Build quality falls somewhere between the T-series and Edge-series ThinkPads. The 15-inch L512 didn’t seem to have as much chassis flex as the larger Edge 15 that we reviewed last month, but it still had more than the similarly sized T-series. Screen protection is very good on the L512, showing no distortion on the LCD with heavy pressure applied to the cover.

The keyboard is very comfortable to type on and has a very similar look and feel to the keyboards on the T-series ThinkPads. The layout has been slightly tweaked, using a single row of function keys instead of the two rows seen on higher models. Tactile feedback is excellent from the keyboard with soft key-presses that give off a very mild click when fully triggered. Media buttons have been moved from above the top row as seen on the T-series to the left side of the keyboard. Lenovo still gives buttons for speaker mute, microphone mute and volume up and down.

Lenovo seems to have switched back to a Synaptics touchpad on the L512. The previous SL510 we reviewed used an ALPS model touchpad, so this is a nice update. The touchpad supports multitouch gestures including two finger tap, pinch zoom, rotation, three finger press and three finger flick. Sensitivity is excellent out of the box and once you “break in” the touchpad surface, cursor movement is very fluid. Tap and drag movements were flawless, which can be a weakness with some touchpads, releasing the item too soon or not at all. The L512 also includes a pointing stick for those interested in using that form of navigation over the touchpad. We found the interface very snappy with minimal wandering after you lifted off from the pointer.

Alike L412, Lenovo Thinkpad L512 is also intended for businessman, employees and students. The technologies integrated in it help them to be productive in their day to day activities.

The processor options are Latest Intel core i3 or i5 integrated with Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading technology. The 15” HD backlit display of Lenovo ThinkPad L512 incorporates antiglare feature with 16:9 resolution. Graphics option includes Intel integrated or ATI Mobility Radeon graphics. Other features it incorporates are :

• HDD 500GB with 5400 revolutions per min
• Up to 8GB DDR3 RAM
• Choices of 3G or 4G connectivity
• Gobi 2000 module support for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon
• connectivity- 4 USB ports, combo eSATA/USB port, display port(Audio) VGA
• Operating system Windows 7

The overall features coupled with Windows 7 boost up the booting process up yo 57%. Shutdown process also become faster. As the Laptop is targeted for entrepreneurs, it is integrated with features like powerful web conferencing. Lenovo Thinkpad L512 also comprises of “ThinkVantage” Technologies tools such as Access Connections to enhance the productivity. Same features will also available in Lenovo Thinkpad L412

The new C1 Convertible Tablet PC from Panasonic seams to address especially to medical field, but not only. When projected it, Panasonic considered the case in which you have to carry your tablet PC all day long, so he made it really lightweight – 3.2 lbs (with one battery)/ 3.7 lbs (with two batteries). An other aspect considered by Panasonic was the solidity, therefor the C1 is rugged enough as if you accidentally drop it or spill something on it will not be damaged. Having a magnesium alloy case, a spill resistant keyboard, it was designed to resist at 30” operating drop (to base only), 26 sides 12” drop (non-operating), 225 lb pressurized vibration and 6 ounces spills.

Design

You could try to find a lighter 12-inch convertible, but you won’t. At just 3.2 pounds with a single battery and 3.7 pounds with an optional battery in the second bay, the C1 weighs less than the Lenovo ThinkPad X201 (starting at 3.5 pounds), the Dell Latitude XT2 (3.6 pounds) and every other competitor on the market. On the other hand, this Toughbook is on the chunkier side, measuring 1.2 to 1.7 inches thick. The XT2 has a 1.1-inch profile, and the X201 is 1.3 inches.

What you get in return for that extra girth is serious durability. The C1′s magnesium alloy case has been tested to withstand 12-inch drops to any side (non-operating), as well as a 30-inch drop on the base (while operating). We know this Toughbook is tough because we tried the latter torture test during this review. The first time a rubber bumper on the back right of the machine popped off, but we easily put it back on. The second time nothing happened at all; this business rugged machine just kept running. We even dropped the unit a third time from 30 inches to no ill effect. The C1 also survived a 6-ounce water spill and a 180-pound man standing on top of the lid (with a board in between to evenly distribute the weight).

