Lenovo ThinkPad R52

The Lenovo ThinkPad R52 is a big-screen machine with lots of muscle and the security features you need to protect your data. Housed in the familiar black ThinkPad shell, the R52 offers a crisp 15-inch SXGA+ display, a comfortable keyboard, dual pointing devices, a built-in TPM chip, and a fingerprint reader. At 6.6 pounds and $1,329, it's both affordable and relatively travel-friendly.

The ThinkPad R52 offers excellent performance, thanks to a 1.73-GHz Intel Pentium M processor, 512MB of 533-MHz DDR2 memory, and a 60GB hard drive with a fast 5,400-rpm rotational speed. It operates in a pleasantly cool and silent manner. This mainstream notebook cruised through tasks like digital photo editing, video rendering, and file compression. A score of 200 or more in the MobileMark productivity benchmark is considered quite good, and the R52 registered a 205.

With a built-in TPM chip and a fingerprint reader, the R52 is as secure as a notebook gets. Enrolling fingerprints and setting password protection takes only a few minutes using the software that's a part of the Access IBM suite. The management interface is simple and straightforward, and there were no flubbed readings as is often the case when dealing with biometrics.

The Access IBM utility includes plenty of other helpful tools. One of our favorites is Power Manager, which creates power profiles that balance performance, system temperature, fan sound level, and battery life. Business users will appreciate Protect & Recover, which can backup data, configure your fingerprint reader and other security settings, troubleshoot problems, and recover lost data. Norton AntiVirus 2005 and PC Doctor Diagnostics are pre-installed.

The R52's 15-inch SXGA+ display is bright and sharp, and provides plenty of room for working or watching DVDs. (Some may prefer a widescreen aspect ratio; for that we recommend the new Z60m.) The integrated speakers are smartly placed up under the front edge. They're fairly loud, but lack bass. An integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 means no high-end gaming, but this system is built to be a workhorse.

As one might expect from a ThinkPad, the R52's keyboard is comfortable and easy to use. The keys are all full-size and the layout has a desktop-like feel. The R52 features both a touchpad and a pointing stick. Both input devices are comfortable and responsive, making the ThinkPad R52 a good choice no matter which option you prefer.

As for external devices, the R52 has enough ports to handle plenty. There are only two USB 2.0 ports, but there's a FireWire port, parallel port, and two PC Card slots. If you want a memory card reader, again opt for the more consumer-friendly Z60m, which also boasts a widescreen display and stereo speakers.

The Gigabit Ethernet and modem jacks, USB ports, S-Video output, and VGA port are all placed toward the back of the laptop. This provides for quick connections and keeps all of those wires out of the way. We'd like to have seen the microphone and headphone jacks placed closer to the front of the R52, since your headphones' wires will have to lead toward the front of the laptop.

We prefer laptops to have hard-wired Wi-Fi On/Off switches instead of function key combinations, but the R52's combo can be configured to either toggle the Wi-Fi adapter on or off or to launch the Fn/F5 Configuration Utility, which provides quick access to all of your wireless settings. The R52's wireless performance was below average, offering 4.2 Mbps of throughput at 5 feet from our access point and 3.2 Mbps at 50 feet.

At least working with the wireless radio on shaves only seven minutes off of the battery runtime. This system offers good endurance for its size, lasting about 3.5 hours on a charge.

Affordably priced at $1,329 and backed by a one-year warranty with 24/7 toll-free tech support, the Lenovo ThinkPad R52 is an excellent value. It's ideal for business users looking for a good combination of speed, security, and comfort.