Thinkpads of old....Quality..

When I sued to travel as a consultant, back around 1999, I had the pleasure of using a couple of beautiful thinkpads, a 770 (bulky desktop replacement), nd a 600M (smaller, thin).
Both had amazingly high quality keyboards, and a sort of carbon/rubbery feel to the chasis.

Does IBM/Lenovo currently make any models to these standards anymore? Or is it all hard plastic with cheapish keyboards?

I wouldn't expect any laptop newbies to really know what I'm talking about, but those that have been around a while, and owned the older thinkpads, must know what I'm talking about.

thx

 

I am a laptop newbie according to your definition of not having owned one of the old thinkpads. But I'd say you should go to a store and see the laptops yourself if the build quality is of concern. It might also help to read reviews of recent thinkpads and other brands of laptops to get a comparison. I wouldn't say that the older thinkpads are necessarily "better" in keyboard and build quality compared to current ones because newer designs tend to improve upon old ones. This is especially true for laptops and PCs, which have come a long way in terms of power and popularity since 1999.

 

Great attitude. Go look it up yourself rather than rely on newbies.

 

The internals of the new Thinkpads are encased in a metal roll cage. That roll cage is encased in plastic. I think they use the same keyboard manufacturers they always have, Alps, NMB, Chicony. Still have sealed off keyboard incase of spills, harddrive encased in rubber. Go to your local computer outlet and see them out for your self, nothing beats checking it out first hand. The lid does have a rubber coating.

 

Nice reply, idiot.
I was simply implying that someone new to laptops would obviously not have owned one of the older models from 1999. I was hoping some people who had would reply.

And not all of us live in areas where there are stores to look at these.

 

Find your way to thinkpads.com.. it is there where you will find those you wish to speak to..

 

I believe the build quality and ruggedness on my t61 to be outstanding. I have had many sonys and a few dells, none of them compare in build quality. The sonys and dells feel extremely plastic-y. The keys have great travel, I'm sure similar to what they have always had. Like braddd said, it has an internal rollcage that protects the screen. If i place one hand on each side of the screen and push with one hand and pull with the other, there is minimal flex. I believe the other machines that will be more rugged will be the toughbooks. The t61 is very slim for how rugged it is. The only thing that disappointed me was battery charge time. On my t61 14" wide with a 7 cell, it takes 5+ hours to fully charge while the machine is on. The sonys and dells will do in usually in under an hour.

 

Gibson-

I have used or owned just about every model of Thinkpad made since 1995 (and still have a few of the older models around) so I can give you some of my insight. I know what you mean about the older Thinkpad models-holding them in your hand, they just 'felt' like excellent quality. The fully rubberized coating on ALL surfaces-not just the screen lid-just felt right. And some of the older models were very stiff in their construction-especially the 600 series.

Now are the newer models better constructed to handle drops and spills? I would say yes to that-the rollcages they use are definitely stiffer and probably protect the internals better. However, the plastic skin definitely feels cheaper now, and from what some people are experiencing the rubberized coating is not as impervious to wear as it used to be. My guess is it comes down to cost and weight cutting measures.

As far as keyboards go, Thinkpads still have the best overall keyboards in the industry-but their overall feel and construction has cheapened in some areas. I have noticed-especially with the T60p and T61p I own-that the finish on the keys wear much quicker that before. I keep my hands clean, and after a couple of weeks of use I started noticing shine on a few of the keys and the trackpoint buttons. It used to not be this way. As far as the feel of the keys themselves-they are still very good, but me (and a number of other people I have conversed with) feel that the best keyboard ever available on a Thinkpad were those on the 600 series. It is an absolute joy to type on a 600! If someone hasn't ever used a 600 series, they really need to so they can get an appreciation of how Thinkpads used to be. Granted, we paid for it-but damn it there wasn't anything available on the market that was even close. And although the 600 series did not use a rollcage, it feels just as sturdy as the new models with zero flex in the chassis.

I guess my conclusion is that although the newer T series are probably some of the most durable Thinkpads built, they don't have as much of a quality feel as some of the older models. Times changed, profit margins dropped, and they had to reduce costs to increase sales-as well as develop thinner and lighter models. We probably won't ever have a Thinkpad that 'feels' as nice as some of the older models, but then again we won't have to pay anywhere from $3000 to $5000 for one either!

 

I agree with that. Notebooks prices are now lower and notebooks are thinner/smaller. That's the evolution of the notebook, no matter of which brand it is. There's always a compromise for everything...

Cars built 30 years ago felt more solid with thick metal panels and bumpers and were sometimes more powerful...we could say that cars are now cheaps, because made of plastics,etc. but that would be a misunderstanding of the fact that cars are now built to conform to more and more severe environmental and safety regulation. Behind plastic that looks cheap on the surface, there is engineering that makes things safer.

 

Good conclusion, I totally agree. Also, it's nice to not have to carry around an 8 pound laptop that's as thick as an encyclopedia.

 

Thanks for the reply, you pretty much nailed it, I think. Yeah, I miss the feeling of the finish, and I just remember the keys feeling very thick/robust.
I don't remember what I paid for my 600, but I think my 770 was something like 2300 US on sale.....what a nice machine that was. But yeah, the 600 was really the pinnacle.

 

The plastic skin on newer Thinkpads are a CFRP Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic, not your cheap regular plastic. The solid feel that most claim has been lost was the actual full magnesium build of older systems. Though it definitely lent rigidity and structural stability to the feel of a chassis it also added weight. The newer thinkpads with their magnesium roll cages are actually lighter and just as strong if not stronger. I do think though that a thicker grade of the CFRP may add to the solid feeling that alot of folks think is lacking in the newer models (thinkpads that is). I have used quite a few different models since about 2000 and I fell in love with the brand from day one. I too miss that rock solid feel but considering the improved structural integrity and lighter weight I really can't complain at all. After all no one enjoys carrying a 10lb brick everyday.

 

Hi I have an old T20 that I am still working on from 1999 and this summer I just bought a T61 (which actually arrived within 10 days, I see a thread on this topic too). I love my T20, it is lighter, battery longer (well of course it's brand new) and it has a bit of a different touch to the keyboard but I like it. I am a writer and it has a click almost like a typewriter, but softer. It has a pretty good screen, kind of cool, with some blues in it. But it's a good deal.

HOWEVER I am having a problem with it is I am having USB issues, I saw someone had this issue last year with an older ThinkPad, I may post separately on this. It is now saying when I plug anything into a USB 2.0 port my add-on devices (external backup drive and USB thumb drives) will operate faster if I find the USB 2.0 port. I have USB 2.0 everything. The techs at Lenovo think the drivers are corrupted and they want to wipe my computer clean and I can't deal with this option right now because I am working on a book. So that is my issue. Other than that horrible mess I really like it.

Good luck.