Design
The ThinkPad T420 follows the classic ThinkPad aesthetic business users have come to know and love over the years. The matte black, rubberized lid with its simple silver logo and raven black sides, bottom, and interior are all long-time ThinkPad staples, as is the tiny red TrackPoint pointing stick that sits between the G and H keys. Like previous ThinkPad T Series notebooks, the T420 is designed for durability. The rubberized ABS plastic lid, carbon-reinforced bottom, and internal roll cage help protect against shocks and drops.

Keyboard, Pointing Stick, TouchPad
The classic, spill-resistant keyboard on the ThinkPad T420 features 7 rows with a full range of keys, even rarely used ones such as scroll lock and pause. Enlarged Esc and Delete keys make it easy to perform these frequent functions. The combination of strong tactile feedback and a smile-shaped key surface allowed us to achieve an 86 word-per-minute score with a 1-percent error rate on the Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor test, well above our 80 wpm average. However, the typing experience on the 13-inch ThinkPad X1 remains the industry's best because of that notebook's soft-touch palm rest and even more responsive keys.

Heat
The ThinkPad T420 stayed pleasantly cool throughout our testing. After streaming video for 15 minutes, the touchpad measured a frigid 82 degrees, the keyboard an icy 81 degrees, and the bottom a cool 87 degrees Fahrenheit. We consider temperatures below 95 degrees comfortable.