How to order X61 with Spanish keyboard

[hcgoddard]

I have had nothing but frustration trying to order an x61 with a Spanish keyboard. If I call the regular sales number, I get someone in India who is clueless. I wrote and got this message from EWS:

"For further assistance, please contact our Lenovo Inbound Sales Team at 1-877-884-6572. Hours of operation are Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. EST and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST. A representative will further assist you. "

But when I call that, I get an error message from the phone company saying that I cannot call that number from my area (513).

Any suggestions?

H. Goddard

[ANDS]

Whats the difference between a Spanish keyboard and an American one (other than the actual words being in spanish).

[jkahng]

Unless you buy a thinkpad where a spanish keyboard is sold standard, this is what you can do.

1. buy the standard x61 with English/US keyboard.
2. order a Spanish keyboard from lenovo
you need the FRU# when ordering
X61/ X61s keyboard
Spanish, European : #42T3542
Spanish, Latin American : #42T3559
(I got this off the HMM.)
3. replace the keyboard (adjust the installed keyboard settings in windows)
4. Change default language from English to Spanish

replacing the keyboard will not void your machine's warranty as the keyboard is a CRU(customer replacable unit)

pls note that you need to upgrade Windows to Vista Ultimate or Vista Enterprise to use the Multilingual User Interface (this is NOT included in Vista home or business)

FYI, this should be posted in the X6x forum...

Moderator note: Sorry for the delay in moving this..

[hcgoddard]

Thanks to the moderator for the information. I got a corrected phone number from Lenovo today, and will try it tomorrow.

On foreign language keyboards, Windows has supported them for at least as far back as Win 98, and probably before. In XP, one just has to choose the language and keyboard under languages in "Regional and Language Options" in the control panel.

My previous Thinkpad was ordered with a Spanish keyboard, but as the moderator pointed out, it was a separate item which I had to install.

What is irritating is that outsourcing the ordering to India just degrades the purchasing experience, as these folks just take standard and uncomplicated orders, and don't help the customer meet particular requests.

[jkahng]

hcgoddard,
I am not a moderator. Just a member
The moderator moved this post and added the one line...

Just remember to upgrade to Vista Ultimate or Enterprise when buying your X61 to use the MUI

As the prices of thinkpads go down, so does the level of service. It's a shame.

Let us know how your experience is with the upgrade...