Is It Live Or Is It Lenovo?

[spuddog]

I hope this is in the correct forum and that it hasn't been asked a thousand times before. I am selling an ac adapter in the Marketplace forum. An interested party asked if it was genuine IBM, or a Chinese copy? Here is an interesting question. The adapter says, Made for Lenovo in China. My question is how can you tell whether an item is a Chinese (Lenovo) original, or just a Chinese Knock-off. This whole question seems kind of surreal, but I hope you understand what I am trying to find out. Any of you IBM (now Lenovo) experts have an answer.

Thanks
Scott

[Kyocera]

Can you post a pic of this device?

[jdhurst]

If you purchased the adapter from other than an IBM vendor, then you don't know (which is how China is currently marketing toxic toothpaste with name brands on them).

On the other hand, if it came with a machine or came from a known good vendor, it is probably all right.

I purchase lots of adapters for clients and myself from a legitimate vendor and have no issues with the branding.

One possible way to consider is that the adapters I have seen have some very tiny but very clear type on the label. A counterfeiter is not likely to pay the money to put all the labelling on in a very clear fashion. No guarantee however on that point.
... JDH

[spuddog]

I supplied the pictures to the interested party, and it's not just this one instance, I am just curious as to how someone tells the difference between (good) Chinese and (bad) Chinese merchandise. By the way the, the item came with a battery that my R51 identifies as a genuine IBM (Lenovo).

Scott

[ryengineer]

By the way the, the item came with a battery that my R51 identifies as a genuine IBM (Lenovo).

There is no hard and fast rule. I will check what JD already suggested about the label text.

As Mike said, if you provide us with a picture, perhaps we can predict better then.

Btw, computer is not going to tell you if a battery is counterfeit or not...

[GomJabbar]

Btw, computer is not going to tell you if a battery is counterfeit or not...

I wouldn't be so sure...

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=5843

Battery MaxiMiser on my T42 tells me I have a Sanyo battery, manufactured on 12-13-2004, first used on 12-2004, serial number 1008, bar-coding number 1ZA5R4CD0S0, battery name (FRU part number) is IBM-08K8193, device chemistry Li-ion, design capacity 47.52 Wh, design voltage 10.80 V.

[spuddog]

I really do appreciate everyone's replies. The buyer and I have determined the adapter is legit. The real intent of the post was the broader question of good Chinese (Ibm, Lenovo) as opposed to bad Chinese. I guess I didn't express myself well.

Thanks again
Scott

[ryengineer]

I wouldn't be so sure...
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=5843
Battery MaxiMiser on my T42 tells me I have a Sanyo battery, manufactured on 12-13-2004, first used on 12-2004, serial number 1008, bar-coding number 1ZA5R4CD0S0, battery name (FRU part number) is IBM-08K8193, device chemistry Li-ion, design capacity 47.52 Wh, design voltage 10.80 V.

The third party battery will also provide you with somewhat similar information but it won't say it's not genuine. In some cases such battery won't even charge or would stop working suddenly after working properly for a while (like the thread you mentioned) and even will start working again perfectly after sometime.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=44804

[GomJabbar]

Well, I am sure the battery cartridge is not going to have in it's EEPROM or ROM: "This is a counterfeit battery", or other similar expressions. I do not know if IBM/Lenovo now identifies their later model batteries in Power Manager with the expression "genuine IBM (Lenovo)" or instead uses other wording suggesting the same thing. My newest ThinkPad (or I should say my wife's) is a T42 with a battery a couple of years old.

Battery MaxiMiser in my T42 says I have "Battery Name (FRU Part Number) - IBM-08K8193". This could be construed as meaning "genuine IBM (Lenovo)". I doubt if aftermarket battery manufacturers could legally identify themselves as such. Of course "pirated" batteries would not have any problem with that.

Other batteries are recelled. They likely will have the original battery identification even if the individual cells are aftermarket.

[ryengineer]

I do not know if IBM/Lenovo now identifies their later model batteries in Power Manager with the expression "genuine IBM (Lenovo)" or instead uses other wording suggesting the same thing. My newest ThinkPad (or I should say my wife's) is a T42 with a battery a couple of years old.

Actually they still don't show any information about the battery being genuine in the power manager. All they show is something like this, the FRU does not include the word "IBM" with it anymore as it used to be on older ones (if I remember correctly I saw it on my older X31).

Battery MaxiMiser in my T42 says I have "Battery Name (FRU Part Number) - IBM-08K8193". This could be construed as meaning "genuine IBM (Lenovo)". I doubt if aftermarket battery manufacturers could legally identify themselves as such. Of course "pirated" batteries would not have any problem with that.

I think I misunderstood aftermarket battery to pirated module. You're truly correct, aftermarket will not show you any battery details but pirated ones will most likely would.

[tomatoeblue]

I once had a power adapter that had "Only for IBM Thinkrpad" printed on it. It looked genuine, and had all the IBM trademarks, multilingual tags, etc on it. The only difference was that misspelled word.

It overheaded, melted the part that connects the "wart" to the cable going to the wall, and made weird noises.

I guess in retrospect I should have known.