A ThinkPad smartphone would be awesome...

ThinkPhone? ThinkCell?

I would definitely buy a smartphone based on the ThinkPad design. It's a shame that this is the closest we are to having one:

Lenovo P768 – Thinkpad phone

Just imagine - the classic design, build quality, red/black/purplish-blue combination on a smartphone!

Too many companies release too many different models of phones. I say stick with a few models and improve on it in the years to come. As much as I like HTC, it's just ridiculous seeing how many models they have out now - EVO, Aria, Legend, HD2, Touch, Wildfire, Tatoo, etc. etc. Much like how other laptop companies sell generic, "flavor of the week" designs.

Anyway. It would be cool.

 

Blackberry pretty much have the business market cornered, so if Lenovo decides to release think branded product, it wouldn't get much of a market.

The cost of setting up the marketing, distribution and support, is probably not worth while for them. Given that they have to contend with Nokia, Sony, HTC, RIM, Apple, and the other brands. People have rumored that Lenovo or its parent company Legend holding, was going to acquire Palm. It is much easier for Lenovo to expand its current range of mobile products, then to break out and start from scratch again with a Think branded phone. They could easily adopt the Thinkpad design elements in their phones, without having to split their resources on managing many subbrands.

I wouldn't mind Lenovo LePhone that runs on the android OS, it is actually quite a good phone. I seen someone using it recently in Melbourne, and it is something i would plan to get when i go back to China end of the year.

Unless that is i give into the temptation of the iPhone 4G... damn you Jobs, i still have all your iPods with the dead battery just after one year warranty...

 

Yeah, I agree with lead_org. Blackberry pretty much has the business phones sorted, so Lenovo would have to try REALLY hard to win the buyers over.

 

Yep, I think Blackberries are as Thinkpad as it gets in the mobile market - no-nonsense business-oriented smartphones. I'm lusting after a Bold 9700 at the moment

 

I wish Lenovo or HTC or someone would make an smartphone that has decent sound quality for MP3 playback.

Come on guys, give the iPhone some competition there!

(The Droid hisses like a mofo, even with rather un-sensitive headphones. I'd hate to use anything Ultimate Ears on a Droid...)

 

iPhone has its background in iPod, and it is pretty much a more feature packed iTouch with phone call connectivity.

most of the Android phones are more social media and apps orientated, not so much a music orientated device.

 

I know that, but really, I'm tired of carrying so many plastic bricks around. I want one device to rule them all, and the only option right now is the iPhone. It needs competition on all fronts, not just the social media and apps front.

 

maybe someone should give HTC a little kick in the behind.

 

That may be true today, but in the US, other smartphones are making inroads, particularly the iPhone and Androids. I work for a Fortune 25, and in the last few months, they've started rolling out tools that allow us to use our iPhones, Androids, WinMo and, soon, WebOS. If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said it would never happen, and I would have been wrong.

Here's an interesting article from today's WSJ about it:

New Fronts Open Up in Smartphone Turf War

 

If no one attempted to do anything better, we'd still all be living in caves.

 

this is why we need competition and rivalry between companies, if one company control too much of a market, then there is little motive for them to change.

 

Interesting.

The reason I started this topic is because I recently purchased my first "smartphone" - a Nokia X6. It doesn't really compare to the other smartphones on the market, but I'm just a college student - so I don't need the latest technology.

Anyway, phones these days can do a lot of things...much more than before. Nearly everyone on my campus has some sort of smartphone (iPhone mostly, of course) and they don't even "need" them. Truly a consumer product now.

This has to have some kind of effect on the laptop market. First netbooks, now smarter smartphones.

True, Blackberry seems to fulfill what Lenovo could do, but perhaps Lenovo could do it better?

I don't think it's possible for one device to rule them all - "jack of all trades, master of none." I think the two that could rule them all is 1. laptop 2. cell phone. It would just be nice to have the ThinkPad brand cover both

 

Blackberry don't only have the business market covered.. but also the vast consumer market. RIM isn't selling you a phone, it's selling you a lifestyle.

 

A lifestyle? I only associated that with Apple...the "iLife." I actually don't know much about RIM - I thought they were simply in charge of Blackberry.

