Lenovo ThinkPad R60

The Lenovo ThinkPad R60 is a solid all purpose notebook that offers reasonable although not outstanding performance and above average battery life. It will suit those looking for a notebook that can comfortably perform day-to-day office functions but don't need a powerful gaming workstation. Although the ThinkPad R60 is fairly standard in terms of design and aesthetics, its long product lifecycle ensures there is definitely appeal for corporate buyers.

The ThinkPad R60 tested includes a 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo T2300e processor and a 15in colour LCD display. The display, which isn't widescreen, has a maximum resolution of 1024 x 768. We were expecting slightly more from the screen; although it is fairly clear, it isn't as crisp as some other notebooks in this category. It also lacks the brightness we have seen in some other recent competitors.

The R60 comes with 512MB of DDR2 RAM (expandable to 4GB with four 1GB RAM modules), a 60GB SATA hard disk and a DVD recordable drive. Wireless connectivity (802.11a/b/g) is included as is wired networking thanks to an integrated gigabit Ethernet port and a 56Kbps modem port - both located on the left hand side of the unit. Bluetooth is also supported, but there is no infrared.

The ThinkPad R60 received a World Bench 5 score of 78, which is fairly standard for a machine with these specifications. The system is targeted at those looking for office productivity rather than a high-end gaming or graphics workstation, so the end result wasn't particularly surprising. The R60 also relies on integrated graphics (Intel Graphics Chipset) - the system achieved a mediocre result in 3DMark 2001 of 5165.

The ThinkPad R60 has plenty of connectivity options, with three USB 2.0 ports, side headphone and microphone jacks, a front mounted wireless switch and a PC Card slot. There is also a standard 15-pin D-sub port for connecting an external monitor as well as an S-Video port. Notable omissions include a card reader and a biometric fingerprint scanner for extra security.

For input, the R60 has a five button touchpad (two buttons below and three above) that we found pretty easy to use, although the lack of a scrolling pad was a slight inconvenience. We found the keyboard quite pleasing as well; the buttons are easy to press and are raised slightly above the casing level to improve comfort. Volume and mute controls are also present, located above the keyboard for quick media control.

The unit retains the fairly standard ThinkPad design, with a high quality, matte black plastic finish. It is reasonably hefty, weighing in at 3.1kg. Overall, the R60 feels extremely solid and well built, and the aesthetics should appeal to someone after a no-nonsense business device.

The ThinkPad R60's battery performed extremely well in our MobileMark 2005 productivity test, lasting for 251 minutes. This test determines how well the battery performs under office productivity conditions. MobileMark 2005 also gives an overall performance score as a result of the productivity test of which the R60 achieved a rating of 149. This is an outstanding result for a notebook with these specifications proving the R60 should be more than adequate for most users' needs. We were also pleased to report that the unit is extremely quiet. We only managed to make out fan noise during load times and the unit didn't get noticeably hot either, so it will be comfortable for long periods of use.

The ThinkPad R60 comes with Windows XP Professional Edition pre-installed together with a range of software such as PC Doctor, Symantec Client Security 3.0, ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery, Intervideo WinDVD Player and Creator, Sonic Record Now, Diskeeper Lite, Google Desktop, Google Toolbar, Lotus Notes, Lotus Smartsuite and Google Picasa.

Overall, the ThinkPad R60 is a solid notebook, provided you don't wish to play games or run any graphically intense applications. Its battery life is a real plus, so it is ideal to take with you on your travels. At this asking price, the R60 is not overly expensive and the long product lifecycle is a definite advantage for corporate buyers.