Thinkpad xx40 line is garbage!

Just watched this review on the W540 review, holy , what a piece of trash.

Look ugly, function, basically an utter garbage. Basically Lenovo uttered destroyed both function and form in one generation.

Good on ya.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkGa7wa0sNk

Please recommend me another business brand.

 

I think the general consensus that ThinkPads are going the wrong direction is a widely accepted fact.

 

do you think Lenovo will go back to pre-xx30 style in the next generation or will it be a pipe dream?

I can't image what the xx50 will look like if they continue to the way they are going now.

 

I doubt it, but they're still functional (not sure where you're getting that they're not from).

 

Sometimes I think "things were better in the past" but then I get actual experience with an old laptop and my opinion reverts to "new is always better than old"

Last week I spent 40 hours using a ThinkPad T510 - it was huge and the screen was unpleasant. I am really happy to be back using my Yoga 2 Pro this week.

 

Wouldn't that just be an issue with display size, for the most part?

I could just as well say that my T100 is too small, so I'm going back to my X61t (for programming, the T100 really does suck). Old is better than new, in that specific case and opinion.

 

Yes, this review is a "utter peace of trash" because of several reasons:
- He complains about the TouchPad can´t be disabled, yet, this is very easy done in BIOS and in the driver
- He complains about the small on-screen box on the display, which also can be disabled very easily
- Manages to break a bottom cover by using to much force and thinks its Lenovo´s fault

This guy is a bit clueless (well, at least for an "IT professional"). The only real complain he has are the missing lights.

It is also very funny to see that only people who never owned any of the xx40 models discussing that they are "garbage"... I guess the people over in the T440s Owner thread, who constantly express their liking of the T440s must also be terrible wrong...how can the use something that you descripe as "non-functional"?

Gosh, no, they won´t, for good reasons. It is really important that they don´t go back to the worse style.

Dell (Latitude & Precision) and HP (Elitebook and ZBook). But I must warn you, they are going exactly the same direction as Lenovo.

Yep. In the end, it really boils down to the look/form of the Notebook (which is purely subjective) and some small things like status LEDs or just don´t-want-to-get-used-to-something-new.

 

Personally, I also dislike the direction that Lenovo is taking the "true" Thinkpads (X/T/W), but really they could have done a worse job with the keyboard than they actually have. Personally, my biggest compliant about the -30 and -40 are the lack of forward/back keys that used to be near the arrow keys in the -20 and earlier; this is a deal breaker for me as I've grown to love using those keys and now with them gone I have no reason to value Thinkpads above Latitudes/Elitebooks anymore, but that's my two cents. Otherwise, I had a pretty positive opinion of the new designs (well, back when the -30 was new):

Lenovo ThinkPad W530 Review - Laptop User Reviews

 

As long as they don't kill the TrackPoint, I still see SOME value in getting a ThinkPad. I tried the ThinkPad Yoga at a Microsoft Store, the hidden TrackPoint buttons are okay but takes some getting used to. It's clickier than the standard buttons (better IMO) but because they are sunk lower your thumb travel is a bit more (bad IMO).

Oh and did I mention the X1 Carbon keyboard? Hope that doesn't get carried down.

 

I was talking about display quality, not display size, sorry if that wasn't apparent. I'm now spoiled by 276PPI.

 

After years of using TrackPoints exclusively, I was worried about moving to an IdeaPad, but it only took a few weeks to adjust and now I don't really miss it. I was pretty surprised that the process was so painless and that my opinion changed - I thought I would never abandon TrackPoints. (Note that I wouldn't mind going back to a TrackPoint, I just don't think of it as 'required' any longer).

 

Don't have to read to say i agree with the title!

 

if people talk about the current design and the need for changes, i think Lenovo will listen. I have been giving lot of feedbacks on the TouchPad and TrackPoint to the design team, and i told them this AIO design doesn't work, and you need to have the old design back.

If it was 20 years back, they may not listen. But now the power of social media and web 2.0, consumers in large number can give meaningful feedback to the companies about their future directions.

For me personally, i kept my ThinkPad W520 and W530 for the fact that i have trouble getting used to the new W540 keyboard.

 

People have been thinking Lenovo are going wrong ever since Thinkpad goes to widescreen. But I really do not think my W540/X240 is worse then my previous Thinkpads(X220/T420).

For "function and form", the current line has a better screen, keyboard almost on par (even better in term of tactile feeling) with pre-30 generation and is still pretty solid and extensible. Trackpad is WAY better while a trackpoint is pretty easy for me to get accustomed too. Do not think I have much to complain.

 

There is absolutely no reason to remove the lights, the design departure will alienate lots of Thinkpad users.

