Can anyone Lenovo (non-thinkpad) owners tell me of problems?

[spasticteapot]

I do a bit of consulting to make money, and I'd like to know how the Lenovo line compares to both the Thinkpad and similarly inexpensive (non "buisness-class") laptops.

So, aside from comments on weight, battery life, and design, how are these? Are they reliable? Is the "Fit and Finish" acceptable when compared to similarly-priced options?

[spasticteapot]

Wow...no replies!

I take it the Lenovo laptops are pretty good, then?

[Kyocera]

Ummm, this is a fairly new conference, so you might not want to jump to any conclusions just yet. I'd give it a couple to three more months.

[Katch]

I've had and worked on many thinkpads over the years and I love them very much. They are highly modular and well documented making them easy to service, upgrade and repair.

I was drawn to the 3000 C100 because of its cheap price, competitive component choice and design. I also knew it would be compatible with the "experimental" versions of OSx86 doing the rounds.

It has not disappointed in anyway. Its constrruction is as sturdy as any Thinkpad I've ever tinkered with and well documented to boot. I had mine in pieces the day it arrived, just to see how easy it would be to service - and believe me it has easy break downs than some of the Thinkpads.

So is there any bad points from my point of view. The LCD panel is not cutting edge. It has lousy contrast ratio which becomes more apparent in low light conditions with more than its fair share of backlight bleeding. But then I knew this when I bought it and was prepared to make that sacrifice for cost reasons. Besides in average lighting it is clear and bright (very bright).

Another thing I dislike is the BIOS - it is - for all intents and purposes - entirely featureless. Lenovo have also locked down the Mini PCI card interface to a meagre selection of 2 WiFi cards (one Intel Pro based one Broadcom) others may be in there but I'm having dificulty taking the BIOS image apart at the moment ( as soon as I find a compatible Atheros based card I'll be happy ).

So let me close on a few other good points. The C100 has an epic battery life of well over 4 hours under normal loads. I accidentally left mine on with the lid shut (LCD backlight off but not in any standby or suspend) overnight, 9 hours later I awoke to find it only just starting to sound the low battery alarm.

The keyboard is also worth a mention. It is fast and definite, just like all the Thinkpads before it. Another feature that definitely helped sell it to me.

Finally- OS compatibilty is good - No issues running XP - Vista RC2 - Linux or OSx86.