The T50 wait...

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apollo46 · #1 Post by **apollo46** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 7:20 pm

Hi,

I'm a long time thinkpad fan currently pushing the final life out of my T20 700mhz. I'm dead set on getting another thinkpad and would idealy like to purchase now. Do I await the next thinkpad or buy now is the question? If the next major revision of the T-series (i.e. T50, not T43) is going to take longer than another 6 months, I will buy now. Does anyone have ANY info which may help me make a decision. I'm especially hoping hat IBM may include a widescreen version! Although as a biz notebook this may be a bit hopefull!

Any help is much appreciated.

Regards,
Murray.

juancferrer · #2 Post by **juancferrer** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 10:24 pm

i'm guessin that IBM will release the new line of thinkpads with the release of Alviso, which just got pushed back to early 2005. I'm guessing you're better off buying now.

apollo46 · #3 Post by **apollo46** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 4:23 am

Any idea if IBM will introduce a widescreen version?

#4 Post by **JaneL** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 6:35 am

I guess anything is possible, but I'd be surprised.

#5 Post by **K. Eng** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 8:04 pm

Highly unlikely. IBM is pretty conservative when it comes to form factors.

I'd buy a machine now. The current Pentium M + 855 chipset platform is battle tested & proven. Next generation stuff won't be out until Q1 2005 (about half a year from now) and you'll pay more for being an early adopter and suffer any early quirks in either the silicon or the machine.

I'd say the 15" T42 is a good bet. It's sturdier than the 14" T4x, which I find to be a bit more delicate than the T2x, although I prefer the T4x's stiff keyboard over the T2x's slightly softer keyboard.

apollo46 wrote:Any idea if IBM will introduce a widescreen version?

mattc58 · #6 Post by **mattc58** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 9:21 pm

Along the same lines, anybody have an idea when the next version of the X will be out? I'd love to see a faster hard drive and processor.

#7 Post by **erik** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 11:35 pm

mattc58 wrote:Along the same lines, anybody have an idea when the next version of the X will be out? I'd love to see a faster hard drive and processor.

sure, it's called the "X31."

-erik

Steve007 · #8 Post by **Steve007** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 4:01 pm

apollo46 wrote:Any idea if IBM will introduce a widescreen version?

We've no plans to at the moment but never rule anything out. Later this year/early next year you'll see ThinkPad's in colours other than black! That'll take some getting used to......!

Steve007 · #9 Post by **Steve007** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 4:05 pm

K. Eng wrote:Highly unlikely. IBM is pretty conservative when it comes to form factors.

Yes but it depends on what the market wants. If there's a massive demand for WS panels then you may see it sooner rather than later but WS panels are really for the multimedia users out there or people who would rather pose with their laptop rather than use it for what it's intended for.

Have you seen the size of some of these laptops with >17” panels? Some of them can’t really be called laptops – they’re more desktop replacements!

apollo46 · #10 Post by **apollo46** » Sun Sep 05, 2004 6:44 pm

Steve,

Do you work for IBM. If so, I would love to know whats planed for the next T-series laptop. Anything unique to IBM being introduced? Or are we looking at just a faster machine with more memory and bigger disks?

Im still confused as to whether I should go for a T42P (KXU) or suffer until the next big release....

I would really appreicate any insight you may have.

Regards,
Nick.

DavidNZ · #11 Post by **DavidNZ** » Sun Sep 05, 2004 11:23 pm

How many here, honest question, would get a Thinkpad in another colour? Which colour? Me - maybe a dark dark royal blue, but that's it.

jeroenp · #12 Post by **jeroenp** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 12:36 am

Steve007 wrote:
K. Eng wrote:Highly unlikely. IBM is pretty conservative when it comes to form factors.
If there's a massive demand for WS panels then you may see it sooner rather than later [...]

Have you seen the size of some of these laptops with >17” panels? Some of them can’t really be called laptops – they’re more desktop replacements!

Not having to have multiple desktop machines is exactly the reason why I have a laptop. Actually: I have two (just in case one fails). Right now they are A21p's (fully loaded), and I want to upgrade at least one in the next 6 months.

