ThinkPad Proves You Can Be Too Thin

IBM's new ThinkPad 560 packs a lot of features and power into its sleek frame -- but not without compromise.

Dave Andrews

IBM's thin new ThinkPad 560 packs a ton of features into its 4.1-pound package, but not enough to match those of standard notebooks. While this affordable machine doesn't address everyone's portable-computing needs, it will be very attractive to mobile workers who want to combine portability with an easy-typing keyboard and a big, bright screen.

The ThinkPad 560's 12.1-inch active-matrix screen and expansive keyboard will make you forget many of the horrors that subnotebooks inflicted upon us two years ago. The system also has an 810-MB standard hard drive (1.08 GB is an option), a choice of 100-, 120- or 133 -MHz Pentium CPU, and memory expandability up to 40 MB. On the other hand, the floppy drive is external, and there's not yet a way to fit a CD-ROM drive into a notebook that measures only 1.2 inches thick.

The ThinkPad 560's delightful 800- by 600-pixel screen gives you about the same viewing real estate as a 14-inch desktop monitor (you can also get a less expensive 100-MHz configuration with an 11.3-inch passive-matrix screen). The screen is such a dominating component in the new thin form factor that IBM had to use an especially rigid hinge with a stiff action to keep the screen propped open. The company also put the heavier elements of the 4.1-pound notebook, such as the hard drive and lithium battery pack, near the front to counter the weight of the display and to keep the notebook from toppling over while in operation.

Another big benefit is the unit's full-size keyboard (11 inches from the Caps Lock to the Enter key). We found it easy to type on, compared to the cramped layouts of subnotebooks of past years.

IBM has eliminated many of the compromises associated with small notebooks, but not all. The most noticeable lack is internal drive options. There's no internal CD-ROM or floppy drive. If you need to get data off a floppy disk, you have to use an included external 1.44-inch drive that cables to a special port. (At least you don't have to turn off the unit when you attach the external floppy drive.) For reading CD-ROMs, you have to invest in a third-party device. Furthermore, IBM's resurrected subnotebook lacks an integrated modem.

Nor does the ThinkPad 560 deliver other multimedia extras, such as a video-in port or built-in stereo speakers. For video-in, you have to use a PC Card solution (the 560 has two Type II PC Card slots). The system's tinny speaker is underneath the keyboard and offers only a modicum of multimedia support.

Still, this ThinkPad goes just about anywhere that paper goes. And it doesn't weigh a who le lot more.

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Where to Find

ThinkPad 560..................$3749

(with 12.1-inch TFT screen, 810-MB hard drive, external floppy drive, 8 MB of RAM, and 120-MHz Pentium)
IBM Personal Computer Co.
Somers, NY
Phone:    (800) 772-2227 or (914) 766-1900
Fax:      (800) 426-4329
Internet: 
http://www.pc.ibm.com

Circle 984 on Inquiry Card.

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Ratings

Technology     *****
Implementation ****


Key

***** Outstanding
 **** Very Good
  *** Good
   ** Fair
    * Poor

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The Screen's the Heavy

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The ThinkPad 560's 12.1-inch active-matrix screen and expansive keyboard will make you forget the horrors of subnotebooks past.

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More Than Width is Lost

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The thin ThinkPad 560 and the thick ThinkPad 760CD.

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Dave Andrews is a BYTE news edi tor. You can reach him at dave.news@bix.com .