IBM ThinkPad X40 Light In Weight, Heavy In Functions

The ThinkPad X40 weighs as little as 2.7 pounds but offers a full-size keyboard and a 12.1-inch TFT display, said Jeff Samitt, worldwide ThinkPad X-series segment manager in IBM's Personal Computing Division.

The X40 weighs nearly 1 pound less than its predecessor, the X31, but no compromises were made to the features to fit the lightweight case, Samitt said.

The upper and lower halves of the X40's case are made of magnesium to protect the LCD panel from damage, said Samitt. The hard drives feature 1.8-inch platters, which offer 20 percent more shock tolerance than larger drives because the smaller platters are less likely to flex, he said.

The X40 offers several battery options, Samitt said. The standard battery allows operation for up to 6 hours. For clients looking for the lowest possible weight, a lighter battery with up to 3.5 hours of life is available. Customers can also order a heavy-duty battery for up to 7.5 hours of operation, but it adds 1 pound to the weight. And for up to 10 hours of battery life, an optional wedge-shaped battery module can be connected on the bottom, he said.

IBM is also bundling two technologies to ensure data and application protection to users on the road.

The first, IBM Rescue and Recovery with Rapid Restore, allows the X40 to be booted up to a pre-operating system state, said Samitt. Should the operating system become corrupt or otherwise not allow the X40 to fully boot, this function allows users to get information about the system configuration and possible problem for use in troubleshooting. The software also allows a file, such as a PowerPoint, to be copied to an optical or USB drive without the system fully booted in case of an emergency while on the road, he said.

The X40 also comes with IBM's Hard Drive Active Protection System, which is a motion sensing chip on the motherboard that can sense when the notebook is falling and send a signal to park the hard drive to help prevent damage, Samitt said. This feature has been available on certain IBM notebook PCs selling since last year.

Price for the X40 starts at $1,499, including choice of 802.11b, 802.11b/g, or no wireless capabilities. It is expected to be available Feb. 24.

Joe Vaught, president and owner of PCPC, a Houston-based IBM solution provider, hopes the X40s become available soon.

"This will cost me," he said of the latest announcement. "We have hundreds of orders for ThinkPad X31s and T41s. Folks are going to call me and say they want an X40 instead."

IBM has really hit a home run with the X40, especially for serious business travelers, Vaught said. "I'm on an airplane a lot," he said. "If I fly to Schiphol Airport [in Amsterdam, Holland], I could keep it running all the way on battery."

PCPC, which counts multinational enterprises among its customers, said the Hard Drive Active Protection System helps protect users from themselves. "People out there pitch their notebooks in nets, drop them to the floor," he said. "They treat them like luggage. . . . We sometimes keep up to 50 hard drives loaded with customers' images here so that I can FedEx one to them anywhere in the world if there's a problem."

Tracy Barney, vice president of IBM business development at Houston-based solution provider Computer Tech, agreed that the Hard Drive Active Protection System is a great feature. "I'm a big bag girl," she said. "I put my whole life in my bag. But I throw my bag on the floor. When [the PC] weighs only 2 pounds, you don't think about it."

With the X40, IBM is addressing a new segment of the portable PC market, said Barney. "It's not just a follow-on to the X31," she said. "It has a smaller docking station, a 10-hour battery life. Its powered USB ports is a big deal, no need to take along separate power adapters."