Whether you’re roaming the hospital or you’re out in the field, the C1 is easy to use and carry. That’s because this convertible features an ergonomic hand strap on the bottom of the unit, along with a raised dome underneath that makes the machine easier to grip with one hand. A unique triple-hinge design–two for opening and closing the lid and one for rotating the screen–makes this tablet less susceptible to failure over time. We needed to use more force than we’re accustomed to when switching into tablet mode and back again, but the screen location lock was reassuring.

Keyboard

As far as ruggedness goes, “business-rugged” means the machine can handle more of the typical abuse notebooks are subjected to. You can spill liquid on the keyboard and it’ll simply drain off rather than destroying the computer, though the C1 is not sealed in a rugged sense. You can drop it from 2-1/2 feet, which is better than most consumer notebooks, though not in the truly rugged class where machines must handle drops from three or four feet or higher. And the C1 can handle 225 pounds of crushing pressure (evenly applied over the entire surface, I assume).

Ports

The left side of the C1 houses two USB ports, Ethernet and modem jacks, and the power connector. You’ll find an old-school PC Card Type II slot on the right side, along with the digital pen holster, a third USB port, and a VGA connector. The front edge of the notebook has a power switch, wireless switch, headphone and mic jacks, and an SD Card slot. This configuration did not include a webcam, but it’s available as an option, as is a fingerprint reader.

Batteries

As for batteries and long battery life, Panasonic did something quite novel for notebooks here: there are two batteries and you can hot-swap them. That is quite common in tablets and slates, and Panasonic uses this arrangement in its H1 tablet. We haven’t seen full battery specs, but they must be pretty powerful as one of the 3,000 mAh batteries is supposed to drive the C1 for five hours, and with both of them you can go ten hours. That’s excellent, and the ability to simply swap out a battery without shutting the machine down is most welcome also.

Display and Audio

Versatility is the name of the game with the 12.1-inch matte screen on the C1 (1200 x 800 pixels), which has a 4:3 ratio. It’s designed to let workers use pen input or touch. This convertible also supports multitouch, so you can zoom in on objects (like photos or maps) with a pinch gesture. These gestures worked smoothly on both pictures and websites. Touch accuracy was also strong.

The C1′s display was plenty bright, but the picture appeared a bit washed out and grainy until we tilted the lid back. Horizontal viewing angles were nice and wide, though. For a business-rugged notebook, the C1 pumps out surprisingly decent sound. The speaker on the right side of the laptop produced loud volume when we cranked some “Quiet Little Voices” on Slacker. That’s good news, since this notebook will likely be used in some noisy environments.

Performance

Performance, finally, is provided by one of Intel’s new 2010 Core processors, the Core i5-520m, to be precise. In Intel’s new lineup of Core processors (which cleverly and instantly relegated Core 2 Duos to being last year’s chips), i3, i5, and i7 processors sort of represent Intel’s “good,” “better,” and “best,” with the differentiation primarily provided via a bevy of Intel technologies such as integrated graphics, Turbo Boost, Virtualization, Trusted Execution, etc., etc., all worthwhile though not always needed for all applications. As is, the dual core Core i5-520m Pana chose for the C1 has integrated graphics, uses speedy DDR 3 memory, can overclock itself to almost 3GHz, and acts like a four core chip thanks to hyperthreading. Its thermal design power is 35 watts, a good deal less than a desktop chip, but a good deal more than some of the low and ultra-low voltage chips often used in tablets and such. So the C1 is likely a pretty fast and powerful machine, and that makes the claimed long battery life even more amazing.

Design and Durability
While the Portege R600 sported a silver aluminum body that felt somewhat flimsy, the R700 trades flash for a sturdier-feeling black magnesium cover. The chrome hinges are plastic, as are the darker gray touchpad buttons. The overall look is somewhat subdued but handsome. Those looking for more flair should opt for the Best Buy-exclusive model, which has a dark blue lid. Weighing 3.2 pounds, the Portege R700 is one of the lightest laptops you’ll find with both a roomy 13-inch display and a built-in optical drive. The pricier 13-inch Sony VAIO Z weighs an even 3 pounds, but the R700 is still easy to take anywhere, measuring a compact 12.4 x 9 x 0.6–1 inches. The R700′s durability extends beyond its magnesium finish. Toshiba used a honeycomb rib structure for the base and palm rest for extra resilience. You also get hard drive protection and a spill-resistant keyboard.

