The best of all worlds (IBM TP20)

Member Name: kca101

Product:	IBM TP20
Date:	02/10/00 (808 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quite simply the best

Disadvantages: Bit pricey

When you are considering buying a laptop there is always a trade off between functionality and portability. In one corner there are the ultra-light notebooks like the Toshiba Portege 3440CT, Fujitsu Lifebook and the Sony Viao. In the other corner are the “weighs-more-than-a-desktop” laptops like the Dell Inspiron 7500.

The problem with the ultra-light ones are that they make too many sacrifices – no floppy disk, CD-ROM, and in extreme cases not even a PS/2 port, so anything you want to connect has to be by USB. Great – but you only have one USB port ...

This means that you have to use port replicators with wires everywhere just to work normally. Unless, of course, you never use floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, external monitors, mice or keyboards.

Suffice it to say, for all their good looks, ultra-thin notebooks have quickly lost their appeal with me. That is until I saw the IBM T20 ...

From the moment I unpacked it, the T20 oozed quality. At 4.7 lbs, it weighs a little more than the Portege, Lifebook and Viao, but still much less than a standard laptop, and it looks beautiful. Opening up the lid confirmed my suspicions; this is a very different kind of laptop. Instead of just building a run-of-the-mill machine, IBM have actually given it some thought. What do laptop users want? Everything built into the laptop but also make it incredibly light. That’s what they have done.

The screen is 14.1” and is quite simply the best I have seen on a laptop – crisp, clear and can be viewed at any angle. A 56k modem, and a 10/100 Ethernet card are built in, leaving 2 free PC Card slots. The battery lasts about 3.5 hours, making good use of the Pentium III Speedstep 700/550 processor. RAM is upgradeable to 512Mb. And lastly the 6 x DVD/CD drive is a joy to use.

Everything is built amazingly well, and after years of trying many different laptop manufacturers, we have now s
tandardised on the IBM T20. Make no mistake, this is the laptop your boss will be asking for. Quality comes at a price - £2,500, but believe me it’s worth it.

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