Gap on T61?

Does anyone have a gap on their T61 14 inch Widescreen when the lid is closed? its pretty small, but the Right side with the optical drive seems to make a tight seal?

 

Yup, been talked about several times on here, and I've had the same problem with my thinkpad. To make it a short story, Lenovo says that's part of the design and doesn't feel it's a problem.

So that's that, unless you can somehow convince them to replace it (which I wasn't able to) or convince them to fix it (which I wasn't able to do in 3 trips to the repair depot) then that's how your computer will be.

 

14 inch widescreen here and also a gap. Well, c'est la vie...

That's because the little plastic lock on the left is a kind of loose; it moves a little up and down, more than the right one. That's ok as long as it keeps the screen close.

Just by curiosity, does this gap appear only in the 14 inch models or also in the 15 inch models? It is a kind of hard to believe it is a design thing just for 14 inch models, hehe

 

It's a manufacturing defect in design and a cover up.

 

Good thing that Lenovo is dropping the IBM name from their thinkpads 2 years early. These machines don't even compare to the old IBM thinkpads, so it would be unfair to call it an IBM machine and have such crappy build quality.

I've been reading about thinkpads for 4 years and was so excited to finally get one. And when I got it, this, other chassis problems, and the fact that their tech support won't fix or acknowledge anything made me return it immediately.

Lenovo made a stinker out of these thinkpads.

 

It's not that bad the gap. I wouldn't have noticed it if i hadn't read about it here For me, as long as it keeps the screen closed it is fine.

 

AFAIK Lenovo has never publicly addressed a gap in between the front of the computer where the latches meet, they have never said it was DESIGN. They HAVE addressed the gap in the back of the computer when the laptop is closed. See here: http://lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=19 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GuHhwJHHSw

The gap in the front is like a 1mm gap. It does nothing to bother me. My lid closes fine and has always stayed closed despite fairly harsh treatment. Its there, yes, but I couldn't care less about this gap.

 

yes, my 15.4" has it too.
damn.

(its a small ~0.8mm gap on the front left side)

 

I got it on my 15.4", but if the gap is as small as mine, I don't know what all the fuss is about.

Perhaps I got lucky, because mine really isn't that bad.

 

ok thanks, just making sure it was not only mine because I kind of dropped my my laptop bag 6 inches above the ground and wanted to make sure I did not damage my comp.

Thanks

 

Given this:

And this:

And since it is not a 14 inch model thing only, maybe (just maybe) they made the gap on purpose to absorb impacts better. Like, if there is no gap and the screen is very tight, any impact could easily damage the lock because it would be under very stress already. My girlfriend's old fujitsu had the lock broken like that. Well, just guessing, I am not an engineer

And not trying to save Lenovo’s skin at all.

 

Yeah, I have the gap too (caused by the left hinge, having nothing to do with the gap in the back.)

For those of you who say it's not a big deal: why is the T61 the *only* laptop I've seen with such a loose set of LCD latches? Shoddy design, that's why. Even the cheaps Dells have better latches.

 

I think someone's been drinking too much Lenovo Kool Aid!

 

Hehe, not at all, given the problems Lenovo gave to me regarding my bill (not authorized charges on my credit card, worst customer service ever to solve a simple bill issue etc), that's the last thing i would drink

Just remembered the case of my gf's old fujitsu. It was similar to Integra144's situation, but the lock didn't resist.

 

In my way back to my office, I passed in a store near by where they have some laptops to sell. Among them, they have some thinkpads T and X series still with ibm sticker (mine doesn't have it). All them had the same loose set of LCD latches. Seems it is Thinkpad design (not judging if good or bad design) after all.

 

Must be new tho, because I have never seen any other thinkpad (or notebook for that matter) have this so called "design". Maybe it's the wave of the future

 

The thinkpads still had the ibm sticker, so I am assuming probably they were older than mine. In the X series (no tablet) the gap was not so apparent because the different screen design covers (hides) the gap, but it is there with also loose latches. Anyway, after 5 years I will tell you if the design was good or bad (i am planning to keep this machine for at least 5 years ).

 

I don't think it's a bad design as it will cause problems down the road in terms of reliability. Lenovo would not have done this if there was any shred of evidence that it caused problems. I think it's a bad design as it's annoying to the user, especially when its being carried.