Review Of IBM Thinkpad R30

IBM Thinkpad R30 notebook evaluation

ThinkPad R30 2676 - PIII 1 GHz - 14.1" TFT
Manufacturer: IBM
Part number: 2676E0U

Product Short Spec:

Processor: Intel Pentium III (1 GHz)

RAM installed: 128 MB SDRAM

Weight: 5.7 lbs

Display: 14.1 in TFT active matrix

OS provided: Microsoft Windows 2000

Chipset type: ALi CyberBLADE Aladdin i1

OEM Thinkpad R30 battery Code: 02K6821

Consider IBM's ThinkPad R30
to be a ThinkPad T23 you can afford. At 5.9 pounds (not
including the AC adapter), the R30 weighs only one-third
pound more than the notebooks in IBM's T23 line--and it
offers the same roomy, high-resolution 14.1-inch screen.
The R30 has a single modular bay on the right side to
accommodate any one of a wide range of extra-cost devices,
including a second hard drive, a Zip 250 drive, a
DVD-ROM/CD-RW combination drive, and the 8X/4X/24X CD-RW
drive our test unit came with. IBM recently added wireless
readiness as an option across all of its notebook lines.
Our R30 came with antennas and a built-in mini-PCI adapter
card for Web surfing and checking e-mail wirelessly when an
802.11b Internet access point is nearby. The total
tab--including our unit's CD-RW drive, a 1-GHz/700-MHz
Pentium III processor, and Lotus SmartSuite application
software--is a reasonable $1699.

The R30 lasted just 2
hours, 22 minutes on one charge of its full-size lithium
ion Thinkpad R30 battery. Unfortunately, the modular bay does not accept
a supplementary battery, as those in other ThinkPads do. It
will accept a floppy drive, but that option costs an extra
$79. The R30 line currently uses only the older Pentium III
processor with 256KB of L2 cache. Our test unit turned in a
lackluster score of 88, putting it more than 12 percent
behind Dell's Inspiron 8100 and WinBook's Z1, each of which
scored 100 or better. IBM's printed documentation for this
line is limited to one slim troubleshooting manual (most of
the documentation comes in electronic format).

The R30 offers many
features that ThinkPad owners will be familiar with. You
get the same steady typing action and fire-engine-red
eraserhead pointing device. IBM has made two modifications
to the keyboard: The Enter key is now a startling bright
blue--the better to quickly locate it--and the Internet
scroll key is smaller and sits between the mouse buttons
instead of below them. This arrangement makes it easier for
you to scroll while keeping a finger on the eraserhead.

Like its siblings, the Thinkpad R30 battery offers dedicated buttons for
controlling the volume of the fairly strong stereo speakers. Situated next to
the volume buttons, the familiar ThinkPad shortcut button launches the on-board
manual and help system. The electronic manual hasn't been completely updated
for the R30--it still shows a large scroll button--but it remains the best
we've seen accompanying a notebook, thanks to its helpful animations. For
instance, by clicking a play button, you can see each step required to upgrade
the hard drive, beginning with an animated screwdriver removing the screw, then
the drive sliding out, the brackets falling away, the new drive sliding in, and
the screwdriver finally replacing the screw. IBM has added more animations and
reorganized the interface into three easy-to-scan sections: notebook features,
tips, and online support links.

The R30 retains IBM's ThinkLight keyboard light at the top of the
screen, as well as an upgrade-friendly design with easy-to-reach memory slots,
battery, and hard drive. IBM does make one slight change for the worse here,
however: Instead of a large screw that you could remove with the edge of a
coin, a regular screw now holds in the hard drive. The R30 lacks IBM's
UltraPort, a modified USB connection on the top edge of the screen for
attaching one of the company's small extra-cost proprietary devices, such as a
small video camera. Serial and PS/2 ports are gone, too, as is the extra audio
line-in. IBM replaced them with a standard USB port moved from the back.

One change you'll see migrate to other ThinkPad lines: The sides
are less steeply beveled, giving the notebook a boxier look. But the R30 fits
better in corporate environments than IBM's other inexpensive line, the
ThinkPad I, because it can use the same port replicator and bay devices as the
A and T lines.

UPSHOT: Aside from its subpar--but
bearable--battery life and performance, this less-expensive
version of IBM's ThinkPad T23 is a winner. Its backward
compatibility makes it a better choice than the low-cost
ThinkPad I series for companies looking to add inexpensive
laptops to a ThinkPad-equipped workforce.

Thinkpad R30 Battery
I don't run on battery too often. It's definitely longer to charge than to drain. I keep all of my settings high (screen brightness, processor speed) so I probably couldn't get more than 2.5 hours with my 9-cell. I'm usually near an outlet so it is not an issue. The IBM Thinkpad R30 battery is heavy though, I'm still considering a 6-cell battery just to make the machine lighter, but I haven't decided yet.

Operating System and Software
I'm running Windows XP Pro on this laptop, so there's nothing special to speak about there. What I do like is the client security password manager that comes with the system. It creates a virtual partition on your hard drive which you determine the size of and you can store all your passwords there. So regardless if I'm logging into the system or opening a browser and logging into my bank account all I have to do is swipe my finger on the finger print reader and it logs me in.

Conclusion

I am really happy with my purchase so far. The biometrics security and the IPS screen is my favorite part. For anyone considering a different notebook that doesn't use IPS technology, they should think twice. The IPS screen is a huge difference. I believe this is a must buy notebook for any business user where security and durability is important.