When it comes to notebooks, many people think of IBM first. There is a saying widely circulated among notebook users: "The first notebook is not necessarily IBM's, but most people's second notebook is IBM's", which shows the position of IBM notebook in people's minds. The main advantage of IBM notebook computer lies not in its fancy appearance, but in its numerous functions, rigorous style, comfortable feel, stable performance and good technical support, which are the places where IBM notebook computer won the hearts of the people. This is also the reason why IBM can capture many consumers while maintaining its original style for a long time. However, due to the consideration of IBM's corporate image and special user groups, the price of mid-to high-end models is rarely greatly reduced, which makes its licensed price remain high. Every time IBM's new machine is released, the price of tens of thousands of dollars will cause many loyal IBM fans to look at the machine and sigh.
There are four series of IBM ThinkPad notebooks: R, T, X and G, which are aimed at different markets.
1, ThinkPad R series notebook
This computer brings the perfect experience of portability and high performance at an attractive entry-level price, which is an ideal combination of performance and portability. The market is positioned as a home user and belongs to the fully built-in mode.
At present, the main model of R series is ThinkPad R53.
2.IBM ThinkPad T series notebook computers
This computer is designed for users who need high mobility. It strikes a balance between performance and portability. ThinkPad T series laptops are one of the safest laptops at present. ThinkPad T-series notebook computers are portable, light and thin, and can provide excellent performance, comprehensive functions and longer battery life. The ThinkPad T43p mobile workstation with high configuration also provides high-performance graphics processing capability, which can complete complex image design and perform high-performance multimedia demonstration anytime and anywhere. Market positioning for commercial vehicles and high-end customers.
3.ThinkPad X series is an ultra-thin notebook computer product with many high-performance features. The minimum weight of this series of notebook computers is 1.22kg, the standard battery life is 7.5 hours (some models), the Intel Pentium M processor (some models), the standard size keyboard, and the XGA TFT display screen is12.1"-this small and light notebook computer provides excellent performance and the market response is very good. The market is positioned as mobile office and customers with high requirements for portability.
4.G series is a notebook computer with IBM desktop instead of desktop. There are basically no products on the market at present.
Overview of commercial notebook IBM ThinkPAD T43 products
ThinkPAD T43 is definitely the representative of high-end business notebooks on the market. It is not much different from the previous model T42 in appearance, but there are some changes in some details. Therefore, the introduction of appearance and interface should be as simple as possible, mainly depending on the performance of its hardware platform after all upgrades, and whether its performance as a commercial machine can meet the commercial needs.
The only brand that can represent everything through color. The design and material of T43 shell have not changed on the basis of T42. The screen top cover is mainly made of magnesium-aluminum alloy and covered with carbon fiber, which is more beautiful, stable and mature. Of course, this is its main performance. The only disadvantage of this kind of shell surface is that it is easy to leave fingerprints. This surface treatment technology has been continued since T22.
Strong and slim body design.
In addition to commercial performance, T series must also consider the mobility required by users. IBM also builds its own strongest machine king on T-series machines. In addition to portable X-series computers and R-series computers close to the level of mass consumption, T-series computers can often better reflect IBM's leading position in notebook computer functional technology. Whether it is shell material, industrial design style or production technology, IBM strives to be a level to publicize the superb strength level of its product design team.
Once controversial oblique seam
Since the T40 was born, there has been a saying that IBM lacks rigor in product workmanship, and this statement comes from this replaceable CD case with a second hard disk or battery expansion. There is no need to discuss the rationality of this popular saying here, but one thing must be clear: when the CD-ROM drive is replaced and inserted into the second hard disk, this oblique seam disappears. On the other hand, if this miter connection was originally due to structural design defects, then IBM would not let it continue to T43 today.
Interface layout
In terms of interface configuration, whether it is portable X series or heavy R series, IBM strives to make the interface as rich as possible, and T series machines are no exception. With the support of Intel 9 15 chipset platform, a new generation expansion slot based on PCI-E interface technology is added to ExpressCard. Let's look at the distribution of interfaces on each side:
Left interface layout
On the left are the main interface types. Finally, there are two stacked USB interfaces, S-side video output, RJ 1 1/45 network interface and audio input/output interface. The front end has an expansion slot for old and new PCMCIA, which supports the traditional CardBus interface technology and the expansion scheme of ExpressCard based on PCI-E. ..
Exhaust pane of cooling system
The middle position is the heat discharge plate of its cooling system. After a period of continuous operation, the heat of the processor, chipset and display chip will be continuously discharged from here, and the position and direction of the exhaust will not affect the use of users in most cases.
