Full Review

Amazing how 4 pounds at the curb drop off at O'Hare changes to 20 by the time you make it to what is always the last gate in the United Terminal.

So a few years ago I treated myself to a Thinkpad 560, and have been hooked on the brand, and on IBM quality and service, ever since. I'm on my 3rd model, the 570, thanks to a generous IT policy at my former employer, and a new job with a dot com. And I couldn't be happier.

I have used all of them both on the road and with docking stations as my desk top machine.

To save weight, there is no CD and the included floppy is remote. (At least the modem is now internal. Make that engineer a Vice President, thank you!) As for the cd and floppy, when you are on the road you learn to live life quite well with out them.

The monitor is now an inch bigger, with no additional weight. 13 inches is a vast improvement over the 12 from my original 560 model.

The weight savings is obviously a tremendous advantage. So, I might add, are the looks. Still sleek and sexy looking, even for what is now a dated design. The fact that its an IBM helps too. Want to impress a Fortune 500 type guy? This is the machine. Big Blue still is an American icon.


For desk use the docking station is almost a requirement. You can attach just about anything you'll need for a good life when you are office bound. It comes standard with a 10/100 ethernet port. There are 4 pc card ports (giving you 6 total), (I think only) 1 USB, and an attachment for slipping in the included floppy drive. There is a bay on the other side for a cd drive or another hard drive too.

Should you ever need help, you'll find IBM tech support almost a religious experience. In the unlikely event they can't solve the problem, they FedEx you a box, you slip the machine in and hand it back to the FedEx man, and usually 2-3 days later you have your machine back. Thats the way the world should work!

The downside: The HD is stupid small. Com'mon IBM, spend a little. 4GB get used pretty fast with an o/s like Windows 98. And if you like graphic files, you eat the remainder up pretty fast. I managed to surf and find an IBM oem replacement drive that's 12GB and cost me less than $200. The old hd fits into a tray, and sits in the docking station. So, even the downside has limits here.

For desk top use, you'll want new speakers too. The little tin one IBM uses is the only other daily reminder that bean counters rule, even in cutting edge design.

All in all, even though others may swear by a Dell, or the new iMac colored knock-offs, this machine is the first I would consider any time I need to buy a lap top. You won't go wrong.