Z series no more

[ibmdell]

Saw this announcement:

Lenovo will end its partnership with Quanta Computer next year after taking its final delivery of ThinkPad Z60 shipments from the notebook maker at the end of this year, according to industry sources.

Lenovo has decided to end the partnership because of poor market acceptance for the Z series, the sources said. Wistron will become the only Taiwan notebook maker for Lenovo's ThinkPad line. Wistron has been making the ThinkPad R and X series.

Lenovo launched the Z series ThinkPad notebooks after acquiring the IBM notebook division, with the Z60 series being launched in the fourth quarter of 2005, with initial shipments of 60,000 units per month, the sources said.

The Z60s are widescreen models that include the 14.1-inch Z60t and the 15.4-inch Z60m, both of which are manufactured by Quanta.

Compal Electronics and Wistron will continue to manufacturer Lenovo branded notebooks, which chiefly target the China market.

[christopher_wolf]

Saw this announcement:

Lenovo will end its partnership with Quanta Computer next year after taking its final delivery of ThinkPad Z60 shipments from the notebook maker at the end of this year, according to industry sources.

Lenovo has decided to end the partnership because of poor market acceptance for the Z series, the sources said. Wistron will become the only Taiwan notebook maker for Lenovo's ThinkPad line. Wistron has been making the ThinkPad R and X series.

Lenovo launched the Z series ThinkPad notebooks after acquiring the IBM notebook division, with the Z60 series being launched in the fourth quarter of 2005, with initial shipments of 60,000 units per month, the sources said.

The Z60s are widescreen models that include the 14.1-inch Z60t and the 15.4-inch Z60m, both of which are manufactured by Quanta.

Compal Electronics and Wistron will continue to manufacturer Lenovo branded notebooks, which chiefly target the China market.

Do you have a definitive link for this? I strongly doubt that, because of a partnership ending with another company, Lenovo would pull the Z6X Series...If so, they wouldn't have made the Z61s and announced them as, since they had knowledge of the supposed market performance, it would be nonsense.

[JaneL]

See -> http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=27070

[jagged]

In my opinion, the Z60/61t would have been more successful if Lenovo offered more GPU choices like what they did on the Z60/61m.

I wonder, did Lenovo made a mistake on the Z60t's design that a discrete GPU cannot be an option? Is it because of the 4-cell battery?

[bigtiger]

I personally do not like the Z series. I think the R X T deployment already covers most of the whole market. Lenovo should stop making z series at the very beginning.

[archer6]

I must admit that before I purchased my Z60m I set my expectations very low. Not in a negative way but simply low, as I knew it was not in the same class as the T series. However I wanted the 15.4" widescreen format. Another reason for the low expectation was I was buying sight unseen, yet knowing that I had a 30 day return window with Lenovo.

It's been over 5 months now and I'm really happy with this computer. I'm glad I got mine, especially if this info is indeed correct and they will no longer be available. To those of you considering the Z60m model, I highly endorse this ThinkPad.

Compared to my new T60, it's every bit as nice, just different in terms of case materials etc. In some ways I prefer the case material on the Z as it's more scratch resistant that the case on the T models. While these two should not be compared as they are different models for different applications, I simply thought I would share my experience, which hopefully will be helpful for those of you who may be undecided about purchasing this model....

[christopher_wolf]

Correct me if I am wrong, but they are being a little vague, on purpose, here aren't they?

http://digitimes.com/systems/a20060627PR206.html

Where does it say they are killing off the Z6X Series now?

They already have shipped some Z61s; they might be switching to another maker for cost-saving purposes as, possibly, a higher cost by Quanta matched the market performance of the Z60s as predicted by IBM/Lenovo...but not now so they are switching to another maker that may have lower costs.

[bigtiger]

Interesting. So in your mind, Z60 is better than T60? This is interesting. I am always open to new models but usually wait until there is established reputation. I think now I am sold to Z60.

I must admit that before I purchased my Z60m I set my expectations very low. Not in a negative way but simply low, as I knew it was not in the same class as the T series. However I wanted the 15.4" widescreen format. Another reason for the low expectation was I was buying sight unseen, yet knowing that I had a 30 day return window with Lenovo.

It's been over 5 months now and I'm really happy with this computer. I'm glad I got mine, especially if this info is indeed correct and they will no longer be available. To those of you considering the Z60m model, I highly endorse this ThinkPad.

Compared to my new T60, it's every bit as nice, just different in terms of case materials etc. In some ways I prefer the case material on the Z as it's more scratch resistant that the case on the T models. While these two should not be compared as they are different models for different applications, I simply thought I would share my experience, which hopefully will be helpful for those of you who may be undecided about purchasing this model....

[archer6]

Interesting. So in your mind, Z60 is better than T60? This is interesting. I am always open to new models but usually wait until there is established reputation. I think now I am sold to Z60.

Compared to my new T60, it's every bit as nice, just different in terms of case materials etc. In some ways I prefer the case material on the Z as it's more scratch resistant that the case on the T models. While these two should not be compared as they are different models for different applications

No, as you see above, I clearly did NOT say that the Z60 is better than the T60. If that was the case I would not also have a T60 or the X60s for that matter. What I am saying is that it's a very good computer. All three are excellent notebook computers that are leaders in each market segment they represent.