--jeroen

sbc · #13 Post by **sbc** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 7:01 pm

I would love to see a Pen-M with a 15.4 WUXGA, Dothan, two bays, & FW400+800. I think IBM is probably the only PC company to succesfully make this config and do it right

without it being too heavy.

The HP nc8000 has two bays, but it is a 15" standard.

#14 Post by **BillMorrow** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 1:41 am

DavidNZ wrote:How many here, honest question, would get a Thinkpad in another colour? Which colour? Me - maybe a dark dark royal blue, but that's it.

i have always wanted to see thinkpads in a deep midnight blue and wine red..
the blue would be calles "Big Blue" naturally..
the wine red could be called, uhmm.. what..?!

"Wine Red"..!

but i wonder if ibm will actually do such a thing..
parts are an expensive proposition now..
when you add color to the external parts you must stock an entire line of parts in each color..

still "Big Blue" and "Garnet" or "Burgundy" do evoke some nice pictures in my mind..

Steve007 · #15 Post by **Steve007** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 7:37 am

apollo46 wrote:Steve,

Do you work for IBM. If so, I would love to know whats planed for the next T-series laptop

Yes, I do. I posted a bit of info in this thread:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=3850

I'd go for the T42 if I were you. Most T42 units are available with little or no lead time and the prices are really good. Why wait a few months for something as simple as a few extra 100MHz?

However, if you want a ‘P’ model I’d be tempted to wait to see the new models before you make a choice.

AtmosMan · #16 Post by **AtmosMan** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 12:36 pm

apollo46 wrote:If the next major revision of the T-series (i.e. T50, not T43) is going to take longer than another 6 months, I will buy now.

The next upgrade that I know of is the introduction of a new Pentium M processor (the 765 - 2.10GHz, 400MHz FSB, 2MB Cache) being released by Intel in mid October.

After that it gets a bit fuzzy. Over the past few months Intel (and the tech press) have been steady on the release date of Alviso and Sonoma being in Q1 2005. BUT (yup, had to do it) there are rumors (from Inquirer News) going around that the new chip and chipset wil be delayed until Q2 2005.

So the next minor upgrade should be in October 2004 where the next major upgrade should be (we can only hope) in January 2005.

Remember, it does take some time for IBM to implement the technology into the thinkpads and get them shiped out. So, by the time IBM actually ships the machines, it could be up to a month after the dates I put above.

So, 6 months is your time frame (now it is 4 months.) Well, if the rumor that Alviso and Sonoma will be delayed until Q2 happens to be true, then it will be far past 6 months before you get a new laptop.

What I suggest you do is wait until December or so and find out when Alviso and Sonoma are going to be released. If it winds up being released in Q2, then go ahead and buy a T42 (or 43 with the October upgrades.) If the new technology is going to be released in Q1, then the decision is tougher. The new tech is going to be very tempting, but it might still have some beta bugs in it. For me it will be worth the wait (I need the memory bandwidth, hi def auido, and processing power.) But you can't go wrong by buying now.

Hope this helps.

-Brian

starbot · #17 Post by **starbot** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 11:49 am

Well it's the start of 2005, anyone know any further details on the T50, when it's coming out, new features?

#18 Post by **BillMorrow** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 1:11 pm

AFAIK it is the T43, not the T50..

and anything beyond 2005 is all up to the new owners..
so there may never be a T50 or anything beyond the T43..

general availability probably february if all goes according to plan..

Champ · #19 Post by **Champ** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:36 pm

hey didn't the ibm guy that gave us specs said up to t50s have been planned out and basically written in stone?

#20 Post by **BillMorrow** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 12:34 am

perhaps, but there will not be a T50 this go round..
at least not according to the info i have at hand..

regardless of the name, the specs are cast in stone at this time..

The T50 wait...

The T50 wait...

X50?

Re: X50?

Any authoritive knowledge?

Re: Any authoritive knowledge?

Re: The T50 wait...

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