Lenovo ThinkPad T420 Pro Reviews

The Lenovo ThinkPad T420 is an interesting beast. It goes against the grain of today’s laptops in many ways. It’s not stylish, it’s not thin, and it’s not light. The touchpad is a bit of an afterthought, functional but obviously playing second-fiddle to the trackpointer. The keyboard still looks and feels similar to the one offered by my T42 about five years ago. You might think that these would be unforgivable sins, but you’d be wrong. In fact, the T420 is perfect for its intended use. This is a work laptop, and that means functionality comes before style. Yes, this laptop is thick and heavy. And no, it’s not pretty. But none of that matters because it’s not part of what the T420 is built for. This is a laptop for people who type for hours every day. It’s a laptop for people who need tons of connectivity. It’s a laptop for people who empathize with George Clooney’s character from Up in the Air because they’ve been there. What about the competition? The HP Elitebooks are equally powerful and have excellent build quality, but the user interface comes up short due to keyboards that are merely average. Dell’s Latitude products are inexpensive, yet can’t match the ThinkPad’s build quality. The Dell Precision line almost looks like an alternative until you consider the price, which starts high and only goes up from there.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T420 is exactly what you think it is: a big old-fashioned ThinkPad, but upgraded with current processors and specs. It could do with a partial makeover and more modern ports like HDMI--and it's more expensive overall than we'd prefer for the specs included--but those who crave a new experience in an old comfy pair of enterprise-friendly shoes will get what they paid for.

The T420 is solidly constructed and offers racehorse performance. It's highly configurable with multiple warranty options, as befits a business laptop. Just about every IT person we know swears by the T series--for their clients and themselves. That should tell you everything you need to know about the long-term reliability of these laptops.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T420 is a well-engineered 14" business notebook. It has the hallmark ThinkPad qualities including great build quality and a superior keyboard. I liked almost everything about it. The anti-glare screen prevents reflections and with a 1600x900 resolution, provides a lot of working space. The keyboard has a highly functional layout and the trackpoint and touchpad are easy to use. All this functionality can be taken to the road thanks to the 10 hours of battery from the optional 9-cell. Other pros of the notebook include a good selection of input/output ports, dedicated volume control buttons, a docking station port, and a swappable modular bay (ours was occupied by a DVD burner). Complaints? Yes - the speakers are lackluster, the design might not appeal to people looking for something noticeable, and ... that's it. Oh, it's a bit thick and heavy for a 14" model, but Lenovo also offers the T420s model which is thinner. Bottom line, the ThinkPad T420 isn't just a good business laptop ... the T420 is an excellent choice for business, home, and student use.

With Sandy Bridge-grade speed, great battery life, durability features, and other goodies, the ThinkPad T420 is arguably today's best business thin-and-light. (But yes, it’s still basic black.)

The Lenovo ThinkPad T420 is solidly constructed and offers racehorse performance. It's highly configurable with multiple warranty options, as befits a business laptop. Just about every IT person we know swears by the T series, for their clients and themselves. That should tell you everything you need to know about the long-term reliability of these laptops.