IBM's ThinkPad series has gained a reputation for being one of the best, most reliable notebooks in the market.
However, if you are looking for a really portable and super-lightweight machine like the Japanese notebooks, the ThinkPad family does lack many choices and it was a bit late in arriving.
When even Compaq Computer had launched its super-slim Armada 300, IBM was still one of the last to come up with an ultra-portable solution.
Yet I am sure many ThinkPad users found the 240 a welcome addition. I was so taken I immediately put aside my old ThinkPad 380Z-233, which although a little bulky - it weighs nearly four kilograms - has been a loyal machine, and started tapping on the new ThinkPad 240.
The best thing about the ThinkPad 240 is its compactness and portability. It weighs only 1.3 kilograms and is about 2.5 centimetres thin. However, the compactness of the machine does not mean you have to sacrifice usability. Basically, apart from the size and weight, in terms of machine functionality, there is really no big difference from the typical ThinkPad machine.
The ThinkPad 240 comes with 300 MHz or 366 MHz Mobile Celeron Intel processor with 128 KB L2 cache memory on board, 64 MB of Ram (maximum 192 MB), 10.4-inch active-matrix TFT display, 6.4 gb hard disk (upgradable) and a built-in 56K V.90 modem. Floppy-disk and CD-Rom drives are external and it has one Type II PC card slot for Network or other connectivity. The keyboard is 95 per cent the size of standard ThinkPad notebook keyboards.