Microsoft Post-Holiday Deals: Powerful ThinkPads at Low Prices

When shopping online for a notebook, we don’t normally think about the Microsoft Store, because we usually associate Microsoft with software, peripherals like mice, Zunes, and Xboxes. However, the Microsoft Store currently stocks 18 notebooks and 8 netbooks and some of these are on incredible sales right now. Here are our favorites.

• ThinkPad T400s for $1161. Our favorite business notebook of the year is powerful, portable, and durable enough to appeal to any consumer as well. With a powerful 2.4-GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 4GB of RAM, 120GB hard drive, 14.1-inch screen, and Windows 7 Home Premium, this 3.9-pound notebook goes anywhere and lasts over 4 hours on a charge.  The list price for this system is well north of $1600 and Lenovo rarely sells it for less than $1300. (Read Review | Buy)
• ThinkPad X301 for $1199. While not as powerful as the T400s and over a year old (came out in Fall 2008), the 13.3-inch X301 is the luxury car of ultraportable notebooks. At 3.3 pounds and .9-inches thick, it’s incredibly portable while offering one of the best keyboards we’ve ever used. With a body made from carbon glass fiber that  has a rubberized feel, the notebook is as durable as it is portable. Normally, this notebook  starts at over $1,800 and we’ve never seen it selling for less than $1,500 so this is  a steal. The Microsoft configuration comes with Windows 7 Home Premium, 2GB of RAM, a 1.4-GHz Core 2 Duo ULV CPU, a 6-cell battery,  DVD burner, and 120GB 5,400-rpm hard drive.  (Read Review | Buy)
• IdeaPad S10-2 for $261.75. It’s not unusual these days to find a netbook selling for under $300, but it’s very unusual to find a netbook with a 6-cell battery for that price. The S10-2 has all the standard specs you’d expect from a netbook: a 10.1-inch 1024×576 screen, 1.6-GHz Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Starter, while lasting nearly 6 hours on a charge, and weighing just 2.6 pounds. The configuration Microsoft is selling comes with a floral pattern on the lid. (Read Review | Buy)
• Toshiba NB205_N324 for $314.25. We’ve reviewed three different versions of the stylish Toshiba NB205, but we like this one, which comes with Windows 7 Starter, the best. With the best chassis and keyboard of any netbook and over 9 hours of battery life, the NB205 is a joy to use and, with this version normally costing $400, it’s a steal too. Available with a blue or white lid, but we prefer the blue.  (Read Review | Buy)