Right Component and Interface
The front end on the right side is the hard disk location, and it is designed with a detachable box, which is convenient for users to upgrade the hard disk. In the middle is a detachable 9.5mm ultra-thin optical drive, which can be replaced by a second extended hard disk or a second battery through Ultrabay 2000 and enhanced Ultrabay bracket.
Flexible expansion of batteries and storage devices
Compared with users with large storage requirements and users who need long-term power supply for outdoor work, IBM provides flexible expansion solutions. In addition to the hardware platform, some unique technical functions are also costly. The last terminal is VGA display output.
There is only one print parallel port at the back end.
T43 put the battery back and put it horizontally into the main unit from the back, so most of the space on the back is this battery. The leftmost side is equipped with print parallel port and power interface.
Look at the front from the bottom
The audio is mainly placed on the front, and the infrared data signal receiving and sending window is on the far left side of the machine.
More powerful extended function interface at the bottom
The functions of ThinkPAD can be extended by some desktop system function extension components provided by IBM. Components compatible with this bottom expansion interface include external batteries (rechargeable internal batteries), port replicators, etc. , which can enhance many functions of T43 in application, so as to realize most functions comparable to desktop PC system.
Comfort of use
ThinkPAD keyboard and TrackPoint have always been talked about by the industry or fans. The comfortable feel of the keyboard and the flexible pointing function of TrackPoint bring a lot of fun to users.
Use a comfortable keyboard.
One of the main characteristics of the keyboard of ThinkPAD notebook is that the surface of the keys is concave with large curvature, which greatly enhances the feel. As can be seen from the above picture, its depression is much greater than other similar keyboards. In addition, the soft pressing elasticity of the key is just the most suitable key strength for users, the comfort of the key is very good, the rebound is moderate, and the collision noise between the key and the substrate is almost negligible.
Fusion of Tracking Point and Touch Panel
No matter how good the TrackPoint is, there are still some weaknesses in operation, such as click operation. Touchpad You can click or double-click the touchpad, which is more convenient than pressing keys. Since IBM introduced TouchPAD into its own products, there have been different views on this design, most of them are fans of ThinkPAD, and most of them are users who are more convenient to operate. In any case, the strong alliance will be invincible, and this integrated design will eventually calm down different voices from all sides.
Screen border design and ThinkLight function
ThinkPAD's screen border goes from shallow to deep. The function of this special treatment is that when the screen is closed, the screen and the host computer are well closed, and there is no obvious edge seam. Just like Jetta's door and door frame have a big gap, Passat's door and door frame have a smooth gap.
The screen matches the host without leaving any gaps.
After the screen in the above picture is closed, the seams are basically hidden regardless of the front or left and right. ThinkPAD's screen is more like a shallow cover, which tightly covers the upper part of the host. In addition, T43 adopts a screen host with single lock key and double lock key, and specially rotates the lock key to the right, because it is easier to exert force left, right, up and down, and users can easily open the screen with one hand.
Keyboard lighting -Thinklight
Apple's Powerbook 15 inch machine uses backlit keyboard lighting, and ThinkLight technology, namely keyboard lighting technology, has been used in ThinkPAD products as early as T20. FN combination function keys are used to turn on the lights hidden in the screen border, so that users can easily see some keys or character keys on the keyboard in the surrounding weak light environment.
Microphone pickup and screen opening and closing power supply trigger device
The MIC pickup is located in the upper left corner, which can ensure a good pickup effect and avoid the user's arm blocking.
Running status indication panel
T43 Put the status indicator panel on the bottom border of the screen, so that users can view the running status of some functions or components more conveniently when operating.
In terms of the comfort of components, IBM's exquisite technology has brought a very good product experience. Whether T43, X series or A50 series, IBM's products are so expensive, they can't be separated from every technology or every refined design. However, on the other hand, no matter how good the product itself is, the price is far from the consumption level of the public, so for most users, it is more about seeing immediate benefits. In any case, IBM is more positioning this T-series machine as a big commercial customer, and its consumption power can still accept this high-quality and high-priced product, so in addition to price, big commercial customers also pursue the value of the machine. This is different from the product demand of our individual users.
Heat dissipation, noise, battery
T43 adopts superior hardware platform and inherits the independent characteristics of T series graphics cards. In its slim mainframe, how does IBM carry its cooling system, and does its cooling effect make users comfortable to use in various use environments? Let's briefly analyze its cooling system:
The processor, chipset and display chip are all located in the middle of the left half of the host.
