Lenovo now El Cheapo?

As I long time Thinkpad user, the horror stories I'm reading about (along with pictures) are really making me wonder how far Lenovo quality has fallen. I've been waitng to buy a T61 4:3. However, the more I see, the more I'm rethinking this. A T60 is looking better all the time even though I prefer the combination of 14" sxga+ and integrated graphics the T61 offers.

What is the consensus around here - are these isolated issues that are being given all the attention or is build quality really overall that bad?

 

What do you mean consensus? You've been reading the boards, of course there is no consensus. Some say they are just as good if not better, some say they are just as good in the ways that matter, some say they are garbage, some say most all probs relate to vista. Most people who have one, are using them with no problems- don't even know this board exists (then again, there will be those w/probs who we don't hear about here either, but the latter are more likely to seek a voice).

Yeah, you probably DO have a better chance of having no issues w/a 60, but by that logic, might as going back even further and sticking w/ a pentium M. Most who tell you 60>61 will also say 42>43>60.

Thinkpad is what it is today. IMO not as high of quality as previous generations, but I chose to roll the dice on one anyways- not comparing to older thinkpads, but to current alternatives. It has some flaws (and consider it is brand new, and most w/vista), but it definitely has some advantages too.


Consensus lol.

 

People who have something wrong with their unit need to vent their anger or want to seek help with their problem, people who are happy with it wont find it in their effort to seek this place out and tell everyone they love it.

In my experience, whenever I go to a forum like this for like. . my new mp3 player i'm going to buy, the forums are littered with people who don't know how to do something or have some other complaint/problem. But there are always those few who like it, have no problems that post too, but they are in the minority.

That's why when you want to buy something new, try finding reviews on the product and don't take what people on the forums too seriously. (weigh the pros and cons).


Although I haven't received my T61 yet and it may jsut turn out like crap like a lot of other peoples here. But most of the problems are Vista related, which is good for me.

 

My T61 is total garbage and I'm sending it back. I would've loved to come on here and say it's great and I love it, and I was hoping to do that, but it wasn't in the cards.

 

I just got my T61 yesterday and I have to sadly agree, the T60 is the last 'real' ThinkPad. Nearly every surface of my T61 is poorly fitted plastic that springs and shifts about. There are gaps everywhere and instead of palmrests Lenovo gave me bouncy palm trampolines.

Unfortunately it's still better than most/all alternatives. I wonder who will step-up and make the next line great biz laptops? Maybe the 'ThinkPad' model just isn't profitable enough and there will only be consumer notebooks in the future. Shame.

 

it's the first thinkpad I get and frankly from all the buzz I expected something more solid. I agree with juliusb that there's a lot of gaps and the palmrests are kind of bouncy.
I actually expected it to be much better than a macbook pro, but it ended up being just around there.

 

So glad I stayed with my T60p that came yesterday, Im going to be happily returning the t61 tomorrow - it arrived today lol.

 

Leon2245,

Perhaps I should of posed my question a bit differently because as you say a consensus will never happen on a forum of this type. My real concern is the build quality. Vista/driver/chipset and BSOD or whatever problems will eventually be ironed out and in my case I'm planning on going with XP Pro anyway.

The thing that will not get ironed out is what appears to be poor build quality on the 61's - fit & finish, slop, flimsyness etc. Everyone has a different point of comparison and acceptance level for this but since we are on a Thinkpad forum and that is what I've had in the past, that is what I WILL COMPARE THE 61 AGAINST.

The point is to find out if these fit & finish issues and in some cases completely broken cases are rare enough cases to warrant a chance on getting a good one. As much as I want a 61, all the issues I'm seeing in regards to build quality suggest that I wait a while longer until more examples end up in users hands. The best thing would probably be to find a T61 4:3 to look over myself. Until I can find one, I will be appreciative of those who have one or have seen one and are willing to objectively share their thoughts.

 

my t61 is as solid as a rock. i knock on the top cover every now and then just for the heck of it, and i see no changes in the lcd screen. I think (just as noted above) that the happy population is totally underrepresented.

 

se7en,

I hope this is the case.

Another approach I may take - order a T61 4:3 and if I'm not satisfied I can always return it and find a t60.

 

I can just see you with a brand new BMW, taking a baseball bat and experimentally hitting the windows to see if they crack... :laugh:

 

lol you crazy gianni

OK, since "chance on getting a good one" = chance on getting one that measures up to what you "WILL COMPARE THE 61 AGAINST" (thinkpads) = chance of ordering a t 61 and lenovo shipping you a t40, then your chance is approximately zero.

Thinkpad today is what it is. Worse. But again, I submit you are comparing vs what is available today, not all previous T's (aside from t60, because that's one you're considering purchasing). Otherwise, your choice for now and in the future wouldn't be " which notebook do I buy?" (=how do they stack up to one another); it'd be "do I even buy a notebook?" (=how do they stack up to that notebook I had in 1994? if not well, I'll just keep using that one)... you gonna keep using your old thinkpads forever if t 61 doesn't measure up? No, you'll either buy a tp, however good or crappy they are, or something else.



But ok seriously, if you are b/t 60 and 61 this time, and build quality is THE deciding criteria, the answer is probably stick with the 60.

I vote get a t61, then just hang on to your old thinkpads so you can say "aah they don't make em like they used to", nostalgia style. In the past. Unless- how much are you willing to spend? You can always go with a high end boutique manufacturer, then wonder how you ever even lived with tp's.

 

That's actually a solid plan. DO it. DO it.

 

a bmw? man, we're talking about a tank here. If i bought a tank, the first thing id do is try to beat it up to see if what i bought is sturdy or made of glass

 

That shouldn't matter. Having this many people complain is too much. I haven't seen any complaints about the D630 yet.

 

Nope... T43 (sonoma) is worse than T60 and T42.

 

perhaps because ppl who buy a dell aren't very tech savvy and/or have low expectations.

 

leon,

Lighten up - I refrained from getting personal after you did the first time and now you feel the need to do it again.

If you pay close attention to user feedback and put the "it is what it is" attitude aside, you would understand what I meant about getting a 'good one'.

 

One reason it seems as if there is so many complaints and that more ppl hav problems than those who don't is that if your having problems you are likely to vent ure anger on the forums. However, if you aint having problems, you arnt gonna go on a forum and start a whole thread about how much you like the build quality.

 

Good one.

 

@ Sirius GTO- I'm starting to look at the D830. Do you know if anyone has tried 64-bit vista on the D830? Is it running smoothly? How about Turbo memory. I know it can be added in later with the Thinkpad, but how about the D830. I'm just never sure about Dell and their proprietary motherboards and such.

 

LOL. Man, i couldnt stop laughing after reading that one. Good Stuff.

You have to remember Sirius_GT0 has a thing for all things Latitude since he is a "proud" owner of a D630 himself (so proud he removed it from his sig).

After owning a D820 for about a week, and then returning it because of not being satisfied with the build quality, i can assure you the Latitude D820 (maybe even the newer models?) cannot even come close to the T61.

For starters, the D820 had a warped palm rest. The bezel around the LCD was warped a bit, and you could actually see the back light shinning through the gap on the bottom of the LCD bezel. There were little nicks and pits all over the plastic covers that surrounded the LCD and keyboard. The T61 is as good as it gets for me.

 

are there even 4:3 T61s available? I couldn't find any on the Lenovo website last Friday.

 

yes there are 4:3 starting to become available to groups - they should be on website soon.

 

valid point. But that works towards the argument that Dell D630 users are having less complaint.