Cons: Battery, Keyboard/peripherals, Included Software, Build Quality, Durability
"I bought a T430s in Dec 2012. Right out of the box, the laptop had following issues: 1. Bad CAPS lock key. 2. Wobbly screen: wobble of around 0.5 inc at the top of the screen 3. Warping and flexing at the bottom edge of the screen. 4. unreliable wifi connection.
Within one week the Lenovo lettering on the top of the laptop started coming apart, one actually nicked my finger!
The laptop cooling fan runs continiuosly, even if I am just web browsing and the CPU utilization is <5-7%!!
Now to get to the the mSSD does not seem to help. The windows experience score is 5.9
The battery lasts for around 2.5 hours on 50% screen brightness while browsing. Playing a video cuts it down to around 1hour 15 minutes."
"Originally ordered a Dell, but it had extremely poor battery life and would often overheat. I sent it back and found a refurbished T430s on the Lenovo outlet site. I run Ubuntu as my primary OS, but have it dual-booting with Windows 7. Great battery life ~5-6 hours if just surfing and/or word processing, ~3-4 hours if streaming a lot of music and/or video. Runs Ubuntu like a dream. Backlit keyboard is great. I don't use the trackpoint, but it doesn't get in the way at all. I actually have Ubuntu installed on the 16gb mSata SSD, but the home folder is on the regular hdd with Windows 7. As a result, bootup time in Ubuntu is ridiculously fast. Overall, the build quality is lives up to the Thinkpad T-series reputation, but as the "s" indicates, it's not as big and bulky as the regular T430."
Review 3 for
OverallOverall Rating
1out of5
Performance
1out of5
Mobility
2out of5
Design
2out of5
Features
2out of5
Value
2out of5
Reliability
3out of5
Jason
Owned Product:1-6 months
Operating System:Windows 8
Processor:Intel Core i5
Memory:4 GB or more
Terrible T430s
Date: April 9, 2013
Cons: Display performance
"The screen is so bad. It's not the Lenovo we estimated. I had a t400, which is much better than T430s.
Lenovo should improve the performance of screen."
Review 4 for
OverallOverall Rating
1out of5
Performance
3out of5
Mobility
1out of5
Design
3out of5
Features
1out of5
Value
1out of5
Reliability
1out of5
IBMSUCKS
Owned Product:1-6 months
Operating System:Windows 8 Pro
Processor:Intel Core i5
Memory:4 GB or more
IBM quality no more
Date: April 6, 2013
Cons: Display resolution, Warranty, Wireless card, Support, Battery, Included Software, Software compatibility, Build Quality, Display performance, Durability, laptop assembled by monkeys type quality.
"ordered the T430s with the slice battery. laptop is fast, LCD is horrible, your need to run it @ max or else you don't see anything. battery life is not even close to advertised. 4.5 hours tops with an extra 3 cell battery, so expect 3 hours tops with regular battery. over all assembly is cheap and not up to the corporate grade IBM level. also I cant setup any type of VPN on this laptop becuase wifi keeps crashing. for a corporate laptop not being able to setup VPN is a deal breaker. all in all, im moving the dell. not that the quality is better but its 1/2 the price."
"I have been writing novels on my Lenovo T400s since 2011. It is by far the most comfortable and reliable writing and research tool available for serious authors, and professionals in every field!"
I've upgraded all features of the computer + 160GB SSD, and 16GB RAM - both a must.
Pros: Never crashes. Super fast with upgrades. Lightweight. Versatile (graphics, gaming, processing).
Example: Handles 40+ FF Tabs, Skype, 5+ Word Tabs, PS5, Ill5, Drmw5, Downolads, Music Streaming - all without a single hick-up in performance. Extremely fast with the upgrades.
Cons: Batter issue when first bought (corrected by Lenovo pretty quickly). Trackpad wearing down after 6-months - doesn't work for 2-4seconds at a time. Screen colors not so sharp. Keyboard not good, battery not great. Need upgrades to experience the performance."
