Reviewed by Bill Howard Bill Howard is a contributing editor of PC Magazine and writes the On Technology column each issue. His articles on PCs, notebooks, and printers have been cited five times in the annual Computer Press Association Awards. He was named as one of the industry's ten most influential journalists from 1997 to 2000 by Marketing Computers and is a frequent commentator on TV news and business shows as well as at industry conventions. He also wrote the PC Magazine Guide to Notebook & Laptop Computers. He was an executive editor and senior editor of PC Magazine from 1985-2001.

The Pentium 4-M–based T30 is arguably the best notebook currently available for business users. It uses the same docking station, batteries, AC adapter, and other add-ons as the T23, providing a common solution that should suit the vast majority of business users.

With a 14.1-inch screen, the titanium-covered T30 measures 1.4 by 12.0 by 8.8 inches (HWD). And it weighs just 5.7 pounds with its CD-RW/DVD combo drive in place, 6.5 pounds with the 72-watt transformer, and an even 5 pounds with the swappable bay empty.

The familiar, dressed-for-success matte-black form factor is updated and colorized just a bit. The left-rear corner is chopped off at a 45-degree angle (for style purposes), the bright steel LCD hinges are now exposed, the volume buttons are bigger and rounded, the ports are now color-coded, and the Enter key is light purple.

The smoothly functioning UltraNav touch pad available on most T30s (some have only a TrackPoint) sits at the front of the keyboard deck and has its own two buttons. You can use the UltraNav's four corners to launch your choice of four applications. And as always, the IBM keyboard has the best feel of any portable on the market.

For enhanced durability and data protection, the T30 incorporates an HDD shock absorber: a rubbery, air-filled pocket, located on the bottom of the case below where the hard drive resides. If the PC is set down roughly on a hard surface, the air pocket absorbs the shock.

Additional peace of mind comes from the optional Cisco wireless Ethernet connection with LEAP (Lightweight Extensible Automation Protocol) that provides a strong dose of security in enterprises equipped with Cisco's wireless systems. Intel's 802.11b solution is also available. Either one connects to dual antennas in the LCD panel for increased operating range.

IBM also offers integrated Bluetooth connectivity for short-range communications, and you can integrate wired and wireless Ethernet, Bluetooth, and a modem in the system without taking up either of the two PC Card slots. Some models also offer an Embedded Security Subsystem (ESS 2.0) that provides Trusted Computing Platform Alliance (TCPA) security.

The T30's score of 39.7 on our Business Winstone 2001 tests topped all comers in this issue's roundup, and its Content Creation Winstone showing of 25.8 put the T30 ahead of all of the mainstream entries. Battery life was a reasonable 2 hours 45 minutes; adding a second battery in the Ultrabay2002 slot should get you more than 5 hours.

For companies that recognize portable computers as investments rather than expenses, the T30 currently shines as the brightest star in the notebook constellation.

	CNET editor's take The thin-and-light IBM ThinkPad T series offers an innovative design, top-notch performance, and tons of features. Editors' rating:                              Excellent, 8.7 out of 10

Every month PC World rates over a hundred products in more than two dozen categories.   Best Power Notebook:  IBM ThinkPad T30 Sunday, December 08, 2002   Top 15 Notebook PCs  December 2002 Rank Power notebook #1 Best Buy   IBM ThinkPad T30