The processor, North Bridge chip and ATI X300 display chip are all placed on the front of the motherboard, that is, the location area of keyboard buttons C and F. In the chapter of interface layout, we see that the central position on the left side is the exhaust window, so the position of the heat dissipation kit is below the buttons "Shift" and "Z", and the vortex part of the metal-encapsulated fan does not overlap with the motherboard. In addition, the metal substrate of the keyboard also plays a good role in heat dissipation.
Left heat exhaust pane
In the actual operation process, if you simply work or browse information, the frequency of fan operation in the whole process is relatively small, and the keyboard or bottom of this area is not obviously heated. However, if you adjust the power management to the best performance and play games or work for a long time, the frequency of fan operation will increase accordingly, and the left half of the keyboard will obviously feel hot. The fan also constantly discharges wind and waves with obvious heat, and the heat at the bottom will be more obvious.
When the fan is running at full speed, the noise of the airflow in its vortex is slightly obvious, which belongs to the normal noise level and is believed to be acceptable to every user. The noise of hard disk when reading and writing data should be said that users will hardly feel it.
Large capacity 4800mAh battery is used.
T43 uses a large-capacity battery of 4800 mAh10.8V. Although it is equipped with a high-performance hardware platform and needs a lot of electricity during operation, with the support of this large-capacity battery, continuous working hours can meet the outdoor work requirements of most users. In addition, with the expandability of UltraBay battery and the technical support of external battery (charging), users don't need to worry too much about power supply.
When it comes to noble, steady, imposing and expensive, people often only think of three letters, right! That is "IBM". Looking at the notebook market, no brand can beat IBM. Even if the booth of IBM products is more noble and elegant than other brands, Thinkpad is just like BMW in cars, Versace and Gucci in fashion. It can be said that if IBM says it is the second, no brand dares to jump out and say it is the first! So the first machine introduced today is of course IBMThinkpad.
Just like BMW cars, IBM machines are divided into high, medium and low grades. Today, we will introduce the IBM "T" series machines that represent the highest level of notebook manufacturing today. Different from R series and X series, THINKPAD T series is the perfect combination of high performance and portability. It is suitable for mobile computing users who work in offices, business trips or anywhere in between, and adopts a titanium composite top cover and base. The information conveyed by T series is a classic and perfect design concept.
Not only that, T series has amazing functions in many applications. ThinkPad T series laptops are equipped with titanium composite metal top cover and base to help you protect your computer from impact damage. Titanium alloy is the shell material of military nuclear submarine that can easily destroy the world! In addition, the new IBM ThinkPad T series uses a hard disk shock absorber, which is located at the bottom of the notebook computer. Its unique technical features provide extraordinary shock absorption protection to prevent hard disk damage. In addition, ThinkPad X series notebook computers also adopt ThinkLight keyboard light technology. The keyboard light is located at the top edge of the display screen, and the exquisite LED light can illuminate the keyboard, so that you can work in low brightness environment. In addition, powerful system pre-installed software, complete data backup and recovery scheme, comprehensive data encryption scheme and other unique functions determine that high-end value will be high. Indeed, after Lenovo acquired IBM's PC business unit, various rumors spread everywhere, and most of them were not optimistic about IBM's follow-up products. They think T42 is already a peak, and T43 can't reach the height of T42 no matter how perfect it is. Some people even say that T43 was designed by Lenovo, and its performance and quality are not as good as before. So T43 is the main force in the current market? We continue to look down.
Compared with T42, T43 has not changed much in appearance design, but its internal structure has been relatively adjusted, so the essence of T43 is essentially different from the original T4x series. The brand-new Pentium M product line has promoted the actual performance of mobile processors to a new height by virtue of 533MHz front-end bus and 2MB L2 cache standard. With the help of PCI-E bus, DDR2 memory and SATA hard disk module, it is the first time that the actual performance of notebook computers is expected to be comparable to that of desktop computers.
In the interface part of T43, you can see an ExpressCard slot and a PCMCIA card slot. The brand-new ExpressCard slot will become the future development direction of PCMCIA slot, further enhancing the expansion function. Judging from the current situation, the market of PCMCIA will still exist, and the market of ExpressCard will further develop.
Fingerprint identification module will only appear on T42 high-end models, but 14 inch and 15 inch T43 products are basically equipped with fingerprint identification module. Judging from the current situation, fingerprint identification module will become a configuration direction of future commercial computers.
With the popularization of Sonoma architecture, the new high-speed DDR2 memory module will completely replace the DDR memory module. Compared with the current DDR memory stick, the actual performance improvement of DDR2 memory stick will not be obvious, but the energy saving effect will be obvious.