Faultless workhorse
Written: Aug 04 '01
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Pros: Reliable, affordable, nice to own.
Cons: 64Meg is standard on bottom of range models.
The Bottom Line: If your looking for a reliable machine, look no further.
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| jethrohoyt's Full Review: Lenovo ThinkPad A20 2629 (262962U) PC Notebook |
As part of our business, we specify, buy, integrate and ship IBM A20 notebook computers. We started specifying IBM laptops as a result of the need for a reliable ‘workhorse’ of a computer and had previously been ‘burned’ buying Compaqs.
When my son graduated high school and decided that a laptop not a desktop suited his lifestyle vision, it was not surprising that I bought him an A20, which I bought direct from IBM, on-line. Finally when my own laptop came around for replacement, of course I chose an A20.
Buying on-line from IBM is a recommended method as the people I have so far dealt with have been very helpful and professional in every respect. The prices from IBM beat just about all other suppliers and for the security and piece of mind, I’ll spend $50 extra from IBM. Sadly, because they have operations in just about every state, you’ll pay purchase tax on your purchase.
As of August 2001, it is possible to pay almost $3,000 for a high specification model, but with a starting price a tad below $1,300, the A20 is priced as a desktop replacement and occasional traveller's machine. The average price for the 37 different models is around $2,040.
On the latest models the big screen is bright and very clear, controls for sound are accessible above the keyboard and the mouse replacement is the little red dot in the middle of the keyboard not the skating rink below the space bar. The little red dot needs work for the first time user to get used to. It is however, worth the journey. I have used it since the days of my IBM755 and find it very convenient, reliable and easy to use.
One of the things I like about the IBM is what you DON’T get bundled with it. Unlike other brands there is no attempt to sell shopping opportunities embedded into either its set up or keyboard and the machine doesn’t automatically dial up its makers to find out if there are driver updates available. However, if you do try to contact IBM and download updates the technology is slow and painful which is surprising really considering that IBM claims to be at the leading edge of Internet technology.
All drives, sockets and other amenities are easy to get at and functional. The battery seems to hold its charge very well and lasts around 2 hours. If I had to search for a criticism it would be that the models at the lower end of the range only come with 64 Meg of memory. Whilst extra memory is cheap is does mean that IBM have used one of two available memory slots with a useless size piece of memory (Windows98/ME needs 95Meg on start up!!). To upgrade to the 256 Meg that is economically viable these days, you have to take the 64 out and throw it away! So it seems that 128+64 meg will have to be the natural configuration until IBM sees sense in shipping 128 as standard. This is however a very slight point compared with the rest of the benefits of this machine. I certainly have no intention of changing away from this reliable and functional workhorse.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $1,899
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 801-900
Screen Size: 15
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20
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Epinions.com ID:
jethrohoyt
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Location: Raleigh NC USA
Reviews written: 44
Trusted by: 5 members
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