The entire ThinkPad portfolio was moved a step down, price-wise. This began with the key element of the brand: The T series. In the first Lenovo years, the R and T series had become more and more similar to one another on the technical level. The differences between the T400 and R400 were that the R series had a slightly thicker case and was made of cheaper materials. A lot of companies chose the more affordable R400. Therefore, Lenovo decided to discontinue the R series and moved the normal T series down a step, which included using cheaper materials. To replace this, the manufacturer created the T400s series, which was a little more expensive.

The ThinkPad T400s took on a double role: On the one hand it was part of the new Premium T series, but on the other it was basically the successor of the Test Lenovo Thinkpad X300 NotebookX300. This series, together with other more expensive experiments such as the W700 series, also fell victim to the first round of cost-cutting and was discontinued.



Apart from its important role in the ThinkPad lineup, the T400s also marked an important milestone with its design. With the T400s, Lenovo changed the ThinkPad design for the first time since the T60: The keyboard was reworked a little and now offered larger Escape and Delete keys, the display cover slimmed down noticeably and the design generally appeared more orderly and modern. With its new design, the T400s, which was nonetheless still strongly reminiscent of the IBM ThinkPads, was a clear step in the direction of modernization.

