My T400 arrived! First impressions....

Well google it if you want to get some expert opinions. Generally Vista is considered a huge failure. Some people exaggerate this a bit. But definitely most IT experts consider it not ready for prime time. It's why MS is rushing to get Win7 out. They know it's junk too. My personal experience was that it was an improvement visually and there were other goodies for sure. Personally I was driven crazy by the constant disk activity, which is a well known problem with Vista. It's sometimes called the Vista heartbeat. It constantly reads and writes to the disk even when idle. Turning off indexing and superfetch, or tweaking it till the cows come home won't stop this behavior. You have to look in that performance area that shows disk activity to get a read on this. Just one of the many annoyances. I tried it for a week and then went back to XP. Eventually I returned the T400 too, since I found it really was a pretty poorly built box as I think has been extensively covered in this thread and many others at notebookreview.

 

Hey philosopherdog,

How has your experience been with the keyboard/typing on the Macbook? Do you find it easy/pleasurable, especially during long periods, or does it leave much to be desired?

 

Just received my T400 and I'm pretty impressed. It's very well built and I have no issues with the flexing.

 

Remember me? I had taken delivery last month of a T400 (Australia) and the chassis was bent resulting in a rocking from the back left corner to the front right hand corner -> I managed to get a full refund and decided that Lenovo Customer Service was too poor + build quality issues etc. I was in the process of going to a different supplier -> actually I was heading out the door to buy a Z series Sony Vaio and decided to check the Aus Lenovo site on the week end -> they had a 15% discount running for 36 hours. I did the math and the cost difference between Sony and Lenovo was too compelling so I have re-ordered another T400. I can't express how annoyed I am with Lenovo for the stuffing around they have put me through -> so for me to suck it in and re-order just shows how good a deal you can get sometimes. So I'm hoping like hell they can just build me a straight one and I'll be delighted. For the record: T400, 200G/7200, 4G Ram, P8600, WSGA+Led, Camera, Additional drive adaptor, Vista Business 64 ,DVD -> AUD$2300 (Aussie Dollars) => $1380 US. Compared to the AUD$3999 I'd need for the Sony.
Please Lenovo QA gods -> be kind??
Andy

 

Please, be sure to let us know what the quality of the new laptop is once you get a chance to examine it.

 

Hi. The keyboard is decent enough. I think it takes a bit of getting used to. But overall the new Macbook has definitely blown me away. I was buzzed for a full week and am constantly finding little design touches that are thoughtful and impressive both on the machine and OS X. I have the 2.4 ghz model and my girlfriend bought the 2.0. Mine has the backlit keys, and personally I find the 2.0 keyboard just a bit firmer for some reason. Definitely check out the Macbook. If you want something with a 15 inch screen obviously you'll want to look at the Macbook Pro. The keyboard is nothing like the old Thinkpad of course, but I think once you get used to it it's certainly decent.

 

I wanted to just add that the trackpad on it is amazing.

 

Hey - does the lack of media keys on the mac bother you? considering that Apple is so media centric, I found that to be ironic. Also, are you a heavy typist/spreadsheet person? Have you found fault with the lack of home/end page up/page down buttons?
I am waiting for the machine to come out that has media keys, great keyboard, matte screen and preferably a trackstick too. The build of the T400 is just making me nervous, the sony's i just dont feel to right.

 

