What's the deal with the thinkpad's looks?

Plain/Ugly appeals to corporations. Look at blackberry.

All my friends who work for big company's that supply either laptops or phones to their employees have Thinkpads or Precisions (not really ugly, but still plain, and generally way more expensive anyway), and blackberry bolds/curves clipped to their belt.

 

You say you have a ThinkPad and you don't know why it caters to a business crowd? Do you even know the features of your ThinkPad? Do you even actually have a ThinkPad?

I refuse to believe you would be so foolish to buy something without knowing its capabilities, or else you would have gotten something shiny like that Gateway in your sig. Consumers don't just accidentally stumble into buying a ThinkPad.

 

I bought my ThinkPad so I can whack those people in the back of the head with it and still be able to turn it on afterwards.

 

I have to admit that I don't think highly of people who are driven by fashion. What ever happened to having to learn funtionality?

I, on the other hand, knew nothing about notebooks went directly to thinkpads and after looking them over, have stayed here.

-Renee

 

Form follows function. One of the things I love about ThinkPads.

It's a clean and in a way, timeless design.

It has that "let's get down to business" point.

 

You guys seem to be under the impression that if it looked as sexy as a macbook then you wouldn't buy it.

 

Okay I don't think we need to continue this thread anymore...

 

So we should all buy something as long as it's sexy?
You're not making much sense and missing the point.
What if I don't want sexy? What if I thought sexy is Megan Fox..how about if had her painted on my Thinkpad, would that make it sexy?

I can see how laptops and other cool gadgetry to some people say something about themselves or to put it more succintly: they want the world to look at them and tell them they're cool, hip and all that. Apple designers understand human psychology and how it plays into the consumer psyche. In fact they've based their entire brand on mostly that so that wheneve the words "Apple", "Mac" are mentioned,the words "Sleek", "Sexy" immediately pop to mind. That works very well for Apple. One reason why the iPod line is such a huge success...and most only care that it carries the brand. That doesn't mean that every other company should follow suit. Maybe there are those who like the all black, angular look for which I'm guilty of myself.

Some of the thinkpad users are saying that looks are not as important and some who say they actually dig the thinkpad look. Some even mentioned how a Thinkpad would look more credible in certain settings - so don't believe it when Thinkpad users say they don't care about looks, on the contrary I bet they care just as much as the Mac user who takes his Mac into a music studio.
Would I be sporting Mr. T's mohawk and all his blingbling in a boardroom meeting? Absolutely not.

The point is it matters not how a laptop looks (as in whther it looks sexy or not) as much as what sort of image it projects. Sometimes it's better to not want to project a look, and conversely there are other instances where one may want to. Nuthin wrong with that.

 

I think for a lot of people who buy thinkpad the design is the last what they care about.
At least I wasn't looking for design when buying my thinkpad.
This is my first thinkpad and I'm very pleased with its looks.
And I don't quite understand notebook manufactures when they make "fingerprint-collector-design", its annoying. why people want to buy such laptops?

 

I agree. I think both sides have sufficiently voiced their opinions...

 

Seriously. OP isn't even trying anymore. Weak troll.

 

This is true. I actually prefer the ThinkPad styling, because it implies a focus on functionality.

 

I love the looks of the ThinkPads. Basically all of my friends owns HP's and they really mock me with the old and out-dated looks of the ThinkPads. It's not as flashy as others but I would be getting very tired of the glossy looks of other notebooks, especially the HP Pavilions.

I only have to tell my friends about Lenovo's features regarding protection and durability. Then they'll shut up

Also the ThinkPad design has been around for several years with only minor changes. I would say that indicates it's a design that works very well. I don't think you can find another brand which has used the same design for as many years.

 

I love em, the way they look, no useless details, everything looks like meant to last and to actually function!

 

A timeless classic beauty—the Marilyn Monroe of notebooks!

 

I have to say, I am attracted to the looks. It's the antithesis of pop-culture, flash and gloss, and as such it has become a timeless classic. Yes, one could indeed consider it the Marilyn Monroe of notebooks, but I think Audrey Hepburn would be a better match: Classic, fine features, elegant and a dab of dark mystique

 

So brunette vs blonde .

 

Hehe, yes: Fleeting vs. lasting

 

I love my Thinkpad (X200). Sure it's plain, but I wouldn't want it any other way. The plastics do not show dirt, unlike the DV series from HP. You can't get a manlier machine than a Thickpad.

