What exactly stays the same when a Thinkpad is "based on" another model?

I often see "based on" when using Lenovo's product information search, but am never sure exactly what the two models share in common.

I know the differences could include processor, hard drive, RAM, screen resolution, wireless, battery, optical drive, OS...um, so what's left?? The PC card slot? Are there really so many permutations of, say, a basic T400 chassis?

Put another way, if my Thinkpad is "based on" another model and I put those two models side by side, what am I seeing...obviously other than two big black slabs of super-elastic polycarbonate?

 

Not exactly sure what you're asking - are you asking how many different pre-configured models of the T400 there are?

Lenovo configures seveal "TopSeller" models of each laptop that have the most-commonly chosen options as standard. It sells these models to other retailers that stock Thinkpads.

Of course, on Lenovo's website, there's a huge number of different possible configurations of each laptop: you can get a T400 with/without a fingerprint reader, with a range of Core 2 Duo processors, a range of wireless cards, a range of screens, with/without camera, 1-8GB of RAM, a range of Windows OSs, etc, etc. All these do obviously share the same basic T400 chassis.

 

The most recent example that comes to mind is the new T400s "based on" the T400.

I'm pretty sure that they're trying to capitalize on the strengths (actual or perceived) of the established model (in this case, the T400). It also implies that the new model is even better than the one they're already familiar with. That's how they justify the substantially higher pricing. For at least six months, the X200s as marketed as an X200 that was improved in every possible way....and it was about 50% more expensive, too...

It's called MARKETING!

 

What the hell does the "s" stand for? Small? When i didn't know that the actual individual ThinkPad was called an x200 "s" i actually thought that people were just referring to the plural of an X200 or T400... lol

 

I've always assumed it stood for "slim."

 

I read somewhere that the 's' stands for small, but I can't verify (and can't be bothered to Google it...)

 

Sorry if that wasn't clear...

I just meant if you look up a particular model of Thinkpad on the product info page, say 1234-ABC, the result might say "based on 1234-DEF"...and, on occasion, that "based on" result might even be "based on" a 3rd model, 1234-XYZ

In the end, you reach a point where the "based on" model will be listed in the TA Book, so my question was, if the processor, battery, wireless option, hard drive, screen resolution, and OS (for example) are different between the two (or three) models that are based off one another, what do they share in common and why is one based off another if the key features a typical consumer is paying attention to are all different?

In many cases, the only things I can guess as being similar are the PC/Express/media card slot, fingerprint reader, and the warranty type.

Perhaps my confusion is purely semantic: why use "based on" when the models appear to be so different?

 

All of them share the same chassis with all the benefits of being a Thinkpad (ie: Rollcage, Thinkpad keyboard, UltraNav, great indicator lights under the screen, etc). Most of the differences are performance differences that depend on how much money you want to put in it (just like options on a car - a Toyota Camry is based on a Toyota Camry, whether or not you choose to option it out to be an XLE or an LE model).

 

usually these models are special bid systems for large corporations, refurbished systems, or systems that only differ in their warranty terms. if you see that your MTM number is based on another, you can assume that the specs (at that point in time) will be close to the topseller/preconfigured system listed (ie: the models you see in the PSREF sheets).

 

There's also the W500, based on the T500...

 

that's not what chengdude is asking about.

it's this:

 

He-he-he... sorry to interrupt then