Where do we look for laptops when Thinkpad is finished?

[John H]

Is this the end of the line for Thinkpad? I always liked TPs for their reliability and toughness. The old 560 I bought in 1997 is still working, altho the screen has a hideous yellow cast which I can repair with a $20 eBay LCD, the 600 from 1999 is taking it's place, both 570s are in daily use, and the T40 is a truck. But this T60 is .... disappointing. I'm considering replacing it with a good used T43.

I figured that when IBM sold Thinkpad to the Chinese that The End Is Near, but I hoped enough of the Old Tech Guys from TP would continue to be involved to keep it good. But, ultimately, the Old Tech Guys don't make the management decisions. The smartasses at Lenovo will just liquidate the Thinkpad Blue Sky and goodwill to fatten their shortterm bonus programs. Just another asset to liquidate.

When Thinkpad turns into a pumpkin, where do we go for good laptops?


mod edit: moved to general forum for the benefit of everyone, not just T6x owners.

[erik]

have you seen or used the X300?   get your hands on one if possible as it will turn your attitude around completely.   the X300 sheds light on the future of thinkpad build quality.   to date it's the best built thinkpad i've owned since 1995.

and, for the record, thinkpads have been built/assembled by foxconn long before the brand was sold.   even with the T6-series' shortcomings, i still found my T61p to be much more solid and refined than the T42p it replaced.   my complaint was mostly in the display and aesthetics.

[Galaxer]

even with the T6-series' shortcomings, i still found my T61p to be much more solid and refined than the T42p it replaced. my complaint was mostly in the display and aesthetics.

Totally agree with you. TP's are the best ingeneered laptops far around, there is nothing to compare except Panasonic Toughbooks that are also too much expensive.

[andyP]

have you seen or used the X300?   get your hands on one if possible as it will turn your attitude around completely.   the X300 sheds light on the future of thinkpad build quality.   to date it's the best built thinkpad i've owned since 1995.

and, for the record, thinkpads have been built/assembled by foxconn long before the brand was sold.   even with the T6-series' shortcomings, i still found my T61p to be much more solid and refined than the T42p it replaced.   my complaint was mostly in the display and aesthetics.

And the strange thing is, the X300 is the first ThinkPad to be designed and put into production solely by Lenovo It's wonderfull.

[ArtShapiro]

But aren't those 300 guys only widescreens?

Sure seems useless to those of us who have no interest in watching movies. Yeah, I know that's all "they" are going to be making soon.

After running over the T42 several weeks ago, I came close to purchasing a T6x before deciding to repair the T42. Out of curiosity, what's the scuttlebutt about the quality of the T6x series? I know it's an arguably controversial issue.

Art

[Galaxer]

Out of curiosity, what's the scuttlebutt about the quality of the T6x series? I know it's an arguably controversial issue.

Personally, frankly speaking, I am absolutely amazed of the quality of my T61. It is awesome.

[qviri]

When Thinkpad turns into a pumpkin, where do we go for good laptops?

I suggest Alienware. Of the many, many adjectives that can be used to describe them, "disappointing" is pretty low on the list.

[Galaxer]

I suggest Alienware.

The best joke ever I heard about comparing notebooks, esp. ThinkPads, with the others.
But in fact you did not mean it, did you?

[ajkula66]

"Controversial" issues about T61 are more related to Vista than to machine itself from what I've gathered so far...

If ThinkPads remain widescreen only, my next new machine will most likely be a Panasonic.

For the record, I've never owned anything but a ThinkPad for my personal use.

[Greg Gebhardt]

I use a Panasonic Toughbook and it is all I would consider other than a Thinkpad. They are heavy and "clunky" but they will take a licking better than any of them!

[TTY]

Out of curiosity, what's the scuttlebutt about the quality of the T6x series?

