IBM's T20s, latest notebook in store

IBM's T20s, latest notebook in store

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): While other leading notebookmakers such as Acer,
Compaq, Fujitsu, Sony and Toshiba have been coming up with ultra-
sleek designs and distinctive color tones, we have seen only the
black and boxy ThinkPads from IBM. In fact, we will continue to
see them for the foreseeable future.

During the ThinkPad Advisory Council meeting in Singapore
earlier this year, panelists were unanimous in suggesting IBM not
change the ThinkPad. The black and boxy design has become
ThinkPad's insignia, and changing it would give Big Blue the
undesirable me-too image.

Beyond the design of the casing, however, ThinkPads have
continued their tradition of being innovative products. But
there has been a change in the naming system for the different
models. The thin and lightweight notebooks, previously the 600
Series, now are known as the ThinkPad T Series. The other models
that come with everything, such as the ThinkPad 770 Series and
the 390 Series, now are the ThinkPad A Series. The 570 and 240
Series are still available.

Courtesy of PT IBM Indonesia, I had the chance to play around
with the high-end ThinkPad T20. It really felt like two very
short weeks, as I enjoyed using the machine so much. It was a
fast, Pentium III 700 MHz SpeedStep machine with 128 MB of RAM, a
12 GB hard disk, a 14.1-inch pleasing TFT screen and a DVD-ROM
drive. Installing new software was lightning fast. The speakers
were thoughtfully placed on the side that faces the user, just
underneath the palm rest, and they sounded good enough for
watching multimedia programs.

Features

Among the other important improvements is the use of titanium
for the outer casing. Finally IBM has adopted the use of metal to
strengthen the protection of the LCDs, although for so long they
stubbornly said their reinforced carbon fiber was strong enough
for this purpose. When I opened the large cover of the T20, I
immediately noticed that it was significantly sturdier than the
covers of the previous ThinkPads, thanks to the use of titanium
composite carbon fiber reinforced plastic.

The TrackPoint is still there, naturally. However, over the
years I have also grown to like it, as it has been continually
improved. IBM has finally succeeded in convincing me that it is
at least a viable alternative to the touch pad, which I have so
fanatically defended.

And now it also has lighting for the keyboard. Being a ten-
finger typist, I first regarded ThinkLight as a somewhat
ludicrous idea. I never look at the keyboard when I type, so I
questioned the use of this battery-draining feature. However, one
night I took the notebook to bed and started working in the dark.
I curiously turned the light on, and I had to admit that there
could be some real use for it, especially when we need to press
the F-keys or the combination of the Fn- and F-keys, which the
light from the LCD monitor does not illuminate. The tiny lamp is
bright enough to let us see the marking on the keycaps. The
keyboard itself does not need to be described. It is simply the
best keyboard on any notebook, period!

There was one small thing about the DVD-ROM drive, though. I
found placing CD ROMs on the spindle rather difficult. I always
had to use a little more force than normal to push the CD-ROM
down the shaft. It was a rather frightening chore, actually, as
the DVD-ROM tray was basically hanging out of the casing.

UltraPort

Also considered as a desktop replacement, the notebook has a
complete arsenal. It has an S-Video port that will allow you to
use it as a DVD player and watch the movie on your TV set. It has
both the RJ-11 port for the phone line and the RJ-45 for Ethernet
connection. The 56K V.90 modem is already built-in.

The UltraBay 2000 has a new mechanism for taking out and
locking in drives or the battery, and it can accommodate a CD-ROM
drive, an extra hard disk or an extra battery pack. The battery
ran for more than three and a half hours -- amazing for such a
powerful machine with such a large screen.

A new button has been added next to the ones that control the
audio volume. This button, called the ThinkPad Button, will take
the users to a predefined site on the Web. IBM has provided the
ThinkPad portal, but this button can be programmed to access a
different site -- including the corporate help desk.

IBM is working on peripherals such as video cameras, Bluetooth
wireless connection, card readers and a biometrics security
checking device. All these devices can be attached to the
notebook via the new UltraPort. Other connections such as the
serial, parallel, infrared and USB are available, of course.

No matter what they say, IBM has never been known as a vendor
of low-cost notebooks. In fact, the ThinkPads generally tend to
be pricey. The unit that I tested carried a price tag of
US$3,800. Even the price of the low-end Think Pad i Series is not
the lowest in its class. Yet people -- especially corporate users
-- have been buying a lot of ThinkPads. In fact, they bought so
many ThinkPads lately that, as reported by CNET, IBM sold more
than twice the number of notebooks that Toshiba sold to the
corporate segment last July.

Earlier this year IBM suffered a parts shortage, particularly
the CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives. Analysts believe the company would
have made a lot more money after the introduction of the new A
and T Series if they had not had the problem. This ThinkPad T20
was in short supply. There have also been reports that IBM
customers have had to wait until the middle of this month to get
their A Series.

If the dotcom you're thinking of joining offers to buy you a
new notebook, you might as well insist on this one. The black and
boxy look will disguise its age a couple of years down the road.
And, by the way, it will give you far more power than you need to
run Office applications today. (zatni@cbn.net.id)