The Lenovo ThinkPad SL-Series: A Portable Workhorse that won’t Break the Bank.
The Thinkpad SL-Series laptop models from Lenovo are designed with small business responsibilities in mind, blending a mixture of portability and typical ThinkPad robustness into a versatile computer with impressive multimedia features, bolstered security and a very attractive price-range. Although it does not pack the firepower of some of the high-end machines on the market, or the internal stability structures of the ThinkPad X, R or T-Series models, its efficiency and suitability to a number of tasks is admirable, particularly for its size and cost.
Lenovo ThinkPad SL-Series Review
The ThinkPad SL-Series laptops are the affordable workhorses of the Lenovo ThinkPad range. Not only are they adequately portable, measuring in at a mid-range 2.1 – 2.9 kg, they are also powered by the Intel Centrino 2 processor with ProV technology. This processor is all about business, with built-in security features to cut the costs of repair; increased power, wireless connectivity and battery life to get more work done quicker; and hardware-assisted remote control to shut down, wake up, and update your PC off-hours to save energy costs.
With up to 2.53 GHz of RAM, 250 GB hard-disk drive and 4GB of memory, the SL-Series laptop computers are competitive performance-wise with others of its caste, however for real high-end power you will be looking at something far more expensive.
You will, however, be pleasantly surprised with the multimedia capabilities of the ThinkPad SL-Series: up to 15.4” of LCD-backlit widescreen, Blu-Ray disc-drive, speakers, microphones and an optional webcam for Internet voice and video conferencing, and support ports for HDMI/VGA for viewing such as high-definition movies or complex spreadsheets.
But what the small-to-medium business owner will really enjoy is the security options. These include accidental damage protection and warranty upgrades (for when the standard warranty isn’t enough or when business has to be back on track, quickly), as well as Complete IT (call one number and get priority routing to Level 2 technicians), and support for 3rd party software installed on your machine, such as critical backups.
Furthermore, like the rest of the ThinkPad family, the SL-Series laptops have been put through the range of durability tests developed by Lenovo. So that even though it doesn’t contain the roll-cage or system-drainage of the more expensive ThinkPads, you can rest assured that the hinges, case, keyboard etc. are designed for the battle of everyday business.
Lenovo ThinkPad SL-Series Battery
The ThinkPad SL-Series use a 6, 8 or 9-cell Li-Ion battery, which are energy efficient, allowing you to stay unplugged for longer. The bigger the battery, the heavier the laptop, so choose well.
Lenovo ThinkPad SL-Series Price
This is one of the big draw-cards for the SL-Series: between $400 and $1000 depending on how modified your machine comes.
Lenovo Support
* Australian support number: 1300-557-073 (24 hours, 7 days a week)
* Online help link: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/homeLenovo.do (support centre); http://forums.lenovo.com/ (support forum).
* Warranty: 1 year standard.
