nd hard drive in mine, but carry the DVD/CD in the laptop bag). I also carry mine to/from work daily.

Good luck!

[Art Vandelay]

I went from an R61 to a T400s. It was considerably more money than a T400, but I think it was worth it. The LED screen is very bright and easy to read. The build quality is what I expected from a ThinkPad - outstanding. I think the faster processor and greater L2 cache was worth the money. The reduced size makes it a lot easier to carry around. I am extremely satisfied with my purchase.

[nomoreno]

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! I was concerned that the difference between T400 and T400s is not big enough to justify the price difference. Now I will just wait till Windows 7 comes out to order my machine. Thanks again!

[ZaZ]

Why wait? You'll get a free upgrade to Windows 7 anyway. Vista isn't that bad.

[Marin85]

I don´t get all that about T400s. If I want small and light lappy, I would go for X200 or X30x. To be honest, with the X30x series I just fail to see the place of T400s among the other ThinkPad lines currently. Also, X301 and T400s are quite close in price.

[dr_st]

I don´t get all that about T400s. If I want small and light lappy, I would go for X200 or X30x. To be honest, with the X30x series I just fail to see the place of T400s among the other ThinkPad lines currently. Also, X301 and T400s are quite close in price.

Some people want the bigger screen, and the higher resolution, without the increased eyestrain that comes from cramming the same resolution into a smaller screen.

The T400s has a few distinct advantages over the X301, the docking station support and express card slot, as well as the eSATA port, being the most notable. Oh, and how could I forget - much faster CPU.

The X200 series takes the crown as far as battery life goes, but takes the resolution problem to the extreme: WXGA is too limiting for some people, WXGA+ on 12" is too hard on the eyes for many people.

Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to play with an X200 laptop for a long time, but the one and only sample of X200s that I examined on display at a store felt really cheap.

Not to mention that X200 did to X6x what T61/T400 did to T60 - introduced the widescreen format, but with such a thick bezel, that the laptop's footprint only increased. It is wider than X6x, but just as tall.

I wish I had the opportunity to compare the X20x/X30x/T400s side-by-side to see how the size and weight differences actually feel in real life. Based on raw numbers, I'd say the T400s will feel much closer to the X30x than to the T400.

It also seems to me that the poor naming choice for the T400s also confuses people as to its true features and merits. From an engineering point of view, it should have been called X400, no doubt about it. However, names are chosen by the marketing department (I assume), and have little to do with engineering, and more with product positioning. Lenovo was clearly aiming at the same group of users with this laptop as it was with the T400. At the same time, it does not seem they are going to discontinue the regular T400, so it seems like the confusion will remain.

It may go deeper than that, though. My personal feeling, shared by some people on these forums, and quite a few outside of it, is that with the latest installments of the T-series (61, and now 400/500), the series which was once considered flagship lost a lot of its glamour.

Between the increasing complaints about shoddy build quality (creaking plastics, flexing keyboards), increasing size and thickness, the fact that the cheaper R61/R400 models are now virtually indistinguishable from the T, ridiculously low base configurations (to slash prices to rock bottom), I bet there were enough people wondering whether there is any good reason to go with a Lenovo T, when the competition from DELL, HP and a few others, is right around the corner.

The T400s introduced a lot of innovation at the same time, to a series which hasn't seen much (if any) of it since Lenovo took over IBM's PC division.

[Art Vandelay]

I agree that X400 would have been a better name based on the specs, but the marketing guys were probably right to call it a T400s. I never would have looked at the X series lineup because I think of them as too small. Plus the T series has a great reputation.

As for a decline in ThinkPad quality, I can tell you that my 2 year old R61 has had the crap kicked out of it but it still runs perfectly. I bought two 15 inch MacBook Pros, both of which were returned. The first had a chunk of debris sandwiched between the layers of glass on the screen creating a spot that looked like a large series of bad pixels. The second had a big dent in the aluminum body. In contrast, my ThinkPads are cosmetically and functionally perfect. In my opinion, ThinkPads still have a much better build quality than their competitors. I am extremely happy with my T400s. (Or X400 as I will now refer to it!

[nomoreno]

dr_st,

Very well summary of the preference for T400s and feeling about the quality of T series in the past year!

Yes, the X200 ultrabase does not have a DVI port, which is a turn-off for me, and X30x does not have docking station at all! I need to connect my laptop to a larger screen in my office, so docking station with DVI port is a must. I also like the new features in T400s you mentioned. I travel a lot with my computer too, and often do some intensive data analysis job on my computer. Hence I am looking for a nice combination of power and portability, and T400s seems like a nice fit.

My worries in my original post stem from my 1 min experience of T400s in a Hong Kong electronics shop in the summer. I was disappointed that it was not as slimmer as I "saw" in the pictures online. In addition, the T400s seems only 1 pound less than T400, which may or may not be too much difference, a judgment without feeling them both in real life of course. But so far the comments in this forum ease my concerns.

Why wait till Windows 7 comes out to order it? Because I don't want to re-install many of my application programs and LARGE files again!

[ssd_thinkpad]

Yes, the X200 ultrabase does not have a DVI port, which is a turn-off for me, and X30x does not have docking station at all! I need to connect my laptop to a larger screen in my office, so docking station with DVI port is a must.

You might connect your monitor to the x200 ultrabase with a dvi <-> displayport cable.