All of these keys are accessible using various key combos, but basic media function is available using the f keys, of course you have infinite extensibility using something like Quicksilver and triggers, which is a brilliant launcher application deservedly legendary. Page up is function+cmd+arrows. Delete forward is function+delete, etc. It's a matter of learning a few new keys. I think the idea is just to keep the keyboard uncluttered, which I appreciate. Of course you're free to plug in to an external keyboard, which I do when I doc the machine to a 24 inch dell display. Personally I like the minimalist keyboard. If you want to do serious excel entries then you have the same problem most notebook computers have. In that case I'd attach a number pad or standard keyboard. If it's a standard PC keyboard you will want to remap the command key to something else, like the right control key, which I what I do. It would be nice to have an extra usb port, but personally my view is that they've done such an amazing job with this machine, and I'm so happy with it, I'm willing to live with 2 usb ports! Hubs are cheap after all. The build quality is second to none. Transitioning to OS X is interesting. You'll feel a bit all thumbs at first, but you will gradually appreciate it more and more. I found the program Witch to be indispensable. It allows cmd+tab in more Windows intuitive way than the build in switcher, and even adds some cool features like quitting applications from the switcher, minimizing, etc. The idea of not being able to bring a minimized window back using the standard switcher you might find annoying and this is a great solution. You can remap cmd+tab using tabpull, and these are all freeware programs. Personally I've found applications for writers to be much better in the OS X offerings, and most stuff is pretty cheap. The program Scrivener, for instance, is worth switching to OS X alone, if you're a writer. Nothing comes close in the PC world. I was under the misperception that the offerings for OS X software were more limited, but generally applications are more finished and better even if there are fewer. So, take Transmission, for instance. I don't think that there is a Torrent client in the PC world that is as good. It has built in ip blocking that automatically updates as well as so many other thoughtful features. Utorrent is not as good, and now you even have a Utorrent client in OS X. Obviously for business use, or if you're a lawyer PC's are going to be more convenient, but there's Parallels and Crossover, the former allows installing XP virtually and Crossover runs PC stuff as does Wine in Linux. You can also run Linux applications by recompiling them using Fink. Personally I haven't done this because there's nothing in Linux that I particularly need. OS X is extraordinarily powerful and unlike Vista they are improving it constantly with incremental updates. Personally I wouldn't have gone Mac 5 years ago, but I think they keep making things better every iteration and eventually it becomes hard to deny that they're on to something.

 

Wow, I cannot believe you bought another T400 hoping that you'll have a better experience the second time around. You must have a lot of spare time to waste!

 

yeh okay buddy.

and this is a T400 discussion thread, not the apple is cool cause i wanna be hip thread.

 

This thread was started by me when I received a T400 which turned out to be junk in my and many other people's opinion. I then bought a Macbook after reading many favourable reviews of them on this forum and elsewhere. So, this is quite on topic I'd say and belongs in the Lenovo threads as much as any other thread does. I guess the fact that this thread is approaching 10,000 views suggests that many people are interested in this topic, even if you are not. Indeed, you are free my friend to not view this thread. Anyhow, I've probably held the same view of Apple as you in the past. It's common enough, but I think it's just a pretty obvious bias. I know it was in my case. They are not simply "cool" computers, but actually extremely well made with a brilliant os. If I could say the same about Lenovo boxes I wouldn't have sent mine back.

 

I think it bugs that person more with the way you phrased they are constantly improving it with incrmental updates, makes it sound like Windows has done nothing but gone backwards.

There is a reason MS has the market share, you can bias your own opinion off that.

I've purchased 3 t400's in the past 4 months, I've been happy with them all except the last one one, which I ordered the LED screen and 5300 Intel card. It was even better than expected.

I now have a x200 on the way and can't wait.

I also enjoy talking to someone in America (and who can actually speak the national language) when I have a problem, unlike 99% of the other brands. I've had more problems dealing with Dell techs than I have had with HP or IBM/Lenovo.

 

I'm not trying to bash or get involved in any arguments/internet wars, but if it was such junk, why did you defend it as much and as hard as you did? At one point, you were going after anyone who said the slightest 'bad' thing about Thinkpads. Again, I'm not trying to bash you or come at you offensively. I'm just curious.

 

theres nothing wrong with the T400, he just doesnt know what he's talking about.

the hardware is excellent. vista 64 is excellent. and when windows 7 rolls around the whole package will continue to be excellent.

 

I guess so. He defended the T400, almost to a smothering degree earlier in the thread. Now, however, it seems like he's downing the model every chance he gets . . . a complete 180. That's definitely one of the problems with word-of-mouth, I guess. You never know when you're getting a completely unbiased, real opinion and when you're getting something else.

 

MaX PL
agree ,hardware is super, no other company has this specs for this price

 

Me neither (re: going around again). The T400 I received was a brilliant match for my requirements. Quiet, powerful, nice screen, "BUSINESS" not play -> I hate people showing up with the latest Nintendo Laptop when dealing in IT consulting -> conveys the wrong message to clients.

