Just today, I was asked to recommend a “good laptop” for a serious college student. A Windows computer was requested and though it didn’t really matter, I’ll let you know that this student is an Accounting major at a 4-year university in St. Louis. They really just want a machine that is going to be there 3 or 4 years down the road.

As I may have mentioned before, IBM still assists with design of personal computers but since about 6 years ago Lenovo manufactures their signature lines — the Think Centre (desktop) and ThinkPad (laptop)

The system below is a 14 inch laptop with Windows 7, plenty of RAM and the extended batter.

It also includes a 3 year extended warranty, with on-site support, and Think Protection which covers it against drops and spills. I think that is a really great feature to have if you are a road warrior or a student.

Sadly, I could not confirm that Dell offers insurance against damage and Apple never has — but both offer extended warranties.

PS. The laptop below priced out at $1221, including a 10% discount with the Discount Code: AMERICAN10 — good through 8/31. See Lenovo.com for ordering.

Cart details

Quantity Part number Description Availability Item price Line total 1 4177CTO ThinkPad T420 – 1 Yr Depot Topseller Warranty Estimated ship date: 9/3/11** $1,590.00 $1,069.00 $1,590.00 $1,069.00 Processor Intel Core i5-2520M Processor (2.50GHz, 3MB L3) Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Operating system language Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 US English Display type 14.0″ HD (1366 x 768) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready System graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000 Total memory 4 GB DDR3 – 1333MHz (1 DIMM) Keyboard Keyboard US English Camera 720p HD Camera Hard drive 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm Optical device DVD recordable multiburner System expansion slots Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader Battery 9 cell Li-Ion Battery – 55++ Power cord Country Pack North America with Line cord & 65W AC adapter PCI adapter IEEE 1394a port Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 (2×2 AGN) Integrated mobile broadband Integrated Mobile Broadband – Upgradable Language pack Language Pack US English 45K5985 3YR Onsite + 3YR ThinkPad Protection $259.00 $259.00

Subtotal: $1,849.00 Sale Price: $1,328.00 [AMERICAN10] -$106.90 Estimated total: $1,221.10* Total savings $627.90