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First 700-MHz Notebook: IBM ThinkPad T20

This little powerhouse has all the right bells and whistles for the business traveler.

  

What's Inside

An S3 Savage/IX8 AGP graphics chipset with 8MB of RAM drives the brilliant 14.1-inch LCD. Our unit also had a 12GB hard disk, 128MB of RAM, and a DVD-ROM drive in the notebook's media bay. (The DVD player software was missing from our preproduction unit, so we didn't test DVD playback.) Unlike the 600 series, the T20 requires an adapter cable ($47) with a parallel connection to use the floppy drive externally.

The ThinkPad T20's media bay can accommodate several different modules, including a second battery, a hard disk, and CD-RW and LS-120 drives. The new modules are not backward-compatible with 600-series modules, but they are interchangeable with those in the new ThinkPad A20 line (which replaces the ThinkPad 700 and 390 series), and are compatible with IBM's new docking station. Most modules are also hot-swappable, but it's a bit confusing to figure out which ones are--it varies according to the operating system you're running, and whether you're using ACPI or APM power management. Removing the modules is very easy, though, with a handy new release lever located on the side of the unit.

The $3699 T20 is pricier than many high-end "desktop replacement" notebooks, but it offers a richer feature set in a 6.5-pound package--just right for a performance-hungry business traveler.

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