Keyboard
The keyboard uses flat, widely spaced island-style keys. While perfectly usable, the keys are noticeably more rectangular than most, as if they were shortened to save space. Typing is also a little on the clacky side, but not so much as to be a dealbreaker. We do appreciate the large dedicated Page-up, page-down, Home, and End keys along the right side–they’re usually relegated to alternate function keys on most laptops. Our biggest complaint is that the keyboard is not backlit. We’ve seen that feature on other Toshiba laptops in this price range, and it’s always an appreciated extra.

Display and Audio
The R700′s LED-backlit 13.3-inch display (1366 x 768 pixels) is fairly bright and looks less washed out than the 12-inch panel on the R600 series. When we watched a 720p episode of Glee on Fox.com, colors really popped, and we could easily make out wrinkles in Mr. Schuster’s forehead. We noticed just a little bit of visual noise, and viewing angles were narrow. When we streamed Phoenix on Pandora, the twin speakers above the keyboard were loud enough to fill a small room. Still, we wouldn’t go past 75 percent volume; The Killers’ “When You Were Young” sounded harsh when we really cranked it.

Port
The inclusion of a combo eSATA/USB port, HDMI and an SD card slot gives the Portege R700 a big advantage over the MacBook in terms of ports and connections. Even though in some countries the system has an Intel Wireless Display transmitter, it’s a shame the R700 does not come bundled with the Netgear adapter required to wirelessly beam video to your television. The first round of Wireless Display laptops from earlier in 2010 all included the adapter.

Performance
The R700 is in a different league than its predecessor when it comes to performance. That’s because this ultraportable packs a 2.4-GHz Core i5 processor, compared to a relatively wimpy 1.4-GHz Core 2 Duo CPU on the R600 we reviewed in April 2009. The R700 scored a whopping 6,657 in PCMark Vantage, nearly triple the R600. That showing is also more than double the ultraportable notebook average, and it beats the HP EliteBook 2540p (6,002), Fujitsu LifeBook S760 (5,890), and Lenovo ThinkPad X201s (6,106). The only ultraportables we’ve tested recently that surpass the R700 are the ThinkPad X201 (7,050), which has a slightly faster 2.53-GHz Core i5 CPU, and the blazing but much pricier Sony VAIO Z (9,936), which sports dual SSDs and Nvidia graphics.

Style
The HP EliteBook 2540p is actually billed as an ultraportable business notebook, consequently corporations — and many buyers — anticipate a superior quality associated with materials, superb functions as well as an innovative design. HP’s other EliteBook notebooks fulfill or even exceed those anticipation, however how about the littlest member of the EliteBook loved ones? The main physique of the EliteBook 2540p is covered within the brand new “HP DuraCase” and “HP DuraFinish,” which is essentially a tough plastic material and strong the mineral magnesium metal inner shell – similar its forerunner — and strengthened by a brushed metal external spend that actually resists scratching through steel wool. The base of internet connected computers seems very strong as well as would definitely endure protrusions and bruises that other laptop computers may not. There’s absolutely no bend in the solid keyboard set. The bottom of the notebook can also be likewise rigorous as well as strong along with just a tiny amount of flex in the region instantly underneath the notebook’s eye drive.