Review 7 for
OverallOverall Rating
5out of5
Performance
5out of5
Mobility
5out of5
Design
5out of5
Features
5out of5
Value
5out of5
Reliability
5out of5
BCgirl1960
Owned Product:Less than a week
Operating System:Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor:Intel Pentium Dual Core
Memory:1 GB
Perfect for anyone user friendly
Date: March 25, 2013
"I have used for demo for work , very nice and would consider buying when the time comes"
Cons: Video card, Battery, Weight, Display performance
"I purchased this T430S on last Christmas. It is very good 14" thin laptop. I have had my 15" T61 for many years and love it.
But, I did not keep this T430S because of its quality of sound and display. The sound is not easy on the ear compared with T61 that I have. Another is the color of display. I am happy with anti-glare screen with high resolution. But, the color on the screen looks pale.
Though T Series is for business design, not for entertainment use, as T series is so famous for its reputation as ThinkPad. I wish Lenovo can offer more flexible on Display when customers do "customize" online.
I am waiting for coming T440/T440S/T540S to any different.
Overall, ThinkPad T series is still the best laptop if you compare with other brand."
Cons: Support, Included Software, full documentation of all features
"Since my first computer in 1988 I always built and maintained my own desktop computers feeling that this was the best way to spend my money. Recently I decided that laptops now fulfill the roll of most desktops and with peripheral devices, can exceed most for the average advanced user.
Now when I travel I can take the same device with me. When I was made the decision on what laptop to purchase that was easy to travel and yet had the technology to operate as a full desktop while at my desk, the T430 model was the best designed laptop and was backed by serious programs and options giving it everything I need."
Review 10 for
OverallOverall Rating
4out of5
Performance
5out of5
Mobility
5out of5
Design
2out of5
Features
3out of5
Value
5out of5
Reliability
5out of5
L2TW
Owned Product:1-6 months
Operating System:Windows 7 Professional
Processor:Intel Core i7
Memory:4 GB or more
great laptop terrible keyboard
Date: March 9, 2013
Pros: Build Quality
Cons: keyboard layout
"perfect laptop, except this terrible layout for keyboard buttons. i'm not sure what is the purpose of changing the buttons layout. old layout was a replica of a normal keyboard. new one have all major "sensitive" buttons (like the insert button) side by side, so very often you would find yourself clicking the wrong button..
lenovo should offer the 2 layouts, the old thinkpad and this new one, and let people choose.. if it was my call i would fire the engineers who dumped the old keyboard for this one"
"problems with the Laptop, keyboard is worst one i saw up to now, and battery life.
the response of the keys are too bad, And arrangement of keys are also very bad. few keys are arranged up and down. what the quality testing process they follow before handover the product to customer we don't know Before that I used DELL latitude, it is too rough and tough, I am feeling very bad for my decision.
second thing battery, wow it is another super problem, they announced 7hrs but even 2hrs is not working.
the guys who want to just see the slim Laptop go with the T430s other wise go with other one.
What we will do even my system is full powerful, solid and etc.... without KEYBOARD for Laptop. worst keyboard.
"After being a Mac user for a number of years, I finally decided that I needed something more business-oriented for work and school. I chose the T430s for two key reasons: 1. The keyboard. The Keyboard on the ThinkPad is the #1 feature hands down. It isn't even a contest. Everything else simply feels cheap. I type faster, make fewer mistakes, and notice less fatigue than I do on lesser keyboards. 2. Durability. I do not feel like I have to baby my ThinkPad. I try to, but it has to go everywhere with me.The quality of the construction, and the solid feel of the ThinkPad make it so that I do not have to worry about destroying it."
"I bought a T series Thinkpad over the summer and it has become my constant companion ever since. It has been the most reliable, powerful, and all around awesome laptop I have ever owned. When I bought it, I had originally purchased it as a school/work device, something I could do my work on and do some light gaming with. When I started teaching first grade, this laptop became my best friend. I carried it from meeting to meeting, planned on it, used it for solar system demonstrations, everything. Now, it is mainly used as a teaching buddy. I almost always have it hooked into my Promethean Board and I am constantly using it to teach with. I have been so impressed with how much of a workhorse this computer has been, especially compared with the apple laptops the school provides us."
"This is my fourth Thinkpad laptops. Currently I have T400, X230 and T430s. T430s is very light and windows 8 is super fast; windows metro is interesting but not very useful to me. You need some time (about one week) to get used to windows 8. The new keyboard and its layout is not that bad, though not as good as the previous keyboard. Also I like the 1600×900 screens and the backlit keys.
