T4_ prices over time

[forika]

I'm very close to purchasing a T43 2686NAU, 760, 14.1 SXGA+, 256MB(which I'll quickly upgrade myself), 64MB VRAM, 60/7200, extra 9 cell, with an extend service contract for $1770. To me this seems like a great price.

However, while I'd like to get my Thinkpad as soon as possible, and would certainly put it to use, it won't be an actual necessity for about 6 months. What kind of price differences might I expect to see in about a half a year? Is it worth the wait? Or should I grab a great deal while it's around?

[ddutta]

Instead get the 2668AJU .... its cheaper than the NAU and comes with 3yrs by default. The base price without any discount is 1074. I purchased a AJU with the same config as yours.

Now on to your actual question: Of course you will see new models next year. But its not clear how they will be priced. I am sure they will put a premium for the 1st few months. I expect a 10-20% drop in prices. Then they will just vanish from the main site and will only be available on ebay. In general IBM never reduced the prices for their old models. They just phased them oiut.

For computers etc, one should buy when there is a real need. That way the need can justify the depreciation.

[forika]

Thanks for the reply ddutta. I did check the 2668AJU a few days ago. I saw an incredible deal with the base CTO price of about $850, then when I was going to make the buy the next day I could no longer find that offer. The price had been raised to $1074. Fully configured it was close to $2000. So I stumbled upon the 2686NAU.

Well, anyways, I'm probably going to go ahead an make the order. I've been doing daily research for the past couple months or more and it's taking up my time. Every time I see a good price I worry that that if I grab it then I'll see a better one right afterwards. (I recently bought a 60GB Ipod Photo just a week before they released the video Ipod at roughly the same price, .) But then again, I may miss out on deal that won't be around again. So I'm tired of this tense indecision all the time.

Now I have to try to order the darn thing on the Lenovo site. Is it just me or is their site a huge and unnecessarily complicated maze? I still haven't been able to log in properly.

[ddutta]

Why dont you get a T42 from the managers special section with a free 6 cell battery and 3 yrs. The 1.8 vs 2.0 isnt a big difference. I already bought mine else would have gone for the 2373H6U. It even has bluetooth.

[jeffcrilly]

I pondered the whole price situation, and wondered if it would get "better".
Maybe there's going to be better discount when the current special runs out?

However, I need one sorta now -- I could cobble together a cheapy machine (non-thinkpad) but that would (imo) be wasting money.

So I plunked down the CC for a 2373H6U on tuesday morning. Its in "packing" now. I ordered a bunch of stuff w/ it - ultra-bay-slim-battery, msoffice, and a combo ac/dc adapter. This was all "discounted w/ pc purchase", and I couldnt find a better deal on the 'net.

I only ordered 256mb memory; figured I'd get a 1gb at newegg..

price was like 1800.. a bit steep, imo, but I sorta need to upgrade.
(The old T22 needs a new drive, it seems.)