The ThinkPad was originally an IBM model but it came under Lenovo’s management when they acquired on the range from IBM in 2005. Lenovo’s latest model in the range, the ThinkPad R500 covers the mid-range market and does a great job too.
It is put together very well making it a solid machine that also looks great. This is a solid business machine that can be put through its paces when being carted around and is a great choice when deciding which laptop to buy.
It is a relatively portable machine but is not the lightest in its class weighing in at just over 2.5kg. It does have the portable battery credentials providing over 6 hours power from just one charge.
The keyboard is excellent and makes extended typing a joy. It comes with a 15.4″ screen that is easy to use in high light. Other useful business functions include the integrated fingerprint scanner, this enables the laptop to be secured to only those with the correct fingerprint.
The spec of the machine is good with a powerful processor and enough RAM. It features a lot of expansion ports as well.
This is a good mid-level business machine that is slightly heavier than others, but excellent battery power and general build quality make it a good contender.
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The Acer Aspire 1410 is the latest machine from Acer targeted at the general home user. It is an extremely portable machine and weighs just 1.4kg. It comes with an 11.6″ screen which produces a nice quality image. It is also very thin adding to its portability.
Battery life is phenomenal, offering over 7 hours of power from one charge. All of the components of the machine are designed to limit excessive power use. It is not the most powerful machine available, but performance is good enough. It is possible to multi-task and conduct most general activities from editing photos to browsing the web and word processing.
It features a nice build and stylish case design making it a solid companion for the road. It features a nice keyboard that is easy to type on and also has the 802.11n wireless integrated. Multiple ports are also included such as VGA, HDMI and USB.
This machine is extremely affordable and delivers what it sets out to do which is a lightweight, portable machine with decent performance.
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The Samsung X520 is a great option if you are trying to decide which laptop is the best portable machine for you. It is an addition to the existing X range of ultra-portable machines. They even managed to produce a machine lighter than the MacBook Air.
The X520 comes with a 15″ screen which is not the norm for machines considered to be ultra-portable. It also has a 16:9 widescreen making it a pleasure to watch films on. The keyboard even includes a number pad alongside the full size panel.
While its not the lightest machine in the ultra-portable category, it still only weighs 2kg which is actually about 1kg lighter than most similar sized machines.
It ticks a lot of boxes for the business traveller such as a whopping 8 hours battery life from one charge. It also has a number of expansion ports including USB, HDMI, VGA and SD Card
The real trump card though is the fact that they managed to include a DVD re-writer into the machine. This alongside a 4GB RAM and 500GB hard disk make it a seriously high spec business traveller machine.
The X520 is a lightweight, powerful machine which an excellent sized screen. It features all the key attributes of the ultra-portable laptop alongside a large screen and DVD player. This should definitely be on the shortlist of anyone deciding which laptop to buy.
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