My Travelling Companion...
Written: Dec 01 '99 (Updated Oct 29 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Reasonably priced, extremely convenient.
Cons: Not a superstar in any category.
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| caconti's Full Review: Lenovo ThinkPad 380 XD (26359AU) PC Notebook |
Third Time's The Charm
IBM Thinkpads, Wake Forest standard issue. The Thinkpad 380XD is my third laptop from IBM, and this series seems to keep improving with every incarnation. Coming originally from a world of desktops, the switchover to laptops was surprisingly painless…
As the business world goes global and mobile, notebook computers are becoming a necessity and not a luxury. As a college student, I toted mine on a weekly basis to classes, to the library and even to Barnes & Noble to work on papers. Now I go international with it, using it all over the world to check e-mail and to keep up with my freelance writing. My 380XD always comes with me, and seems to enjoy the travel, though that might be anthropomorphizing a bit. It is a well-rounded value computer, is a nice way of saying it does everything well and nothing great. For people who just need a reliable workhorse to help them with word-processing, e-mail and surfing, this is the perfect piece of hardware.
The Upsides
1.Power- This thing has just enough power for those who want to be in the technical world but who also fear technology to a degree, not too much and not too little. It packs the oomph of a Pentium II processor, with MMX of course, and enough memory to run all of the basic programs like Netscape, Word and Excel. Made more for e-mail and surfing than for heavy downloads and the MP3 life, this is a practical computer and not a powerhouse…
2.Durability- Also worthy of mention is that fact that one of the most heartening improvements to the 380XD is its rugged outer shell, making it a laptop/assault vehicle. I've now managed to knock it off my desk a half a dozen times, and have shoved in into numerous overhead compartments with little to no visible wear. No cracks or anything, especially impressive when you consider that when it falls here in Venice it's a three foot drop onto solid marble. Ouch!
My screen, unlike my previous IBM laptops, has proven to be extremely resilient to the occasional prods and pokes that come with being my computer. What can I say, I like to interact with the online news! While pockets of "trouble" do sometimes appear under pressure, they go away within a short 2 hour window, leaving behind not even a trace. For this reason, the 380XD is also a good laptop for those users who are too hard on their laptops to risk using one of the lightweights.
3.Flexibility- Much more than its predecessors, the 380XD wants to be your friend, and that means being ready for changes and upgrades. With 2 easily manageable card slots. Its ready for anything from PDA communication to wireless Internet hookups. With a built in CD and disk drives it's even more useful, and those who argue for CD-only laptops can kiss off.
4.The Ball- Okay, try to hold the nasty comments until the end, but I love the Thinkpad trackball. I've never trusted those perky little mice, and the trackball is easy and built-in, both of which appeal to me deeply. It will take a bit of time to get used to, but it's an extremely intuitive little piece of equipment that is especially useful for travelers who don't want the added inconvenience of a separate mouse.
The biggest ball downside? The red coverings tend to wear out quickly, and getting your hands on new ones can sometimes be a daunting task.
That all having been said, time to hit the shortcomings:
The Whir
My biggest issue with this product is the noises it makes, when running or even when off and plugged in. Most of my fellow students with this same laptop have the same problem, which leads me to believe that the buzzing I hear isn't just madness...
The Caveat
But one word to the wise, this is a laptop that only wants to be a laptop. As with many Thinkpads, prolonged usage will cause the unit the heat up considerably. In fact, my reward for occasionally forgetting to turn it off at night is that 80% of the paint on the bottom has bubbled and peeled off. This is purely a convenience piece of technology, not the Ford truck of computers.
The Final Verdict
While I paid around $1750 through my school for this model well over a year ago, it can be had today at a fraction of that price, usually as overstock or leftovers. While not a computer for the hardcore tech professional of the MP3 addict, it's a great all-round computer for those whose needs center around word processing and basic Internet functions. All in all, a nice piece of IBM construction…
To let me know if you enjoyed this review, drop me a message on my Ericsson by writing a quick one to 2404603594@mobile.att.net
Recommended:
Yes
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caconti
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Member: Christian Conti
Location: Washington, DC
Reviews written: 636
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