The trademark ThinkPad pointer nub is present in addition to a touchpad. Having both options is nice, but the dual sets of pointer buttons can result in accidental presses if you're not familiar with the layout. That said, a tip of the cap to Lenovo: The tiny T400s has a larger, more satisfying textured touchpad compared with its big brother.

Wireless gets a major upgrade. Beyond the standard 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN (and optional Bluetooth), you get WiMAX3, integrated WWAN, and ultrawideband connectivity options.

Despite all the progressive tech on board, in a laptop of this size some shrinkage was inevitable. Gone is the PC Card slot (a 34mm ExpressCard remains). Say so long to FireWire. And the headphone/microphone jacks merged into a single plug. That's a thoughtful design decision for the perpetually mobile, as you can plug in your wired cell phone headset (from, say, an or a ) and it'll work just fine.

Speaking of...well...speaking, the T400s has been tweaked with Web chats in mind, and I'm not talking only about the built-in Webcam. The tiny, tinny speakers of the T400 got a boost--the speakers of the T400s are better in just about every sense. The sound, while far from perfect, is a marked improvement over audio from the average laptop. And it can reach a reasonably high volume--perfect for when you want to talk to your coworkers back at the office via Skype. The microphone-jack mute button, parked just above the keyboard, is convenient for those times when you want to give the silent treatment.

Then there's the software that business users have come to know and love: the ThinkVantage application suite. Common tasks such as setting up wireless connections and managing power-consumption settings are readily available, and power users will appreciate being able to back up data or configure security settings on the fly. The ThinkVantage suite largely serves as a front end for functions that Windows can handle, but it does a lot to improve overall user efficiency.