Pre-configured T61 anymore?

[aviography]

I bought a T60 back in March 2007 (8744-5BU) from Lenovo Canada and there were a large set of pre-configured models to select from, while the searching and comparing was tedious, I eventually found the 8744-5BU configuration to be the best bang for my bucks, and it had a 3 year parts& labour warranty.

My sister is now desparately looking for a laptop as the LCD of her 4-year old Dell Inspron started fading quickly yesterday, so I've been helping her looking for a replacement, to my dismay I can't seem to find a large variaties of pre-configured models in the T61 line-up from the Lenovo web site.

Searching around here I found http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... hlight=cto which mentions Lenovo Canada introducing Configure To Order (CTO) around November time frame, is this why I am not seeing a similarly large number of pre-configured T61 variants as I did when I bought the T60 in March 2007?

If this is in fact the reason then I'm a little ticked to not be able to conclusively order a particular configuration and get a good 3 year warranty on these high-end laptops at a decent price, since the T61 all seem to only come with the basic one year warranty and will require addition cost for the 3 year warranty coverage.

I suppose the upside of CTO is to allow people to tailor exactly what they want to order, but the downside seems to be the longer delivery time this will likely cause.......

Am I correct on this?

Thanks in advance for any insights.

[ryengineer]

snip....Searching around here I found http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... hlight=cto which mentions Lenovo Canada introducing Configure To Order (CTO) around November time frame, is this why I am not seeing a similarly large number of pre-configured T61 variants as I did when I bought the T60 in March 2007?.....snip

This is correct, lenovo Canada website and all of it's sub domains (EDU, EPP, SPP etc.) has been lets say synched to the US site.

However Pre-configured models are still available through Ready to Ship program, actually you can just call the sales department and tell a rep you are interested in pre-configured machine, you'll get an answer based on whatever would be available in inventory.

The number is 1-866-96-THINK (84465).

[Peak2Peak]

You guy's in the US (and maybe Canada too soon (?)) are so lucky you can pre-configure (CTO) your ThinkPads. Here in the UK, we are still stuck with Pre-configured stock which sometimes may not be to everyone's expectations - Also not to forget ThinkPad price's are much more cost effective / C-H-E-A-P-E-R on you side of the pond.

I suppose the plus point(s)? is that delivery times here usually have a 5- 7 day turn around from when the order is placed (I have known some clients ThinkPads to be delivered within 12hours! - stock providing of course) - Also that 3year CARRY IN / Back-to-base warranty may sound good, but as there is only ONE repair centre in the UK (Scotland), It costs approx £25 ($50) to send in your ThinkPad for repair! (not unless you live next door)

So to re-cap, In the UK, there is no CTO services, prices are much higher and it costs to send in your ThinkPad to repair. Grrr Nice here a'int it!