Thinkpads Forum

Just received my latest issue of Laptop magazine, which
I recently began subscribing to. I think it's one of the better
computing magazines out there right up there with Maximum
PC and PC World (of course opinions will differ).

Anyhow....

This month the magazine is comparing dual core business
laptops. The Lenovo Thinkpad T60 and Dell Latitude
D620 both received the equally highest ratings with the
Dell slightly edging out by receiving the Editor's Choice
award.

Here are the Pros and Cons given to the
Lenovo T60....


PROS

Very long battery life
EV-DO broadband
Best Keyboard
Decent graphics
Hard Drive protection

CONS

Display a bit washed out
Mediocre MobileMark 2005 score

It really shocks me when they compare a Dell to a ThinkPad and give the nod to the Dell. Causes me to be very suspicious of the influence based on the amount of money they get from Dell advertising.

I have used both and actually know quite a few people that have tried or are currently using a Dell laptop and are very UNhappy. In fact there is a website I came across the other day, dell hell or something like that. It was a very impressive site from the standpoint of "look and feel" and the professional way it's put together. Is there a message here?

They gave the Dell an edge in graphics? In your list of PROs you listed "decent graphics". Which gfx chip was in the unit of the T60 they reviewed?

Can you list the PROs and CONs of the Dell they were reviewing?

Not that it will really sway me. I owned a Dell Inspiron years ago, as well as Toshibas, VoodooPC and most recently a T41p. I will be going back to TP again I am sure..

Regarding the Lenovo graphics:

Thanks to the ATI Mobility Radeon X1300 graphics,
the T60 delivered the highest score in 3DMark03 in
this roundup of 3,170, good enough for the occasional
game on the road.

Regarding the Dell:

PROS

Good performance and battery life
Best EV-DO speeds
Durable design
Very secure

CONS

Weak Wi-Fi throughput
Narrow vertical viewing angle

O.K. ... i have had both and a toshiba ... sorry but unless Dell has really improved their act there is no comparison ... generally I buy almost top of the line and use the machine hard for a number of years ... the Dell just did not perform and after only 6 months I gave it to a family member and bought a new computer ... between the Toshiba and the Thinkpad I still perfer the Thinkpad by far ... the two best keyboards on the market, good screens, graphics, stability, fans, and package of reasonably useful tools ... but the IBM is just a nicer machine ... hard to say why

I used to subscribe to LAPTOP magazine some time ago. I cancelled my subscription when they kept rating every darn DELL notebook as the best. They should just rename their name as DELL Laptop.

cj3209 wrote:I used to subscribe to LAPTOP magazine some time ago. I cancelled my subscription when they kept rating every darn DELL notebook as the best. They should just rename their name as DELL Laptop.

I agree, well said!
True confessions...I'm a hardware / laptop addict as you can see by my signature below. My main computer for the last 15 years has always been a ThinkPad. I've tried the others just for the fun of it, but I will say in no uncertain terms, if you want a laptop you can count on, get yourself a ThinkPad.

Several my friends bought dell laptops. Their expenrence with Dell tells me two things:

Dell = Cheap

Dell = Junk

mlli4 wrote:Several my friends bought dell laptops. Their expenrence with Dell tells me two things:

Dell = Cheap

Dell = Junk

Ive owned a couple of DELL's - and tried the 700M and Inspiron 6000 - both impressed the hell out of me, even if they were DELL's.

I would hardly call them "junk".

I think it is a mistake to say that a particular laptop is "junk" just because it is manufactured by a particular company.

IBM T series are generally good machines, while IBM I series had a terrible reputation.

Same goes for Dell. I hated the Latitude D600, but the D620 is a completely different design and might be signficantly better.

Keep in mind that the i Series Thinkpads were manufcatured for IBM under license by Acer; I can tell you know that was a huge mistake when they let Acer make them.

It isn't so much so that everybody assumes all Dells are crap right out of the box. I have come across no less than 15 Dell laptops that I actually paid a good deal of attention to; the only ones that didn't have problems and had pretty good performance were the ones that were perhaps the most expensive laptops Dell had to offer, so the "cost effectiveness" portion of it wasn't there. Heck, if I wanted to spend that much on a laptop, I would go with a Thinkpad, Powerbook, or possibly a MacBook Pro.

I had Dell Latitudes 3 to 5 years ago, when they were quite good quality, almost comparable to Thinkpad quality. Since then, they have definately cheapened the entire product line, in an effort to compete with HP and the others for "price points" mainly with the Inspiron line. The Latitude line remains fairly expensive, with fewer "discount offers", yet most of the Latitudes are basically re-badged Inspirons with different video chips, etc. Also, their outsourced support leaves much to be desired.
Dell has been a highly successful company, and my guess is that they will adjust over time, and start producing a good business-class product again.
Right now, they are not producing anything in the same league as the T and X series Thinkpads. I don't think that that a Dell Latitude and a Thinkpad T series should really be compared right now. Not comparable.

And I fully agree that, for the price of a Latitude or Precision I would go with Thinkpad or MacBook Pro.

Andrew

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LOL, Dell is far worst than HP.
Acer is even better than those DELL.

The review is a joke & totally depands on the
amount of money they get from Dell advertising.

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