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| IBM ThinkPad A21p |
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Hardware Reviews March 2001 • Vol.4 Issue 3 |
IBM ThinkPad A21p | ||
 Despite the increasing trend toward smaller, lighter notebook PCs, there are still plenty of users that place more value on performance and premium equipment than they do on pure mobility. This is especially true in cases where people want to buy a notebook and use it in place of a desktop PC instead of having one of each. If you fall into this category, you should know about IBM's A21p ThinkPad. With features like DVD (digital versatile disc), a 15-inch display, and the fastest mobile processor currently available, the A21p is the best replacement we've seen for a desktop PC yet. Specifications. An extremely fast 850MHz Mobile Pentium III is the driving force behind the A21p, and it gets plenty of help from 128MB of standard RAM. You can expand its memory to 512MB if you like. It has a whopping 32GB hard drive, a modular 8X DVD-ROM drive (in the UltraBay 2000 modular device bay on its right edge), and an integrated 1.44MB floppy diskette drive. The UltraBay 2000 makes it easy to swap various optional devices like CD-ROM or CD-RW (CD-rewriteable) drives, Zip 250MB or LS-120 SuperDisk drives, and extra hard drives or batteries in and out as needed. A 10.8-volt Li-Ion (lithium-ion) battery provides juice on the go, a 56Kbps (kilobits per second) modem provides Internet connectivity, and although our test unit didn't have one, you can get an Intel 10/100Mbps (megabits per second) Ethernet network adapter for $100 more. The A21p also comes standard with an ATI Technologies video control chipset with AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) support and a healthy 16MB of video memory. All of this stuff and its 15-inch TFT (thin film transistor) display push the A21p's weight to a hefty 7.6 pounds. It measures 1.8 inches high (when closed) x 13 inches wide x 10.5 inches deep. Our A21p came with Windows 2000 Professional, but if you prefer you can get one with Windows 98 for $100 less. Your choice depends largely on how you plan to use your ThinkPad, but if you get one with a network adapter and plan to interact frequently with a LAN (local-area network) we'd recommend Win2000. IBM also preinstalls Lotus SmartSuite Millennium on retail models. Design. IBM constructs most of the black outer shell from tough plastic, and the lid panel from its patented Titanium Composite material. Everything fits together tightly and smoothly, and most users will find it more than up to the task of protecting the A21p's delicate electronic innards. Several ThinkPad refinements are present, including the silky-smooth wrist rest panel, the ThinkLight keyboard light shining down from the top of the lid, and the obligatory red TrackPoint pointing stick. The keyboard that surrounds the TrackPoint is as good as notebook keyboards get, although we were a bit nonplussed at its lack of a Windows key. Lots of users probably will never miss it, but if you frequently use Windows keyboard shortcuts, it might hamper you a bit. The UXGA display is exceptionally bright and clear, and in conjunction with the unit's 16MB video chipset does a great job of projecting text, images, DVD movies, and whatever else you throw at it. The speakers above the keyboard on the base panel don't get very loud, but they do produce quality sound and don't distort at all at full volume. Performance. The A21p's 850MHz Pentium III didn't have any trouble with BAPCo's SYSmark2000 performance benchmarks. It cranked out scores of 174 in Internet Content Creation, 149 in Office Productivity, and 159 overall, putting it right in line with some of the fastest notebooks we've tested so far. According to IBM, its battery lasts up to four hours on a single charge, a fairly impressive statistic given the power required to run a DVD drive, a huge display, and an 850MHz chip. Final Word. The A21p is big and heavy, and at $3,599 it isn't exactly an impulse purchase for most of us. However, if you're looking to free yourself from the constraints of your desk without sacrificing performance or functionality, the ThinkPad A21p is an impeccable choice. It turned in benchmark scores just a few points shy of the fastest we've ever gotten, it looks and sounds great, and it has a brace of the best input devices you'll ever find on a notebook. Its 32GB hard drive is one of the biggest you can currently get with a notebook, and as mentioned earlier, the UltraBay 2000 provides you with plenty of configuration options. Score one more for IBM. by Chris Trumble
$3,599 IBM (888) 746-7426 (914) 499-1900 http://www.ibm.com
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