 

So is the Columbian drug barons.... crackberry anyone, it is more than a lifestyle, it is substance of dependence and abuse..

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Nokia X6 looks good and cheap in cost, but the Symbian OS is real letdown (i got the N97), it is clunky and unpolished...

Lenovo can't do better than blackberry, due to the fact that it has no experience in managing its own properitary phone OS, most of its phone are just JDM/ODM products that the contract manufacturer would design from the grounds up, the only thing that Lenovo would input would be the external design and OS plugins/features etc.

After all Blackberry's usefulness is mostly done to the Qwerty keyboard and its OS focused on enterprise software solutions. Even iPhone's email clients are not good.

 

Everyone said Nintendo doomed to a third place finish in this round of the console wars against the PS3 juggernaut and the 360, some even suggesting they may get out of the hardware business. I think we all know how that one turned out. Sometime you got to think outside the box.

 

Yeah...Symbian does feel dated, but I can't complain. The main features I was looking for in my phone search were call quality (I feel like this has taken a backseat priority these days) and music playback. The X6 does both very, very well. And I got it for a good price:

Nokia x6 Smartphone (Unlocked, Quad-Band GSM, A-GPS, 2 Cameras) $206.99 Free Shipping Deal - Reviews and Compare Prices

Also, I was able to tweak Symbian to look like this using some stuff created by the S60V5 community:



Not bad. It helps to make the UI feel a little more fresh. Since the OS has been out so long, there's a large community (international too) with lots of support.

Anyway. I was leaning towards an Android phone(even, gasp, the iPhone 4) but:
1. I do not want to pay extra for a data plan ($15 a month for 24 months = $360)/alter our existing family plan
2. I like to adopt technology a little bit late - when all the bugs are fixed, when the firmware/software/hardware reach their prime, and when you pay more for the phone itself instead of hype. Have you checked iPhone 4 news lately? There's issues going around about screen yellowing and poor reception. No thanks, I can wait.

I was thinking Lenovo could simply use Android with a custom UI/shell on top it. I think Lenovo could do a good job at this, considering the amount of effort it looks like they put into their "Windows 7 Enhanced Experience." I personally haven't tried it, but at least they made the effort.

 

I have a original 2g iPhone I got back in the Summer of '07. I though about upgrading to the newest iPhone, but it's just too pricey. I figure I pay about $350 a year on T-Mobile pre-pay. The cheapest iPhone plan that works for me is about $850 a year, but the sad part is I live in a rural area that doesn't have mobile broadband. Essentially I'd have to pay for something I can't ever use. I don't know why, but a few have it at work and it's slower than dial up. Even my T-Mobile pre-pay allows me to access news and sports scores, and check my email. It's slow, but it works and that's all I need. I suppose I could just buy the phone when it gets jailbroken, but that'll cost me $500. The new screen is nice, but it ain't $500 nice.

I thought about getting a T-Mobile smartphone. They got a good $60 a month plan, but again I'd still have to pay for Internet I can't use. So I think I'll just stick with what I got, which is still way more than I need.

 

Exactly. Idunno, I think people get carried away with new gadgets. The most important question people forget to ask themselves is, do I really need this?

And yeah, regarding pricing, all I hear about on the surface for the iPhone is "$199 for the 16GB model on a 2 year contract." I wasn't interested in the cellphone market/our family's wireless plan until recently. Our family is still on FamilyTalk Nation 1100 with AT&T, which I think was when Cingular was still around. We pay $70 a month for 1100 anytime minutes with unlimited nights/weekends/etc. We have three extra lines, so another $30 a month. Finally, we get 200 text messages per line - $5 per line, so another $20 a month. I haven't compared to other people, but $120 a month for a family of four seems like a good price. And that is an "out the door" price, taxes/fees/etc. included.

Don't forget all the hidden fees associated with upgrading a phone or the consequences of buying a locked phone.

What kind of money do people pay for their cellphone bill these days?

