Thinkpad Edge for college?

Hi guys! I'm looking for a laptop for college, looked around at the other brands and am trying my best to avoid the "consumer" grade high gloss machines .
I stumbled upon Lenovo's site and they have some good options.
I'm considering the Edge line due to the lower price.
Here is what I need:

- Great keyboard
- Great screen
- Great touchpad
- Light weight
- Efficient processor (i3 should be enough... maybe i5)

I am considering either the edge 14 or 15. Do those address my needs?
Maybe you have another suggestion?

Thank you for your help.

 

Blackwheel,
What is your budget?

 

I wouldn't get the Thinkpad Edge unless you are really that tight on the budget.

If you are in USA, then you could always browse through outlet.lenovo.com to check out some bargain for T400.

T410 is a much better choice, and would also last longer (the residue value on your second hand T410 would also be higher, in fact the highest of any business grade laptops).

 

Budget is max. $1000... but that's pushing it, around 800 is more like it.

I did research the T line earlier (T410s and T510) but I heard some horror stories about the keyboard flexing... are those stories true?

What are the inherent issues with this Edge line?

 

Blackwheel
I currently own a T410s and have no keyboard flex whatsoever. For $800 you can easliy get a T410 not T410s equipped with an i3 maybe even an i5. My previous T410 with an i5 cost me just $900 tax+shipping includedr. If you are not too crazy about customizing your laptop and are willing to look at preconfigured models you might even find something cheaper that what I paid.
The T series is much more rugged and will outlast an Edge quite comfortably.

 

From what I gather around the Internet, the ThinkPad Edge skews more towards that "consumer" grade high gloss you're trying to avoid.

I guess it depends on what you're looking for. The thing that sticks out to me is that the Edge has an ULV processor. If you want the renowned ThinkPad performance, power, durability, etc., you're going to have to get a T, X, or W series. If they're out of your budget, try finding those "TopSeller" pre-configured models from online retailers, which can save you some money if you can find the configuration you're looking for.

 

Another thing that kind of worries me was that I read about screen quality issues with the T line, how's the screen?

 

Here is one for just $869 on ebay. I bought my $900 dollar T410 from this same seller and the configuration was less spectacular than this.
Here is one equipped with a i3 for $700 The seller is not "Top Rated" like the previous seller but still has a 100% feedback rating.

 

regarding screens...if you are going to do a lot of graphics editing etc, avoid. Apparently the color reproduction is not good enough. You will never notice this unless you are a purist or are switching between a mac book pro (which has a really good screen) constantly.
I am more than satisfied with the brightness, contrast etc that my T series laptop offers.

 

Ok, awesome. I will definitely check those out.

Glad I found these forums, you guys are very helpful.

 

Just remember, when buying Thinkpads, the prices look high....then you realize that there is a substantial ecoupon almost every week...make sure to look for one of those and you'll be able to stay in your budget.

 

This forum is extremely helpful. I got steered towards a great ThinkPad x200 for about $600 less than I would've paid for a similarly spec'd x201 on the recommendations and opinions from posters around the boards, and I couldn't be any happier. Don't be afraid to ask any questions!

 

Edge is definitely a consumer orientated Thinkpad laptop (the keyboard 'feel' and the thinkpad logo is pretty much the only thing that it has in commonality with the Thinkpad classic laptops).

The screen on the T410 is good, but obviously not as good as the latest Macbook Pro offering, but in this size and format it is up there with the best in what business laptops have to offer.

 

??? The Edge I saw has a chiclet keyboard

 

i am talking about the key feel, not the design as such.

 

This taken from Kevin O'Brien's review:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5450

 

Ehhhhhh, I use one in a store. Real Thinkpad keyboard is somewhere between 100 and 200 times better. And I didn't go in biased. I saw an Edge in a store, thought "oh, I bet even this has a good keyboard," tried it...was disappointed. It's not a bad keyboard as far as a lot of laptops go, it just doesn't approach the regular Thinkpad keyboard.

 

that depends on which Thinkpad laptops you are talking about. Edge 15 feels much like some of the Chicony keyboard that i had on the T61 in feel (which i loath).

Anyway, i wouldn't purchase the Edge or X100e for college if i had the choice, and the price difference doesn't seem to weigh in favour of the Edge too. Since 200 dollars more can get you a T410 on discount (maybe with slightly less features), but 200 dollars more is surely worth it, if you are going to depend on your laptop for the next 3 to 5 years.

With Thinkpads i can get 1 year warranty (though not recommended), but in consumer laptops i would never get only 1 year warranty, because most of the consumer laptops would develop some serious problems that only depot can repair after 1.5 years. (Even a simple fan clean or change in a consumer laptops can take ages, and sometimes with dire consequences. Lack of schematic is one part of the problem).

 

It was the 14. It wasn't flexing really, it just wasn't right.