Comments on: Lenovo ThinkPad SL500 Overview

By: rzlzz7

rzlzz7 — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:17:59 +0000

I have had problems with the cursor jumping around on the screen for not apparent reason as I am working on the computer. The camera on the SL500 is below average quality and so is the call quality. Echo cancellation is not as good as my previous sony laptop. I love the feel of the keyboard as I type. This is true of every thinkpad that I have used in the past. The keyboard layout will take some getting used to.

By: Ronald Jeff Noonan

Ronald Jeff Noonan — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 03:37:34 +0000

Regarding the cursor glitch mentioned twice above, I’m assuming that what is being referred to is when the cursor jumps around a page of text at random intervals for no apparent reason. Quite often, as I’m typing (whether in Notepad, Word or my web browser), the cursor will jump suddenly to a different part of the text and delete a significant chunk of what I’ve already typed. This causes beaucoup stress.

By: Pete Rudge

Pete Rudge — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:39:55 +0000

Bought a SL500 two weeks ago. During the first two days of use I had a lot of problems. It locked up and became completely unusable twice. I did a clean install of Vista Ultimate and a select group of drivers/software from the Lenovo site. Now the laptop is fast and dependable. I have been using it non stop since with no issues to report. I highly recommend staying away from the Think Vantage power manager.

By: Joey Davidson

Joey Davidson — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:27:18 +0000

I mostly agree with customer up there..
There was a weird cursor glitch from the very first time i turned the thing on. (I usually use a USB mouse so it doesn’t come up.)
The FN key being where Ctrl should be is a pain.
That said, I’m happy with my purchase. $850 was a great price for an SL500 running at 2.26, 160 GB, 2GB, and XP professional pre-installed (came with Vista disks too if i ever want things to suck). And the battery has lasted for over 5 hrs with the screen on the dimmest setting.

By: Henrique

Henrique — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:21:05 +0000

The SL series is actually an improved version of the IdeaPad lineage. The firmware and baseboard are nearly the same as the ones in the IdeaPad product line, thus, this laptop is more like the old IBM i-series ThinkPad: it is not a “real” ThinkPad. It doesn’t share the ThinkPad lineage.

The SL-series does have some ThinkVantage technologies, so it is better than your typical IdeaPad… but still, many ThinkPad purists didn’t like it at all when Lenovo launched the SL series, and see it as an inferior product that doesn’t deserve the ThinkPad name.

By: consumer

consumer — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 04:43:26 +0000

the Lenovo SL500 has a glitch where the cursor sputters. There does not seem to be a fix/driver for this yet, despite it having been on the market for a while. This occurs frequently even when not using memory demanding tasks (i.e. unrelated to hardware). Also, for its size and weight the sl500 doesn’t exactly have the level of performance expected. Lastly, the ‘crunched keypad’ is awkward and not user freindly. The FN key is in place where the Ctrl should be making quick use difficult, and the direction keys are too small to be readily accessed. The secondary mouse options are meaningless and don’t add to the efficiency or ease of use. Overall, the sl500 has potential but has some major flaws for price, size, functionality, and market expectations. Oh, and don’t forget that the battery life at less than 3 hours is less than impressive, not too mention tinny speaker quality and a pale off-white screen resolution. I wish I would have shopped around – I am used to buying computers online, but will go in-store next time. Very dissappointed.

By: Lenovo ThinkPad SL300, SL400, SL500 Series Released

Lenovo ThinkPad SL300, SL400, SL500 Series Released — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:57:38 +0000

[...] Lenovo’s ThinkPad SL300 is a 13.3″ variant in the upcoming SL lineup and includes LED backlight display option. It has three USB ports, while the 14.1-inch SL400 and 15.4-inch SL500 have four USBs. Each of the SL laptops has ExpressCard, and Firewire ports, and an optional fingerprint reader. [...]