I bought one of these in Feb at $279 and have not regretted it. It’s a good machine and came in good condition. I’ve scratched up the lid some, but that’s my fault. Does everything I ask it to.
I had one of these for my laptop at work for over 3 years. I had the same specs too; The only difference is that I had a SSD in my work system. It’s a solid laptop and good for day-to-day usage.
3 USB, but only one powered.
Does that mean that only one USB would be able to say, charge a phone? What’s the difference between powered and not powered?
[QUOTE=newsom101, post:8, topic:455356]
3 USB, but only one powered.
Does that mean that only one USB would be able to say, charge a phone? What’s the difference between powered and not powered?
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All 3 can charge a phone when the machine is on. Only one is powered when it’s in suspend or off. This can be enabled/disabled in the BIOS.
Now, I happen to know that this model was never offered with an FHD (1920 x 1080) panel. But I do know there was a 1440 x 900 flavor.
This was the last T-series Thinkpad Lenovo offered with the classic Thinkpad keyboard, before they completely changed it. It’s a very capable, solid machine, runs Linux exceptionally well, and I would be very happy to replace my aging Thinkpad Z61t with it…
I got one with the nvidia NVS 4200m and a 1600x900 res screen for about $219.99 used on amazon so I would suggest looking there for better specs and a lower price point.
The specs still blow ay new laptop at this price point out of the water since all you are going to find are atom based celerons at this price. so yeah this is still a great laptop for the price point and since its a thinkpad it will last you years.
You can just disable it in the BIOS and use the trackpoint instead. I have a T510 myself and while I greatly prefer the trackpoint over the touchpad, the touchpad is quite decent. My T510 has a touchpad that measures ~3.5" on the diagonal. The T420 should be similar if not identical.
I have one. It’s 2" x 3". The texture on the pad is just different enough from the housing around it to be easily detected without looking at it. As in, it’s easier to use than some of the totally smooth ones on other brands. The buttons are quiet too, not like the castanet-like clatter of ones on Sony models.
I really question whether the screen is actually 768. I don’t ever recall it being offered with that resolution. I use my 1920x1080 model with a docking station and a 24" HD plasma, so it’s not like I care.
The battery life on it has been great, regularly more than 6 hours of use for real work with wifi enabled.
I also have an mSATA drive added to mine for quick booting and a 500GB drive for storage, along with the optical drive (which I rarely use and could be replaced with a 3rd drive in a separately purchased drive bay).
If the one I had wasn’t so durable I’d seriously consider buying one of these, if just as a spare.
[QUOTE=wkearney99, post:15, topic:455356]
I really question whether the screen is actually 768. I don’t ever recall it being offered with that resolution. I use my 1920x1080 model with a docking station and a 24" HD plasma, so it’s not like I care.
[/quote]
You’re mistaken, this model was not offered with a 1920x1080 display. If your Thinkpad has one, you must have a different model. These were either 1366x768 or 1600x900.
[QUOTE=jmbunkin, post:13, topic:455356]
Looks like we already have the obligatory comment about the screen resolution only being 1366 x 768 on this $250 Laptop.
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Two things:
INFO: Page 57 of Lenovo’s HMM for this states that it was only available in two flavors: 1366x768 or 1600x900. I have the 1600. It’s really nice.
More info available here:
OPINION: I think it’s fair to warn people that might order this as a gift, because this resolution is terrible. The issue is not that it’s dated and not worth $250 even as a used/dented-can sale, it’s that 1366x768 was barely functional when it was new. (With the exception of the one-finger-big-button crowd, who will be annoyed they got this uncool black lump instead of an older iBook.) Don’t get me wrong, a solid computer with a terrible cellphone-res screen is better than no computer. But the monitor is the most important feature for most people and there are better deals to be had for $250. Wait, let me put it this way: There are no worse resolutions available in any 14in model of Thinkpad from this era. A refurb T410 with a 1440x900 can be had for the same or less, and will be far more appreciated.
[QUOTE=jespensc, post:17, topic:455356]
Don’t get me wrong, a solid computer with a terrible cellphone-res screen is better than no computer
[/quote]
To be fair, even 1920x1080 is substantially lower resolution than many cell phones these days, not to mention the drastic size difference between 5-6" and 14".
I can’t say I know anyone who cares half as much as you do about resolution (your claims about “most people” seem absurdly hyperbolic to me) but I’d personally avoid the 16:10 ratio with similar disgust. I’d rather not have to deal with those awkward black bars on all video and software that doesn’t run properly at 16:10.
[QUOTE=KiteX3, post:18, topic:455356]
To be fair, even 1920x1080 is substantially lower resolution than many cell phones these days, not to mention the drastic size difference between 5-6" and 14".
I can’t say I know anyone who cares half as much as you do about resolution (your claims about “most people” seem absurdly hyperbolic to me) but I’d personally avoid the 16:10 ratio with similar disgust. I’d rather not have to deal with those awkward black bars on all video and software that doesn’t run properly at 16:10.
[/quote]
I’m pretty sure the default view in the most common word processing software is a decent measure of what “most people” want, not “absurdly hyperbolic.” For example, when using Microsoft Word at the default 100% page view, most people would find it annoying to have to scroll left to right to see the whole line of text. Sure, you can zoom out a little to make it fit on a 1366p-wide screen, but then it looks blocky and ugly…
So you’re arguing that editing a document and seeing the whole page width is absurd?
Received mine in relatively good condition. Case and everything appears aesthetically brand new.
Unfortunately, the battery appears to be borked. Get a message that I need to “consider replacing battery”. Looking around online, I’ve tried all manner of solutions, including all updates, bios update, multiple discharges of the battery to nothing and then a recharge, and nothing has helped. Diagnostics report that less than 40% of battery is charging, and I get about an hour on battery before it gets critically low.
I have no idea if the refurb company (Metropc) will do anything about this, but I’ll report back if they do.
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