Lenovo Thinkpad R61 Review
The new Lenovo ThinkPad R61 notebook PC also supports Intel Core2 Duo T7100 - 1.8 GHz, Intel Core2 Duo T7300 - 2.0 GHz and Intel Core2 Duo T7700 - 2.4 GHz processors and it features mobile Intel GM/PM965 chipset with 4-MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz FSB, 512 MB (upto 3-GB max DDR II SDRAM (667 MHz, PC2-5300), 160-GB Serial-ATA-150 Hard Drive (5,400 rpm) and CD-RW/DVD Combo optical drive.
While Lenovo, and IBM before that, has firmly resisted major changes in the tried-and-true ThinkPad design, we were pleased to see the company take two new steps in the right direction. First, the new Lenovos are all available with wide-screen displays, meaning that the old-fashioned 4:3 laptop screen is one step closer to extinction. Second, the chassis itself has been reinforced with an internal roll cage, replacing the traditional solid magnesium alloy cover.
The Lenovo ThinkPad R61’s first-rate keyboard includes both a touchpad and an eraserhead nub, as well as dedicated internet forward and back buttons. An integrated fingerprint reader, located in the right palmrest, makes log-ins a breeze once you set it up. You can hot-swap devices - the dual-layer DVD drive or an extra battery, among others - in and out of the right-side modular bay with one hand. On-screen documentation and system recovery utilities are just a button press away, with the Lenovo ThinkPad R61.
At 5.4 pounds, the Lenovo ThinkPad R61, even with a widescreen, is over a pound lighter than its earlier version, which weighed 6.5 pounds and came with a standard screen. That suddenly puts it into the same league as the T61 Widescreen. Their dimensions are practically identical. The R61, at 9.4 by 13.2 by 1.4 inches, is about 2mm thicker. And the Lenovo typing experience is still the best. The ThinkPad keyboard is the most responsive in the industry, and you get dual pointing devices with the touchpad and the lovable TrackPoint pointing stick.
You don’t get too many ports or slots on the Lenovo ThinkPad R61—just three USB 2.0 ports, a mini-FireWire jack, a VGA output, headphone and mic jacks, a PC Card slot, and a flash-memory-card reader. (You can swap the latter for an ExpressCard slot or a SmartCard reader during configuration.) Although this is a satisfactory selection for average business users, we would have appreciated the inclusion of an S-Video jack, a DVI output, or even a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) jack for connecting an external display, especially since you can configure the R61 with a high-definition Blu-ray optical drive