The external spend from the display casing is actually metal, but the inner screen bezel is actually plastic. Unlike the actual 15-inch EliteBook 8540p all of us previously examined, the display cover flexes somewhat whenever significant stress is applied to the biggest market of the cover. However it is nevertheless much stronger than we usually see upon other top quality 12-inch company notebooks. Whenever HP states how the EliteBook 2540p was designed “to fulfill the actual army requirements (MIL-STD 810F) with regard to high/low temperatures and dirt,” these people mean the actual notebook should withstand many years of make use of as well as abuse. With all this particular rugged durability included in the design, you have to anticipate a trade-off, which in this case is actually weight. Some 12-inch business class notebooks suggestion the actual scale from three lbs or even less. The EliteBook 2540p has a starting weight of 3.38 pounds with a 6-cell electric battery, but the added durability more than comprises for a small pounds improve. Lastly, just as that the gray as well as african american outside and sleek style fits an expert atmosphere, so do the actual internals. The EliteBook 2540p uses 3 simple plastic covers about the bottom of the notebook (every locked in place with Phillips head screws) so the hard drive, cellular cards as well as Ram tend to be readily available with regard to quick updates. There’s a 4th small expansion slot include on the bottom of the notebook, that is for the dedicated Bluetooth greeting card. The remainder of the actual notebook interior is actually protected through Torx screws that should deter employees through playing around within their work-issued notebooks.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The secrets about the 2540p tend to be coated within HP’s DuraKey coating, which makes them scratch-resistant as well as allows for a nice, gritty finish. We were able to kind quickly, matching the all-time greatest score of eighty-eight words per minute on the Ten Thumbs Typing Check. However, we found the layout to be a little flat, whereas the X201s’ keys possess a chunkier feel that appeals in order to contact typists.

Whilst company users will value using a directing stick, we are not really fans of its concave form. We choose the somewhat convex TrackPoint upon Lenovo’s Thinkpad line. Nonetheless, all of us could move the actual cursor over the desktop along with fairly subtle actions, and we never experienced as though all of us didn’t have total control. The corresponding buttons, that have the rubbery complete, tend to be easy—but not really as well easy—to press. Actually, we quickly came to prefer while using pointing stick to the touchpad, especially because the touchpad measures a little two.7 by 1.four inches.

Features
The actual EliteBook 2540p offers an excellent port selection, however depending on the design configuration, your choices can alter. For example the design with no built-in eye drive includes a two.5-inch hard drive and an extra Hardware port.

Durability and Protection
In addition to the the mineral magnesium metal casing, scratch-resistant areas, as well as spill-resistant keyboard set, the 2540p had been examined in accordance with army specifications (MIL-STD 810G), which includes a drop check through several feet, amongst others tests. HP states the actual notebook can also endure up to 300 pounds associated with stress. Protection features include the finger marks reader, and also a 3d accelerometer that parks the hard disk head any time a fall. The actual 2540p additionally comes with a host associated with HP-branded protection tools, including HP Extra Key, which will help you get back to the computer in the event that you have forgotten your password, and also the Disk as well as File Sanitizer utilities.

Overall performance and Benchmarks
Program overall performance was excellent as well as over what you may expect to observe when compared with thin and gentle notebooks available on the market right now. The actual HP EliteBook 2540p as well as Lenovo Thinkpad X201 tend to be the smallest ‘ninja-like’ notebooks available today. All of us used the Thinkpad X201s for comparison since it gets the same Core i7-640LM processor chip. The actual quicker X201 would be equivalent to the base design 2540p, that has the quicker Core i5-540m processor chip and a 7200RPM 2.5-inch hard disk. Each versions master offering desktop-level performance in every method except 3-D performance. The actual Apple company GMA Hd images is preferable to previous generations but nonetheless lags at the rear of a dedicated images card.

The Core i7-640LM can certainly decode 720P or even 1080P video, play Hd Expensive as well as encoded films in i-tunes. The only system overall performance complaint that we found was the actual rather sluggish 1.8-inch hard disk in designs that include a good optical drive. The model i was sent for evaluate utilized a New laptop drive that peaked just below 50MB/s. Users looking for higher amounts of overall performance should probably opt for the non-optical drive set up that lets you use a standard 2.5-inch drive or configure the actual program having a SSD.

Design
Unlike the U30Jc or the UL50, the lid of the N61Jv is glossy with a subtle wavy pinstripe pattern, much like the K42F. This looks cool, but it doesn’t do a great job of hiding fingerprint smudges. Inside, however, ASUS has made several interesting design changes. The palm rest is rubberized, making it very comfortable to the touch.

Above the chiclet-style keyboard is the most striking feature: a silver speaker bar perforated by tiny holes. At the right side is a circular chrome power button encircled by a backlit ring; on the other side are buttons to control multimedia playback and to launch the ExpressGate Instant-On environment. At either end of the silver bar are two translucent strips that light up blue when the notebook is on. All in all, it has a very retro-chic look, like something Braun might have designed in the 80s.