Anyway -> My only gripe was that they built it with an unbelieveable twist in the chassis. Otherwise I loved it. I am taking a big risk, but the discount I received has made it worth a try -> I'm assuming that if all T400's a built twisted then there would be more of an uproar and I was just unlucky.

I'm entering a quiet work period so I can afford the time over xmas to get something organsied so the time is not critical at present -> also my Tecra S1 has been behaving itself so it's not drop dead critical at present (I will miss my 1600x1200 screen ).

When I receive the new T400 it will only get unwrapped an I'll check it out physically before I power it up -> if it fails the muster I'll close the book on Lenovo and get the Sony Z (can't help think it looks flimsy and a little 'Nintendo') -> I'll post here with the results.

I read somewhere on this forum that new T400's were being delivered with a T61 keyboard installed -> don't know how true this is.
Andy.

 

Evidently you didn't read my posts very carefully then. I think I expressed significant qualms from the get go. Read the record carefully.

 

I think that there are plenty of problems with the T400, not least of which is a very cheap build. It's certainly not solid. Overall I was pretty unimpressed. I think that anyone that's used the TP before Lenovo is going to find this machine substandard. It might still be better than other PC machines at that price point, although I've seen some solid HP's that are 1/3 the price I paid for the Elite, although it doesn't match the specs. Vista? Well if you think Vista is great then your view differs from most IT experts and many power users. I'm not prepared to argue the details here, but I'm sure a bit of googling can get some serious papers on the fact that Vista is crap. My experience confirms this.

 

my experience confirms you have no idea what youre talking about.

 

Actually, I read everything quite carefully before I ever post or respond to it. I know what I read in the past and that's why I posted what I did. You're backpedaling now, which is fine since you got a new machine that you're happy with.

I invite anyone to go back a few pages if they want to see what I mean about the complete 180. There are pages of people who took issue with a lot of what you had to say about many different brands in your defense of the Thinkpad. In fact, whenever someone would say exactly what you said in this post, you came rushing in to refute the claim as if you worked for Lenovo's PR department, while bashing other brands in the process.

I wasn't even trying to bash you. I was merely wanting to know why the about-face. The only thing that you've remained consistent about is your distaste for Vista. Everything else has kind of been up and down.

 

Used Vista 64bit, laptop boots in 30 seconds, shutdown in 5 seconds
Used Vista 32bit, laptop boots in 35 seconds, shutdown in 5 seconds

Everything opens up instantly, better battery life than XP, no BSOD in the 2 years I used the machine. Only 2GB of RAM in my X61t.

Come again?

Also, macbook's mirror-like screen is not for everyone. Most people who love thinkpad will tell you that they love matte screens.

 

Well I think that my point was deliberately made. I think most experts agree that Vista is not 1) an incremental update, nor is it 2) an improvement over XP over all. There of course is a reason that MS has greater market share, but I think that anyone that has any idea about the history of these things knows that excellence has nothing to do with this fact. Obviously the fact that dos was able to be put on clones is the story behind MS dominance. Anyhow, they're losing market share as we speak. If Window7 isn't just Vista warmed over then I think we're going to see some even more major changed in the distribution of OS X, Window, Linux.

 

Yes, well we know that you have consistently misread my posts because you appear to misunderstand the idea that a person can find both good and bad points without being inconsistent. So, when I argued in a number of posts that the Youtube video review that I linked to had numerous unfair points I meant what I said. There's no 180. Anyhow, the very fact that you thought I worked for Lenovo shows the degree to which you completely misread most of what I've said. As such I had given up on posting rebuttals to anything you've written. So, the T400 in my opinion was not worth hanging on to. It's a passable computer, but for the money it was a huge disappointment. I'm not alone in this assessment; there are many posts on here by people who have had similar experiences. What is so amusing is that you don't even own a Lenovo; so, you like many people who haven't even seen one of these machines don't know what you're talking about. It's all second hand experience. Now you persist in posting about the Macbook, which I also doubt you have worked on. I'm not sure what you're trying to prove. But I think that it would be great if you would do the courtesy of at least reading the posts you respond to and if you're not sure what's being said then ask.