Some people have complained about the displays used. I don't care for widescreens or for the weight of a 15" notebook. I was considering a T61 14.1" SXGA+ or XGA. Rumours might be of some use, but i like to see a test before ordering. I couldn't find a test of a T61 with a 14.1" SXGA+ screen. A test of a T61 with a 14.1" XGA screen said that panel brightness is 135 cd/m² and contrast is 379:1. I know that manufacturers might use several different panel suppliers for one and the same screen size and resolution. I also know that there is no guarantee that the notebook you actually order will have a screen which is as good as the one that was tested. But on this T61 14.1" XGA model, the screen is bright and contrast is good. I must admit that i have no longtime experience with the notebook's built-in screen, as most of the time, i use an external monitor.

The notebook is fairly quiet. I'm not even sure if it's the hard drive or the fan that i can hear when everything else is quiet at night. Vista 32-bit runs stable. It has a few bugs, though. They are not as severe as that i would need to revert to XP. Because of these bugs, i would hesitate to recommend Vista to other users.

[John H]

I can understand your antipathy to 15.1" screen because of the extra weight and clumsiness, now that I have a 15" T60. I'll probably look for a 14.1" T61 and commit the T60 to regular duty on a MythTV net.

[Basar]

I suggest you give Toshiba a try.

My last satisfaction from the Thinkpad line was a T42p back in the day and was extremely happy with IBM/Lenovo before going through NOT JUST ONE, but two T60s and two T61s. I seriously don't understand how they managed to mess this up. IBM was all about solidness and excellent customer service but it is totally the opposite now. Now I have a T62p (and even though the machine is ok, and I mean average by OK, nothing like the Thinkpads of late 1990s - early 2000s), the service I get from Lenovo is simply horrible. I had to send the [censored] thing for repair twice since I have purchased it and the machine spent almost 45 days at depot total for both repairs. One other thing is how the telephone support has worsened since the takeover. It used to be that I can talk to a real person on phone in 10-15 minutes and now it takes anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes before you can hear a human voice.

My wife is an IBM employee, so I use her EPP account to purchase all my Thinkpads but I don't think it is worth it anymore.

Toshiba will earn my money from now on.

[NtegrA]

It used to be that I can talk to a real person on phone in 10-15 minutes and now it takes anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes before you can hear a human voice.

Just curious, what number do you call? I get transferred to the depot as soon as I put in model info, and I can't remember the last time it took more than 2-3 rings after that for someone to ask me how they could help me.

[fuscob]

Just curious, what number do you call? I get transferred to the depot as soon as I put in model info, and I can't remember the last time it took more than 2-3 rings after that for someone to ask me how they could help me.

Agreed. I have never had to wait even 30 seconds before talking to somebody. I have always called 800.426.7378.

[qviri]

It may be a comfort that no matter how bad Lenovo is perceived to be, they're still far from failing as hard as only Dell can.

[TTY]

Now I have a T62p

Are you positive you have a ThinkPad T62p? From what i've heard, Lenovo neither has announced nor released any model which they would call T62p anywhere in the world.

[andrewb]

It may be a comfort that no matter how bad Lenovo is perceived to be, they're still far from failing as hard as only Dell can.

My company has, after 10 years with TPs, now switched back to Dell. The general view was one of pleasant surprise at the build quality of the current Dell machines. This should be contrasted with the endless complaints with the previous round of T60s.

The absence of a decent TP 4:3 Flexview-level quality screen caused us, for the first time in 10 years, to look elsewhere. In essence, the IT dept felt that, now it was only a case of which WS to buy, there was no longer any reason to favour TP and, indeed, on cost grounds, plenty of reason not to consider TP at all. (Here, in the UK, TPs are blistering expensive compared with all the obvious competitors).

[TTY]

In essence, the IT dept felt that, now it was only a case of which WS to buy, ...

Lenovo UK offers numerous 4:3 screen ratio T-series ThinkPads. Several of these have FlexView panels.

[fuscob]

It may be a comfort that no matter how bad Lenovo is perceived to be, they're still far from failing as hard as only Dell can.

