When Will High Performance, Affordable, New ThinkPads Become Available?

I bought T500 with WUXGA screen and had to immediately get rid of it because the screen was horrible. I needed a laptop fast, so I bought some Vaio. I will NEVER buy a laptop without TrackPoint again.

I need to buy another ThinkPad. But I can't justify it with the current offerings from Lenovo.

When are the W and T series lines expected to be refreshed?

Update: W500, not T500.

 

The refresh is expected in January-February 2010. If you order then, expect to receive around February-March. When the refreshed Thinkpads launch, they certainly won't be cheap - they'll likely be around the same price or more expensive than the T500/W500 when they were launched.

And the T500 does not and never did have a WUXGA screen option... only WSXGA+. The W500 has a WUXGA screen option.

 

So wait...you want a high performing and affordable thinkpad?

You bought a T (or probably W series) and then didn't like the screen, so you bought a Vaio.

You should be very able to get a high performing and relatively affordable thinkpad. However if you necessitate a certain quality of screen then you should probably look at the x200t.

 

They are here today! Just go to the web site and pick one up! Now if you don’t like the screen they offer that’s another story—and should probably be in a new thread with a new title!

 

Thinkpad prices vary greatly between different countries, in USA and Hong Kong they are the cheapest.

It is the exactly the sort of mentality for affordable and cheaper thinkpads that is lowering the laptop's overall quality.

 

Well price discrimination is a normal thing. A company would just have to effectively analyze how those regional markets are. If the thinkpad is a lower quality but substantially higher cost then they should correct it.

Luckily I am in the US and think the Thinkpads are now of great value.

 

Profits on most laptops are extremely low compared to several years ago, which will certainly decline as the technology becomes more widespread and there is more intense competition.

Thinkpads should only be compared to HP elitbook and Dell Latitude, as these laptops are sold through similar channel, have similar warranty term and similar laptop design/material usage.

 

Actually, Thinkpads have the shortest standard warranty of the three, at only 1 year. Dell Latitudes and HP Elitebooks come standard with 3 years. It stands to reason that Thinkpads should therefore be slightly cheaper.

 

In the US they are cheap when you order online but I don't think they are that cheap in Hong-Kong. In Taiwan and in China they are quite expensive.

 

Yes, you are right. It's a W500 that I had.

It had like 2.8Ghz processor, 4GB ram, 7400RPM HD, 512 MB graphics gard...It was crazy performance. I just didn't know what WUXGA was back then, but I was under the impression it's better specs than WSXGA, so I thought - yea sure I'll get WUXGA offered on eBay. That was like 6 months ago. I still regret it today.

It cost $1,600. For it's specs, the price was reasonable.

I basically want the same exact machine now, but with WSXGA+ and a bright display. That's all.

Maybe the new W and T models will have that...So when will they be available?

 

What i meant by warranty term was more in relation to warranty terms and conditions, and not the warranty period.

 

I am curious. What specifically didn't you like about the WUXGA screen? Just that you wanted it brighter?

 

Resolution has nothing to do with brightness.

Or maybe you just didn't like the density of the panel?

The t400 has a bright display option but not with WSXGA+.

 

Yes, the display was the main reason I had to get rid of the machine. It was dense, dim, and washed out. But the whole experience was disappointing. I loved my T40 and then X41, but the bulky W500 felt cheap and unlike my old ThinkPads.

Since I can't use a computer without a TrackPoint, I can probably live with the currently available WSXGA+, but to justify the purchase of a new ThinkPad to myself (and my wife), I need to wait for the new performance ThinkPad models.

When are they expected to hit the market?

 

If you want a high performance affordable thinkpad, buy refurbished (Lenovo Outlet) or buy one series back (for the chassis) and upgrade the cpu, ram, hdd and/or even the screen.

 

this is a bit off topic, but; mac's trackpad is awesome! i wouldn't mind using them, especially the new glass one! they are Big and very responsive and accurate.

what is not (substantially!!!) cheaper in USA as compared to the rest of the world?

 

The w500 is obviously larger and not a thin machine.

However I do not see why you need to "justify" having a new thinkpad with the latest refresh. Do you really need it? Pricing won't be as good as it now, unless you wait about 3 months+ after launch. Even then I doubt you will see the same affordability.

 

I think the thinkpads are very very affordable. Compared to the thinkpads from back when they were over four grand......

I think back to those days when people talk about how expensive laptops are today....

 

And if you consider it in terms of REAL dollars it is super cheap in comparison. But as with anything there are trade offs.

 

University Education is more expensive in USA as compared to Europe or other developed countries.

 

But everyone seems to want to get their education here, despite the cost.

 

Because US have the largest percentage of top 100 universities in the world, and apart from Oxford and Cambridge all the top 10 universities are American Universities.

If anyone whom wants to do research or post doc, USA still have the number one universities to go to due to the generous research founding. Innovation and research (tied together) is what keeping the USA economy afloat and its universities ahead.

For example Harvard Universities research output per year is more than all the research output of all the Australian universities added together.

 

Just like Ferrari is expensive and yet there over 3 years waiting list for their cars.

 

Cost AND benefit matter. If US education substantially raises income on the margin then it makes sense why there is such demand to come to the US for education. Though that is not to say all US schools are fantastic or worth it .

 

Wow, that got off topic REAL fast

Anyways. I really don't see the Thinkpads become "affordable" like an Inspiron. If it did, I'd steer AWAY from it. Cause if it is too good to be true...........

 

That being said with sales you can get a T or R series pretty darn cheap. Just most regular consumers aren't even aware of the options.

 

I think they are quite affordable as is!!! Especially the R series.

 

When ThinkPad's get cheap enough for anyone to buy them, it will no longer be a select recognizable few, in a niche market that will buy them for quality. All it will have left is the name... that's IT. These people want them cheap as a Dell, but better quality, can't get both sorry.

 

well, if youre looking for a better screen when the series refreshes, youre not going to get it. you should upgrade it yourself, just do some looking things up and its not too hard.
and you should get a t series. the x series and the t series you had before the w series you have now were probably built better because the w series doesnt have as good a build.

 

The w500 is the same body as the t500 effectively...

 

SL series shouldn't be much more expensive then the Inspirion range, well at least in Australia it isn't.

I think Thinkpads are already cheap enough, any cheaper the quality of all the components will go downwards fast. The magnesium chassis that lenovo have in their Thinkpads are fairly expensive, so if the price gets squeezed anymore then these magnesium chassis will be paper thin, which will defeat the purpose entirely.

If you can't afford a thinkpad at the current price, just get 300 dollars laptop to pull you over or get a second hand one. Last thing we want to do is to make Thinkpad with Daewoo quality and price.

 

You make a good point.

But I'm not in a hurry to buy, so is it reasonable to wait until they run a clearance promotion and maybe also offer Win 7 pre-installed?

 

The new, fastest, greatest laptop will be available the days after you buy yours.