I recently received one of Lenovo’s new ThinkPad T410 models for review and wanted to share some of my first impressions of it with everyone.

If you haven’t already, give the other posts I have on the T410 a look over to find out what Lenovo changed with this new model. While the changes don’t sound like a lot, the T410 really does elevate the plain T4xx models to swiss-army-knife status with its plethora of ports, decent portability, high performance and capable battery life.

Lenovo ThinkPad T61 & T400, comparing 6 & 9 cell batteries

A new chassis was implemented with the T410, with one of the benefits being that a 6-cell battery now sits flush with the back of the machine. My review model came with a 9-cell that sticks out as much as the 6-cell did on previous models. As you can see in the picture on the right, this is much improved over the last gen 9-cell design.

Performance is of course great with the Core i5 CPU and Lenovo Enhanced Experience preload. The Core i5 does its best to heat up the T410, but Lenovo keeps that in check with good ventilation and an eager fan. The downside is that you do hear the fan running a lot.

The 14.1-inch WXGA+ display is bright and sharp. It’s not quite as bright as the display on the T400s, but I need to do some more comparison between the two. No, Flexview lovers, you won’t be appeased – but I think most will like this display better than previous generations.

While the T410 is no lightweight, at 5.35 lbs with 9-cell and 1.1-1.3 inches thick, it does come across as less bulky than the last generation. I think this is due to the chamfered edges that give it a bit more sleek appearance.

I haven’t nailed down a particular runtime yet, but with the NVIDIA discrete graphics and 9-cell battery the gauge reads around 5-5.5 hours when I first boot up. I know I’ve run a solid 3-3.5 hours of good work (heavy web usage, video playback, writing) through it with battery life to spare, so 5+ hours seems reasonable.

The keyboard has been updated to the T400s style, with the larger keycaps and larger Esc/Del keys. The typing feel and feedback is just fine, but I have accuracy concerns. I type rather fast and am generally very accurate, but it seems the T410 might be missing some of my keystrokes. LaptopMag commented on a similar experience. I need to look into this more and chat with Lenovo. Keep in mind this is a pre-production model.

Check back soon for the full review and of course leave any questions you have in the comments!