Good value for Thinkpad quality

Strengths:

+ Typical high-quality Thinkpad design and build + Intuitively laid-out keyboard. Quiet and nicely springy + Quiet mouse buttons. + non-reflective matte screen + No unnecessary blinkenlights. Only a single small red LED on the Thinkpad logo to tell you it's power state. Unintrusive and perfect!

Weaknesses:

Not really "weaknesses", more like "wish it had it" - An integrated blu-ray drive is not an option. You're stuck with the DVD burner - This model does not have backlit keys or a nightlight - It's a bit on the heavy side. But, for a home-based machine, this is not really an issue. Get a netbook if you want to travel.

Summary:

I needed a new laptop for general home use, and one that would also output video to my 60" TV. I decided to splurge a little bit to get a Thinkpad as their bombproof design has been proven throughout the past 10 years of various Thinkpads I've owned for work. Also, I'm a big fan of the Trackpoint mouse, and only very few systems have that anymore. I'd paid around $700 for this machine and have been deeply pleased. You can literally feel its quality as you use it. It's a great mid-range laptop