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 IBM ThinkPad R52A fast, comfortable, and secure system for business users. Price:
$1,749
IBM's ThinkPad family is a constant in a changing world. You know you'll always get a best-in-class keyboard and pointing stick/touchpad combination, along with superior durability and security. The R52 continues that tradition while providing fast productivity performance and good Wi-Fi range, plus the ultimate in security.
Measuring 12.4 x 10.2 x 1.4 inches and weighing 5.8 pounds, the R52 is a little thick, but light enough to take on the road, making it ideal for occasionally mobile business users. The size of the R52's chassis allows for a keyboard that's spacious and very comfortable to use. As a terrific bonus for those who need to type during a late-night flight, the R52 features IBM's ingenious ThinkLight on top of the display. We like that IBM includes both a touchpad and pointing stick on the R52, letting you choose whichever method of cursor control you find more comfortable. While our inclination is for touchpads, we found the pointing stick on the R52 to be among the best we've used. The buttons for both the pointing stick and the touchpad felt perfect. Within the ThinkPad R52 is an extremely powerful 1.73-GHz Intel Pentium M 740 processor equipped with 2MB of on-chip cache memory. Communicating with the rest of the system over a fast 533-MHz system bus, it blazes through tasks like image editing, MP3 encoding, and file compression. With a half-gigabyte of DDR memory installed, this notebook didn't have any trouble multitasking. MobileMark matched our overall assessment, giving the R52 an outstanding score of 221. The hard drive is a mixed bag. While it's speedy 5,400-rpm rotational speed enables it to load applications and access files very quickly, we wish it offered more than just 40GB of capacity for $1,749. The optical drive doesn't burn DVDs, but you can upgrade to the new ThinkPad Multi-Burner Plus Ultrabay Enhanced Drive for an additional $299. Because of Intel's new Media Accelerator 900, the R52 scored a decent 4,071 in 3DMark. The integrated graphics aren't intended for gaming, but they're suitable for everyday tasks. DVD movies played very crisply and smoothly on the 14.1-inch XGA display, and we found the screen very comfortable to use when we had to get down to work. The size of the display strikes a balance between usability and portability. Those who require a larger canvas can opt for a 15-inch panel on this system for an extra $500, but that adds significantly to the weight. The battery ran for a good, but not great, 3 hours and 23 minutes, and just slightly less with the Wi-Fi radio turned on. The R52's wireless performance at 5 feet from our access point was a little below average at 10.9 Mbps; however, thanks to the UltraConnect Antenna built into the display, the ThinkPad R52 offered a very impressive 9.3-Mbps data transfer rate from 50 feet. Complementing this Wi-Fi adapter are a Bluetooth radio, Gigabit Ethernet adapter, and 56-Kbps modem. Although the R52 doesn't offer a memory card reader, everything else that business users need is built in. That includes two PC Card slots, two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, parallel, an IR transceiver, and S-Video output. What makes the R52 ideal for business consumers is IBM's Embedded Security Subsystem 2.0. This program uses a microchip on the motherboard, coupled with IBM's Client Security Software, to let you apply unbreakable encryption to any file on your hard drive. If your worst enemy is gravity, you'll like IBM's Active Protection System that senses falls and stops the hard drive. It works in tandem with a hard drive shock absorber to protect your data. The R52 is highly recommended for the business user looking for a laptop that balances portability, performance, and superior ergonomics. Compare Prices | IBM ThinkPad R52 Specifications
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