Just got my T400! Questions...

[iamdmc]

Hey.

I found an awesome deal on a 2 month old T400 ($580 Canadian shipped) and I'm pretty happy with it so far. I even took advantage of Lenovo's Windows 7 upgrade program and should have a disc in the mail in a few weeks.

I have some questions I was hoping you guys could answer:

1. My indicator plate seems to have a WWAN icon but I cannot find any WWAN hardware in the Windows Device Manager. The Lenovo software on the machine includes WWAN software. Should I just open up the laptop to see if there is indeed a WWAN card? If there is it should be Verizon.

2. It didn't come with a Bluetooth card and I'm looking for one on eBay. What is a good price? Will a T61 card fit into a T400? They 'look' the same (same number of pins, physical dimensions) but do not mention compatibility with T400 in the auction.

3. Am I in for any nasty surprises? I've owned an X61s, T41, X31, and T23 before this and I've been happy with the improvements along the way (besides a bit of flex here and there). Is the T400 just a better T-series laptop, or did Lenovo "drop the ball" in your opinion?

Thanks!

[dr_st]

I don't think you are in for nasty surprises. The T400 is a good laptop. Fast, quiet, cool, amazing battery life and more features than earlier models. The only things about it which I don't like are:

1) Keyboard less solid than T6x and much less than T4x.

The following points are shared by T61 and T400:
2) Bad battery design - with the exception of the 4-cell, all batteries protrude from the back, with the 9-cell extending very far back and out. Makes for large footprint and bad weight distribution.
3) Looks ugly, at least in my opinion, compared to previous T-series (T4x/T60).

[iamdmc]

Thanks. I like it more than the T41, because it is faster (obviously) and lighter, but it looks a little thicker. It looks to have the same sort of footprint as my friend's T61P, though. The keyboard is about the same. Come to think of it as I am typing this now, this is the first time I've really been able to hear my ThinkPad keyboard. It's louder than on my X61s. Noooooooo! I suppose it's still good build quality, but corner cutting happens more and more in the push to put out products faster and for lower prices in this already extremely competitive market...

Still, I wish they would build something "like in the good old days"... or is that what the X301 is supposed to be?

[bill bolton]

Still, I wish they would build something "like in the good old days"...

You mean better than having a frame that flexes causing the GPU to fail (T40/1/2)

The T400 is built much better than that in a whole host of ways.

Cheers,

Bill

[iamdmc]

Hey Bill

Don't get me wrong, I love this laptop for many reasons, but there are a few things I wish were still part of the package along with the improvements. I like the stiffness of the keyboard, but it does seem to make a lot more noise than the keyboard on my X61s. As for the heat, T400 is the champion here, hands down.

But back to my questions - does anyone have any insights?