Thinkpads Forum

For those interested in a 100 GB drive, a Verizon card or an Atheros wireless card, Lenovo is having a $700 off sale on the 1704-69U, including 1 GB memory and a CD/DVD-RW drive and Ultrabase.

Seems like a good deal for a fully loaded system, despite the current high monthly cost of using Verizon's data service.

Allan

Where was this deal 3 months ago?

When was this offer announced? I saw it on Tuesday, July 18 and placed an order right away.

Isn't this thread not kosher with the rules?

dannyp wrote:Isn't this thread not kosher with the rules?

Pricing discussions are fine as long as they are not from restricted programs such as EPP, student discounts, etc. Since this is just a straight-up sale from Lenovo and doesn't appear to be limited to people with student or teacher IDs, it's not a problem.

ozmann wrote:Seems like a good deal for a fully loaded system, despite the current high monthly cost of using Verizon's data service.

The X60s on sale has the necessary hardware but there is no requirement to sign up for Verizon's service. Also, the X60 on sale during the same promotion ($1,399 instead of $1,899) comes without an EVDO antenna.

FredFromNYC wrote:

The X60s on sale has the necessary hardware but there is no requirement to sign up for Verizon's service. Also, the X60 on sale during the same promotion ($1,399 instead of $1,899) comes without an EVDO antenna.

I agree about the Verizon service. My point was that the package was a good deal even without activating it. Commercial WiFi access at airports and other sites seems like a faster and possibly cheaper alternative, though not as flexible in cities with EVDO service. I'd be curious whether anyone using Verizon finds it cost-effective.

It's interesting that the X60 on sale comes with half the memory, a smaller HD, DVD-ROM rather than DVD writer, and a 1 rather than 3 year warranty. The difference in price for these items is about $400. Thus, the Verizon hardware is essentially "free". Makes me wonder about the popularity of this option, Still, I'm planning to order the (X60s) system.

Allan

ozmann wrote:I'm planning to order the (X60s) system.

Please post the estimated ship date. My X60s, ordered on July 18, is supposed to ship on August 9.

Verizon has a daily pay per use for EVDO. I believe they charge $15/day. Not bad if you only need the service occationally.

Regards-Michael G.

foodle wrote:Where was this deal 3 months ago?

Don't make me look...

mgerbasio wrote:Verizon has a daily pay per use for EVDO. I believe they charge $15/day. Not bad if you only need the service occationally.

Thanks. That's helpful.

I also should point out the new notice that the Thinkpads forum gets support if we activate EVDO through thinkpads.com. See Bill Morrow's posting http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=28054 on the index page:
ACTIVATE YOUR VERIZON WWAN
Heres the deal, save $25 and help keep the forum open for business

A good thing to do!

Allan

hurr Hurr, i got 750 off.

I think I'm going to return my X60 (1709-73U) to get another one using this new deal. I was thinking about returning it anyway because there were some configurations I wanted differently. Good thing it's still within a month since I bought it.

Now, my questions are:
1) I'm looking at a X60 (17097HU) for my new system. I see that the specs for the disc drive is present (so it's not saying N/A or whatnot). Does this mean it comes with a X6 Ultrabase? I see this in the general X60 (TopSeller Program) page:

Optical device
Optical device CD-RW/DVD-ROM w/ X6 Ultrabase
Device interface EIDE
Optical device speed[5] 24X/24X/24X/8X Max

It seems like it includes the X6, but from the base price of $1399, I'm not too sure whether that's true or not. Can anyone confirm it for me?

2) Also, from reading the threads in this forum, I'm deciding to get the Atheros wireless card instead of the Intel option, but when I customize the X60 from Lenovo's special sale of this month's page, I'm not able to choose the wireless option like I was able to with my previous X60. Am I not able to customize this through this program?

3) The special deal also includes "Free 512MB" RAM. Does this refer to the base 512MB RAM or, is this in addition to the base RAM (totalling 1GB RAM)?

I am sometimes confused by IBM/Lenovo's sales webpages as I see different prices/options and such when I configure the laptops through different pages. Can anyone help?

EDIT:
Okay, I just realized it's already a pre-configured model (17097HU) so that's why I can't change the wireless options. Duh me.

EDIT2:
I should've done more searching before I posted But I guess 17097HU comes with a the Ultrabase from reading ppl's threads about their systems coming with it. Okay, only one more question needs to be answered (#3)...

spaznrq wrote:The special deal also includes "Free 512MB" RAM. Does this refer to the base 512MB RAM or, is this in addition to the base RAM (totalling 1GB RAM)?

From my discussions with Lenovo sales, the "free RAM" is in addition to the base, thus you would get 1GB.

Allan