15 inch Z series no longer offered.

[kartak.mahino]

lenevo's site, do not offer this model since couple of days.

[Talon88]

:::

For Z6xt, 14" is the best!
It's light & slim & have all the ports ....!

:::

[pianowizard]

Interesting news, but not surprising considering that 15.4" models would be redundant with the 15.4" T series. So, I guess the entire Z series will be gone when 14.1" widescreen T series becomes available?

One thing to keep an eye out for: If Lenovo still has some 15.4" Z series Thinkpads left over, they might sell them for cheap on their outlet site in the near future! They did that to the T43 and X41 last year.

[kartak.mahino]

:::

For Z6xt, 14" is the best!
It's light & slim & have all the ports ....!

:::

No graphic card though!

[kartak.mahino]

Interesting news, but not surprising considering that 15.4" models would be redundant with the 15.4" T series.

No Memory card reader
No Firewire port
No camera either

I don't know what IBM/Lenevo is thinking. Business users will not need memory card reader/firewire port?

[Talon88]

:::

Right, it's a stop for some people!
But with graphic card is also a stop for
another people like me, I don't play games
& I don't need graphic card that waste battary
power / run time.

:::

No graphic card though!

[tomh009]

Note from Moderator: Snipped overly long, nested quote.

Memory cards are primarily used with cameras, and, alas, are usually slower than external USB2 readers, so the pros usually use external units. Not a huge business requirement, I think.

What business applications does firewire get used for in practice today? USB2 has largely supplanted it for things like storage.

[cmarti]

For me the biggest screen i prefer in a laptop is 14.1 inch, and no i don't really need the video card.

[kartak.mahino]

Note from Moderator: Snipped overly long, nested quote.

My point is that just because it is a business laptop, is it not going to be used at home?

Many of the Camcorders, cannot transfer video over USB, only FW.

Also most of the time, I would rather use the in built ones, esp while traveling.

Also, I'm sure quite a significant number of people would be buying Thinkpad for non-business use.

[tomh009]

My point is that just because it is a business laptop, is it not going to be used at home?

Many of the Camcorders, cannot transfer video over USB, only FW.

Yes, I agree that it would be nice. But for the businesses that make the buying decisions, it won't be a major factor pro or con.

Also, I'm sure quite a significant number of people would be buying Thinkpad for non-business use.

Indeed. And for those people the Z series (with Firewire, camera and S-video etc) may be a better choice.

[kartak.mahino]

Indeed. And for those people the Z series (with Firewire, camera and S-video etc) may be a better choice.

Exactly, They finally had a Thinkpad which was good for home use too and they (most likely) discontinued it.

[tomh009]

If it really ends up having been discontinued, then I do disagree with the decision. The Z series is a good multimedia system, and a nice complement to the business-oriented thin-and-light T series.

Now, my preference at home is my trusty X31, so to each his own! (It does actually have a Firewire port -- which I have never used -- and a CF reader, though.)

[ryengineer]

I am glad that I picked up one Z series machine with other thinkpads. It works as a desktop at my home and has great features like:

-Built in 3 in 1 card reader
-Firewire cable (great for ipod users)
-Great 15.4'' widescreen
-Titanium lid (adds a new look to thinkpad)
-3 USB
-S-video out
- 2 Slots (ExpressCard, PC Card)

Etc.

[snife]

I do think that card readers can come in handy but with new memory standards coming out on a daily basis, I wouldn't like to be stuck with such readers built into a machine I was planning on keeping for any length of time. Most of the time my pc card slot remains empty these days (you can get HSDPA card built into the ThinkPad, my Microdrive is antequated and my other options are Expresscard) so I got a card reader off ebay for under $10 and gives me this functionality.

Firewire is not good for ipods as non even ship with the cable for the past 3 years, i'll admit it is good for video cameras (which is why i don't understand it being on X60 but not on T60) but it is very, very rarely used by most users outwith Asia.

The titanium lid, i actually quite liked, I would have prefered it to be anodized black but I thought the feel of it was great.

In summary, I will not really miss the Z series all that much, it always felt like a compromise; the design was too curvy for a ThinkPad and the Z60m had the good specs but the Z60t was the only one with an acceptable form factor, the T60p wide has everything. And you never know in the next few months when the widescreen R series come out what features they will have in terms of firewire/s video if thats what your after.

[pianowizard]

The Z series is a good multimedia system, and a nice complement to the business-oriented thin-and-light T series.