What I might add is that I find the Z60m a very good value....

[Talon88]

:::

Z60t or T4/6x, which is better is depends. I don't play games with
my notebook, so, for me, Z60t is better because it's got a 14"
Wide Screen. I will never buy a 4:3 Screen notebook/monitor
anymore!

:::

[xzjn9p]

i don't think the z is going anywhere. I just think lenovo and quanta had a falling out over price. There are plenty of people (like myself) who prefer the Z over the T. I just ordered a z60t and it is lighter, just as fast, just as nice (if not better with Ti lid), and cheaper than a technically equivalent T43. Unless you are doing CAD or gaming no one needs a GPU (yet... vista, blah blah blah).

[christopher_wolf]

i don't think the z is going anywhere. I just think lenovo and quanta had a falling out over price. There are plenty of people (like myself) who prefer the Z over the T. I just ordered a z60t and it is lighter, just as fast, just as nice (if not better with Ti lid), and cheaper than a technically equivalent T43. Unless you are doing CAD or gaming no one needs a GPU (yet... vista, blah blah blah).

Exactly; where *does it say* that they are ending the Z Series?

Nobody answered my original question on that.

[GomJabbar]

I was able to view the digitimes link when it was first posted, but now it requires a login to view.

I did find the following related story, which includes part of the digitimes article.

http://www.laptoplogic.com/news/detail.php?id=1069

We contacted Lenovo on this matter and received the following response:

"We have not made any announcements regarding our suppliers and do not respond to rumors."

So no confirmation or denial this time, but what can we expect of information that can't be verified for at least a year to come? The Thinkpad Z61 series was just recently launched and is reaching availability now. If Lenovo does decide to axe the Z-series, which may be indicated by their dumping Quanta, we won't know officially for quite a while since the Z61's just launched. Only time will tell...

[wantathinkpad]

So I read this whole post. Is it true. Yes or NO. I highly doubt it.
Second the T and the Z are totally different. One is widescreen the other is not. I know automotive cars have axed cars but generally not class categories ie midsize or SUV. I doubt Lenovo would axe their widescreen.

[K. Eng]

I agree with those who are skeptical of the cancellation of the Z series.

I don't believe Lenovo would kill the Z series. Like it or not, widescreen is the future of notebook displays. Most of the new notebooks I see people buying these days are widescreen. Lenovo's main competitors, Dell and HP, both have widscreen business machines. Dell has the Latitude D620 and D820. HP has the nc6400. Without the Z6x series, Lenovo will not have matching products.

Lenovo has two options. It can make the Z series more business oriented, while aiming the Lenovo branded machines at the consumer market.

OR

Lenovo can end the Z series, and shift the T series to a widescreen format.

[christopher_wolf]

I agree with those who are skeptical of the cancellation of the Z series.

I don't believe Lenovo would kill the Z series. Like it or not, widescreen is the future of notebook displays. Most of the new notebooks I see people buying these days are widescreen. Lenovo's main competitors, Dell and HP, both have widscreen business machines. Dell has the Latitude D620 and D820. HP has the nc6400. Without the Z6x series, Lenovo will not have matching products.

Lenovo has two options. It can make the Z series more business oriented, while aiming the Lenovo branded machines at the consumer market.

OR

Lenovo can end the Z series, and shift the T series to a widescreen format.

I think they will take the former option and keep the T Series and Z Series distinct. The T Series is the ultimate slimline performance Thinkpad model and the Z Series is a wide range of powerful widescreen Thinkpads. Diluting them by making the T series attain the widescreen format (AIIEEEE!) and dropping the Z Series systems, which means bye-bye for all the nice features unique on the Thinkpad Z Series plus IBM/Lenovo having spent that much money up until this point.

I find it highly unlikely that they will get rid of the Z Series; probably, it will stay on like all the other Thinkpads Series lines.

[smek]

Lenovo needs a widescreen notebook in a business class, one of my first things to consider before buying a z60 was that it had to be widescreen, and Im sure there are people out there with the same mind set as me. Im sure they would get more sales if they made something more distinct about the z series, as maybe adding a truly powerful workstation video card into one would really sway some people into buying the TP.

[christopher_wolf]

Lenovo needs a widescreen notebook in a business class, one of my first things to consider before buying a z60 was that it had to be widescreen, and Im sure there are people out there with the same mind set as me. Im sure they would get more sales if they made something more distinct about the z series, as maybe adding a truly powerful workstation video card into one would really sway some people into buying the TP.

They are already trying to do just that with the T and M sub-models; one is a lighter widescreen with media abilities and the other is a larger one with a discrete grahphics processor. Although I still think that there should at least have the option of discrete graphics on the Z61t. Other than that, it is one really good Thinkpad.

[smek]

I think the z60t would really lead the class if a more powerfull graphics card was added. Theres a x1400 on the 14.1 Sony and its around 5 pounds, and although the z60t is targeted with a business edge a lot of the people that buy it are just looking for the better build quality/support. Same goes for the z60m, putting something more powerfull in it would in my opnion give them extra sales in that market.