 

We might have to create a poll .

 

It isn't business and the workplace is plain and boring. It is the impression you want to give.

Lets say you go into a business meeting wearing something loud. A loud green blazer paired with light brown slacks. But eventually maybe you are trying to land a promotion. Or a client. With this ensemble, you might as well be wearing a bright red clown suit.

What does loud colors say to a client? "Hey look at me!!!!!" "I want attention!!!" There is a reason why only kids can get away with wearing such trendy and contrasting clothes.

A business man is trying to put more attention on his product and services than his product. Fashion faux pas are a distraction. And it looks amateur and unprofessional. Would you trust a $30,000 account to someone who has a bright red laptop with sparkles and anime designs all over it?

 

That's because they are well-built RELIABLE laptops.

Price, looks, reliability. Pick 2.

 

Haha, yeah, but how should we word it?
"Is the Thinkpad:
a) Marilyn Monroe – the origin of all the Dumb-blonde jokes: Bueatiful, but very little inside. Fleeting beauty.

b) Audrey Hepburn – long lasting classic, with a long history of good work?

As you can see, I'm propably not the one to make that poll

 

If I had seen a ThinkPad before buying my first notebook (Twinhead 12D), it would definitely have been my first choice. It looks kinda like a mini tank, but the design is so plain and simple that I cannot not like it~

Now that I own a ThinkPad myself, I can say this proudly: If you aren't looking for a gaming laptop, I'd definitely recommend getting a ThinkPad

 

At first glance I thought this question was a joke. Especially since it is referring to Thinkpads. But in the spirit of trying to be patient with people who are curious about why Thinkpads look they way they do I will attempt to answer it.

(1) "Why do such great, reliable notebooks have the get dragged down by FLAT, PLAIN, BUSINESS-ESQUE looks"?
Great question. Thinkpads are indeed engineered to be reliable. This is because business customers are different from the average consumer. To a consumer a savings of $200 (or more) might be enough to make them choose a cheaper computer even if it doesn't have as good a reputation for quality. For a business customer, a nonfunctioning computer might mean a sales executive can't give a presentation and cost the company millions in lost revenue. A $200(or more) premium is small price for a business to pay to ensure their workers have reliable equipment to perform mission critical tasks with. In general business customers aren't as price sensitive as the average consumer and they are able to pay for reliability in their computers.

(2) I realize looks aren't everything, especially with computers but i hate how my thinkpad's looks don't represent it's hardware. My friends come up to me and ask me why i have a notebook from the 90's.
You are correct that a Thinkpad bought today looks alot like the Thinkpads from the 1990's. This is no accident. It is simply a reflection of what business customers want. Consider business fashion as it relates to clothing. Business suits don't change much from year to year like like fashion marketed at teenagers does. Business clients don't want to shout "Hey look at me I've got the latest and trendiest looks going". They want to message to be "I'm a serious and thoughtful person, now listen to what I have to say".

Furthermore, consider you are the IT manager responsible for buying notebook computers for 1000 employees. But each year you can only replace 250 of them. Would you rather buy computers from a brand that change drastically in looks from year to year so all the employees who don't get the new computers feel left out and under appreciated. Or would you rather buy Thinkpads that simply look conservative and change so little from year to year that to the untrained eye they all look the same.

So if Thinkpads are designed and marketed to the business customer do they have anything to offer the average consumer? Well I would say yes. They still offer what is widely considered to be the best keyboards in the market (notwithstanding the old T400 keyboards which reportedly had some flex to them), handy if you actually need to do work on your notebook. They are also built to withstand some abuse. The outside may be plastic but inside there is a frame made of lightweight magnesium (I think it's magnesium not positive though) that houses and protects the motherboard and all the other sensitive electronic parts. Thinkpads used to cost a lot more than their competition but I'd say the Thinkpads of today are much much more cost competitive than the Thinkpads of 5-10 years ago. I'd also say that Lenovo has done a good job of maintaining quality since purchasing the Thinkpad brand from IBM.

So my friend, the next time your "friends" come over and taunt you about how your Thinkpad looks like it's from the 90's. Simply smile, and remind them that your Thinkpad is an icon of industrial design and ten years from now it will look as good as it does today. Then as you push their Alienware, Dell XPS, Apple, or whatever they bought computer off the table you can remind them that Thinkpads are built tough too.

 

It would be nice if they made it a dark blue.

Black suits tend to be too formal for everyday wear. A dark blue is by far the most versatile.

