Thinkpads Forum

In the decade or so that I have been using / deploying ThinkPads, there is a pattern that I have observed. Looking forward during this time of transition which will potentially include widescreen displays in some or all T models, I believe the T61 could have a relatively short production run. Especially since the other mfgs already have Core Duo 2 models available now.

This may be due to several variables, such as the first run of the Core Duo 2. Widescreen implementation vs. customer acceptance in the corporate & public sectors. Reaction to competitive trends etc. Strategic planning and marketing by Lenovo.

The T61 may be the model with which all this is sorted out, a test bed of sorts.

Then based on that experience, Lenovo could choose to integrate all lessons learned into the following T62 / p model. This short run of the T61 would allow an early launch of the T62. A model which could very well be a milestone of the "new" Lenovo ThinkPad.

While enjoying the T60p with it's stellar speed, performance, and reliability, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the show....

And you?

The T6X Series analog of my T43? A T63!

Although I really am keen on getting the Santa Rosa chipset early given that it is dual core and has support for 64-bit via EMT64.

I'm hoping for the T62p beeing up to the standards of my beloved T42p 15" UXGA Flexview.

+ 15" UXGA 4:3
+ 4h battery live on the std battery, not sticking out
+ stellar ergonomics: silent and cool - no disturbing extra noise emission
+ traditional keyboard without the MS Windows Keys, at least as an option
+ Linux drivers

Looking forward to the best of Thinkpads

Perhaps they will call the Santa rosa refresh with Core 2 Duo 45 nm T62... But it will be silly to change the number for a so light change. BTW, 45 nm have very low power consumption.

I think Lenovo will wait Q3 2008 fot T63. They will have DDR2-800 and second gen DirectX 10 GPU.

I dream about a T6x with ~14" screen WSXGA+. 15,4" laptop are too big, I don't like to use them on the road. The resolution 1440x900 offers a too small desktop comparing to 1400x1050.

I desperately needed a notebook that has a webcam thats why i upgraded form T60 to T61 the if the T62 comes out without a DVI-Out ill switch to another brand.

Have a T60, and I am waiting here for the "dream machine" to come out from the Lenovo´s factories. No matter if I have to wait until Q3 2008 or Q1 2009. My Santa´s wishes are:

1. A major DESIGN shift. Better Lid and palm rest finish, the rubber coating always look greasy, I am tired of the daily towell rub. The boxy design concept must evolve, and some new aspect would be welcome. Remenber it isn´t nice to have a youngster in an oldest body.

2. Urgent!!! We desperately need a better screen, this is a shame compared with competitors, even Gateway has better screens than ours...

3. Of course keep the high quality standars of today systems´ construction, keyboard, rugged case and structural frame materials, spill proof tray, shock protection and so on. Your dropping prices policy may be a fatal error if quality is sacrified, we will buy Thinkpad systems having quality in mind first, not price.

4. And last but not least put inside cutting edge processor and chipset, GPU, Solid state hard disk.

Just in case I will hang a big stocking in my chimney this year!

rleo25 wrote:The boxy design concept must evolve, and some new aspect would be welcome. Remenber it isn´t nice to have a youngster in an oldest body.

that won't happen.   the thinkpad design is an award-winning concept rooted in tradition and history.   if you don't like the "bento box" look of the thinkpad then there are tons of other notebook manufacturers offering alternative designs.

rleo25 wrote: The boxy design concept must evolve, and some new aspect would be welcome. Remenber it isn´t nice to have a youngster in an oldest body.

My son - currently in high school - has an R50P with a UXGA display. Most of his classmates have Dells with shiny new WXGA displays, and they tease him about his computer looking like it's ten years old. Some of the more alert ones eventually notice that it runs faster than their Dells, and it can display almost twice as much content on the screen. When their computers fail (a frequent occurrence - computers in the hands of high school kids have a pretty rough life), they have to wait for weeks. When the R50P's hard disk failed a couple months ago, the replacement was shippped overnight. He was without a computer for a total of one day, and when I put in the new drive, I installed Vista Ultimate on it and all the drivers and apps worked just fine.

Sadly, I think the ThinkPad will be forced to keep up (or keep down?) with trends in the rest of the industry and emphasize glitz over substance. Even business users often have the same priorities as consumers. They're more interested in watching movies than getting work done. Just like high school students, they'll get teased by their peers because their computers don't have lots of multi-colored flashing LEDs and a glossy screen. And the corporate IT department is under pressure to keep expenses down this quarter so the CEO can get a bigger bonus. That means buying the cheapest computer, regardless of the long-term TCO.

Please don´t misundestand my concept regarding the boxy design, in the same tradition and history you can produce so many solutions, that is a challenge designers must face. Look many past thinkpad designs and you will find better examples of modern design than the current ones... It is a very simple answer to send people buy other laptop brands.

keep in mind that the thinkpad's primary customer base is business users.   this is why you see a VGA port instead of DVI, integrated rescue and recovery software, tested and stable hardware rather than the latest greatest features (ie; processors, blu-ray, etc.), and a very conservative design.

lenovo will bring back design cues from previous generations (like the red/blue markings on the ultranav buttons) but don't expect anything too dramatic.

fwiw, i like my T61p's overall design even though i do miss some of the nuances from my s30 and former T42p.   i'd bring back the clear plates on the keyboard and display, red/blue marks on buttons, and higher quality power/volume buttons.   i'm pretty happy with the rest.

See Erik? There are things that could be better, I am a happy T60 owner, its primary use: business, and would like to see some changes in the next future models, until now no need to change this extraordinary machine. This fact doesn´t hinder me to dream as the name of this section implies...

i'm all for minor changes.   i just don't want to lose the "boxy design" for the simple reason that it's both traditional and different from everyone else.   i've seen copies of the thinkpad idea but nothing has ever come close.   i like that.

I would be happy with a sreen lid design as the X series tablet, thats to say without the protruding borders, the remaining design elements are ok to me, including shape, color and minor but relevant details, design composition is an arragment of parts according to an structure of order that makes them work as a whole.