Weighing 6 pounds even, the N61J is a bit heavier than most notebooks in its class, most of which have smaller 15.6-inch screens. The Samsung R580, for example, weighs 5.6 pounds. However, the N61Jv, at 15.4 x 10.6 x 1.1—1.5 inches, cuts a thinner profile to the R580’s 16.2 x 10.7 x 1.3—1.6 inches.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The palm rest has a sort of “rubbery” textured plastic found on some mice and keyboards, along with the Alienware M17x and ASUS G73J. The technical description is a “soft touch rubberized painted plastic” surface for the palm rest; whatever it’s called, we like it, and we wish the top cover used the same material. The keyboard is of the chiclet variety and has a good feel and key action. We only have one minor complaint with the keyboard, and that’s the use of a half-size “0″ key for the number keypad. Above are two different keyboards, on the left is the ASUS N61J and on the right is the Acer Aspire 5740G; Acer gets the number keypad right. If a company is going to go to the trouble of fitting a 10-key into a notebook, they need to use the standard layout. Yes it’s a minor quibble, but it’s our only real complaint with the keyboard. We do feel there are better keyboards out there, but that’s largely a matter of personal taste—I’m partial to the Lenovo ThinkPad T410 approach, with raised and contoured keys that feel more like a desktop keyboard. If on the other hand you prefer chiclet keyboards, the N61J won’t disappoint.

Display and Audio
The 16-inch LED-backlit display on the N61Jv was plenty bright, and we liked the crisp colors. While its resolution of 1366 x 768 was adequate for a notebook at this price, its glossy surface kicked back reflections and angles were somewhat limited. Image quality was fair. While watching a 720p episode of Fringe on Fox.com, we could easily make out the wrinkles in the characters’ faces, though a DVD of Heroes looked somewhat grainy.

Despite the fact that the N61Jv has Altec Lansing Speakers and SRS Premium Sound, we were somewhat disappointed overall. There was very nice definition when listening to Led Zeppelin’s “Over the Hills and Far Away,” but bass was sadly lacking on this entertainment system. During the chorus, the higher notes drowned out the lower tones, making it sound a little harsh. Tweaking the settings using the SRS control panel did little to help. On the plus side, the volume was fairly loud when streaming Weezer’s “Beverly Hills” on Slacker.

Ports
ASUS provides a single eSATA port and two USB 2.0 ports. The big extra is that ASUS has added an NEC USB 3.0 controller for one more USB port on the left side

Performance
The 2.26-GHz Intel Core i5-430M processor and 4GB of RAM (upgradable to 8GB) powered the N61Jv to an excellent score of 5,841 in PCMark Vantage, which measures overall performance. That’s about 900 points higher than the desktop replacement average, about 40 points higher than the Samsung 15.6-inch R580, which has the same processor, and practically equal to the similarly sized Acer Aspire 5740G. The 17-inch Samsung R780 ($799) has the same processor, but scored about 100 points higher.

Not only is the N61J’s hard drive a relatively spacious 500GB, but it also zips along at 7,200 rpm, enabling it to blow past a number of notebooks in its category. We were able to duplicate a 4.97GB folder of multimedia in 2 minutes and 31 seconds, a rate of 33.7 MBps. That’s 45 seconds faster than the R580 (26.2 MBps), and more than 10 MBps faster than the Sony VAIO E (21.7 MBps). Boot time, too, was a fast 57 seconds.

Design
Like the Edge 13, the Edge 14 has a different aesthetic than traditional ThinkPads. You can take your pick from three different lid colors: Midnight Black matte (our configuration), Midnight Black glossy, and Heatwave Red. The sides have a silver trim, which adds a touch of style, but would be even more attractive if it were metal rather than plastic. The rest of the notebook—its deck, bezel, and bottom—are made out of smooth black plastic that looks and feels sleeker than the grainy plastic found on other ThinkPads.