 

Either that or your standards are lower. I'm hardly alone in finding the T400 a machine unworthy of the Thinkpad label. That was my second Thinkpad and the T400 didn't come close to the 600 I had. Nowhere near the quality. So, it's relative to what your expectations are and how high your standards are. Personally if I'm paying $1600 for a computer I shouldn't need to tighten the wrist rest down, or put a decent keyboard on it, etc. I picked up a Macbook and put it beside the T400 for a week. There's no contest at all. I worked on them both for a week and by the 2nd day it was very clear which machine was better built, higher quality, with a better OS. Personally I'm picky, hard to please. So, that's why I was uninspired by Lenovo's T400 offering. I don't buy a computer every day and I wanted something good. If you're happy I'm good with that. The world is full of variety right?

 

Good for you. I guess my years of reading legal documents hasn't made me any better at comprehension. I also guess everyone else in the thread that had something to say about the things you posted also "misread" your posts. We all are not worthy.

By the way, please point out where I "persist" to post about the Macbooks. In fact, post some links. This should be interesting. It's such a good thing that people can go back and read for themselves what's been posted should they choose to.

Also, since you seem to know me so well, tell me what systems I've worked on (not listed in the sig). This is comical.

 

Comparing PC's to Mac's is not a valid argument for build of the actual computer...There is only one maker for Macs, dozens for PC's...

 

QFT

Where as Apple only worries about their boxes. MS (and driver creators) have to worry about a slew of different components.

That said, my I'm very very happy with my T400. Macs are very nice too though

 

He writes so many long-winded arguments that I think that he sometimes just gets lost in them. Some of the same things he's saying now in reference to the current Thinkpad build are some of the same arguments that others made earlier in this very thread, and he adamantly tried to refute them each time. He's done a complete 180, and it's so easy for one to go back in this thread and see for himself/herself. He even admits later in one post that what everyone was saying is what finally convinced him to return his T400 in favor of the MB. I guess he finally just got tired of fighting uphill.

I like both, though. I was very fortunate to live with a someone who owned at Lenovo for two years and I did a lot of my work on it. That's what got me interested in the first place. I'm very interested in Apple products too, however. I think that once I get my main machine, which after careful consideration will be a T500, I'm going to pick up a refurbished 3rd gen. or something like that for cheap.

 

nevermind, i need to stop.

 

There certainly are quite a few problems with the current crop of Thinkpads, including but not limited to, flexy keyboards, cheap volume/power buttons, cheap plastic on palmrest, etc. I certainly hope Lenovo increases its quality control and reassesses its design philosophy to address these qualms.

However, when you say that there are "solid HP's" at 1/3 the price of the Elite config Thinkpads, that's just asking someone to suspend belief, as in the case of watching a blockbuster sci-fi movie. Why even compare the price points if you're not going to use similar specs? That's just like saying I can get a solid Toyota Corolla for 1/3 the price of an elite Mercedes AMG S600. But I'll play your game.

My 14.1" CCFT 1280x800 HP Pavilion dv2700t, configured at T8100 (2.1Ghz dual core), 2Gb generic DDR2 RAM, 128MB GeForce 8400M GS, 250Gb 5.4k RPM Toshiba HD, 12 cell battery came out to $1103.64 after shipping and tax. DVDRW and mic/webcam included in build.

In comparison, my LED 1440x900 T400 with a T9400 (2.53Ghz dual core) 1Gb Samsung DDR3 RAM, 256Mb Radeon 3470, 80Gb 5.4k RPM Western Digital HD, Intel WiFi 5300 AGN, and a 6-cell battery came out to $1109.81 after shipping and tax. Detachable slim-bay DVDRW and mic/webcam included in build.

This is a meager $6 difference in the time span of 3 months, and the only thing going for the HP with this comparison is the higher-capacity HD, better quality speakers, the HDMI port, and I suppose the 2gb generic DDR2 RAM (vs the 1gb DDR3 Samsung RAM in the T400 that I have). But take into consideration how much more DDR3 RAM costs, how much more P9400s cost, how much more a higher-resolution LED-lit screen costs, and one has to realize what a steal the T400 must be compared to a HP dv2700t at a $6 premium.

