Customer Reviews

IBM ThinkPad T42SMB Laptop ((1.7 GHz Pentium M (Centrino)) 2378FZU

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am an IBM ThinkPad bigot as I have had excellent service from 3 prior ThinkPads over the past 7.5 years. They just work reliably day after day.

This 2378FZU laptop is one of the standard Think Express models currently offered from IBM. Their express program offers aggressive pricing and good availability on certain laptop configurations aimed at small and medium businesses. The 2378FZU is in the middle of the pack for current offerings in the Express program (Dec 2004). Windows XP Professional is included. The 15 inch display is about 3/4 inch wider than the 14.1 inch display but offers visibly improved viewing area. The system is light weight for this sized display. It has both the TrackPoint and touch pad cursor controls. I prefer a mouse, but occasionaly use the TrackPoint. I don't like touch pads on any laptop as they are always in the way. The touch pad is the first item that I disabled on my system.

The two-pronged power cable is easy to adapt to international power unlike some brands which have a grounding plug that makes it more difficult, in my experience, to find an adapter.

The description on Amazon is not correct. There is NO fingerprint reader on the model 2378FZU. The other specs are correct. It only comes with a one year warantee, while some more expensive IBM models come with 3 or 4 year warantees standard. Warantee on this model can be upgraded to 3 years of depot service from IBM for $112 (or longer for more $).

Standard on ThinkPads are such features as the Active Protection System which detects sudden acceleration and parks the hard drive heads automatically to help prevent damage to the hard drive from shocks.

I am very pleased with the features and performance of this laptop. I would definitely buy another ThinkPad. Watch for rebates from Amazon or special offers such as free extra battery or carrying case when purchased direct from the vendor for your best value.

Research can get you a long way. I am an IT purchaser, software developer, and home user. For company use I purchase Dell only - usually. I am real happy I made an exception this time.

This laptop has many features that put it over the top. The only modification I have made is to install an additional 512k memory (total now of 1MB). The memory install was pretty simple in the empty memory slot. The slot has metal tabs to separate that are a little more than tough on the fingers. Note to IBM, make the next model use plastic.

Some of the features that have impressed me:

1.) It has built in 802.11b/g card that works real well. I get great reception due to the two antennas built in. They are those strange rubber tabs on the outside edge of the screen.

2.) Great keyboard feel. They keys are full size! The tactile feel is one of the best I've felt on a laptop. I'd like to see the Function (Fn) key placed somewhere different than the bottom left where I always go for the Ctrl and Alt keys. Suggestion to IBM, move the Fn key between the Ctrl and Alt keys like standard Windows keyboards have the Windows Start key. Extra keys include a forward and backward button that works well in IE, separate volume/mute keys, and ability to save power by turning off the wireless card when not in use.

3.) Speaking of saving power. The average actual battery life I have experienced is 4 - 5 hours! That includes using the wireless card and having the brightness contrast at a decent level. Average settings get above average battery life.

3.) Lightweight and very slim. I bought an IBM bag and the laptop only takes about a third of the available space. There may be lighter laptops but this seems light for a 15" screen.

4.) Hard Drive Airbag! Yes I said air bag. Ever considered what could happen if you drop your laptop? I don't know of anyone else that has this.

5.) Night Light! Yes another innovative feature. A light shines down from the top of the monitor with the click of two keys. The light is wonderful when you are working with presentations with the lights out, traveling overnight, or at home while working.

6.) IBM Software does a decent job monitor the system for you. The battery indicator they add is much better than the standard XP one.

Overall I love this laptop compared to the Dell, HP Sony, Toshiba and WinBook laptops I have seen and used.

Hopefully this research will help make your decision easier. The items I listed above were things I did not realize when I did my research and I though I did a thorough job researching this product.

Great job IBM. If IBM could only compete price and service with Dell desktops we would finally have a computer hardware war.

Some things to note about the description that Amazon has provided for this laptop: this model (2378FZU - Ibm's designation for this notebook) has a 15" screen, not a 14.1"; cdrw rewrite speed is 24x, not 10x; it has one-year manufacturer's warranty, not a three-year; the wifi only works with b and g networks, not a networks; and to clarify, this model does not have the built-in fingerprint reader. I suggest you visit the IBM website to ascertain all of the details yourself. I highly recommend this model. I bought it to replace my Dell Inspiron 5000e which was over 4 years old and broke down on me. Having spent nearly $2700 on the Dell, I can now say that because of my experience with this notebook, I am a Thinkpad convert.

I have been using an IBM T40 for the last 1.5 years and just bought an IBM T43 for my brother. Performance wise, this is a great machine. Some of the differentiating factors I have found.

1. The IBM support center on the laptop itself is kind of helpful.
2. The IBM Record now (and the DVD record for T43) have very simple and clean user interfaces. And the CD/DVD burns really fast.
3. IBM is supposed to have one of the best customer support. Though I have not yet had a chance to use them.

Some of the not so great things I have experienced with my 1.5 year old IBM
1. Unfortunately, the battery cycles do not outlast other manufactures. My IBM battery now has only 1 hour of juice on a full charge. It started out at 3 - 3.5 hours
2. IBM computers come with their own wireless network setups etc. So it is sometimes confusing, when to open the Windows standard interfaces or when to use the IBM interfaces
3. My IBM T40 sometimes comes up with a "Fan error" when it tries to restore from sleep or bootup. It might be just my machine. But a little tap on the fan does the work almost every time.
4. The portable media bay door does not close if you don't push at certain points on the bay door. Once you know, what that point is (beyond the open button), then it should not be a problem.

Overall, it is an excellent machine.

I've been using Dell laptops for more than 7 years. Then I thought recently why not go for a change. I read almost all the reviews about the T42 and did my home work. I have the T42 now for more than 3 month and never had to call IBM Support or needed their help. Very friendly, easy to use notebook. Bright screen. I liked the Access IBM button which helps you keep your system updated. There are lots of nice stuff on this laptop that you wouldn't find in other laptops. That's beside its very very light weight which makes it the traveller delight. I think I am a happy owner and lucky that I purchased this laptop. It's sold now at IBM.com for $1399. I guess it's a great deal for an IBM laptop.

I got this machine 10 months ago and recently its trackpad button lost its spring action. The machine is under warranty but the IBM support says it happened because of the abuse. I do not understand how you can abuse the trackpad button on a laptop.
Apart from that, the LCD started flickering when I open or close the lid and there is a crack on the palmrest which is propagating on its own. The keyboard also wore out pretty fast. I Would not recommend this machine to anyone. I have had dell, hp and sony laptops before and i must admit the best was the hp.