Any mainstream notebook can run popular apps like Microsoft Office, just as any pair of sneakers will protect your feet while you play basketball, but working on the Lenovo ThinkPad T450s feels like running down the court in Air Jordans. Lenovo's ThinkPad T Series of business laptops has long been known for its first-class combination of long battery life, sharp screens, durable design and best-in-class keyboards.
Design
Lenovo's notebook uses the same chassis as its predecessor, the ThinkPad T440s, and that's a good thing. With the T450s' rectangular shape and raven-black lid, sides and bottom, the device has the quiet but classy ThinkPad aesthetic that's equally at home in the boardroom or the coffee shop. The red TrackPoint pointing stick and its red-striped buttons add small splashes of color. ThinkPad logos with glowing red lights for the dot in the "i" sit on the lid and the deck, blinking to show you when your system is asleep.
Even if you don't like the ThinkPad T450s' conservative looks, you have to love its durability. With a carbon-fiber lid, magnesium body and interior roll cage, the notebook is designed to take some abuse, passing MIL-SPEC tests for extreme temperatures, humidity, vibration, sand, shocks and fungus. The company also tests the T450s by opening the device's stainless steel hinges 30,000 times and dropping metal balls on the machine from over a meter in the air. The keyboard also has a drain to help it survive spills.
Display
The 1,920 x 1,080 touch screen provided sharp, colorful images in our tests. When I watched a 1080p trailer for the Avengers: Age of Ultron, the red in Black Widow's hair and the green in the Hulk's skin appeared deep and rich, while the battle scarring on Captain America's shield really stood out.