Thinkpad t420s available, but no i7 until April 19

[flensr]

Title says it all... Thinkpad T420s is on sale now but no i7 or discreet graphics until April 19. Looks nice, but priced nearly double of the T420 and T520.

Sales rep says "no BD drives on business line". Stupid, absolutely stupid. I didn't get a macbook air because I didn't want an external optical drive, and now thinkpads are deliberately crippled, just like apple products. Not a good call lenovo.

I think toshiba will be including BD drives in their new portege line.

 

[gsaldivar]

W520 is also up. MicroSSD option is not available yet...

I'm tempted to buy now and just get the SSD separately at a later date, but I don't really want to mess around with reinstalling with the SSD as boot drive later....

 

[ultimatebob]

Wow, that pricing really sucks. For $1,300, I can get an entry level T420s, or a fully loaded Dell XPS 15 with a faster Core i7 processor, faster graphics, larger screen, more memory, a larger hard drive, a bigger screen with a higher resolution, and a BluRay drive.

 

[gsaldivar]

Wow, that pricing really sucks. For $1,300, I can get an entry level T420s, or a fully loaded Dell XPS 15 with a faster Core i7 processor, faster graphics, larger screen, more memory, a larger hard drive, a bigger screen with a higher resolution, and a BluRay drive.

The difference in build quality between Dell and Lenovo is huge.

I don't know what options you're choosing, but I compared the Dell XPS 15 to my W520 build and came pretty close...

Lenovo Thinkpad W520 $1939.00
i7-2820QM, Win 7 Pro 64, FHD 1920x1080, Quadro 1000M 2GB, 500GB 7200RPM, DVD Writer, 9-cell, b/g/n + Bluetooth, 170-watt AC Adapter

Dell XPS 15 $1719.99
i7-2820QM, Win 7 Pro 64, FHD 1920x1080, Geforce GT540M 2GB, 640GB 7200RPM, BluRay Reader, 9-cell, b/g/n + Bluetooth, 130-watt AC Adapter

So yea, at least in my case I would pay an extra $219 for the Lenovo and no Bluray. I suspect the price gap would be even narrower if I stepped down to a more comparable T420 instead of my W520. The main thing to keep in mind is that the Dell is more of a soho/consumer/gaming machine, while the Thinkpad is clearly enterprise/government/road-warrior.

Personally, I think the military-spec build quality of the Lenovo more than makes up for the extra cost, plus the enterprise features that aren't even available on the XPS like a dock option... Most people in the market for a Thinkpad aren't the type of people trying to watch a Bluray in Starbucks, nor are they out shopping around for a bargain priced laptop...

 

[flensr]

He's talking about the T420s... It's priced nearly double what a T420 or T520 costs.

 

[ultimatebob]

He's talking about the T420s... It's priced nearly double what a T420 or T520 costs.

Yeah... The options on the 420s just aren't every impressive considering the much higher price tag.

I know all about the legendary Lenovo/IBM Thinkpad build quality, though... My three year old T61 still looks practically brand new after three years of rough use.

 

[dakata24]

How does the Nvidia NVS 4200M compare to the integrated Intel HD 3000 Graphics?

I ordered the following on 3/25 (shipped yesterday from Hong Kong) for $1274 + tax. I was also able to get a spare 9-cell (55++) battery ($45) and a port replicator ($65, said it was a scratch and dent, but looks brand new).

Other than not having to power down the switch out the battery, is there any advantage to having the 9-cell battery slice (27++) instead of a spare battery?

Intel Core i7-2620M Processor (2.70GHz, 4MB L3, 1333MHz) with Intel HD Graphics 3000
Windows 7 Home Premium 64
14.0" HD (1366 x 768) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
Intel HD Graphics 3000
2 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM) at 1066MHz
Fingerprint Reader
720p HD Camera
250 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
DVD Recordable
Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader & Smart Card Reader
9 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55++
Bluetooth 3.0
IEEE 1394a port
Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable

 

[fb02521]

Dell compared to Levano--unknown that the difference in build quality is that large. is it? quality of internals, perhaps. are Levano's any more reliable, of greater quality than Dell. there is a price difference with equal parts. Dells are cheaper and fairly significantly. $2-300 less you get the same components from dell.

 

[dakata24]

Opps... Missed the T420S part...

In any case, I'm excited to get my T420 next week. Ordered an 8GB DDR3 kit from Newegg and looking at SSD options.