The inside story of Lenovo's ThinkPad redesign

In case it wasn't already posted. Seems to be completely market research driven.

The inside story of Lenovo's ThinkPad redesign

 

Well, this was posted months ago. It was written in March.

This one is more up-to-date: ThinkPad 2013: Clean Design, Big Trackpads and Smart Batteries [PHOTOS]

 

there's no story. Just a MacBook Pro in black that runs Windows.

 

Quoted for truth. Amen.

 

The REAL story behind T4xx...

 

But this is better because it has a removable battery and dock. I would buy the MBP if it came with a dock.

 

It is also worse because it has no Retina screen option unlike the Mac.

However, *none* of the above is the point of this thread.

The fact that ThinkPads which were leaders of the pack are becoming like all the other Mac-clones on the market is something that many of us oldtimers find extremely troubling.

 

This should be framed and stapled to Lenovo CEO's forehead.

 

So buy this , this, this or this

 

I have no problem with more rounded designs, and less retro-styling.

But why ruin a classic? Leave it to the IdeaPad line....

 

Which is the mantra that some of us oldtimers have been repeating to anyone willing to listen for years now, with zero success.

 

I don't think the old design would have survived this year without a redesign. the T440p still look like a 1990s laptop though.

 

For those that don't follow twitter:

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"In about one hour Team #Lenovo will unveil some amazing new products - stay tuned in!"

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"Gianfranco Lanci, President EMEA, kicks off the #Lenovo press conference at #IFA2013"

Probably some consumer-grade mobile crap, but we'll see...Maybe lenovo has an IBM trick up it's sleave...haha

As for the new designs, I'm on board. No, I don't like the reduced functionality but the new, cleaner look itself is good...problem is they cleaned it up by removing some key buttons...trackpoint buttons...

 

do these new designs have a middle button? I really need the default open in a new tab feature of these.

 

What do looks have to do with function? I use my ThinkPad for its functionality not because I want to wear it like a tiara

On that topic the ThinkPad line (older models) has been surviving on its subjectively good looks for quite some time now. The new line seems to be rolling off on some sort of people-pleasing tangent IMO.

 

the T in ThinkPad would be changed to a C...

That's what ThinkPad is these days, glossy black cheap copycat of a MacBook.

 

I suppose that after Apple discontinued the Black Macbook, someone had to step in and fill that niche...

 

I hope everyone skips the Haswell Thinkpads. Lenovo is testing their loyal customers, they want to see how much of the "mactonisation" we can take.

 

We're being assimilated by the Borg! Resistance is futile!!!

I just can't see me liking that TrackPad/TrackPoint abomination.

I suspect the bean counters had their hands deep in this. Bean counters belong in a can of Boston Baked!

 

What exactly is wrong with the redesign? Can someone point it out for me?

I seriously doubt they will bring back the trackpoint buttons and the old style keyboard. The new redesigns for those have been around for awhile and most people are ok with it.

I don't know anyone who uses a trackpoint. Im in my early 30s.

 

I would also throw a tantrum if my favorite features were changed. But neither trackpoint nor touchpad buttons are my favorite.

 

>Take Y series/Z series
>Slap on dull shade of grey
>Add Le Trackpoint
>2014 Thinkpad

Looks like i'll be keeping hold of that L420 for a while.

 

Nonsense. There won´t be a redesign in 2014, Lenovo will use the same chassis for all 2014 ThinkPads that they used with their 2013 ThinkPads.

 

With a name like that, I suspect not.

Rhetorical question: How many different models of MAC came with a TrackPoint?

 

Just because many folks aren't familiar with the benefits of a trackpoint doesn't mean that those of us who feel they are essential are mistaken.

I am beyond dejected that this signals the beginning of the end for trackpoints on Thinkpads. Once the full lineup no longer has trackpoint buttons the number of new users who convert to use of the trackpoint will fall and Lenovo will feel emboldened to remove it entirely.

 

2015 it is.

 

And its still nonsense.

 

I just turned 31, and I'd actually be fine if they just released the T61 I have now with updated specs and a 1080 IPS screen.

At least Lenovo seems to be running a "free returns" promotion so I can try out one of the new TPs and decide if I can accept the changes (esp. the lack of physical trackpoint buttons). If not, I'll probably just get a used machine and move on with my life.

 

I dont know what age has to do with it ;-) But I'm in my late 20s and I would hate it if Lenovo removed the trackpoint. I'll reserve judgement on the clickpad until I've tried it...

 

I'm pretty sure age is irrelevant, but I wanted to offer a counterpoint to Macpod.

I'm hoping for good things with the redesign. I'll at least give it a shot.

(Honstly, as long as the trackpoint remains, I'll probably still buy TPs.)

 

Word. I can't use a laptop without that legendary trackpoint.

 

Ive owned/used 3 laptops with a trackpoint in the past (TP L420, Some HP Elitebook and some Dell i forget the model).... never been able to master it

 

It took me many months to master the Trackpoint. It's been 2 years now and I can navigate faster and more precise than with the touchpad now. So it's been a long way, but sure worth it.

 

So basically...........there is actually nothing wrong with the design except the removal of the physical trackpoint buttons? What are we complaining about again? Are we seriously saying it look like a macbook? how? because it's thin? the keyboard/case/hinge looks nothing like a macbook. Lenovo is doing an OK job in my book. I can basically see nothing wrong with the W540 if the build quality and cooling are good.

By the way I'm an alienware user. For the power/price ratio. Not the bling.