Though it may be anecdotal, I would like to add that the reason I even have the T400 right now is because my HP died in a mere 3 months of MINIMAL use; the piece of junk Toshiba HD just BSODed and died with unrecoverable bad sectors. I understand this is more of a circumstance regarding choice in HD for any particular laptop brand, but at least with the T400 you're getting (in my case) a Western Digital, which is leaps and bounds above Toshiba in terms of statistical reliability. The HP was also built with a very flimsy LCD back-cover; you could literally press into it and warp the back-cover substantially with the slightest of effort. Not so with the firm plastic used in the back-cover of the T400. Though the HP had a less flexy keyboard, the overall build was far cheaper than then T400, and the touchpad on the HP was laughably dysfunctional; you could not type without accidentally clicking or deleting some text because its physical sensitivity (you cannot do anything about it through software) is badly calibrated, and that its bad location (not below center of space key) just compounds the problem.

So, in regards to your claim that you can find "solid" HPs at 1/3 the price of an elite configuration, please do tell me where I could find such a deal? I may even have to reconsider returning my T400 at a 15% hit in restocking, to get this solid HP machine.

And I agree, Vista has its share of problems, but so far from having used Vista on both the HP dv2700t and the T400, I would categorize them more as "nuances" than problems per se. Getting rid of bloatware, disabling the various fetching services, disabling virtual memory (if you have sufficient RAM), leads to a rather responsive and robust system. Though I do enjoy the relative simpleness of the OS X and Leopard, your coveted OS's aren't without problems as well:

http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/mac/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212500729

EDIT: I had no idea Toyota Corolla's were so inexpensive. I would have to use a Honda Accord to make the 1/3 cost simile work.

 

haha achaye did you see my earlier post that i edited and decide to post that link?

 

So do I. I see there is just no reasoning allowed by the OP. I'll waive the white flag and move on.

 

Heck, he even ignores my post saying that I have no problem running Vista either 32bit or 64bit. Selectively choosing posts that agree with you and reply to them isn't a way of convincing anyone. I hope lawyers can do that in a courtroom too, ignoring counterarguments and believe that he is so right that all his arguments are perfect
But seriously, stop being a stuckup.
PS: Also, for your information, you get into a whole bunch of trouble with Vista because you don't know what you're doing, that's all. Any experienced computer user (not the fake kind of "expert" that you refer to) will tell you that Vista is just fine, and is sometimes faster than XP with the right configuration. And about the so-called "expert" that you're referring to, I know quite a few people who doesn't know squat about computer and still gets assigned IT jobs. Calling themselves an expert doesn't make their credibility any stronger unless they can illustrate their expertise by their action or knowledge. That's all.

 

Oh, I know all about his selectivity too. He proudly talks about how many views and replies that this thread has gotten, completely disregarding that a lot of the replies are people trying to refute his baseless arguments/claims. I'm done with this, however. I see that this whole thing just isn't going anywhere. Honestly, I wish that I had never wasted my time in saying anything to begin with. I guess I got a bit spoiled by being around people who I can have mature, intelligent discourse with, and I have accepted that it's not like that everywhere, especially when we're talking about an online forum. Ah well.

On a more positive note, I think I'm finally ready to go ahead and put in the order for the T500. I can't say for sure when I'm finally going to actually do it, but I feel ready. The months of painstaking research, questions, and answers (thanks to many on this board), will finally pay off soon.

 

For what it's worth, I received my T400 a few weeks ago and I am pleased with the overall build and performance of the unit. Maybe I have been fortunate, but I really don't have any particular complaints about it. Yes, if one bangs hard enough on the keyboard there is some flex. I don't find the degree of this "imperfection" to detract from the laptop's usability or comfort. Besides, I hear that there is some type of keyboard replacement program in the offing. In any case, although I do travel on long trips to Asia from the NY area, I wish I did get the T500 for the larger screen, now that a backlit LED is available. I believe that a T500 will be a good choice.