 

Talking about Blackberry's, while in India there is a large and growing market for it in the enterprise segment, I have recently noticed that a number of enterprise users are moving into the Nokia QWERTY phones (E63, E71, E72 etc.). Yes, Symbian does feel a bit clunky, but for what it does and for specificially enterprise functions (push email, low-level browsing, etc) it works just fine and is quite cost effective too since the plans offered by the service providers are relatively cheap. So, for example, I have an unlimited GPRS (2G, I think) connection (for email and browsing) at US$ 5.50 per month (on a post-paid plan). This includes "x" number of text messages, free phone calls (including national roaming). I'll be upgrading to the 3G network by the mid of next month and there the costs would come up to US$ 11.00/ 15.00 per month with similar features. When combined with my Thinkpad, I think it gives me an incredible amount of flexibility (at least within India).

As for the iPhone, it is also quite visible, but that's the point, I guess, for the device and more importantly the user to be visible. And, it is very expensive, if you buy it legally (and a generation late, of course).

 

oh boy mobile phone bills, consistently around 180 dollars AUD these few years, maximum i got was around 400 AUD.

Your X6 looked pretty good with the new interface.

@Zaz it is not whether that Lenovo can't do it, but rather whether it wants to invest the sort of money that is required to get everything up to scratch, when it would take a long time to recuperate all the capital investments.

Also, what Lenovo does with its phone business, will depend on Legend Holding, whom also owns Digital China, which has signed up as the new distributor of the iPhone 4G.

 

Lenovo?s smartphone first year sales target: 1 million :: Editor?s Blog at Local Tech Wire

See! I totally forgot about the LePhone. It has a Lenovo customized Android shell.

 

LePhone is good, i don't know why Lenovo is not planning a worldwide release of it. It looks more polished than most Nokia, Samsung, LG phones.

 

If there was a ThinkPad business phone designed similar in design to the Blackberry or Nokia E72, but with black rubber coating, usual ThinkPad design characteristics and a well functioning OS, I would be all over it.

Alternatively a super slim touch screen phone with a slide out keyboard, like the Nokia N97 Mini, but much slimmer, with rubber coating and usual ThinkPad design traits, I'd buy it in an instant as well.

 

Nokia E72... yikes... the keyboard is exactly like the E71.... which is nowhere as good as the Blackberry full qwerty keyboard. Nokia N97 keyboard also leaves a lot to be desired.

I don't think Lenovo will come out in force in the mobile phone market in the near future, as they are concentrating in their core business of laptops and pc. Any phone they are going to release will be probably an ODM/JDM product with the HTC and running Android.

LePhone with the touchscreen is not bad at all, it is a plausible competitor to the iPhone. Also, the flip out keyboard is not bad either.

 

I was referring to the type of design.

As for what is good or not good keyboard wise, that is a subjective thing.

For instance, I believe the slide out keyboards of i.e. HTC 730/740 will beat any Blackberry keyboard in speed and comfort.

As for the Nokia E72 keyboard I actually also prefer that over Blackberry keyboards. Although the Blackberry keyboards are slightly wider, I find the keys to be too firm.

 

This is first time i heard anyone praising the E7x keyboard.

Also which blackberry keyboards are you referring too, there are many different editions, and all have their own characteristics.

Personally, i find the E7x keyboard to be slightly difficult to use, due to the extreme closeness in spacing of the keys. So anyone whom has a slightly large thumb would have trouble using it to type fast, as you would most likely press another key. The blackberry keys softens after period of use has better tactility.

Also, i prefer the island style keys of the Blackberry 8520 over the Blackberry Bold keyboards.

 

Talking about phone keyboards, the best I have used ever is the one on the Palm Treo (the 750, I think). I still have mine and it is in perfect working condition. The only reason I don't use it now is because it does not have wifi, which is why I moved to the E63 (did not like the metallic elements of the E72/73). But I think I will need to move off Nokia totally, Symbian sucks!

 

Treo 750 that goes a long way back in mobile phone era.... i think that is made by HTC for Palm. HP had a similar one to that.

If you think that is good, try the Blackberry Curve.

 

If you do a search for Nokia E71/E72 reviews you will find many more.

Nokia E72 Review - Mobile Phone Reviews - TrustedReviews

Nokia E72 Review on CNET UK

Nokia E72 review from TechRadar UK's expert reviews of Mobile phones

Nokia E72 review - SlashGear

 

Ideally, I would have liked to but I cannot justify the cost of the associated Data Plan...it's too expensive and somewhat limited (the Data Plan, that is).

