Some help please....

[thinkpadneophyte]

Hello -

I'm thinking about buying the X60 (or 60s). I've only had Dell desktops and a 12" PowerBook, so I know little about Thinkpads. I won't buy another Dell, primarily because of the terrible Customer Service and wanted to check with all of you with long IBM histories about your experiences with help and repair. How hard is it to get technical support people on the phone? Can they be understood? Are they helpful? Have you had repairs done and how was that experience?

If Customer Service with IBM has been good, are you concerned that it wil lose quality as a Lenova product?

Thank you very much for your help. I had looked at the small Sony and Toshiba notebooks and was disappointed that I didn't like them as much as the PowerBook, but then I thought of IBM. I just went to Office Depot tonight to try an eraserhead pointer since the X60 doesn't have a touchpad and the eraserhead was missing from both display models! Very frustrating. Can you describe how it works and how it is to use?
Thanks again! I've read many entries here and know you all have a lot of Thinkpad expertise so I appreciate your guidance.

[JonathanGennick]

Since you ask about service, I'll mention that I just made a call on Monday. I had no hold-time at all. As soon as I keyed in my model number, I was routed to a technician. She then very politely routed me a technician in another group because my problem was with the wireless. Everything went very smoothly. The second technician had me run through a bunch of diagnostics, determined that the problem was likely hardware, and arranged for a box to be sent out. Box arrived yesterday. I packed the laptop last night and it's on it's merry way to IBM care of DHL as I write this. All-in-all, it was as satisfying as a service-call can be.

I've only once had a service-call go badly awry, and that was when a technician overnighted me a new display panel to install myself. He seriously overestimated my competence and I didn't understand what I was getting into until the part arrived. But even that debacle was resolved easily enough. I sent back the part. I sent the laptop in for repair. There was some issue w/IBM not realizing the rather expensize panel had come back, but even that was resolved painlessly.

Once, just once that I can recall, I spoke with a technician that left me feeling unsatisfied and somewhat ill-used. No company is 100% perfect.

Bottom-line though, I've been very, very pleased with Thinkpad service. That service is what keeps me coming back. I value service. I'll pay for it. And Thinkpad is pretty much the only brand that I look at these days (except Apple, on the Mac side of the fence).

Oh, you asked about the pointer. Well, I've used both pointer and touchpad. I even once used a pointer on a Toshiba machine (way back in the dark ages). You can get used to either one. It is the transition period that can be somewhat frustrating. I find I prefer a pointer though. And even more, I prefer not having the touchpad. I'm convinced the presence of the touchpad on the R models (and probably the T as well) forces Lenovo to push the buttons up closer to the bottom of the keyboard. I like the feel of my X30 much better than my wife's R42.

I'm also a big fan of the X series. When I bought my X30, I wasn't sure I'd be happy with the small screen size versus the 1400x1050 T models I had been looking at. But I was quickly won over by the small size of the X series. It's no trouble to haul through airports; it fits on tray-tables with room left over; it doesn't take up all the room in my backpack. And the battery life is great. I'm hoping to buy a new Thinkpad this year, and these new X models with 11 hours of battery life have me very excited. And I run VMWare, so the dual-core and the RAM that these will support are also good things, at least for me.

I'm a satisfied customer. Can you tell

[thinkpadneophyte]

I checked for a response but didn't really think I'd get anything so quickly. THANK YOU! Your answer is encouraging. I'd hate to spend all that money and be as frustrated with the service as I was with Dell.
One more question..Would you get a X60, or an X 60S? Operationally, would I know the difference? I pretty much just use Word, Excel and Quicken and financial web sites

[riceboy54]

Everytime I call for support, there has been no hold =) The only word I can find to describe it is "amazing"

[tfflivemb2]

Regarding the service:

I purchased a T30 from this forum in October, but noticed after receiving it that the LCD cable or something inside was loose. Since it was still under warranty, I didn't want to open it myself. I had until the end of December until the warranty expired. In the second week of December, I finally email support for the warranty claim, just before I had to run to the grocery store. When I returned from the store, I had a message from IBM. I called IBM back and was on hold for only about 15 seconds. They confirmed with me, what I had sent in the email. There were no problems. They sent me the return shipping box via FED EX overnight. I shipped the box out to them with the laptop in it a few days later (minus the HD, Ram, etc.). It took them a few days to return it as they replaced the entire LCD. (Guess it was a good thing that I didn't open it up and check the cable, as it apparently wasn't the cable) They in turn shipped it back to me via FED EX overnight again. PERFECT!!!

[JonathanGennick]

One more question..Would you get a X60, or an X 60S? Operationally, would I know the difference? I pretty much just use Word, Excel and Quicken and financial web sites

Probably I will get the X60, because it has the dual-core CPU. That seems to be the way forward. It won't matter so much now, but three or four years from now it might. I don't replace my computers very often, so I try to think ahead a bit. Maybe two CPUs will matter more when Vista comes out. (Funny thought that, an extra CPU just to run the O/S )

But I'll note that my current X30 handles all the standard Office and web work that I throw at it, perfectly fine. And I will say that the half-pound lower weight of the X60S is tempting. Low weight is a big boon when I travel. For word-processing, Excel, web browsing, almost any notebook that you buy today, from any vendor, will be just fine.

But here's the real reason I'll probably go with an X60. My needs a bit unusual in that I want the ability to run memory and CPU-sucking applications like Oracle's database software. Maybe it's for a presentation. Maybe it's so I can work on an article or book while I'm traveling. On my desktop I currently run Oracle on top of Linux on top of VMWare on top of 64-bit Windows. One CPU and 2GB RAM does fine for that, but two CPUs wouldn't hurt considering that I have two operating-systems running.