 

Not if you decide to wear your tartan on casual friday.

Black is much more versatile than dark blue, even though dark blue is nice.

 

I think it's mission is well represented by the colors. I don't play games on my computer. It's for work for Gods sake so it's color's are perfect a non-distracting black. By the way my work is in computer's themselves.
-Renee

 

I'll reserve the fancy colors for the clubs.

 

People troll this so don't worry about it too much.

 

Wooo, necroposting!

OP is long gone, and if he really had a ThinkPad, he wouldn't have asked (i.e. trolled) this question. I mean, look at his sig with his fancy but flimsy "Gatway" (sic). You don't just get up and buy a ThinkPad and then wonder later why it looks the way it looks.

As I said in an earlier post, I can whack you in the back of your head with my ThinkPad and still turn it on afterwards if you ask me such a dumb question. If I whack you in the back of your head with some glitzy-looking laptop, chances are it won't turn on afterwards or look good with that huge crack in the glossy/polished outer shell.

I guess it also helps to not have lame friends, since mine were all, "Oooh, you bought a ThinkPad? Those are nice. I've heard some great things about them." One of them is even a Mac zealot. Go figure.

 

I love the look of my T61p. Other laptops these days are way too glossy and shiny. They all look too delicate and look like they're made of cheap plastic.

IMO, the only other laptop that is as stylish if not more, are the Macbooks.

 

Macbooks are for girls, real men buy Thinkpads.

 

Real women buy Thinkpads whether men do or not.

 

I also like the look of THinkpads which is why I will be purchasing one real soon as I will be doing a lot of research presentations and i'd rather not bust out the silver Macbook in front of everyone with Thinkpads or Latitudes.

I think the most iconic designs in laptops are Macs and Thinkpads, each having their own ups and downs.

 

When I see a Mac notebook, my first thought is the user is a “stuck up clueless prima donna.” Then when I get to know the person, on rare occasion I might find a scientist or someone with a BSD/UNIX background, but, unfortunately, I often just find a stuck up clueless prima donna that is compelled to inform me of how his or her machine never crashes, doesn’t get viruses, cures cancer, etcetera…

 

Funny about this thread....I have a HP Pavilion Dv3550eo right now. I´ve had it for about 2 months and I´m NOT happy with the looks of it. I had and Acer Aspire 5520 before and it was borderline tacky. The Dv3550eo is glossy/chrome GALORE, I just have to imagine a greasy fingerprint and there it is! LOL! I thought that I would like the look of it but I guess I´m just one of those guys who likes clean astethics. This thing feels like something Snoop-Dog would use, it´s pimped beyond all recognition.

Oh BTW! I´m getting my new Thinkpad R61 tomorrow and this wh*re of lappie is getting sold

 

Ya...if nerds would stop trying to be cool then we could generalize more accurately! But kidding aside in a college environment at least most users are not going to be your BSD/Unix nerds using CLI on a Mac. But...Adam Savage has a mac on mythbusters too :\.

 

Does he actually have one? Or is Apple simply sponsoring MythBusters (like they do 24 and a myriad of other popular TV shows)?

 

Google answered my question… http://www.maclife.com/article/news/mythbusters_adam_savage_mac_geek.

 

Nice, this thread is still alive. I'm still waiting for a dark blue laptop.

 

OK, so the ThinkPad is solid business black, although it may leave some looks to be desired.

So what do you people do in terms of making the ThinkPad your own? Or are you really just satisfied with the business black look?

Any chislers, engravers, stickers out there?

 

i keep it sticker free.

as in i peel away the fugly windows vista and intel centrino 2 stickers.

i don't use any protection though, just throw it into my bag and go. so i guess any potential scratch marks would "make the thinkpad my own"

 

ThinkPads are understated, how would a good design represent good hardware? To me, that is when you open the laptop up, and fire up a recent game, that is how to show them. People who think your ThinkPad is from the 90's are ignorant.

 

hm...i think it's the physical things that sets thinkpads apart from the rest...performance wise they're basically the same as any other similar configured laptops. if i fire up a recent game on my t400s i'd probably be laughed at. miserably. (no dedicated display card)

 

T, W, and X series thinkpads are some of the best looking notebooks on the market. The only thing that makes them not a guaranteed top is they have touchpads.

 

Diggin up old threads....

 

and you still waiting for a dark blue laptop?

 

I saw them working hard so I figured Id grab a shovel and help.

 

Kill it with fire!