CNET Editor's rating: 7.6 out of 10
Reviewed by
Dan Ackerman
Review date: 5/9/07
Release date: 5/9/07
The good: The Lenovo ThinkPad R61 has a wide-screen display; an internal roll cage protects the LCD; 802.11n Wi-Fi; dedicated graphics; very small AC adapter.
The bad: New Centrino technology doesn't offer outsize performance gains.
The bottom line: The IBM blueprint is still evident in the Lenovo ThinkPad R61, but the addition of a wide-screen display and all the latest Centrino Duo tricks make this a ThinkPad that could woo home users along with its legion of fans among business travelers.
Description:
This configuration of the Lenovo ThinkPad R61 is a 5.5-pound, mainstream consumer notebook computer.
Compared to other mainstream notebooks on the market, it is midpriced at around $1,285.
Has Wi-Fi (wireless connectivity) built-in.
Features Intel GMA X3100 graphics with 128MB of video memory.
Pros:
Has a plug-in module media bay, which is more favorable than some similarly priced notebooks.
Also, this notebook comes with Microsoft Windows Vista business and Microsoft Windows Vista OS, which is somewhat more favorable than some similarly priced notebooks.
The DVD? RW(? R DL) / DVD-RAM is housed in a modular plug-in drive bay, which is more upgradeable and gives you more options than an integrated drive.
Cons:
Has only 1 GB RAM, which is less than some similarly priced notebooks.
For example, the
Toshiba G55-Q801
, a -pound notebook at around $1, 265, has 4 GB RAM.
Integrated graphics controllers that rely on shared video memory are sometimes an acceptable trade-off for budget-minded users.
Suitability:
A mainstream consumer notebook, suited for general mobile computing.
Store massive amounts of data on DVD using the DVD writer included in this computer.
Includes office-grade word processing software -- fine for most serious business or academic writers.
With 128MB of dedicated video RAM, this machine will do OK with some games and multimedia applications, but will fall short of satisfying the serious gaming enthusiast.
Clean up your digital photographs with the photo editing software included with this computer.
Get status reports while on business trips by using this notebookÂ’s built-in Wi-Fi modem to connect to wireless networks in airports and hotels.
Value:
Overall, this notebook has great features for the money.
Suggestions:
(1) Given this device's Wi-Fi capability, you may want to get a
wireless access point
for your home, so that you can browse the Web more conveniently from any room.
(2) Using this PC's Firewire (1394) port, you can connect to many digital camcorders and other equipment to rapidly upload data to the notebook hard drive.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular
Excellent laptop!
Bought this laptop 1 month ago no problems at all it has the best keyboard I ever used in a laptop... Read more
by nxman (see profile) -
June 19, 2008
1 out of 10 - Abysmal
broke in a week
this system crashed on the second day and within a week stopped working completely. the customer... Read more
by bangcvk (see profile) -
June 26, 2008
2 ( 1 ) x Memory - SO DIMM 200-pin,
1 ( 1 ) x CardBus - Type I/II
Interfaces
3 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A,
1 x Display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15),
1 x Modem - Phone line - RJ-11,
1 x Network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45,
1 x Microphone - Input - Mini-phone 3.5 mm,
1 x Headphones - Output - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm,
1 x Docking / port replicator - 240 pin docking,
1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) - 4 pin FireWire
Miscellaneous
Features
Power-on password,
ThinkPad Roll Cage,
Hard drive password,
Administrator password,
ThinkVantage Active Protection System
Compliant Standards
CB,
CE,
ACA,
CCC,
CER,
CUL,
DOC,
MIC,
NOM,
BSMI,
GOST,
RoHS,
SASO,
MPR II,
MPR III,
UL 60950,
FCC Part 15 B
Pricing Type
Academic
Power
Power device form factor
External
Voltage Required
AC 120/230 V
Battery
Technology
6-cell Lithium ion
Installed Qty
1 / 2 (max)
Battery capacity
56.16 Wh
Mfr estimated battery life
5.7 hour(s)
CNET Labs battery drain test: DVD playback (min)
128
Operating System / Software
OS Provided
Microsoft Windows Vista,
Microsoft Windows Vista Business
Microsoft Office Ready
Includes a preinstalled image of select 2007 Microsoft Office suites. Purchase a Medialess License Kit (MLK) to activate the software.
Software
PC Doctor,
Adobe Reader,
Google Picasa,
ThinkPad Utilities,
Windows Live Search,
Fingerprint Software,
Windows Live Toolbar,
Diskeeper Home Edition,
ThinkVantage System Update,
Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0,
Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0,
ThinkVantage Client Security,
Microsoft Office OneNote 2007,
ThinkVantage Access Connections,
Adobe Instructor Resource Center,
ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery,
VitalSource Library College Edition,
Multimedia Center for Think Offerings,
Lotus Notes Stand-alone Client license,
ThinkVantage System Migration Assistant,
Norton Internet Security (90 days subscription),
ThinkVantage Productivity Center with Away Manager
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