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of the Lenovo Laptop Battery
The T450s comes in basic black, which works well in a buttoned-down workplace. It measures 0.83 by 13 by 9 inches (HWD) and weighs a little over 3.5 pounds. That's just a half-pound heavier than the thinner 2015 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch, which also uses carbon fiber and magnesium to cut down on weight. It's lighter than the 4-pound Lenovo ThinkPad E450, a moderately priced model aimed at small businesses. Other business systems in this size and weight class include the Dell Latitude 14 7000 Series (E7450), another top pick for business systems, and the HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 (G4U67UT) . The Apple with battery such as Lenovo ThinkPad X200t Battery, Lenovo ThinkPad X201t Battery, Lenovo FRU 42T4658 Battery, Lenovo FRU 42T4651 Battery, Lenovo ThinkPad SL300 Battery, Lenovo ThinkPad SL500 Battery, Lenovo 45J7706 Battery, Lenovo 3000 Y500 Battery, Lenovo IdeaPad Y730a Battery, Lenovo FRU 42T4542 Battery, Lenovo ThinkPad X200s Battery, Lenovo 43R9255 BatteryMacBook Pro 13-Inch, Retina Display (2015) and the HP Elitebook Folio 1020 are physically smaller, but still play in this field.
Lenovo has tested the T450s to MIL-SPEC 810G specifications, so it will survive high altitudes, drops, wide temperature swings, oppressive humidity, and blown sand. The system can also famously shrug off a can of soda poured directly on the keyboard. The stainless-steel hinges located between the body and the screen look and feel like they could take quite a beating. The T450s should certainly be able to handle your daily office grind.
The 14-inch touch screen has a 1,920-by-1,080 resolution and an In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel, which means that images show up bright and clear, with excellent viewing angles. A matte finish quells reflections, and the screen tilts back 180 degrees to lie flat on the table. This allows you to share the laptop's display with a few people seated around a table. Touch sensitivity is excellent.
The lauded Lenovo ThinkPad keyboard is backlit and is as comfortable to use as ever, with slightly concave keys that cradle your fingertips during long typing sessions. The row of function keys on the top of the keyboard control multimedia (Play, FF/REW, etc.) and Windows 8 commands. You can switch them back to F1-F12 if you wish. Dual pointing devices include the nub-like TrackPoint and a touchpad. There are also three physical mouse buttons right above the touchpad, which is a reversal from the Lenovo ThinkPad T431s and the Lenovo T440s. Both of the older laptops have a five-button, single-piece touchpad that was too quirky for many users.
Connectivity is much better than average. The power connector, a mini DisplayPort, a smart card reader, and two USB 3.0 ports are located on the left side of the laptop. On the right, you'll find an Ethernet port, a headset jack, a Kensington lock port, an SD card reader, a SIM card slot (the WWAN module can be added later), another USB 3.0 port, and a VGA port. 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 handle wireless duties.
The screw holes flanking the VGA port—and missing from most current laptops—are welcome, as they help keep a VGA cable in place during presentations. There's a docking connector on the bottom of the laptop, and the included 3-cell battery is removable. A second, sealed internal 3-cell battery lets you swap the removable battery out for a fresh one without having to turn off the laptop. This is a huge convenience.
Our review unit came configured with 8GB of memory and a 256GB SSD, double that of the Lenovo T440s. You can configure the laptop with up to 12GB of memory and up to a 512GB SSD on Lenovo's site. The system comes with Windows 8.1 Pro (64-bit) and very little bloatware installed. The one-year warranty is a bit short, since corporate systems typically come with a three-year warranty.