IBM ThinkPad G40 (Intel)
Wow, if you're looking for a tank, the IBM ThinkPad G40 is something worthy of your consideration. Even the AC adaptor is about half the size of a house brick. Thank goodness they are not called laptops anymore, any operator would certainly start suffering from flat thigh syndrome after a couple of hours with this unit on their lap. This above-average size and weight however can be understood when one realises what has been packed into this chassis, including a floppy disk drive, Intel Pentium 4 desktop processor (which requires a whopping big/heavy battery to maintain a decent battery run time), optical drive, and a 15in screen.
The keyboard has slightly more raised keys which provide slightly more tactile feedback than the average notebooks keys, the pointing device is the traditional ThinkPad "nipple". The CPU is a 3GHz Intel Pentium 4 desktop processor, with 512MB RAM and an Intel 82852/855 graphics chipset. There was a 40GB HDD unit and a CD-RW/DVD combo optical drive. Wireless LAN is integrated.
Overall technically the IBM G40 is a desktop replacement notebook, with its 3.0GHz Intel Pentium 4 Desktop processor. However the lack of other features or even expansion capabilities leaves you wanting, for example there is no FireWire, Bluetooth, or flash memory card support and it does not appear to be easy to replace the optical drive with other types/devices/batteries. At least all the popular communication types are supported and there is PS/2 support. This should not however reflect badly on the whole ThinkPad range. At the lab we have evaluated several different models in the past six to eight months and there are some very good feature-packed units available from this manufacturer.
| Product | IBM ThinkPad G40 2388BBM |
| Price | AU$2475 |
| Vendor | IBM |
| Phone | 1800 289 426 |
| Web | www.ibm.com.au |
| Interoperability |  |
| An average set of features. | |
| Futureproofing |  |
| Good expansion potential. | |
| ROI |  |
| Performance isn’t great in some areas, and you don’t get as much compared to other models in this price range. | |
| Service |  ½ |
| One-year warranty is average. | |
| Rating |  |
I'm surprised that in a 'high-end desktop replacement notebook' category Dell didn't think to submit their new Inspiron 9100.
To quote from Reuben Lee, ZDNet, 04 March 2004
'The Inspiron 9100 is probably one of the best notebooks around that can truly replace the desktop PC, offering speed and excellent 3D graphics performance.'
Having just purchased one I would have to agree.
I would have truly liked to have seen this cat set amongst these pigeons.
What was Dell thinking?