 

On a more positive note, I think I'm finally ready to go ahead and put in the order for the T500. I can't say for sure when I'm finally going to actually do it, but I feel ready. The months of painstaking research, questions, and answers (thanks to many on this board), will finally pay off soon.[/QUOTE]

Best of luck with it; after reading this for weeks now, I am strongly into the T400. The mac is a visual beuty, but this is a notebook, where you want function over form. Macs are sexy, yes, but it aint a work machine. It is for college dorm online chats, movie editing etc...

 

OK. Received my replacement T400. Difference is nothing short of amazing. As you recall the first one rocked from front to back (diagonally) and eventually was declared DOA with a full refund. I was in the process of buying a Sony when a sale came up including the T400 (here in Aus) so I decided to try my luck again.

If I were to be excessively fussy I'd say there is some "sponginess" around the front RHS palm rest, but not enough to worry me -> the previous machine lifted the back rear (left hand side) by about 2-3 millimeters when you pressed down on the front right hand side. I looked at the keyboard flex (which I thought was perfectly ok) but found the new model is rock solid -> ok now I know what good is!! Screen is LED BL and no dead pixels and evenly lit (not that I really could tell unless it was really obvious). Like I said I'm generally not too fussy which just shows how obviously bad my last machine was out of the box.

So am I happy?? Yes -> happy, but would have been extatic if I'd received this one first time around.

Would I buy a Lenovo again? Will depend If I can get 3 fair years of work out of it -> I already realise that I can't rely on Lenovo service. So I do feel little like I'm playing the odds so it will all come down to it's performance.

Cheers,
Andy

 

What location are you getting xferd to for service? I get connected with the old IBM one with Atlanta or right in that area. I have always had boxes shipped next day, and turnarounds within the stated time. I've used them about 5 different times in the past couple years with many different corporate used lenovos.

Honestly out of HP, Dell, Lenovo; I would always choose Lenovo or HP over Dell.

 

I'm basing my opinion on the 20+ calls and garbage I had to endure to get the last machine sorted out when it was clearly built wrong in the first place - as it was my first Lenovo / IBM I have nothing to compare othjer than the way my case was handled.

I'm in Australia and ordered from the Australian Lenovo website, all our after sales service comes from Kuala Lumpar (Malaysia) with the technicians based in Australia (actually these guys were good and to the point declaring it DOA very early in the process). However, I felt like I was sheparding cats getting the KL side to sort themselves out -> no-one seemed to have any authority to do anything. They had updates on my situation and never passed them on -> time was well and truely wasted.

At least I've now got a solid chassis -> I could probably fix most anything myself (if needed) -> just have the sneaking suspicion any warranty claims here won't be worth the pain.
Andy

 

Hi,

I waited forever to get SSD option on T400, then ordered it and picked it up at the UPS amidst a heavy snow storm after 2 trips. I come home and try to boot it up and find that 128G SSD is missing from the system. They shipped to me without the harddrive. It is incredible, is there no quality checks before shipping it out.

I called their customer support and was transferred to and fro several times before they finally told me it is a sales issue and sales is open only 5 days a week between 9 AM and 5 PM.

Please please let me know what is the fastest way to get a resolution on this.

Thanks & Regards,
Nat

 

Did you open the bay and check to see if it was there and just needed to be reseated?

 

If this is true, I'm speechless. I can't imagine a world where something like this could happen to a customer who has paid top dollar for something. That's awful.

 

It's really not that un-believable. It happens on computers, cars, desks, tools. If anywhere humans are involved, even machines to a point there will be errors.

Granted it's very frustrating.

 

I hear what you're saying, but it's still incredibly difficult for me to believe, especially when you think that most companies (if not all) have a QA department somewhere. This is a pretty big blunder, and I don't believe it's as common as I think you're hinting at (assuming that's the case).

 

Some time ago the auto industry realised that having outstanding service was no longer a point of differentiation (since everyone did it) -> and that if the whole industry sucked then the churn from one manufacturer to another would ensure they saved money (by not having to retain their brand loyal customers). I suspect Lenovo are just aligning themselves with the rest of the industry.
Andy.