Lenovo Thinkpad SL400 notebook PC

The old adage of ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ certainly applies to Lenovo’s Thinkpad styling.

There have been some subtle changes to the design over the years, but you can recognise the familiar black slab across a crowded room.

While the matt black lid might have been replaced by a trendy glossy fingerprint-attracting one, the Thinkpads are still the well-built, secure notebooks beloved by IT managers everywhere.

One of the latest to come our way is the SL400, a 14.1in notebook powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo T5670 processor speeding along at just 1.8GHz, backed by 2GB of PC2-5300 667MHz memory.

However, data security is more important in Thinkpads than fast clock speeds. In any case, the SL400 can cope with everyday tasks perfectly well. The same can be said of the graphics performance, as it’s powered by Intel’s integrated GMA4500MHD solution. The 14.1in WXGA screen has a native resolution of 1,280x800 and is available with an anti-glare coated screen.

The Thinkpad’s keyboards have gained almost legendary status and the SL400’s is no exception. Well built with no noticeable flexing from the keybed, the keys themselves have a good response. The trackpad is the same – responsive without being overly sensitive, and it has both vertical and horizontal scrolling. For those who hate trackpads there is a trackpoint and sets of mouse buttons for both.

For connecting to the outside world the SL400 comes with Intel’s Wilink 5100 Wifi card, which supports 802.11a/g/n. You also get Gigabit Ethernet and a 56K modem alongside built-in mobile broadband, which comes with a free 30-day trial courtesy of Vodafone.