Thinkpad vs. macbook comparison

Sorry guys,
I bumped into this article and it pissed me off so badly... it was not a fair comparison at all! Just had to share this with you:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...2-duo-15-compared-to-thinkpad-core-2-duo.html

>.< Just curious what your comments were on this article.

 

You want to hear our responses?

I am not happy with my new MBP. Should I consider a Thinkpad T61p?
Getting pressured to buy a Macbook instead of T61...

By the way, the article is terrible because it is selective in what it wants to compare. The only advantage it gives the Z61m is the fingerprint reader. But what about the 3rd USB port? Or the ability to connect to a dock? What about the modular drive bay for an extra hard drive/battery, higher resolution screen, infrared, media card reader, or modem?

Of course, the MBP has plenty of advantages over the Z61m, and for a lot of people's needs, the MBP would be nicer to own. But comparisons ought to be fair, not flatter the ears of mac fans.

I urge everyone to give this website a friendly email about how they are a bunch of biased fanboys: http://www.everymac.com/articles/admin/contact.html

 

Well, for one, the article itself is very short on actual content and commentary. Very blah.

That aside, they compared two notebooks that aren't even meant to be in the same class. A "full pound and a half heavier"? The Z61m isn't really billed as a thin-and-light class notebook anyway while the MBP arguably is. This same pattern of uneven comparisions continues throughout the article.

All in all, aside from the specs chart they put, the article is really not informative in the least.

But hey, who ever said comparision articles had to be fair?

 

the review is from a Mac site, what do you expect????

 

I told someone today my ideal machine is a Thinkpad running OS X.

 

The cult of Apple has struck again!

 

Yea really, I don't see why people insist on comparing these two machines. They're targeted at completely different markets, and of course each will excel in its target market more than the other.

That said, I think I prefer the earlier days when IBM made Thinkpads. I never had any problems with mine that people seem to be having with Lenovo these days.

 

Macbooks aren't computers, end of story. MAX OSX is for F***

 

The higher resolution screen is itself worth $150.
So lets see, even as configured, $470 for a 8% faster processor, and an upgraded graphics card ?
No thank you.
Lets not even get into the sales Lenovo has bringing the price even further.

With all the discounts stacked up the T61P could be had last week for $1485 AFTRE tax WITH a 5 year warranty.
Specs:
-2Ghz CPU
-WUXGA screen
-NVIDIA Quadro Fx 570M (256MB)
-100GB 7200 rpm drive
-1GB sodimm
-9 cell battery

Beat that MBP !!!!

 

hey, they didn't mention the extra mouse button and scroll button on the Thinkpad! It's from a macsite, so what would you expect...that's the worst thing about Apple, their fanboys. Honestly, if you're gonna compare the Macbook Pro(stupidest name ever), you put it against the T series(not even the Txxp, because that's a real Pro workstation.) Seriously is the "Magsafe" power connector really that great of an innovation?!

 

Could you find a more biased source?
http://[B] [size='5']www.everymac.com[/SIZE][/B]/systems/apple/macbook_pro/faq/macbook-pro-core-2-duo-15-compared-to-thinkpad-core-2-duo.html

 

Oooh ye of little faith.

Of course I could. That article doesn't even scratch the surface of Mac fanaticism.

Why, just check this review out (1st google hit ):
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2006/11/17/notes111706.DTL

 

How about windows vs. osx? Some of us have to have windows....who cares what the macbook specs are then?

 

Naw, you can use Windows on the MBP just fine.

It's better to point out the Mg roll cage of the Thinkpads and the build quality, the security features, the better keyboard, the better cooling etc .

 

mac pro vs. a thinkpad Z?

That shows how apple fans regard their machines in PC world.

top notch Macbook = third tier thinkpad?

 

Really? I missed the second mouse button on my bro's MBP then I guess...

Sure you CAN dual boot (unsupported) and you CAN run parallels but parallels doesn't allow you to do any registry or user group or anything (which CS majors should learn about) and when you dual boot alot of the advantages of the macbook (i.e. battery life, no right-click without external mouse, external light sensing etc) go away.

 

Without turning this into a MBP vs Thinkpad or Boot camp debate....

If you "have to" have Windows as you mentioned in your post, then it should be no problem to be booting into Windows for you often.

As for battery life, sure you can get 5 hours in OSX, and you lose a bit in Vista, but the 3-4 hours you get in Vista isn't that much worse than the T61 without the 9-cell battery and the smart-bay battery right? Of course, the Thinkpad does allow you to use a 9-cell and an extra battery at the same time for even longer battery life, but that's just a pure advantage it has over the MBP as a business machine, and not OS-specific.

You *can* right-click in Windows, the same way you right-click in OSX. Will everyone find using two fingers or holding an extra key convenient? probably not (me included), but it's possible.

You do lose some of the ambient light sensing features for the screen and the backlit keys, but the T61 keyboard lights aren't the same as the MBP anyway, so it's not a "loss" if you look at it that way.

Again, I'm not saying any of the above is convenient (and they're not - since it's an Apple), but if you *have* to use Windows, it's not beyond the range of possibilities. As I said, the Thinkpads have plenty of advantages over the MBP if you're looking for a business machine even without taking the OS into question.

