Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds 17-inch Laptop Review

ThinkPad W700ds Overview
The W700ds looks much like any other ThinkPad. That black all business look, many people do not like it but I do. The thing about this laptop is that it is huge; I mean you don’t expect a 17-inch laptop to be small, but I was just surprised at the size of the W700ds. It weighs in at around 11lbs, which is quite a lot to carry around with you. It is also quite thick at over 2 inches when sitting on a table. Even the power adapter is quite large, probably 3x or larger than the power adapter that came with the X200 Tablet. So carrying this notebook around with you is going to be a chore, but it sure is better than taking a desktop with you everywhere.

Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds 17-inch Laptop

Ok so let’s take a look around. On the left side of the W700ds you have a 4pin firewire port, 2 USB ports, Express Card slot and a SmartCard slot. Moving on to the right side there are 3 more USB ports, modem connection, pen digitizer holder, DVD/CDRW, and a lock port. You can also see the second display locked inside the lid, more on that later.

Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds 17-inch Laptop Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds 17-inch Laptop

On the back you have display port connection, VGA connection and a DVI connection, good to see that Lenovo is giving you a few different options here. Also on the back are the Ethernet and power connections. On the front of the W700ds you will find your audio connection, card reader and WiFi switch.

Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds 17-inch Laptop Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds 17-inch Laptop

To open up the screen you need to unlock the lid on the front, then go ahead and lift the lid up. This 17-inch display will give you a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1200. Just like we said there is a second display, it slides out from behind the primary display. This smaller 10.6-inch screen will give you a resolution of 1280 x 760.

Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds 17-inch Laptop Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds 17-inch Laptop

Since this is such a large laptop you get a full keyboard and number pad. The keyboard is just like all other ThinkPad’s, extremely comfortable and it has hardly any flex at all. Also ThinkPad users will like that you still get the ever popular trackpoint along with a normal touchpad and mouse buttons. I really like the feel of the touchpad; it isn’t super smooth like many touchpad’s I have used.

Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds 17-inch Laptop Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds 17-inch Laptop

Interesting enough you have the option for a 120cm x 80cm Wacom digitizer. This is ideal for graphic designers and CAD users. Even better that it is part of the laptop so you don’t have to carry a Wacom tablet with you. Of course you have a fingerprint reader for security as well. Don’t forget the 1.3 mega-pixel camera on the top of the screen as well.

Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds 17-inch Laptop Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds 17-inch Laptop

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