The video review was fair and the technical knowledge of the reviewer was irrelevant, the video was a comparison between the W540 and the previous generation and it showed how much degeneration there is in the current model.

All his points was valid.

 

Hm, not really. Blinky lights are neat, but not critical as modern machines have no moving parts (SSDs and the like). Since there was never a light for a fan (only moving part) it's not essential anymore. He was going on about "if your hard drive is active and the computer is working" bla bla, but with SSDs, it's all instant and doesn't matter. You don't need a light flashing that's telling you your hard drive platter is reading at the moment because chances are you have an SSD. Maybe an "I'M CHARGING" light, but meh - haswell and it's benefit on battery life makes them last forever.

And his point about the trackpad...."left click left click everywhere is a left click!" is configurable in the trackpad settings. He was going on about something that is easily configurable in the settings.

Look, I'm not defending this trackpad deal (I hate it) as it's my only gripe. I'll take the 1080p IPS touch panel on my T440s all day long vs. a horrid TN panel.

Blinky lights, don't miss or need them personally.

I guess if you have a spinning drive, it's time to enter the modern era (braces for storage space argument)...

 

Well, to play Devils Advocate, it can still be useful to have a HDD light on a SSD-equipped laptop so that you can tell if your SSD is hanging vs some other problem (say, Program X is just taking forever to do something with data in the program itself, or something).

 

I guess so. But there are freeware toolbar HDD activity programs and utilities that flash and carry on and will make it very clear that the HDD/SSD is active. I see your point though, but it's just not an issue in my SSD only household, personally. Just slam the lid closed and go, I guess (save critical work first, as always, light or no light).

Missing blinky lights don't mean an entire Thinkpad line is garbage. This is a bit knee-jerk. The new designs have their faults, but the machines themselves aren't garbage and are suited for Japan/UK business trips for field sales (ya'll watched the video, right?).

 

SSD-equipped ThinkPads should play an MP3 file of hard-disk sounds whenever their SSD is active.

 

Normally I would agree with you. But I just picked up a X230 on ebay for 610 dollars with 8 gigs of ram and the 2.9 processor and 500GB HD with W7. All I can say is this machine screams. Heck of a deal. Like brand new with 870 days of accidental Lenovo Insurance left. I've never had a HD based machine run this good. Can't imagine how fast it would be with an SSD.

 

A software solution is going to fall flat on its face if the HDD/SSD freezes. Unless it's completely, 100% loaded into RAM and stays there, I suppose..

 

Damn, seldom so much nonsense in a thread. Just because technology improves doesn't mean you can skip on the usability of the design by having some designers go crazy.

The HDD light that occupies the last page; it has a function. Of course, for the majority here that does nothing but dicking around Facebook (etc.), that light does nothing....

Last week I had to deal with some 180 Megapixel pictures. No such thing as instantaneous 180 Megapixel pictures, even with SSD. Pretty useless to try to do something else when that light still burns.

#1 16:9 aspect ratio is absolutely useless
#2 No reason to mess up keyboard layout
#3 No reason to get rid of keyboard keys
#4 No reason to get rid of eSata
#5 M.2 slots are rather useless if you implement the 42mm variety that you can't get any sizeable SSD for
#6 Don't get rid of usefull indicator light.
#7 F-keys are F-keys; not all kinds of other things. Getting rid of the volume and mute buttons is just cheap.

So now compare the Dell M4800 to the Thinkpad W540:
Both useless 16:9, both crappy keyboard layout but with the Dell you get at least a more sturdy case, eSata, useable mSata, dedicated trackpoint buttons and indicator lights. Why bother with the W540?

As for breaking a cover: my W520 came out of the box with misaligned HDD cover and at my local computer shop they misaligned the backcover of an Edge 540 after checking the RAM slots.

And oh: that "IT Professional" comes to the same conclusion.

 

I was writing an ode to Dell Precision 4800, which I've never seen before, as a better successor to IBM Thinkpads than Lenovo is (Dell should've been advertising that). Until I realized that the new 3800 model, in the same line, is going in the wrong direction again. I vomit when I read : "it's sleek and stylish, but missing some features the previous model had"

All the Dell needs is to make a 12" and 14" models like 4800/6800 and get all former Lenovo corporate deals for themselves.

 

Thank you.

So many ThinkPad fan boys that would blindly defend thinkpad no matter what Lenovo do to it.

Ps why is dell precision laptops so expensive compared to thinkpad?

 

That probably depends on where you live. When I bought my T61 I could have gotten an almost equal Dell Latitude D630 for a bit less.

I only looked at refurb prices of the M4800 on eBay: very very reasonable if you ask me