Edit: Doesn't the Curve have 3G capabilities?

 

i find it funny that some of the authors in these reviews give such similar scores to the same Nokia phone models. Maybe that is just a coincidence.

On Amazon customer opinion of the E72 seems to be totally different to these reviewers.

Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Nokia E72 Unlocked Phone with GPS and Free Voice Navigation -- U.S. Version with Full Warranty (Zodium Black)

Also, some of the review in the link gives N97 a very high score, even though one of them have found lots of problems with it, he still gave 7 out of 10 for it? Trusted Review gave the N97 a 8.5 out of 10. I am not sure how much of what they say can be trusted.

There are still Nokia fanboy out there, and some of these review sites can hold bias against certain brands.
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None of my friends whom owns a E7x and a Blackberry Curve or Bold says that the E7x keyboard is superior. But i guess that is just a personal opinion and preference.

 

Curve uses the Edge network, so it is 2.75 G not 3G from memory.

 

@lead_org: You have to keep in mind one thing: Nokia is better known in Europe and Asia and not so much in the US. In fact, Nokia's marketshare in the US is abysmal, whereas it is still the numero uno (at least in numbers) in Asia and probably (though I am not sure) in Europe. So, there is the element of brand (and device) familiarity that you will need to take into account.

I suppose we could say the same thing about laptops (to bring the discussion back to our primary device of interest). Thus, for example, Acer (in India) is a big name - why? Mass market. ThinkPads...not so much...why? Niche market. Ask a Acer user whether he would like a ThinkPad? He would probably not. Why? Familiarity. On the other hand ask the same Acer user if he would like a Lenovo? He probably would and would compare it more favourably vis-a-vis the ThinkPad - though we all know how things actually stack up!

 

@lines of flight.

Quite true, the reviews were all from UK and there was a clear bias towards Nokia phones. Nokia is a well known brand in India, apparently Nokia is synonymous with mobile phones, and the two words sometimes can be used interchangeably in the vocabulary.

 

Funny you say that...quite correctly as it turns out! Just like how "search" and "google" are used interchangeably...eg.: "search for something" and "google something", so is the case with Nokia...eg: "need a mobile phone" and "need a nokia"...though the buyer may eventually end up with a Samsung or whatever. I believe it's not so bad in other parts of Asia, but certainly in India (because the low-end phones are so so cheap), this is the case. Of course, within the next 6 months they are going to be in trouble in India too because Indian companies are releasing low-end/ price point phones (with even more features) into the market and that is going to be a problem. Hopefully, it also means that we will get to see some other Phone OS at work (particularly in the mid-level market) like Android and maybe, just maybe, Win 7 (though I am not holding my breath for the last one).

All of the above seriously off-topic though! I for one would like a ThinkPad branded phone sold as a package deal with Thinkpads and optimized for use with ThinkPads. Now that would be excellent and I would pay good money for that too!

 

LePhone should be released to the worldwide audience.

 

Interesting! It is Android based! I am not sure about the snap-on oval keyboard though! And I wonder if all the apps and other stuff will be in Chinese since it is slated for an initial launch in China. I have a friend going there at the end of the year and if it is any good, I may just ask him to pick one up for me (assuming it is released at that point in time).

Edit: Oops! Looks like LePhone is specifically for the China market: " Lenovo has said that the handset was made specifically for the Chinese WCDMA market, and has no plans to bring it to U.S. shores." (Link to (perhaps old) story here). Another major problem is the CDMA profile!

 

I guess I have small fingers, but I find the whole E71 package to be just superb. It's a smartphone with a real querty keyboard, yet it packs and has a battery life like a regular phone. And it's not even very expensive. And very durable (can't count the number of times gravity has snatched it from me). Yeah...

 

i have the E71 too, in addition to the N95, N95 8 gigs, n97, e65, etc etc...

 

Androids and iPhones are toys in the business world.

I agree with lead_org, RIM is far ahead of Lenovo for phones, Lenovo shouldn't bother entering the smartphone market for business use.