Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Notebook Model 25285FU (1.5GHz Pentium M Centrino 758, 512MB DDR2, 40GB, DVD/CD-RW, Windows XP Pro, 12.1

Another major attraction of the X41 is its keyboard. With its near-full-size keystroke and spacing, the X41 offers a typing experience better than that of any other ultraportable (and some big laptops). The mouse buttons depress deeply for satisfying feedback. A spacebar magnifier, volume buttons, a dedicated launch button for the users' manual, and the ThinkLight--an LED in the screen frame that you can switch on in dark rooms--round out a great typing experience.

Now for what's missing. Like its predecessors, the X41 leaves touchpad fans out in the cold by offering only an eraserhead pointing device. The notebook's connections are limited to one PC Card slot; one SD slot; two USB 2.0 ports (including one powered); VGA, microphone, and headphone ports; and network and modem jacks. The 12.1-inch display is standard, not wide-screen, with an XGA resolution of 1024 by 768 pixels. Because there is no integrated optical drive, you'll either have to attach an external one via USB cable or opt for Lenovo's $199 ThinkPad X4 UltraBase Dock, which contains an internal bay that you can fit with an optical drive, a secondary battery, or a secondary hard drive. The X41 I looked at came with an UltraBase that held a $229 combination DVD-ROM and CD-RW drive for a total cost of $2049, not including business software.

If you need a docking station, you could do a lot worse than the UltraBase, a well-designed 1.3-pound bottom slice that snaps on and off the X41 in a wink, thanks to an intuitive fit and a big right-side release lever. The UltraBase replicates notebook ports and adds legacy connections, including parallel, serial, and PS/2 ports. But it lacks TV-out and FireWire ports, two fairly standard notebook connections. The UltraBase's stereo speakers, which override the X41's tinny-sounding monaural speaker, were mediocre for a docking station's. Though DVD movies looked fine on the X41's small screen, the base's speakers were too weak to support them adequately; I recommend using headphones.

Upshot: The ThinkPad X41 is Lenovo's first ultraportable laptop to include a fingerprint reader. The X41 stands out for its excellent keyboard (if you're an eraserhead fan) and long battery life, but it requires an external optical drive.

Carla Thornton