Re: T40 Battery {was: Opinions on Presario Laptop}

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from Michael Norman  on Mon, 02 Feb
2004 12:26:56 -0500


>> It's a special battery pack. I have the regular one, which lasts from
>> 3-4 hours.

> Exactly. But, as I read it, the extended pack gives one only a third more,
> 5-7 hours depending on power management settings.

FYI, the guy at IBM that I ordered it from told me that the main difference
between the T30 and T40 series would be a new version of the Pentium chip that
would give much-extended battery life. I bought it on my son's student
discount -- IBM is the "official" machine of Harvard -- even though my daughter
is at Princeton (I bought my own T23 on the Harvard plan too -- terrific
prices, like $1500 for a $2600 retail machine with tons of add-ons); and the
IBM guy was very informed and very candid. (We both bitched about that hidden
partition with the backup of the OpSys, which I wiped out immediately on all my
Thinkpads -- the NERVE of selling a big HD and then hiding 20% of it with a
"restoration" facility that is just going to wipe out your whole installation
if you use it! When will this Micro$oftThink end?) At the time, the T40
wasn't yet released, and he actually advised that I wait until it came out
rather than buy a T30, due to the extended battery life. Because Princeton has
wireless in its classrooms, and students are expected to bring their computers
to class -- an idea I very much like, because otherwise when do you have an
opportunity to read the Times, W.Post, and Guardian? -- I figured, hey, great
to have a battery that lasts all day. He's the guy who said 9 hours. I asked
him to call me when the T40 was available -- and two months later, he phoned.
I couldn't believe it. He remembered all the options I wanted, the whole
schmeer, 512Mb, 80Gb HD, Bluetooth, wireless, DVD|CD-RW, everything -- and it
cost about $1800. And it's a great little powerhouse.

Bottom line: If the _purpose_ of the new P4 processor in the T40s is extended
battery life, then... Maybe it wasn't the standard battery, I honestly don't
remember; but it sure seemed to be the whole point.

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
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