Product Notes: Lenovo ThinkPad T500

August 12, 2008

In July 2008, Lenovo announced the ThinkPad T500 15.4-inch widescreen, which is based on Intel's Montevina notebook platform. The ThinkPad T500 supplants the 15-inch versions of the ThinkPad T61 and is a major revision to Lenovo's's mid-weight enterprise-class laptop.

Changes

The biggest single change for the ThinkPad T500 is the availability of an integrated web camera, which did not fit in the bezel of previous 15.4-inch ThinkPads (it was previously available in the widescreen 14.1-inch T-series).

The ThinkPad T500 offers a choice of card slot configurations, but these configurations are different than they were with the ThinkPad T61 15-inch. All come with an Express Card slot and a 7-in-1 media card reader, but the third slot can be either an PC Card slot or a SmartCard slot. Information Systems & Computing (ISC) believes that most configurations will ship with the PC Card slot.

The ThinkPad T500 includes many of the newly available Montevina features. Newly available optional features include Ultra-Wideband (UWB), WiMAX, and Intel's Turbo Memory 2.0.

When configured with an LED backlight, the ThinkPad T500 and the related ThinkPad T400 are the first ThinkPad T-series models to receive a Gold rating from EPEAT. All versions of the T500 and T400 are Energy Star 4.0-certified.

Ordering Notes

Several notes when ordering a ThinkPad T500:

1. The ThinkPad T500 retains much of the same basic design of the previous generation ThinkPad T61 15.4-inch widescreen notebook. It weighs from 5.8 to 6.3 pounds, depending mostly on battery size and slightly on optical drive choice. The T500 uses the same power supplies and docking solutions that T61s used.
2. All ThinkPad T500s include Penryn versions of Intel's flagship Core 2 Duo processor.
3. Having at least 2.0 GB RAM onboard is essential for the optimal functionality of any modern notebook, including the ThinkPad T500.
4. ISC strongly suggests purchasing the ThinkPad T500 with a discrete video card. All T500s with a discrete video card support ATI's hybrid graphics, which allows switching between discrete and integrated video for performance and battery life considerations.
5. As with any mid-weight laptop, ISC suggests that LSPs consider purchasing both a high-capacity (9 cell) and a low-capacity (6 cell) battery along with an extra AC power adapter for the ThinkPad T500. Providers may also wish to consider Lenovo's range of port replicators and docking solutions, which include a port replicator, a mini dock, and a full dock.
6. The ThinkPad T500 includes many connectivity options including 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, WWAN connectivity from AT&T and Verizon, and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR. The 802.11n standard still has not been finalized as of August 2008, and so currently shipping 802.11n products may not work correctly in the future without a firmware update. ISC no longer discourages their purchase and use, but advises that the buyer beware. ISC believes that Bluetooth is a good choice for most T500 users and that WWAN connectivity is useful for many "road warriors".
7. The ThinkPad T500 offers Intel's Turbo Memory 2.0 (code-named "Robson 2") as an option. Turbo Memory refers to an add-on flash cache unit that promises to substantially increases the efficiency of hard disk operations. Please note that last year's Turbo Memory 1.0 had substantial driver-influenced reliability issues in systems used the University.

See ISC's Notebook Purchasing Guide for more configuration hints. As of August 2008, configuring a ThinkPad T500 to the Mid-Weight Notebook specification can be done for approximately $1,700.

ISC sees the T500 15.4-inch widescreen as not showing as much differentiation from its competitors as the smaller T400, but the T500 is still a capable product. The University's Computer Connection has a T500 configuration available.

When correctly configured to the mid-weight notebook specification in the Notebook Purchasing Guide, the ThinkPad T500 is approved for general use at the University.

--John Mulhern III, Lead for Client Technologies, ISC Technology Support Services (August 12, 2008)