Why You Can Trust CNET ThinkPad X32 review: ThinkPad X32
Frequent business fliers who burn the midnight oil would do well to consider the ThinkPad X32 series. This ultraportable piles on enough keyboard room, screen space, battery life, and connectors to get some serious work done while on the road. Despite all of these perks, its case still comes in under four pounds.
Editors' note: Lenovo completed its purchase of IBM's PC division on April 2, 2005, so you will no longer see the familiar letters IBM in front of ThinkPad laptops--they are now known as simply ThinkPad products. Lenovo may introduce products under its name in the future. ThinkPad notebooks are being sold by the same outlets as before, and the same support staff will service both new and existing ThinkPads. (5/25/05)
Frequent business fliers who burn the midnight oil would do well to consider the ThinkPad X32. This ultraportable offers enough keyboard and screen space, battery life, and connectivity to get some serious work done on the road. Yet despite all of these perks, it still comes in at less than four pounds. The only mobile employees who might not embrace the ThinkPad X32 are those who require an integrated optical drive; for them, we recommend the Sony VAIO T250/L.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The ThinkPad X32 is slightly bulkier than its sibling, the ThinkPad X41; according to Lenovo, the larger form factor allows for higher performance, while the smaller model offers better battery life. Nevertheless, the ThinkPad X32's dimensions are on a par with those of the typical ultraportable notebook. It weighs a very manageable 3.7 pounds and measures 10.7 inches wide by 8.8 inches deep; it's 1 inch thick at the front and 1.2 inches at the rear. The system's 0.06-pound AC adapter is also of average size for an ultraportable, bringing the total travel weight to a wieldy 4.3 pounds.
The ThinkPad X32 has one of the nicest ultraportable case designs we've come across. Thanks to the full size of nearly all of the keys, we were able to touch-type comfortably for extended periods. One of our favorite laptop pointing devices--the ThinkPad's signature red-rubber pointing stick, with a broad, texturized top--sits in the middle of the keyboard. Two roomy mouse buttons are centered below the spacebar, with a handy scroll button between the two. The four buttons above the keyboard control the volume and link to a preloaded help utility. The 12.1-inch display, featuring a standard 1,024x768 native resolution, is big by ultraportable standards; many systems in this class include 10.4-inch or smaller screens. A built-in light above the screen shines down like a spotlight on the keyboard, helping to illuminate the board when the captain dims the lights. Lastly, the ThinkPad line's strong metal hinges connect the laptop's lid and bottom.
Several preconfigured versions of the ThinkPad X32 are available through various online resellers and the ThinkPad Web site or toll-free sales line. You can also configure your own system, but watch out: doing so can result in a higher overall price. For example, one version of the ThinkPad X32 costs $200 more if you build it yourself than if you buy it preconfigured with the exact same components. Find out about available components in our ThinkPad X32 series review.
We tested a ThinkPad X32 that cost a reasonable $2,199 (as of May 2005) through the Think Express Program. While the laptop included a fast, 2GHz Pentium M processor, it also carried a few questionable components. The system's 16MB ATI Mobility Radeon graphics chip is several generations behind ATI's newest X-series chips, and its average 512MB of memory ran at a middling 333MHz. However, we were pleased to see that the unit included a sizable 60GB hard drive spinning at a quick 5,400rpm; a flexible Intel Pro Wireless 2915ABG dual-band wireless card; and Bluetooth. In addition, our unit shipped with the X3 UltraBase, which featured a standard DVD/CD-RW drive inside its swappable bay, at no extra cost. While we like the UltraBase, we wish you could also use a single cable to attach the drive to the system itself, as you can with the competing Dell Latitude D410's optical drives. The Latitude D410, with its faster 400MHz memory, integrated Intel 915GM graphics chip, and external optical drive, priced out at about 10 bucks more.
Our ThinkPad X32 test unit earned midrange results in CNET Labs' mobile benchmarks. Though it lagged 9 percent behind the Dell Latitude D410, it came out 9 percent ahead of the HP Compaq Business Notebook nc4010, which included a slower, 1.7GHz Pentium M processor and 266MHz of RAM. The ThinkPad X32 triumphed over the Latitude D410 in our battery-drain trials, lasting a very respectable 4 hours, 23 minutes to the D410's 3 hours, 41 minutes. The HP nc4010's smaller battery trailed far behind both the ThinkPad and Dell cells, lasting a short 2 hours, 48 minutes. All three battery scores trailed the top-notch, 6-hour, 19-minute time earned by the Sony VAIO T250/L, which included a smaller (read: less power-hungry) 10.4-inch screen, an ultra-low-voltage Pentium M processor, and a slightly larger battery.
For an ultraportable, the ThinkPad X32 is chock-full of ports, jacks, and slots. It offers the parallel port and the three audio jacks (headphone, microphone, and line-in) usually reserved for bigger laptops, along with FireWire, VGA, 56Kbps modem, Gigabit Ethernet, infrared, and two USB 2.0 ports. The laptop also includes one Type II PC Card slot and one dedicated slot for CompactFlash cards. Companies interested in deploying a fleet of ThinkPads will appreciate the ThinkPad X32's compatibility with R-series and T-series docking stations, as well as its identical drive size, which lets you swap drives among models. Our test unit came preloaded with the Windows XP Professional operating system. Like other business laptops, the ThinkPad X32's software bundle does not include a productivity suite, though the system did ship with one user license for Lotus SmartSuite Millennium Edition. The system also includes the convenient Access Connections Wi-Fi utility, which lets you create and save different connectivity profiles for your various stomping grounds. InterVideo WinDVD player rounded out the bundle, with Sonic RecordNow and Sonic DLA to assist with disc burning.
The laptop's Embedded Security System functions like a Trusted Platform Module, offering a hardware-based data lockdown. And the laptop's Active Protection System detects when the laptop is dropped or bumped, at which point the program stops the hard drive from spinning, preventing possible damage to the drive. But the system lacks the fingerprint reader that we've seen on other ThinkPads, including the ThinkPad X41 and the ThinkPad T43.
While our ThinkPad X32 test unit came with a long three-year warranty that included onsite service, the system's base warranty consists of just a single year with less convenient return-to-depot service--though the company will pick up the machine at your office. As usual, many other warranty options are available at different prices. You can make toll-free tech-support calls 24/7 for as long as your warranty lasts. The support Web site for the ThinkPad offers basic FAQ information but lacks a helpful customer forum and virtual tech-support chat.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 | BAPCo MobileMark 2002 performance rating |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
| BAPCo MobileMark 2002 battery life in minutes |
System configurations:
Dell Latitude D410
Windows XP Professional; 2GHz Intel Pentium M 755; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 915GM 128MB; Fujitsu MHT2040AH 40GB 4,200rpm
HP Compaq nc4010
Windows XP Professional; 1.7GHz Intel Pentium M 735; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; Radeon IGP 350M 32MB; Hitachi Travelstar 5K80 40GB 4,200rpm
ThinkPad X32
Windows XP Home; 2GHz Intel Pentium M 755; 512MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 16MB; Hitachi Travelstar 5K60 60GB 5,400rpm