Lenovo ThinkPad SL500 review

Lenovo ThinkPad SL500 Review

Reviewed by: Sandra Vogel

Reviewed on: 23 October 2008

Networking facilities are the same in both SL500 models. Wireless connectivity comes courtesy of Intel's WiFi Link 5100 AGN (802.11a/b/g and Draft-N Wi-Fi) and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR; you can also activate Vodafone mobile broadband simply by dialling the number on the provided card to kick off a free 30-day trial. On the wired side, there's Gigabit Ethernet and a V.90 modem.

In both models the optical drive is a dual-layer DVD-R drive, which sits on the right-hand side of the notebook. The hard drive is a 160GB SATA unit spinning at 5,400rpm.

Both models have a webcam above the screen, in the middle. This is a fixed-position camera, so you'll normally need to move the notebook around to get the best picture. Lenovo provides a Camera Centre, which acts as a hub for both video conferencing and image capture.

The image capture software is from Roxio, and you need to register before using it. It will then capture images, video and audio. The maximum still image resolution is a decent 1,600x1,200 pixels. Video conferencing is handled by the Skype client, which you'll need to download.

The camera itself is pretty basic. It auto-adjusts brightness depending on lighting conditions, but coped very badly in our tests. With a window to the rear, you're rendered as a dark and undefined image; turn the camera into the room and your face is overexposed. You can manually adjust the camera settings, but it's not convenient to have to do this frequently. Other usability features, such as face tracking, are also lacking.

There are plenty of ports and connectors around the edges of the ThinkPad SL500. On the front is an on/off switch for wireless connectivity. On the right edge in front of the optical drive is a pair of audio jacks and two USB 2.0 ports, with a PC Card slot above. The Ethernet (RJ-45) and modem (RJ-11) ports are at the back of the right-hand side.

The left side carries a FireWire (IEEE 1394) port, a flash card reader that accepts most SD- and Memory Stick-compatible cards, an HDMI port and two further USB 2.0 connectors. Depending on the peripherals involved, it may prove difficult to use both of these USB ports at the same time as they are vertically stacked. At the back you'll find the power input and a VGA-out port.

The front and sides of the notebook slope rather steeply inwards. Icons on the top edges locate the position of the various connectors, but we found we had to either tip the notebook on one side or lean over to use them. This could become annoying over time.

Performance
Our review sample had a Windows Experience Index (WEI) of 4.4 (out of 5.9). The overall index corresponds to the lowest subsystem score, which in this case was Graphics (desktop performance for Windows Aero).

The highest-scoring subsystem was Primary hard disk (Disk data transfer rate) at 5.3. In between came RAM (Memory operations per second) at 4.7, Processor (calculations per second) at 4.9 and Gaming Graphics (3D business and gaming graphics performance) at 5.1. Taking all these scores into account, the SL500 can be judged an above-average all-round performer.

Lenovo rates the provided 6-cell battery at a maximum of 4 hours. We set the power scheme to Energy Star, which is designed to offer performance and battery life in equal measure. We then asked the notebook to play a DVD movie continuously, which it did for just 1 hour and 39 minutes before giving up. This test was admittedly anecdotal, but still, it doesn't bode well.

Conclusion
The ThinkPad SL500 is attractively priced, solidly built and a good performer. We're particularly impressed with the high-resolution 15.4-inch screen. However, its inward-sloping edges can make it difficult to locate ports and expansion slots, the webcam is basic and battery life could be longer.