The biggest touch of style is the fancy ThinkPad logo that appears on both the lid and deck; it features a bright red light that stays solid when the notebook is on but blinks when it is asleep. At 13.5 x 9.2 x 1.3 inches and 5 pounds (with the standard six-cell battery), the Edge 14 is no ultraportable, but it compares favorably to other 14-inch small business notebooks like the T410 (5.2 pounds), the Dell Latitude E5400 (5.6 pounds), and the HP ProBook 4510s (5.7 pounds). We were able to carry both the laptop and a giant pile of books with us back and forth from work on a couple of occasions without breaking a sweat.

Keyboard and Touchpad
When I first saw the leaked images of the new ThinkPad keyboard, I have to admit I was less than pleased. The keyboard is one of the few remaining original and unchanged parts of ThinkPad notebooks. The layout has been updated over the years, but the keyboard could always be identified as “ThinkPad.” With the new design, Lenovo took a hint from other new keyboard designs hitting the market and blended a combination of form and function.

The keyboard takes a Chiclet/Island-style that’s common on notebooks ranging from the latest netbooks to the newest Apple MacBook, and merges it with a traditional ThinkPad design. What makes the keyboard unique is that it’s the first Chiclet keyboard I have found that’s very comfortable and easy to type on. Most Chiclet-style keyboards have flat top keys, different spacing and a shallower throw than a normal keyboard. The ThinkPad Edge 14 doesn’t have these problems, creating an ideal hybrid keyboard that I can easily say is among the best implementations I have used to date.

Typing pressure and feedback is similar to a typical ThinkPad keyboard, so similar in fact that if you type with your eyes closed you might not even realize the key shape changed. The throw distance seems to be identical to my T60 with the same type of click sound made when fully pressed. Removing the keytops reveal the familiar scissor-action found in traditional ThinkPad keyboards. My best guess would be Lenovo kept the original frame and action assembly, only updating the keytops and adding an internal bezel structure. The change doesn’t compromise strength; it shows no flex under strong typing pressure.

The Edge offers a generously-sized Synaptics touchpad, having nearly three times the surface area compared to my T60. If you regularly use smaller touchpads, you might have a bit of a learning curve before it becomes second nature. During the first couple of days, I would frequently touch the bottom of the touchpad surface instead of clicking the left or right buttons. This would move the cursor off target; it was annoying until I adapted to its size. Overall, the touchpad was pleasant to use, with a fast response time and no discernable lag. Sensitivity was excellent and no adjustment was needed out of the box. This particular touchpad has some multitouch capabilities, including pinch-to-zoom and pivot-rotation. After extended use, I didn’t have any problems with the touchpad texture; its smooth matte finish was easy to glide across with dry or slightly damp fingers. The touchpad buttons seem to have a slightly shallower clicking motion compared to other ThinkPads, but still provided good feedback.

Performance
The Edge 14’s 2.13-GHz Intel Core i3 M330 CPU enabled it to provide fast performance on every task we threw at it, from circling the globe in Google Earth to compressing video. On PCMark Vantage, a benchmark that measures overall system speed, the Edge scored a strong 4,293, well above the thin and light notebook category average of 3,519 and even further ahead of the HP ProBook 5310m (3,382) and ThinkPad SL510 (3,493). The Edge’s 5,400-rpm, 250GB booted Windows 7 Professional in a remarkable 36 seconds. The drive took a somewhat leisurely 3 minutes and 54 seconds to complete the LAPTOP File Transfer test (in which we copy 4.97GB of mixed media files from one folder to another) for a rate of 21.6 MBps. That rate is below the 22.1 MBps category average and well behind the 26.2 MBps offered by the ProBook 5310m, the 29.2 MBps returned by the ThinkPad SL510, and the 23.5 MBps provided by the ThinkPad Edge 13. A faster, 7,200-rpm drive is available as an option. When it came to video transcoding, the Edge 14 performed well, converting a 114MB MPEG-4 to AVI in just 1 minute and 7 seconds using Oxelon media encoder, 2 seconds faster than the thin-and-light category average.

