IBM ThinkPad R31 26562MM
You can't miss an IBM Thinkpad. Well, to put it more accurately, you could miss an individual Thinkpad if it were in a field of Thinkpads. Like Henry Ford's Model T, customers can have any design for a Thinkpad they like -- as long as it's black and boxy.
That's not entirely a bad thing, however. IBM's Thinkpad design has lasted as long as it has because corporate buyers love the things. They're reasonably robust, they protect the screen quite well, and they can survive quite a lot of user abuse. IBM doesn't specifically warrant against the user abuse, of course; it's just a side effect of the boxy design. They also share the boxy design in order to share common notebook components across the same lines, which is great if you're upgrading from older Thinkpads.
| Introduction |
| Acer Travelmate 223X |
| Apple iBook |
| Dell Inspiron 2650 |
| IBM ThinkPad R31 26562MM |
| Sony Vaio PCG-FX950 |
| Toshiba Satellite 1400 |
| How we tested |
| Benchmarks |
| Specifications |
| Editor's Choice |
In terms of specifications, the IBM ThinkPad R31 26562MM sports a 1.13GHz Mobile Celeron, 256MB of SDRAM and 32MB of integrated memory in the familiar Intel 830MG chipset. It's the only Windows-based notebook in our roundup to ship with only a CD-ROM drive; everything else but the iBook sported either a DVD-ROM drive or a CD-RW/DVD combo drive. Then again, what (legitimate) use do corporate users have for CD burners and DVD-ROM drives?
The Thinkpad R31 26562MM is the only notebook in our roundup not to opt for a Glidepad.
Corporate buyers looking for a robust notebook that works within their IT structure (presuming you're standardised on Thinkpads) will love the Thinkpad R31. At the higher end of our under-three-grand pricing structure we'd tilt everyone else towards the Dell Inspiron 2650.
IBM ThinkPad R31 26562MM
Company: IBM Australia
Price: AU$2,699
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 1800 289 426
