Lenovo ThinkPad R51
Lenovo Thinkpad R51: Functional Workhorse:
Thinkpad is a brand of Laptop computers offered by Lenovo. It was originally created, made and marketed by IBM but was purchased by Lenovo when IBM decided to sell off its personal computer division. Thinkpad notebooks are aimed primarily at the business users and therefore its focus is more on functionality than on aesthetics.
One of the best selling models of the Thinkpad brand is the Lenovo Thinkpad R51. It is targeted towards the average business or home user and comes in the standard black casing of the Thinkpad series. Although the black casing is not very attractive, it’s what the casing houses that attracts business as well as home users alike.
The system configurations of R51 consist of Windows XP Professional operating system. It has a 1.5GHz Intel Pentium M processor. Moreover, it has a 512MB DDR SDRAM as primary storage and ATI Mobility Radeon as Graphocs card. These configurations provide great computing power for the average user.
It is also the first notebook to feature dual-pointing device (touchpad as well as trackpoint) when it was released although some others have also started providing this feature in recent times. Both the pointing devices have their own set of mouse buttons for easier functionality. Also the keyboard provided is very comfortable with deep depressing keys which result in easier typing and lesser typo errors. Also to make it more type friendly in case of insufficient light, this Lenovo Notebook comes with a LED light mounted on the top.
This Lenovo laptop is a very sturdy device which is designed to be durable. The thick black casing (usually magnesium, carbon fiber reinforced plastic or titanium composite material) ensures that this notebook is exceptionally tough and can take a beating. Also it has metal screen hinges to provide proper support to the screen. It has a 10.8V, 4,400mAh (48WHr) battery which provides working time which lasts for a little over four hours.
Thinkpad’s support and service has been very highly rated by the press as well as users. The R51 comes with a one year warranty which includes free labour, free replacement of parts and a return-to-depot service. It also provides 24 hour toll free support over the phone. There is also a support website that provides information, news and various downloads for the R51.
It should be kept in mind that this is primarily a mid-level business laptop and thus has very average multimedia performance so those looking for advanced gaming and graphic options would be well suited to avoid it. Another feature that might cause irritation to some laptop aficionados is the fact that it has only two USB ports but there is a docking station add-in present in the notebook that may be used to add multiple ports to the system. Also this notebook is a little heavy in part due to the durability that it provides. All in all, it’s a normal laptop meant for normal computing needs of normal people.
It is heartening to note that Lenovo has carried on the legacy of the Thinkpad and has not diluted the quality of these notebooks. Thinkpad notebooks have always received great reviews for their reliability and service both under IBM as well as Lenovo.