ThinkPad T410 laptop review
Moving from the T400 to the T410 (and T500 to T510) might not seem like big news compared to the launch of the Edge series or the release of the AMD-powered X100e, but the T series marks the foundation of the ThinkPad lineup and any changes to it are going to be scrutinized by legions of long-time ThinkPad users. If nothing else the T series has proved to be one of the best laptops in its class so it’s more than worth keeping an eye on.
The T410 looks just like the T400 in almost all respects. While some ThinkPads this season got a new design and some now come in colors, the T remains as business-like and boxy and always. The system measures in at a substantial 13.1 x 9.4 x 1.1-1.26 inches and has a starting weight of 5.2 pounds. It still looks like a T series system in almost every respect, and it retains all the features its users have come to expect, but some slight changes were made. Most of these were carried over from the design of the T400s, including the curved front edge of the palmrest, the textured touchpad, curvier buttons for the trackpoint and touchpad, and double-sized Delete and Escape buttons. The display is just about centered (at least more so than the T400) and there is also the updated design to the speaker grills on the sides of the keyboard. The external connections were shuffled around a bit as well. Overall changes were made, but unless you are an existing T series user you probably won’t notice them.
With the internal hardware the biggest change to the T410 was the move to the Core i5 processor. This not only meant a powerful new CPU, but also Intel’s new on-chip GMA HD integrated graphics. The test system arrived with Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, the Core i5-540M (2.53GHz), 4GB RAM, and a 320GB disk. Communications are handled by Intel’s 6250 AGN, along with WiMAX. The widescreen 14-inch display runs at 1280×800.
Battery life isn’t generally a priority with the T series (lenovo thinkpad t61 laptop battery), but these computers should be able to survive through at least a good part of a day’s work. Using the included 6-cell battery (as opposed to the extended 9-cell) the T410 was good for about 5 hours of runtime. This was testing with WiFi on, the backlight around 50%, and doing general mobile work. I did move the system to a lower power (extended battery life mode) so video did not run as smoothly as it otherwise would have, but the system still handled itself without issue. With the 6-cell running about 5-6 hours the 9-cell should get you in the 7-8 hour range. Using the ThinkPad’s battery monitoring tools you should be able to stretch these numbers out. You can not only customize your notebook battery profile, but you can track the consumption of the computer (in watts) in real time, and use Battery Stretch to turn off features and grab a few precious minutes of battery time.
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The update from the T400 to the T410 was more significant than it might have seemed at first glance. In addition to the move to Core i5 (a significant step on its own), the system got a revised chassis, more external ports, an improved trackpad, and more. It probably isn’t enough to have T400 owners giving their computers away but it’s a significant change, especially for people running Vista machines.
Considering the starting price of $999 ($1254 as tested) the T410 is definitely a recommended buy. It’s a dependable system, with top-notch features, good performance, and perks like a strong chassis and a keyboard that feels great to type on. Some buyers will want to consider the SKU with discrete graphics while others will want to go with the T410s, but people won’t be disappointed in the T410. There are some flaws, but nothing significant enough to deter people from considering one.