Nothing wrong with a trackpoint. I never got use to it and i always bring a mouse with me anyway. But since i dont use it, the bigger trackpad is a big plus for me and probably a lot of other customers.

I'm an architect and most architects i know buy the thinkpads for the classic look and the ISV certified hardware inside. The Matte screen is also important to us. The bulk was however a problem. So this redesign is in the right direction for me. What is wrong with a thin notebook? To me that is the only thing that is becoming more 'MAC'

 

have you watched other people trying to use a thinkpad without trackpad? It's funny as.

Many times when others trying to use my X200t, which does not have a trackpad, they move their fingers around the middle of the palm plastic assume it's a trackpad. I mean how stupid can people be? Can't they tell there is no trackpad and the cursor is not moving..?

 

I'd beg to differ, as would a vast majority of users who replied here:

Change Is Hard: Why You Should Give In to the New ThinkPad Keyboard - Products - Lenovo Blogs

Not that any amount of complaining will make Lenovo squint...

 

Catering to the lowest common denominator tends to work (at least in the short term), and it appears to be working for Lenovo. They have no real incentive to listen to their upset loyalists.

They may look back in 5-10 years and realize that they trashed their lucrative corporate business, but by then they will be too deep into their new paradigm and they won't be able to get it back.

 

a) Trackpoint WAS one of the defining features of a Thinkpad. That IBM/Lenovo had implemented much better than Dell/HP/everybody else who added this to business lines of notebooks (most business-oriented machines have it). Surprising, but ALL non-Lenovo Trackpont alternatives ( I owned/own laptops from HP and Sony with it, and used many others), just can't get it right. Lenovo did. And the physical buttons with their shape etc. were no small part in the convenience, and making Trackpoint the cursor navigation of choice for people who once spent a few days and learned how to use it. It's just better than trackpad for cursor navigation, and often faster than mouse too, especially when cursor navigation is mixed with typing (and with software designers paying little attention to keyboard shortcuts, especially on the web, Trackpoint particularly shines).

Seeing Lenovo degrading and, with all likeness, dropping Trackpoint in the future, it's like seeing Macbooks shrinking their best-in-class touchpad, and moving towards a little console-gaming like joystick/pad instead + touchscreen. Because kids know to use gaming consoles, right?

b) Laptop thinkness when closed does not matter, if within reason. Especially in a device that weights 4.5+ pounds, and with current technology anything relatively inexpensive with 15"+ screen and a battery to keep that screen going is going to be 4 pounds+. Width and height matter (e.g. is it usable on economy-flight table?), but whether the device is 20mm or 30mm when closed - does not, purely cosmetic difference. Yet these extra 10mm make a world of difference when it comes to repairability, upgrade-ability, cooling, storage, key travel etc. Things that, together with Trackpoint, were the reason to get a Thinkpad, and not a Sony/Mac etc.

Unfortunately, the new paradigm seems to be: "borrow a random point from a competitor's presentation, an iterate on, sacrificing everything else, until the result does not make any sense at all".

Price is a bit high? Let's produce $300, no, $290, no $200, device with horrible plastic and unbearably slow, and call it "netbook". Low-resolution screens? Lets jump to another extreme: putting 3000x2000 screens into 12" laptops, battery life be damned (particularly ironic that desktop monitors with 4K+ resolution, and more appropriate dimensions, are just an expensive niche today). Laptops are rather big, compared to modern mobile devices? Lets take a ruler, and start reducing and advertising the thickness when closed, RAM slots, and storage, and docking options, and keyboard and every other reason why people actually get PCs, and not plug in monitor and keyboard into a cellphone, be damned.

I wonder what's the next craze is going to be? Touch keyboards w/o any physical feedback? "Our power supply cord is 17.8 meters, not just 17 as in the latest MacBook!"?

 

I'm 26 and solely use the Trackpoint, I completely disable my Touchpad via the BIOS. I have been using Trackpoints since I was 14 (back in 2000 heh) though ironically that came from a Compaq Business Notebook - Armada M700. That machine had nothing else but a Trackpoint so I was forced to learn it, it took me a few months to get to grips at first but I'm glad I did as over time I realised how great that little pointy nib was for navigating and scrolling around. No need to "swipe-swipe-swipe" your way around, just rest the index finger on the nib and tilt slightly is all you need to do.

It was when I bought a ThinkPad R50e afterwards that I realised how much better the IBM version was. Not only it was more responsive but the trackpoint buttons was just so much more comfortable to use over a longer period of time. Things such as the keyboard, ThinkLight and others was just a bonus that got me sold with ThinkPad line.

These days most business notebooks come with both options so there's less incentive to learn the Trackpoint, not like the olden days where you either had one or the other! Geez now I sound really old ha ha.

 

lol.

Alienware has terrible power/price ratio. You can buy a Clevo for 400-600$ cheaper than an Alienware and get the same, if not better specs.

 

Yes, but what you don't get is a good build quality, awesome design and cool lights.

 

In other words, you get a laptop, not a toy?

 

Laptops are all toys to me. Even ThinkPads.

 

Well you see, I'd like to think of them as tools instead.

 

I was comparing it to other premium laptops with similar Specs. Razer for example is obviously over priced. The M17x wasnt really that much more expensive than clevos. Maybe $200 MAX.

$600 over 2-3 years is nothing.............Actually that makes buying a razer much more appealing. haha. Cos razer is approx 400-600 over priced.