Customer Reviews

Lenovo Thinkpad T500 15.4-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 6.3 Hours of Battery Life (Windows XP Pro)

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

 

 

I am a college professor and have generally been happy with the computer. All that changed when I wanted to show a DVD to my class. On the computer screen it was great. But when hooked up to a projector (or even other monitor) it gave a copyright error and shut down. The computer is running XP BUT IT IS NOT AN XP ISSUE. It is a Lenovo issue after I did a little searching on the web. This is a major complaint that they will have to fix.

The only way around this is to extend the computer to two screens, reconfigure the size and I have other issues from that. Ergo there are better options out there for the price.

On the positive side the battery life is tremendous.

This laptop features an array of intuitive technologies, such as a fingerprint scanner to log in plus secondary mouse keys for convenient finger placement. However, there are several prevalent issues that even the cheapest laptops on the market address.

-The screen driver must be made out of play doh, because it fails about every two weeks and causes Windows to seize and inevitably shut down.

-I've gotten the blue screen of death several times for no reason. I was running anti-virus software in conjunction with the school's VPN and not doing anything risky and it still crashed (once just seconds after printing a 19-page lab report, the file of which was lost in the crash along with dozens of other files).

-The USB port was never quite in line with any of my devices (which work fine with my other computers), resulting in bent and broken hardware after futile attempts at forcing an ipod wire into the port. Keep in mind, these USB components should have been compatible.

-Wireless connectivity is flaky at best. The On/Off switch often slips to the "off" position for no discernible reason and it has trouble recognizing networks and submitting passwords. The computer is about two years old and recently has taken to not recognizing any incoming wi-fi signals.

-The keys do not light up, a minor issue I'm aware, but instead uses a light next to the web cam above the screen to light the keys. I should not have to progress in my explanation of how incredibly absurd this is, but, in true Lenovo fashion, a bad idea met worse execution, warranting further explanation: The light is undeniably and laughably dim. In typical nighttime darkness with screen brightness turned all the way down, the light still doesn't make a noticeable difference on the visibility of the keys, as the screen's dimmest setting projects far more light onto the keyboard.

-The "Go back/forward one page" buttons are straddling the arrow keys, which is by far the worst place they could have put those buttons. I actually took them out after a period of inadvertently backing out of my internet pages and subsequently losing my work.

-The screen and picture quality are both terrible. At the risk of editorializing, matte finishes are useless for people who do the majority of their work indoors under normal lighting; the colors become blended and saturated and it gives me a headache after a while. That being said, outdoor use (which matte finishes are designed for) is also next to impossible as the back light is too dim for the display to be readable in normal daylight. Glare reduction or not, if I can't read the
screen, I can't use it. There are benefits and disadvantages to both screen types, but Lenovo managed to incorporate the inapplicabilities of both types, ending in an almost entirely useless end product.

These issues cannot simply be chalked up to a lemon among an otherwise well-performing line, as several other students in my college got these computers through the school at a discount and we all have the same problems with it. Advertised for $1,700 back in 2009, it was about the same price as a mid-level Macbook pro and high-end PCs (I got this computer for much less and still regret not paying full retail for something else) and for the quality, it's like dropping Ferrari money on a Chrysler. I was thinking about selling mine, but I'm not so cruel as to wish this atrocity on anybody. I'm never considering a Lenovo product again.

NOWADAY I'M PLEASED WITH THE LAPTOP, BECAUSE IS WONDERFULL.

THIS LAPTOP HAVE A GREAT PERFORMANCE.

to anyone looking to buy this computer please stop and think because i can assure you there are far better laptops available for less than this. A standard core 2 duo will usually sell for around 500-600 dollars mostly dependent on brand and features. for the price they want for this pc you could easily buy a i5 computer or higher. so all in all though i do not own this computer it has obvious issues such as price, OS, and lack of features i mean come on 250GB hd and 2 GB of ram are you kidding me

I purchased a new thinkpad with accessories all of which were back ordered. I had problems with setting up the home network in the Windows 7 system. I called their service and they denied the warranty I had just paid for. Their order status web site is always down. The 866 order status phone based system is a bunch of barely English speaking people who also do not have server access. My accessories are on a never ending delay (up to three months now). I bought Adobe Creative Suite Windows ED not knowing that ED did not mean edition but meant "educational". I did not get a serial number and could not activate the software. To return it cost me $50! Never again will I order a Lenovo.

Website says 9-10 business days on shipping and I immediately get a confirmation email upon ordering on 2/3 that says it'll be shipped on 2/24. Big inconvenience but I'll wait it out until the next shipping estimate on 2/25 tells me 4/20. Called for a refund and am never ordering from Lenovo again!