That's not nearly as hard as Dell can fail. Not sure if anyone here has worked with GX270s (2.8GHz) or SX280s (3.2/3.4GHz), but if you have, you should be familiar with the failure rate on those models...

[gator]

That's not nearly as hard as Dell can fail. Not sure if anyone here has worked with GX270s (2.8GHz) or SX280s (3.2/3.4GHz), but if you have, you should be familiar with the failure rate on those models...

Gah ... GX270 is evil. We had 5 of those in the lab and every machine perpetually had some failure of some sort. We finally 'updgraded' to Dimension 3000 machines (from another lab) and things have been better.

[ajkula66]

TTY wrote:

Lenovo UK offers numerous 4:3 screen ratio T-series ThinkPads. Several of these have FlexView panels.

I've just been on Lenovo UK site and while I've seen some 4:3 T61 units, I haven't seen a single IPS-equipped machine. Can you offer some guidance?

edit: OK, found one T60 model with 15" SXGA+ and they have only one unit in stock...

[TTY]

I've just been on Lenovo UK site and while I've seen some 4:3 T61 units, I haven't seen a single IPS-equipped machine. Can you offer some guidance?

edit: OK, found one T60 model with 15" SXGA+ and they have only one unit in stock...

On this page there are ten different T60 FlexView models. Two of these models have the additional attribute IPS. They might not be held in stock in the UK. I suppose it's possible to order them, though. I assume they will then be assembled in the factory and shipped. I asked about one model (not FlexView) which i had found on my country's corresponding site. A business partner told me it could be delivered within three weeks.

[Mack]

I hope they can be consistent and just have one provider for their keyboards. I don't understand why they have NMB, ALPS and Chicony since they feel quite different to each other. I prefer the NMB one, and really don't want any of the other.

Other than that, I hope they improve their screens. We need brighter screens. And I also hope they can put the rubber finish they put on the X300 on all their coming ThinkPads.

[archer6]

I use a Panasonic Toughbook and it is all I would consider other than a Thinkpad. They are heavy and "clunky" but they will take a licking better than any of them!

What caused you to switch from a ThinkPad to the Toughbook?

Thanks!

[archer6]

I hope they can be consistent and just have one provider for their keyboards. I don't understand why they have NMB, ALPS and Chicony since they feel quite different to each other.

Just like any other high volume manufacturer, they must have that many suppliers to supply enough keyboards to keep up with the pace of production. It's the same reason that auto manufacturers use a variety of vendors as well. Especially for items like tires, batteries, etc.

[goodgirl]

If there are no more thinkpads as we know them ...

have to find something that doesn't fall apart, has a trackpoint and a high resolution display like 15" 1600 x 2000.

[mattbiernat]

toughbooks don't have trackpoints...

[archer6]

I use a Panasonic Toughbook and it is all I would consider other than a Thinkpad. They are heavy and "clunky" but they will take a licking better than any of them!

What model Panasonic Toughbook are you using?
I had one several years ago and it was quite nice. It would be fun to try a current model.

Thanks,
archer6

[BillMorrow]

IMO thinkpads just keep getting better in terms of sophistication and quality..
the X300 is a super thinkpad..
i have one and its slick..
it IS a true daughter of the 570 and the butterfly..
reading the (gone for now) post of the upcoming thinkpad models i am pleased to see so much good innovation and forward thinking..
but..
for me, a wide screen is pretty much useless weight..
and the lack of an IPS (flexview) display is sad..

so i will stick to this T60p for as long as it lasts..

and when i am forced to a new thinkpad i hope that an IPS display will be an option..

FWIW my current stable of thinkpads includes:
T60p (UXGA)
X300
X60s
X60Tablet with 1050x1400 display
Transnote
S30
another S30 on the way
+ everything from a 755CE to a 770Z to a RS/6000 model 860..

and 5 or 6 other various desktop/laptop computers..