My T61's screen is curved....

Just got my T61 yesterday. Aside from the usual grips about the plastic being ridiculously thin and the amount of flex on the right wristpad and elsewhere, my screen doesn't seem to be attached to my laptop straight. Here are some pics.

http://i12.tinypic.com/4v5r2a0.jpg

http://i9.tinypic.com/54cjsj5.jpg

Does your T61 have this same problem?
After buying into all the talk about Thinkpads being rock solid, I can't say I can see what all the hype is about.

Last thing, did Lenovo forget to put a rubber cover over my port replicator or do they mean for it to just collect dust?

 

That is normal. The arched lid is meant to spread out the weight when force is applied from the top. You can read more about it here:

http://www.lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=19

The port replicator is actually not exposed. You have to press down the spring loaded plastics to expose the connectors.

 

Have you modded the lappie's memory at all? I remember that after I put in a SODIMM, my left wrist rest had some play, but I did my best to retighten the screws, and my Thinkpad is rock solid as advertised.

 

Yea, I don't know what you're talking about. My Thinkpad has excellent build.

 

hm, never would have imagined it was designed that way. cool, i guess...

thanks for your constructive comment I still don't like how thin the plastic casing is, even if there really is a magnesium frame underneath.

 

It's either thin plastic casing or a $2,000 price tag; choose your poison.

 

after looking at your picture, i checked mine. seems mine is not not curved.
did you see anything wrong in terms of running or perfomance?

 

You might want to check more closely. It is supposed to be curved.

 

Most laptops that I've played with at the store don't seem to have any flex or play on the casing. My old HP zt3000 pretty much had zero flex.

You can see how thin the plastic is on the T61 by sticking a finger into the expresscard slot and gripping the the plastic with two fingers. When I try to lift it it flexes so much it actually starts to come off near the edge above the usb ports on the left side.

 

plastic expresscard cover != a general overall quality of the laptop's plastic casing =/

 

sorry I don't think i worded it very well. I'm not talking about the plastic covering the expresscard slot. I'm talking about the plastic where your palm rests on. It's normally hard to get a feel for how thin the plastic is since you can't grip it, but if you stick your finger into the expresscard slot you can grip the palmrest plastic above the slot, and it is very flimsy.

 

then return it and buy something from circuit city

 

That screen curvature article from lenovoblogs is pretty neat. They should definitely publicize these little engineering features more than they are doing. If people are thinking intended design features are defects, the Lenovo marketing team isn't doing their job.

 

I hate that part of the ThinkPad chassis too. Gives a feeling that the build isn't durable, even if it technically doesn't indicate anything about the build. The plastic isn't a part of the structure- only the magnesium roll cage underneath is part of the structure, which is why we can say TP laptops have better build than most. The plastic is just a "skin" of sorts. It honestly doesn't matter if the plastic is pliable, but I agree that it just feels bad.

 

Agreed. The flimsy palm rest is a turn off regardless of how strong the
chassis is. It just reeks of cheap. And for the curved LCD frame, yes it can add strength but how many of us are going ride motorcycles over our Thinkpads. Often times perception is juat as important as fact. Many people perceive the T61 a step down in build quality even though they might prove stronger in some less than realistic tests.

 

I disagree with this comment. ThinkPad design has always emphasized function over form. Yes, the off-center screen looks stupid, but it was tantamount to integrating all antennas into the screen. Plastic palmrest is flexy, but it was necessary unless you you didn't want the benefits of a rollcage. The list goes on and on.

When has perception and fact been mutually exclusive? We are informed TP owners. We perceive the T61 to be of good build because we know exactly why the plastic is pliable or why the screen is curved. Who cares about uninformed perception? Macbook owners do.

If you think TP design merely prepares for the unrealistic, then you need to sell your T61 and go visit another part of NBR. A Toshiba should do fine for you.

 

if you look closely, you'll find that the T61 has even more curves, not just your screen.

 

curved lid protect screen? this is a joke, if you have any knowledge at all.

 

Wtf?

 

No, in fact its not. The 'arch' is between two effectively stationary metal hinges. In effect, these prevent the the arch from getting wider, and therefore prevent it from collapsing, therefor protecting the screen. Its basic physics.

 

run a comsol simulation...

how do they attach the LCD panel to the lid?

The lid isn't fixed to the metal hinges. So the hinges don't support the lid tangentially.