A friend of mine, a well-known speaker on the Oracle database, uses the same sort of configuration (Oracle, Linux, VMWare, Windows) on a rather large and hulking HP laptop. It works quite well for him, and he likes the speakers and the ability to play music in his hotel room. I'll take the smaller size of the X60 myself.

So I personally lean toward the no-S model. But unless you have some unusual requirement, I truly do not believe you will go badly wrong either way.

I know it's hard to decide. You might consider building a mockup to test the weights. Heft something that weighs the same as the X60 and then heft something that weighs the same as the X60S. See whether that difference matters to you.

I know this may sound crazy, but years ago when I was trying to decide between a T30 and an X30, I finally cut some large pieces of paper to the correct width, length, depth measurements for each model. (I didn't worry about thickness) Having those examples of size inhand brought a lot of clarity to my thinking about whether to go with the larger or smaller machine.

Going back to my second paragraph though, futureproofing is, I think, a reason to consider the two-CPU models.

I don't know if the above helps or not. I've rambled a bit. I hope it's helpful.

[thinkpadneophyte]

" know this may sound crazy, but years ago when I was trying to decide between a T30 and an X30, I finally cut some large pieces of paper to the correct width, length, depth measurements for each model. (I didn't worry about thickness) Having those examples of size inhand brought a lot of clarity to my thinking about whether to go with the larger or smaller machine. "

No - doesn't sound crazy at all. Thank you

[WildEye]

One more question..Would you get a X60, or an X 60S? Operationally, would I know the difference? I pretty much just use Word, Excel and Quicken and financial web sites

Probably I will get the X60, because it has the dual-core CPU. That seems to be the way forward. It won't matter so much now, but three or four years from now it might. I don't replace my computers very often, so I try to think ahead a bit. Maybe two CPUs will matter more when Vista comes out. (Funny thought that, an extra CPU just to run the O/S )

The current X60s AND X60 both have the Intel Duo Core cpu. I wish people would stop posting that the S modell will only feature the Solo core...

Just look at the specs on the lenovo website AND in the newest tabook.pdf.

I will most likely go for the X60s myself, moving on from the X40 I currently use. Love the lightweight and thickness - Fits perfectly in my laptop bag.

[thinkpadneophyte]

Can you clarify what the differences are between the 60 and 60s if they both have the Intel Duo Core cpu? Also, the product information says these will be available in Feb. Do you think that's a reliable estimate? In the past, have computers gone on the market when they are projected to?

[davidlg16]

Can you clarify what the differences are between the 60 and 60s if they both have the Intel Duo Core cpu? Also, the product information says these will be available in Feb. Do you think that's a reliable estimate? In the past, have computers gone on the market when they are projected to?

I believe the X60 has a faster Duo Core cpu than the X60s' Duo Core.
But the X60 is also a little thicker than the X60s.

[JonathanGennick]

The current X60s AND X60 both have the Intel Duo Core cpu. I wish people would stop posting that the S modell will only feature the Solo core...

Just look at the specs on the lenovo website AND in the newest tabook.pdf.

You're right. I checked. I was mislead somewhere along the way by some other post or article that I read.

[thinkpadneophyte]

Is there anywhere besides Office Depot to see and use a ThinkPad? I realize it wouldn't be an X60, but I'd like to try a ThinkPad keyboard. It's a little weird for me to order the X60 without actually ever even trying a ThinkPad.
Thanks

[christopher_wolf]

Well, you would have to find a Thinkpad/IBM Reseller near you then go and try out any display models they might have.

[thinkpadneophyte]

I didn't know there were resellers. I thought it was like Dell - basically by mail - not retail

[asiafish]

I agree with the consensus here on the X series, they are much smaller and lighter than the T or R, the screen isn't large, but is large enough, and the service is outstanding if something does ever go wrong.

As for X60 or X60s, I'd go with the S. A little bit of speed may make a difference to the high-end apps (games?) many people use, but those apps also require far better graphics chipsets than the integrated (shared) video on either X60 model. Since the graphics are already crummy and both use the same full sized (2.5") HD, I'd go for the smaller and lighter X60s.

When choosing my X32 over the smaller and lighter X41 the faster processor speed of the X32 wasn't even a factor, only the 2.5" hard drive.

The X60s sounds like the ideal machine to me.

[nickpoore]

Can you clarify what the differences are between the 60 and 60s if they both have the Intel Duo Core cpu? Also, the product information says these will be available in Feb. Do you think that's a reliable estimate? In the past, have computers gone on the market when they are projected to?

The X60s series use the LOW POWER chips.
The X60 series use the regular power chips.

If you look at the chips, it's like the T2300 vs the L2300.
You can see the Intel chart on power usage here: http://www.intel.com/products/processor ... /specs.htm

The low power chips cost more; which is why the X60s costs more.

-=Nick=-

[daeojkim]

IBM customer is second to none. I don't ever recollect being on hold for more than 15 seconds. Anything that I needed, they sent to me overnight. I once needed a screw, and they sent me a whole screw kit overnight. My X24 was acting funny, they arranged someone to come by my house 2 days later and replaced the systemboard in 2 hours, along with new keyboard and readjusted so that the computer frame is solid like new.

Also they speak English. I am not saying that those Indian customer service for DELL do not, but they are definitely much more difficult to understand.

Anyways as far as customer service goes you won't regret it. Of course you may read once in a while about horrible IBM stories, but that is something that happens very very very rarely.