 

I was unaware the two-finger right clock worked in a windows boot from bootcamp. Everything I've read says it doesn't. Sure it works in parallels but most people that really need windows on a mac will boot it from bootcamp.

Also, my bad if this isn't supposed to be a thinkpad vs. macbook thread, I guess the title was referring only to the article and not what the thread was supposed to be about?

 

Right-click works in Windows. Everything else about the trackpad doesn't yet (i.e. turning it off, turning on accidental-touch, etc.). It's a huge pain when typing and the mouse cursor starts jumping all over the place.

Eh, it'll probably end up turning into one anyway, but there's no real point in going the same old argument again and again (thinkpad vs mbp, windows vs osx, bush vs gore, etc. etc. etc.) - there are at least a dozen threads since the new MBP and T61 came out on that subject and none of them end up going anywhere except turning into a shouting match between fanatics of both sides.

I mean, look at this:

Is that so much better than the article that the OP posted?

Thinkpads and MBPs each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and are targeted at different markets. Why such a rush to say one's unconditionally better than the other?

People come to these forums to find out objective information about a possible purchase - the last thing we need is to have this place turn into a thread propagating the exact same type of bias as that article for either side.

 

Why can't one own both and advertise for both?

 

Apple posted new results yesterday. Big profits. Investors are very pleased because Apple has maintained the highest margins in the industry. Almost 40 cents of every dollar you spend on an Apple product is profit. This just reinforces what seems obvious: Apple products are way over priced.

 

I did a TON of looking for my laptop and there's no way you'll find a 2.2ghz C2D, 8600GT, 2gig ram, 120gig HDD, 5hr battery life, backlit keyboard, and a 15.4" monitor weiging in at just about 5lbs for even close to that price. If apple is making 40cents for every dollar then lenovo is making alot more.

Exactly, if you want power for the money apple wins hands down. If you want windoes with no "shortcuts" or inconvenience (or you just want windows and will never use OSX) lenovo is the obvious choice. I was just trying to originaly say that the review completely ignores that fact that some people have to run windows and with a macboook you just don't get some of the conveniences or customizability.

 

The article in which I read this information did not mention the margins at Lenovo. It did mention that Dell's margins were closer to 18 cents on the dollar.

But none of this should surprise anyone. Apple is a premium, almost fashion, brand. They spend much more then their competitors on advertising and other means of enhancing and protecting their brand. They are very good at it, but in the end it is the consumer that has to pay the cost of maintaining the brand. The fact that they are able to maintain such high margins, even after paying such high advertising costs, is quite remarkable.

Personally, I'd rather own their stock, or study them as a business case then buy their products.

 

well, i agree apple makes good money on their products. i would like to point out many purchase mac book because of their OS.

 

And MBPs are their highest profit margin products.

 

Apple spends a lot on R&D and marketing. That way, they can pass the expenses on to their consumers. Sheepish consumers sees overpriced computer product and wants to be cool so they buy it. That just means more money in my investment portfolio.

 

Just different products, different target customers. There are "sheep" that blindly follow many brands, not just with apple. Just as there are well informed consumers who like what apple offers over lenovo and vice versa who are not sheep or "f****".

 

Good Idea

 

Exactly. And Apple isn't the only example of a market-driven, high profit business with questionable products. BOSE, as an example, is an example of a company with outstanding marketing. They've made the public believe they are the leaders in audio when in fact others within the audio industry laugh at gullible buyers and the extreme medicore performance of BOSE products.

Apple has targeted students and the graphics industry. Students and younger buyers buy Apple products because they're perceived as trendy while the graphics industry believes Apple OS to be superior to Microsoft for their work. Ironically, the last statistics I read indicated that in terms of actual numbers, there are more PCs in the graphics industry now than Apple machines.

 

Watch this space... Apple buys Bose

Agreed that Bose products suck for the money, particularly the speakers. Go buy real stereo equipment. It'll sound better and will probably save you money. Might not look as pretty, however.

I think Apple's star will start to wane unless the company relaxes the tight control it demands over its hardware. Why can't iPhones be unlocked, for example? Can processors be upgraded in MBPs? I'm so turned off by the hypocritical hype one still hears from some Apple fanatics. Apple now IS the man, much as mac buyers like to think they're sticking it to the other computer Man. And now with Intel processors in macs there's really very little to distinguish hardware other than overpriced design elements and half-decent software.

Don't get me wrong... I like the MBP. Performs well, looks good etc. I just can't afford to pay over the odds for hardware and increasingly object to funding the Apple hype.

 

Yup. This quote sums it all up:

You've got to be kidding me. It's a different "class" now? Le puits n'est pas qu'un groupe de connerie fleurie.

 

1. Apple makes a ton of money on hardware. A similarly spec'd PC would fetch far far less.
2. Mac OS needs to maintain the image that its "superior" to Windows. They make it work by focussing on a very narrow set of harrwares. If they opened it up, would OS X work ? Very siimilar to the linux problem of configuring on different systems. They'd have to write a ton of drivers.