The Lenovo ThinkPad SL500 is a new 15.4-inch notebook, which belongs to company’s new SL series.
Like the other SL notebooks, the SL500 is based on Intel Centrino 2 “Montevina” mobile platform and balances between business computing and multimedia functions. It comes with the new 45-nanometer Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 1066MHz front side bus, up to 6MB of cache, and clock speeds ranging from 2.26GHz to 2.53GHz, depending on CPU model. According to a specification sheet, the laptop will be also offered with lower-end Core 2 Duo CPUs with 800MHz FSB.
The ThinkPad SL500 comes with the Intel GMA X4500 integrated graphics or the NVIDIA GeForce 9300M 256MB dedicated video card, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, up to 320GB of hard drive space, and the optional Intel Turbo Memory 2GB module for better responsiveness. Optical drive options include a CD-Rw/DVD Combo, DVD burner or Blu-Ray burner. The 15.4-inch display in the SL500 has a resolution of 1280×800 or 1680×1050 pixels, and a glossy or mate coating.
Networking features include the latest Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5100ABGN supporting 802.11n standard or an 802.11a/b/g module, a Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Bluetooth receiver, and an optional mobile broadband connection.
The Lenovo ThinkPad SL500 has integrated web camera and fingerprint reader options, four USB ports, a PC Card slot supporting 34mm ExpressCard via adapter, Secure Digital card slot, Firewire port, and VGA and HDMI outputs.
The SL500 weighs around 6.4 pounds and runs Windows Vista OS.
The laptop is available now for a starting price of $799 at Lenovo’s website.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.