The only big problem I have is with the battery. It runs out at in less than two hours, about half capacity of my T400 laptop and this is not desirable. In addition, two USBs are at the back side of the laptop, and one foot-pad is on the battery so I cannot remove battery when plugging in!"
Cons: Included Software, Display performance, windows 8
"Starting from the high bar of being a Thinkpad, here are the low points:
Windows 8: terrible enough that I ended up returning the machine and getting one with Windows 7. (No penalty, thank you Lenovo).
Keyboard feel: great. Keyboard layout: worse than past, but livable.
Screen: very poor. Vertical angle is bad (banding even when straight on), horizontal is worse. Wish it had an IPS option, or I had bought a different model with IPS. Almost a deal-breaker.
Bloatware: excessive, including sadly some Thinkvantage tools.
Extended battery warranty only allows ONE battery swap. Caveat emptor.
Overall, it's a Thinkpad, which makes it a nice machine to begin with, but the rough edges spoil things a bit."
Review 17 for
OverallOverall Rating
4out of5
Performance
5out of5
Mobility
3out of5
Design
1out of5
Features
4out of5
Value
4out of5
Reliability
5out of5
Erty
Owned Product:Less than a month
Processor:Intel Core i5
Memory:4 GB or more
Compact and powerful working horse
Date: December 24, 2012
Pros: Processor, Durability, Video card, Keyboard/peripherals, Storage
"The laptop is both portable and powerful enough to replace a desktop. Unfortunately, there are some nasty cons as well. The screen is a disappointment. Colors are distorted and viewing angles are awful. Moving your head few cm affects what you see. Look at the center and you will see color distortion near the corners. This is ok when you work with text, but watching movies is already a bit unpleasant. The screen is not suitable for any graphics related job. It is a bad joke to match such a screen with discrete graphics. Mobility is fair, but not great: battery life below average (with ultrabay battery ~7-8 hrs for normal activity and brightness). The laptop is large for 14'' screen, its case can support 15'' as well. Connections on the rear and stone-age design do not need any comments."
Review 18 for
OverallOverall Rating
4out of5
Performance
4out of5
Mobility
4out of5
Design
4out of5
Features
4out of5
Value
4out of5
Reliability
4out of5
kenneth
Location:Philadelphia, PA
Owned Product:Less than a week
Most features have improved, but mouse is terrible
In most respects this is a much better machine: I love the "chicklet" keyboard, the CPU is faster, it now wakes from sleep mode almost instantly, and the new keyboard backlight is great.
However, the buttons on the mouse no longer work reliably. I never used an external mouse with the T410s, but the internal mouse works so poorly on the T430s that I have no choice."
Review 19 for
OverallOverall Rating
4out of5
Performance
5out of5
Mobility
5out of5
Design
3out of5
Features
5out of5
Value
5out of5
Reliability
5out of5
aliensthetruth
Location:Philadelphia, PA
Owned Product:1-6 months
Operating System:Windows 7 Professional
Processor:Intel Core i5
Memory:4 GB or more
Great laptop, not so great keyboard
Date: December 4, 2012
"I have loved Lenovo products for years and am constantly excited to see the latest offerings. My employer's official platform is Lenovo, so I've used your machines for nearly all of my 13+ year career here. Our latest model is the T430S, from a performance standpoint, it's great.
The only drawback I have found is the keyboard. I much prefer the keyboard from the T420S. I do not like the placement of the home, end, insert, delete, page up and down. I liked having the back and forward buttons around the arrows, the new top right corner is different from all of our previous models. T43, T60, T400, T410, T420, etc.
It is not information technology focused as I often use page up/down, home insert and delete. At work I use a docking station with multiple monitors, with a regular keyboard. However, while away from work I often have to turn on the light to be able to see the keys since they are no longer isolated at the top right. The T420 had the extra large delete button, which was great, as I found the use of it to be much more frequent than insert. Now, there's no way to identify it without memorizing the new placement or looking."
"I have had this laptop since August. The fingerprint scanner died. The speakers are not great. The computer has already had a virus and I have never had a virus on any of my other computers before. The hard drive is already filled there is not enough memory on it. Overall really disappointed in this computer for the price."