Digital Trends

Lenovo ThinkPad SL400

September 8th, 2008 | by Nick Mokey

Features & Design

Lenovo positioned the SL400 as a middle-of-the-road notebook – it has enough power to pull off almost all business computing needs, but doesn’t quite come with the same extravagant extras or compact packaging as more expensive machines. Its spot in the Lenovo line-up, between the budget R-series and high-end T-series, reflects that compromise.

Inside, you can get your SL400 whipped up with Intel Core 2 Duo processors up to 2.53GHz, a max of 3GB of DDR2 RAM, and hard drives spanning up to 320GB in capacity. Some of the frilliest (optional) extras include an integrated webcam, fingerprint reader, Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS video card, and WWAN modem for use on AT&T.

It’s a ThinkPad, so the SL400 of course gets Lenovo’s signature red-dot TrackPoint pointer. But wisely, its designers also found room for a conventional touchpad, creating a dual-input configuration Lenovo calls UltraNav.

What’s it missing? Not much. Moving up to the Lenovo T-series buys a slimmer and lighter shell, and a handful of other options that most users would probably be fine without, such as a higher resolution WUXGA screen, GPS capability, and wireless USB.

Aesthetics

Most ThinkPad notebooks barely warrant discussion of looks at all – they’ve looked almost exactly the same for years – but the SL series has actually departed quite a bit from its ancestors. Most strikingly, Lenovo discarded the ThinkPad’s signature matte black finish for a smooth, glossy piano black on the SL400’s lid. While it looked fantastic from afar, and garnered a lot more comments than your run-of-the-mill ThinkPad, it also suffered from the standard fingerprint-magnetic syndrome that comes with all glassy smooth surfaces, making it a tradeoff at best.

Other elements of the reworked ThinkPad aesthetic bothered us a bit, as well. The base has a strange trapezoidal profile that gives the front and side edges an odd 45-degree slant, instead of the squared-off edges we’re used to seeing on ThinkPads. On its own, this wouldn’t really be a deal breaker, but all the notches carved into the slant to make room for ports and connectors make it look a little goofy.

Image Courtesy of Lenovo