Design
At 15.0 x 9.8 x 1.5 inches and 5.6 pounds, the ThinkPad SL510 is a bit bulky to carry, though it’s lighter than many other 15-inch notebooks. In terms of style, the system has the familiar black plastic ThinkPad design theme. Its black keyboard has a light blue Enter key, as well as the familiar red trackpoint nub in the middle. Status lights and the power button appear to the right of the keyboard, while the volume buttons sit on the left.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard was very comfortable to type on and felt very similar to the keyboards on the T-series ThinkPads. The layout is different, missing the extra row of function keys at the top, but the main area has been left intact. Key action was great, with a soft spring movement, giving off a mild click when pressed. Key spacing is nearly identical to regular ThinkPads, with barely any difference noted switching between my T60 and the SL510. The biggest difference is the newer keyboards are slightly quieter. On the left side of the keyboard are some quick-access buttons, used for muting system volume or the microphone, as well as adjusting volume levels.
The touchpad is an ALPS model that looks and feels identical to the newer textured ones seen on the latest ThinkPad models. It is flush mount to the palmrest, and given a soft texture that is supposed to help with traction under varying conditions. I am personally a fan of the old matte plastic style, but given enough time the newer one might grow on me. In general I found the touchpad to be as responsive as the Synaptics model found on higher-end ThinkPad models. The only weakness I saw was tap to select, where the cursor would sometimes not let go of a selected object without a very deliberate click. This is common with many ALPS touchpads, but can be avoided most of the time.

Display and Audio
The system’s 15.6-inch, LED-backlit screen is available in either glossy VibrantView or Antiglare matte varieties. Our review unit came with the matte screen that produced sharp images, but colors were muted, and viewing angles were poor. Even from 45 degrees, colors washed out significantly. When the screen is tilted down slightly—as you might have to do if you’re looking across a conference table at someone—the color change is even more dramatic. To be fair, the system is probably too large to fit on a tray table in the first place.

Ports and Webcam
The SL510 comes with a standard array of ports, including VGA, HDMI, audio in/out, Ethernet, ExpressCard/34, and four USB ports, one of which that doubles as an eSATA connection. A 7-in-1 memory card reader also allows you to get data from cameras and other devices. The 2.0-megapixel webcam provides workable, but unremarkable image quality. When we used it to make a Skype call from our office, the smooth video was accented with somewhat muted colors.

Performance
The SL510’s 2.53-GHz Core 2 Duo CPU and 3GB of DDR3 RAM allowed the system to achieve 3,493 on PCMark Vantage, a benchmark that measures overall system performance. This score is slightly higher than the mainstream notebook category average of 3,225, and well ahead of the HP ProBook 4510s. However, the original ThinkPad SL400 scored a very similar 3,411, and the ThinkPad T400 notched a higher 3,576. In casual use, the system was smooth and responsive as we navigated the desktop and composed documents in Microsoft Word.

Graphics
The SL510 is available with both discrete and integrated graphics options. Our review unit came with an integrated Intel GMA X4500 graphics chip that returned a weak score of 1,011 in the benchmark 3DMark06, which was about a third of the category average (3,413). However, the HP ProBook 4510s did even worse (831), though the SL400 (2,251) did better—likely due to its discrete graphics chip.

Battery Life and Wi-Fi
On the LAPTOP Battery Test, which involves continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi, the ThinkPad SL510’s 6-cell battery lasted 3 hours and 56 minutes, which is 20 minutes longer than the category average for mainstream notebooks. However, the HP ProBook 4510s lasted 4 hours and 31 minutes, and the original ThinkPad SL400 lasted 5 hours and 20 minutes

Key Specs
Processor: 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8700
Memory: 3GB RAM
Storage: 320GB hard drive
Optical Drive: DVD±RW
Screen: 15.6 inches (1,366×768 native resolution)
Graphics: Integrated Intel X4500MHD
Weight: 5.7 pounds
Dimensions (HWD): 1.4×13.5×9.7 inches
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional (32-bit)

Conclusion
The Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 proved to be a reasonable compromise between price and quality. While it doesn’t offer the nicer touchpad or rugged build quality of the T-series, it retails for almost half the starting price. The SL-series is a good option for users looking for only basic qualities in a notebook like a standard WXGA screen or integrated graphics. It still offers a great keyboard and extended batteries if you plan on typing documents all day without breaking the wallet. Overall if you are looking for a notebook that will be sitting on a desk most of the day and staying out of harm’s way, the SL510 is worth taking a look at.