Lenovo ThinkPad T430 Review: The Best Just Got Worse Discussion

[Charles P. Jefferies]

The ThinkPad T-series is Lenovo's bread and butter business notebook. This 14-inch T430 is a refreshed version of the popular T420. Read on to find out what we like and dislike about this laptop.

Read the full content of this Article: Lenovo ThinkPad T430 Review: The Best Just Got Worse

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[joer80]

Reviews like this remind me why I am switching to apple.

[Jerry Jackson]

Of course, joer80, most ThinkPad users would say Apple keyboards are even worse than the latest ThinkPad keyboards. Personally, the only thing I don't like about the new ThinkPad keyboards is that the Home, End, PgUp and PgDn keys should be close together.

I also feel like 1600x900 should be the default/standard resolution and a 1920x1080 screen should be an upgrade, but I know the decision to use 1366x768 for the base model was because many businesses don't want to pay that little bit extra for a higher resolution panel.

I know, it's stupid, but it shouldn't surprise any of us that many large businesses would rather pay less for employees' PCs than spend more and give them a better tool for work.

[invisible]

I know, it's stupid, but it shouldn't surprise any of us that many large businesses would rather pay less for employees' PCs than spend more and give them a better tool for work.

Nice reverse psychology. But I do agree. I don't know the exact numbers, but surely a 1600 screen isn't that much more than a 1366 screen, is it?

[baiii]

Nice reverse psychology. But I do agree. I don't know the exact numbers, but surely a 1600 screen isn't that much more than a 1366 screen, is it?

900p also need a better cable iirc? 40LVDS or something.

Btw what version wprime NBR uses?

[Maelwys]

I also feel like 1600x900 should be the default/standard resolution and a 1920x1080 screen should be an upgrade, but I know the decision to use 1366x768 for the base model was because many businesses don't want to pay that little bit extra for a higher resolution panel.

I was considering a T430 and this is the exact reason why I didn't go with one. To your point, many companies I am working with are moving away from traditional desktops and are buying laptops for employees and outfitting them with docking stations and higher resolution screens. This means they really aren't fussed about high resolution on the laptop display itself. It only makes a difference for road warriors like myself who only rarely get access to an external screen and who need the real estate for higher end applications.

Regarding the keyboard, it seems that those issues will be extremely annoying for anyone upgrading from an existing Lenovo, but probably not an issue for those who have never owned one before. Think of it like Office 2007.

[Andrew Baxter]

Nice review Charles. Having experienced seeing this T430 with the 1366 x 768 screen myself I agree it is pretty awful. The 1600 x 900 resolution upgrade is a must, there's also a good chance the viewing angles and overall quality are better. You might argue that color accuracy doesn't matter for things such as spreadsheets for business users, but even then a higher resolution screen allows you to see more rows/columns and thus be more productive. I know the ThinkPad W530 1600 x 900 screen is way better than what this T430 screen offers.

I'm not as down on the keyboard changes. I think it looks cleaner and still feels the same. I somewhat miss the forward and back keys that used to be near the cursor arrows but no biggie. The Blue Enter button is also sad to see go.

[dp3000]

If you are going to spend £1000+ on a laptop, then it should come with a good screen no excuses. Lenovo are only increasing their margins that is all. This is after all a premium laptop which should come with premium parts. For example the sony SA has a fantastic 900p screen.

[invisible]

I don't know that I care for the mini display port though. I would assume an appropriate adapter wouldn't be hard to find, but it just adds one more layer of accessories needed which I don't like. Why not just go with hdmi out and be done with it?

[Quanger]

I am disappointed with the keyboard layout. But to be truthful, I have not used it yet so I can't really comment on how it affects my usage. I do find myself using the printscr button quite often and unfortunately it is one of the keys that got eliminated.

They also should have an option for a higher resolution screen (higher than 900p). Apple leads in this department and I don't think lenovo realizes how many sales they're going to lose from this.