But if one wants a home-user-oriented multimedia system, there are the Lenovo 3000 series.

[dsalyers]

[
But if one wants a home-user-oriented multimedia system, there are the Lenovo 3000 series.

Unfortunatly, the 3000 series can't be purchased with anything better then an (W)XGA screen with Intel graphics. So, it really isn't that good of a "professional" multimedia machine.

[tomh009]

But if one wants a home-user-oriented multimedia system, there are the Lenovo 3000 series.

That's an excellent point. And maybe that's what's happening here -- as the wide-screen T series are coming out, the Z series may be getting squeezed between the T series and the Lenovo 3000 series.

[kartak.mahino]

Note from Moderator: Snipped overly long, nested quote.

I would rather buy a HP (or Dell, if I intend to throw the system away in 2yrs) rather then Lenevo 3000. It might be cheaper.

One of the things in TP is the Track point, which I don't understand why no other consumer notebooks come with.

[ryengineer]

Note from Moderator: Snipped overly long, nested quote.

Try HP Compaq nc6400, nc9430, nx7400 and nc6230. Look for hp nc or nw series they came mostly with trackpoints. I owned one of the hp nc series, the bad thing was the factory trackpoint, it was very robust and not as good as thinkpads. But you can change it afterwards.

There were also few Toshiba S3 series that came with trackpoints.

I suggest you go with something other than thinkpad as desktop replacement / home pc if:

-you have kids aged < 5 years and would access the notebook.
-you have limited budget.

Otherwise thinkpads.

[tomh009]

Note from Moderator: Snipped overly long, nested quote.

Of course the HP nc/nx series aren't consumer notebooks, either -- those are the Pavilion units, which only have a touchpad.

[ryengineer]

Note from Moderator: Snipped overly long, nested quote.

I sort of missed the "consumer" part.

[tomh009]

I sort of missed the "consumer" part.

Business laptops are much more likely to have TrackPoint equivalents. HP nc series have them. Hel^H^H^HDell Latitudes have them. Toshiba Tecras have them, too.

Sony and Apple don't make business notebooks, though, so no pointing sticks there.

[kuchu]

I was on the phone with an IBM rep yesterday and he was telling me how the z series was going to be phased out and replaced with wides creen Ts. This is probably old news to the thinkpad junkies here but I was sort of surprised to hear that.

[pianowizard]

This is probably old news to the thinkpad junkies here but I was sort of surprised to hear that.

We've heard lots of rumors about that but nothing nearly as official as what you heard from that IBM rep, so it's still useful information.

[nxman]

The Z6XM was a great multimedia notebook and a real desktop replacement way better than Z6XT series it had all the necessary ports a memory card reader + dedicated graphic card Lenovo should've pulled the plug on the ZT instead of ZM however i don't the it will last long though.

[kartak.mahino]

Well, I heard it from an IBM rep., but then it came back for sale.

It looks a nice machine. Will wait for a couple of weeks, else will have to dive in for an HP.

[cpascu01]

i'm so glad i bought my computer when i did.

[dsalyers]

Well, I heard it from an IBM rep., but then it came back for sale.

It looks a nice machine. Will wait for a couple of weeks, else will have to dive in for an HP.

Why not consider a Widescreen T-60p. Even though you can't buy them off the website you can evidently order it through the phone. There are a few things not available on the T60p that the z61p had.

1) Memory Reader
2) WUXGA Screen

but the T60p is made out of a stronger/lighter material and includes a V5250 ATI Fire GL, instead of the V5200 ATI Fire GL. Other then that they are very similar.

You could also look around at Euclid Computers and probably some other dealers.

[kartak.mahino]

Why not consider a Widescreen T-60p. Even though you can't buy them off the website you can evidently order it through the phone. There are a few things not available on the T60p that the z61p had.

1) Memory Reader
2) WUXGA Screen

but the T60p is made out of a stronger/lighter material and includes a V5250 ATI Fire GL, instead of the V5200 ATI Fire GL. Other then that they are very similar.

3) Firewire port
4) In built camera

You could also look around at Euclid Computers and probably some other dealers.

The key reason for buying a TP because of the EPP discount which makes its price near to other consumer notebooks, otherwise spending about $300+ more then HP et. al. is out of my range.

[dsalyers]

3) Firewire port
4) In built camera

Forgot about the firewire port, and didn't think of the camera, as I didn't see that option for the Z61p. Well maybe they will add those two things as options to the T-series when it is refreshed. I would imagine they will do that when the santa rosa chipset from intel is release.