Lenovo ThinkPad T400s Notebook Review


Our T400s came in relatively simple packaging with an AC adapter cable, a power brick, some documentation, and a 6-cell battery. The power brick is small, just as we like to see with a thin and light notebook. Lenovo includes quite a bit of software with the T400s, though not all of it is very beneficial in our eyes.


There’s a variety of operating system choices available for the T400s. Our test model came with Windows Vista Business preinstalled. You’ll also find a long list of preloaded software on the machine, including

  • Adobe Acrobat Reader
  • McAfee Security
  • ThinkVantage Productivity Center
  • Lenovo Camera Center
  • InterVideo WinDVD
  • Lenovo Online Data Backup
  • ThinkVantage Product Recovery
  • ThinkVantage Mobile Broadband
  • ThinkVantage Power Manager
  • ThinkVantage Presentation Director
  • Lenovo System Toolbox
  • Microsoft Office 2007 60-day trial
  • Roxio Creator Business Edition
  • ThinkVantage Access Connections
  • ThinkVantage Active Protection System
  • ThinkVantage Client Security Solution
  • ThinkVantage Productivity Center
  • ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery
  • ThinkVantage Fingerprint Software
  • ThinkVantage GPS

If you’re not familiar with Lenovo’s ThinkVantage Access Connections, it’s a connection manger that helps you set up and manage wireless Internet connections including Wi-Fi and mobile broadband. Lenovo’s Camera Center provides a quick link to download Skype to use with the notebook’s webcam. It also has a link to Roxio Media Import.

ThinkVantage GPS works with the notebook’s GPS receiver and GPS applications such as Google Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth. This software will be particularly helpful to users who regularly carry their laptops in their cars or use the notebook outside. GPS receivers generally have a hard time getting a strong enough signal indoors, so we were pleasantly surprised when the ThinkVantage GPS software found our location, even though it took quite a bit of time to get an accurate fix. Once the software had locked in on a handful of satellites, the program worked well with Google Maps (the default application). 


Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer grew up around technology. From an early age, she was curious about all things related to computers. As a child, Jennifer remembers spending nights with her dad programming in BASIC and taking apart hard drives to see what was inside. In high school, she wrote her senior term paper on her experiences with building custom computers.

Jennifer graduated from the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. After college, she began writing full-time for various PC and technology magazines. Later, she transitioned to the Web. In these roles, Jennifer has covered a variety of topics including laptops, desktops, smartphones, cameras, tablets, and various consumer electronics devices. When she's not playing with or writing about the latest gadget, Jennifer loves to spend time with her family, capture memories with her camera, and scrapbook.

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