Oh what a difference.......

I've used several brands of laptops through the years. It's amazing to look back and see how much progress there's been in this technical genre.

The ThinkPad T40 is a sweet machine indeed. If you have the opportunity to compare one to other brands side by side, do it. Some things to look for:

Mechanically, there's really no contest. The T40 shell is quite rigid, particularly compared to the Dell and Compaq units. The LCD panel is brighter. The screen latches more securely (no deflection on the corners) with dual latches. The screen doesn't make contact with the keyboard when folded down. When you press on the back of the screen, the screen output doesn't "frazzle" for lack of a better term. IBM has really put emphasis on making this thing sturdy, using a titanium composite material for the screen cover and faceplate. On top of that, it is extremely thin!

Usability-wise, the T40 really shines. IBM has integrated the WIFI antennas into the LCD frame. Some of the other brands place them in the palmrests. Consider this - at the frequency that 802.11 operates, the signal quality is significantly affected by obstructions - particularly ones that are high in moisture content like your hands. This unit places the antennas up and away from the user. Take the T40 and a Dell side by side within range of an access point and see the difference in signal strength. I can connect to my home wireless network at 11MBPS at any location in our 2300 square foot house OR at any place in the yard or garage - all with 70% signal or greater.

If you're not getting a model with WIFI, you still have reasons to be happy. The battery life is phenomenal. I also have a ThinkPad T30 that runs on the older Pentium 4 technology. The T40 uses the new Pentium M processor, which was specifically designed by Intel for mobile computers. My T30 battery life is around 2 hours maximum on a 6 month old battery. The T40 easily doubles this battery life - that means I can board a plane in Chicago and work the entire flight to LA, with battery to spare. Oh yeah, and don't let the seemingly low processor speeds fool you. A 1.5GHz Pentium M outclasses a 2.4GHz Pentium 4 in speed.

The optical drives (in my case a CDRW/DVD combo) are very thin in keeping with the overall profile of the T40. They easily slide in and out and are hot-swappable.

IBM also includes some pretty nifty utilities with the T40. I can see Rescue and Recovery being a lifesaver, although I have not had the need (thankfully) to put it in action. Rapid Restore allows you to keep a compressed copy of your hard drive ON the hard drive in a hidden partition. If your OS crashes, you can simply rebuild the drive without use of any restore CDs. This includes your files and other data. It takes about 30 minutes to create the hidden partition the first time. After that, you're protected (unless the hard drive fails of course). SMA (Systems Migration Assistant) is a quick way to move your data and settings from your old system to the T40. It creates a single migration file which can be transferred to the T40 via a network, external hard drive, or even pier to pier. I performed this feat, the first time, in less than an hour over my home network.

This computer boots to Windows XP quickly. If you're a current user of a modern desktop, the performance is on par. Usually, notebooks are a bit slower than equivalent technology notebooks. Not in this case. This could literally be used as a desktop replacement if you don't require a floppy drive (a USB floppy drive is available as an option, but I prefer the new USB memory keys). Note that Windows 2K is no longer available as of 4/2004 as an OEM preload from ANY vendor.

The machine runs common applications like a champ. Office 2003, Lotus Smartsuite, Brio Explorer, and even Siebel CRM are no match.

In short, give the T40 a look-see. I have never seen a machine of this caliber come from Dell or Compaq - and I've done the comparison. It costs a bit more, but you won't regret one year from now buying a flimsy machine.

I highly recommend the IBM T40.