Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Although I did not buy one from amazon, I have personal experience working with over a hundred T22's. This was a popular model among many corporations during the past five years, and now is being replaced with the newer T43 which has the P3-M/Centrino chipset. So many of these you are seeing for sale now are being retired from corporate use. One nationwide chain had a contract with IBM which would amount to at least 14,000 T22 Thinkpads in just their local offices across the US. My opinion of this laptop is that they are dependable and extremely well-made. Their biggest advantage, though, is their size which makes them great for travel. They each weigh in at around 5.5 pounds but seem much more compact than that number would describe. That being said, there are a few things to watch for and take note of.
Build quality of these models is excellent. I have a new Dell Inspiron 6000 that has many more features and a great LCD screen, but just feels cheap in comparison. The lid (screen half) on the Inspiron does not seem to latch evenly onto the base. So when closed, it wobbles a bit by perhaps a few millimeters. Every single one of the used T22's I examined did not have this problem. The Dell also has a flimsy CD/DVD tray while the T22's seems much more solid and heavy. All the compartments underneath, such as the battery and memory covers, seem to fit well and are easily removed.
The main thing to watch for on the T22 is pressure marks on the TFT screen, which will leave white or lightened spots on darker backgrounds. The screen can be replaced and is not terribly complex if you're skilled at taking things apart. The spec components can be upgraded easily and the CardBUS/PCMCIA will accept new WIFI cards, etc. A VGA-out is on the back so connecting a second monitor is easy, along with 10/100 Ethernet, modem, USB, keyboard and mouse ports. It also has microphone/headphone jacks, S-Video out, serial, parallel and infrared ports.
One point of interest on these laptops is that they do not have touchpads, only an eraser-nub pointer in the middle of the keyboard. Some users won't mind this at all and in fact you might get used to it quickly. The best option is a wireless notebook mouse like the one Microsoft makes which you can get here on amazon. The reason I prefer that model is you can fit the USB receiver into the underside of the mouse for traveling.
As far as Windows, I have not tested 2000 next to XP. Both will probably be fine. Make sure you look on Lenovo-IBM's website for a range of drivers/utilities if you want all the nice features originally built in to the Thinkpad. This includes the on-screen volume/screen brightness controls and the "battery maximiser" (yes, there's no Z). What that does is gives you details about the battery's performance, how many times it's been cycled and how healthy it is. Expect at least 3 hours from a good battery.
In summary, buy the T22 or spend 2-3 times as much on a slightly faster notebook that's of lower quality. Unless, of course, it's a new Thinkpad.
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Remanufactured IBM ThinkPad T22 26478EU 14" Notebook PC (Intel Pentium 3 Processor "900 MHz", 128 MB RAM, 20 GB Hard Drive, DVD)Built specifically for business road warriors, the corporate class IBM ThinkPad T22 is a thin, light notebook that will help you get the job done, wherever you roam. While it's powered by an older Pentium III processor and Windows 2000, this factory reconditioned notebook PC is a solid value and great for standard business computing tasks while away from the office. Weighing just over 5 pounds and measuring 1.3 inches thin, this notebook features a 20 GB hard drive, 128 MB of installed RAM, a bright 14.1-inch screen, and a removable DVD-ROM drive.
The Basics
Hard Drive: The 20 GB hard drive is quite small in comparison to contemporary business-oriented notebooks (where 60 GB is becoming more the standard). However, it's still more than enough room for loading a business productivity suite and storing a wealth of spreadsheets, documents, and presentations.
Processor: The older 900 MHz Intel Pentium III processor provides the biggest savings for this budget notebook. While not speedy or robust enough to handle heavy duty multimedia processing, it's stable and nimble enough for basic business-oriented software. It also features a 100 MHz front-side bus and 256 KB L2 cache.
Memory: The 128 MB of installed RAM is just adequate for word processing tasks, but you'll want to maximize the 512 MB RAM limit to give yourself better productivity.
CD/DVD Drive: The DVD-ROM drive enables you to access CDs and DVD movies while on the road. It's also removable, so you can travel even lighter.
Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a standard 86-key keyboard and electro-static two-button touchpad.
Screen, Graphics and Sound The 14.1-inch screen has a maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels, and video and graphics (16 bit) are powered by the S3 Savage/IX processor. It also features an integrated Sound Blaster 16/Pro-compatible audio card with headphone and microphone jacks.
Connectivity and Expansion Slots The T22 is loaded with just the basics (i.e., no wi-fi) for external connectivity:
1 USB 1.1 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
1 VGA monitor port
1 Serial port
1 Parallel port
1 infrared port
1 S-Video out
2 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type I/II)
1 headphone jack
1 microphone jack
It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Gigabit Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).
Preloaded System and Software This ThinkPad T22 comes with the Windows 2000 operating system, which is outdated in the world of XP but is still a fairly powerful system. It also comes preloaded with the Lotus SmartSuite (for word processing and spreadsheets), MediaMatics DVD Express, Access ThinkPad, ConfigSafe, PC-Doctor, ThinkPad Assistant, IBM Update Connector, SystemSoft Card Wizard, and ThinkPad Utilities
Dimensions and Weight Perfect for portability, the T22 weighs 5.3 pounds and measures 12 x 9.8 x 1.3 inches (WxDxH).
Power It's powered by a lithium-ion rechargeable battery that has up to a 3.2-hour battery life.
What's in the Box This package contains the IBM T22 26478EU factory reconditioned notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a 6-month limited hardware warranty.
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