Thank you brchan, George.
Art
I'm curious why these 15" palmrests with FPR are getting so tough to find
Part one of the problem is the T60 came in three sizes and two configurations. 14.1-inch, 15-inch, 15.4 inch. And all of them with/without fingerprint reader. Lenovo cites two part numbers in their support site, but I now know two more than are supposed to support T60 15" with FPR. But can't be sure.
Besides, most third party sites - ebay, amazon, alibaba, aliexpress, taobao (never know those last three existed a couple of weeks ago) all list them as 'Palmrest T60/T61'. Which is scary because they are very different. The T60 has the mic on the top left of the palmrest. The T61 has the mic at the bottom centre of the palmrest beside the touchpad and two groves under it for the mic and earphone jack.
Needless to say, these sites don't provide clear pictures. But pictorially, it is slightly simpler to distinguish. 14 inch barely has any distance between the arrow keys and the right edge. The 15 inch has a slight gap. The 15.4 inch has a massive gap.
So, they are still available. And if they are listed correctly and if they have legible pictures, you can get one. But with wrong listings and bad pictures, you will be risking it. I have now contacted some trusted people in India who will ship it to me. It's a long-drawn and expensive process. But with Lenovo ANZ being rather hopeless, and third party sites being cheaper, but unclear, I'd rather pay the extra shipping costs and get it from people I know back home.
Moreover, my machines were under an on-site warranty in India till end 2013. Getting parts -- even the rare UXGA IPS -- never took more than three working days by IBM India. But know the reason now after dealing with ANZ Lenovo. Their three parts warehouses are in the US, China and India. Whatever original parts you order anywhere from the world with Lenovo, they are procured from one of these three countries depending on which one has the part or which is closest to ship.
I am sure the US is a great place for a wide array of parts. But if any of you anywhere else are finding something tough to find or can't trust what you see, do let me know. While I am in NZ, I can liaise with my contact in India. He will charge you the cost of the part (original packaging with serial/part number), cost of shipping, plus about $20 as his charges depending on how much of effort he had to put in -- travelling, phone calls -- to procure it. And if he isn't getting it from the company, he will let you know and offer a cheaper third-party working alternative and you can take the call.
Part two of the problem, I reckon is anybody who has a T60 will only let go of it if there is no hope of getting it working. And even then, Frankenpadding (within the US) becomes an option. I guess the peak of the T60 may have been about 2010-2012 where machines were still working, parts were freely available, and this was the best time to replenish/rejuvenate/upgrade/Frankenpad your T60. I wish I had.
