The notebook to take if you want to travel light

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): When I finally had my turn to test drive a ThinkPad 570, I understood why people have been raving about it. It's very light, has a powerful engine and is really pleasing to the eyes. I'd like to compare it to the BMW Z8 Roadster, the sleek two-seater that will debut next year. ThinkPad 570's pretty high price tag (US$ 3,600) more or less matches the Z8's projected $100,000 price, too. In fact, because of its price -- more than double the ThinkPad i Series -- I think I can only sleep soundly again after it's no longer in my possession.

Price aside, ThinkPad 570 is one of the ultra-slim notebooks that have become increasingly popular in the last one-and-a-half years. Another very popular model would be Sony VAIO 505, which is still not available here. Courtesy of PT USI Jaya/IBM, I had the opportunity to test drive this notebook, which replaces the smashingly popular ThinkPad 560Z Series.

The unit I had was propelled by an Intel Mobile Pentium II processor running at 366 MHz. It had 64 MB of RAM, a 6.3 GB hard disk, a built-in V90 modem that we could upgrade by downloading the required software from IBM's Web site. The screen was a spacious 13.3 inch TFT, the same as the one I found in the ThinkPad i Series that I reviewed a few weeks back. As far as I'm concerned, this should be the optimum size of a notebook screen. Any bigger, and you'd have problems opening it on an airplane seat tray, especially if the guy sitting in front of you reclines his seat all the way back.

The space efficiency of this notebook, which actually has the same width and depth as my beloved three-year-old Siemens Nixdorf SCENIC Mobile 300 but with a thickness of only 28 mm, is quite amazing. Despite its slimness, it has all the facilities that a notebook normally offers: All the standard ports parallel, serial, keyboard and infrared ports, two free PC-Card slots, the three audio jacks -- line in, line out and microphone -- and a USB port. The floppy diskette drive is external, and so is the power adaptor that is smaller than what I saw in the ThinkPad i series. The keyboard was excellent, but it didn't have the Windows keys. My test unit was made in Mexico.

You can buy an UltraBase for this notebook for an additional $100. Attached to the underneath of the notebook, the UltraBase can add a CD-ROM, a DVD ROM, a Zip, a LS 120 SuperDisk drive or an extra hard disk in one bay and the floppy diskette drive or an extra battery in the other. An extra battery will allow you to double the length of time you can continue working without being tethered to a wall outlet. Despite its size, the Li-Ion battery's life expectancy is excellent. I got more than two and half hours per charge.

Tap the head

While other notebooks make you use a combination of the Fn and one of the function keys to adjust the brightness, in ThinkPad 570 is done by sliding a bar right underneath the screen. On the other hand, while other notebooks let you adjust the audio volume using a thumbwheel, in ThinkPad 570 this is done using Fn and the PgUp or PgDn key. But these idiosyncrasies are no problem at all, because the functions work very well.

On a notebook with a TouchPad, we can usually tap our finger on the panel once to simulate a click of the left mouse button. Now you can also do the same thing with TrackPoint IV. Tap once on the red head, and that will be equal to a left button click. However, it will take some practice, though, because you don't want the cursor to move when you tap on the stick.

Three models are available. If you like the design but don't have the budget for the latest, you can opt for the Intel Mobile Pentium II 300PE model. It is offered at $2,697.77 by CDW, a mail order company in the U.S. It comes with a 4.3 GB hard disk and a 12.1 inch TFT LCD. Between this model and the one I tested, there is an Intel Mobile Pentium II 333 MHz based model with most features closer to the top model.

In addition to Windows 98, ThinkPad 570 comes with a good collection of software: programs and utility. Not surprisingly Lotus SmartSuite is included. To protect the system from digital germs, IBM has thrown in Norton AntiVirus. To help you troubleshoot problems if they occur, PC Doctor is also available.

As the notebook gets thinner and thinner, however, I think it's high time IBM abandoned the reinforced plastic and adopted magnesium casing. While the black plastic casing is strong enough in most respects, magnesium will provide better protection. I believe that ultra-thin notebooks should use the truly solid magnesium casing to protect the components inside it. IBM warns users of ThinkPad 570 of not placing anything heavy on its top or squeezing it into a packed handbag, as this may press the LCD screen against the keyboard. The manual even tells us that if we see scratches on the screen, they could be caused by the cap of the TrackPoint or the keys in the keyboard being pressed against the screen. We can clean it simply by wiping the surface with a piece of cloth damped with some monitor cleaning liquid.

Another suggestion: The two small legs that I found in the rear of ThinkPad i Series really made typing more comfortable as they raised the rear end of the keyboard. I think IBM should add them to ThinkPad 570 as well.

In their July 1999 issue, PC Magazine published their annual survey of computer users' satisfaction with vendors. The questions of the survey included the number of units that required repairs in the last 12 months, satisfaction with product reliability, satisfaction with services, satisfaction with tech support and whether the respondents would buy again from the same vendors. In the past year, Big Blue, which had been earning an A for the past seven years for desktop PCs, had done better than average in the notebook area as well. Only IBM and Sony received straight A scores for all five issues in the notebook vendor category. Not bad.

The fast-growing number of ladies who are mobile workers will definitely love this notebook. However, male road warriors will appreciate it, too, because of its flexibility. If you need all the features, including the CD-ROM drive and the extra battery, you can take along the UltraBase. If you just have to continue working on your Word document or Excel spreadsheet, you can leave it at the office and just take the 1.8 kg notebook and its slim external floppy diskette drive. And a spare battery, perhaps.

But, with this price range, you may have to work for a Fortune 1,000 company or the Central Bank to be able to tote a notebook like this.