When is Lenovo going to start retailing Thinkpads again?

All I ever see in stores nowadays, in Canada, are either the Lenovo line of laptops or outdated Thinkpads still using the Pentium M.

Is Lenovo trying to shove their brand of laptops down our throats and resort to web ordering if we want a Thinkpad now?

I would really like a Z61t but it seems pretty much impossible to get one in Canada, and I have absolutely no desire for Lenovo's line of laptops.

 

The Z61t is a Lenovo notebook.

 

Obviously

By Lenovo line, I meant the notebooks they designed and made before they bought IBM's PC division, which is now called the 3000 series.

 

You just go to the wrong stores. Probably the big box stores?

I've seen laptop specialty stores in toronto which carry the X60's and T60's, x41 tablets and z60's.

 

Sorry about that...I am after a newbie at the whole IBM/Lenovo scene. My appologies.

 

That's what I mean by outdated, the X60 and Z60's that are in stores around here are still the Pentium M models. I've seen only one T60 that uses dual core and it was $3000 -- and it was gone a week later.

 

As far as the Z60's, very few if any stores have the Z61's yet (i've never seen)... even online orders are hard to receive.

Good thing about the Pentiums, they should be a relative bargain. You can get fully loaded M760's with SXGA and 80-gig drive new thinkpads in toronto for $1199 to $1299 now. But the T60's are hella lot more.

Does duo core matter that much? It's gonna be obsolete too soon (duo 2 core). Buying behind the tech curve a bit is best value usually.

 

Yes, Duo Core matters, it's one of the first revelations in years that will actually give a significant performance increase to real-world multitasking.

Hence, my question, when -- if ever -- Lenovo will ever start retailing Thinkpads again.

 

Okie then... Go to Pacific Notebooks or Notebook Outlet (if you're in toronto).

They have Fujitsu and Thinkpad with duo core. When your price them out, you may prefer the fully-loaded pentium M's instead.

The processor is just one link in the chain of performance (usually not on the critical path).
I think i can do without duo core, it would be nice only for when my virus scan kicks in. But that can be stopped and re-run later, or run in whisper mode i guess if your thinkpad has it.

 

I've been to Pacific Notebooks, and unless they added them very recently, they do not have any Thinkpads with dual cores. Also, their website, as well as Notebook Outlet, do not list any dual core Thinkpads.

While nice, you don't have to inform me of computer technology. Actually, it's a common misconception that dual core helps a lot with virus scanning; a big portion of virus scanning is IO bound.

Where dual core excels is if you're compiling a large solution (with dozens of dependent projects), encoding video, doing PAR file recovery, decoding news articles, compiling/building if you use any engineering/design applications, launching multiple applications simultaneously, running Folding@Home, etc. -- all while being able to do another task you would normally do such as watching a hi-def movie, playing a video game, even surfing the internet, with very little interruption.

It's not simply a matter of virus scanning.

 

Pacific had a T60 a week ago for ~$2500. Alternatively, you can buy right now T43's as follows:
$1300: 266892U - 2.0ghz, SXGA, 15" IPS Flexview, 80gb, bluetooth, 802.11abg, Multiburner (single-layer), fingerprint, 3-yr warranty
$1200: 266872U - same as above except 14.1" SXGA and no flexview
$899: 23734VU or 23734YU - 1.8ghz, 14" or 15" XGA, 802.11abg, Combo, 80gb, 512mb, 3-yr warranty

I don't need to do the things you mention, but if u wanna multitask but 2 loaded t43's instead of one stripped T60 (at least for the canadian pricing today).

But if you really want a T60, suggest you buy one online this week from the US site during their back-to-school sale. An Amex card should work there (cdn-issued visa and M/C will not). Too bad the s-video port disappeared from the T60 tho if you wanna use it for TV. And they made the T60 a quarter inch thicker!

 

Prior to Duo Core, the majority of PC users (85%) never did anything on their PC...except maybe play a game...that maxed out its processing power. Now with Duo Core the number gone up to 92-95%.

Duo Core in interesting/cool technology, but really only a nice to have for most PC users.

Best value in PC tech is always n-2. One generation removed and one speed step down. Buying like this allows you to upgrade your tech more frequently, since initial purchase price make up less of the total cost to own the product.

 

Agreed Nooorm... in the case of a thinkpad, you pay half as much this way, and you can re-sell it in a couple of years still under warranty. You will suffer only hundreds in depreciation instead of $1000+ depreciation in the same time by buying bleeding edge.

That's why i advocate he buy the new high-end T43 or T42 for Cdn$899+ ... you cant get a new T60 in canada (yet) for under $2k.

 

Where are you getting your price of $1300 for a T43, which is listed as $2500 at Pacific Notebooks? Not even the Lenovo visaperks site offers that price.

 

Oh this is ibm internal pricing (4 posts up) on remaining stock I'm considering.
You (or anyone) in toronto can come get one new in sealed box, either at IBM or at my house.
Example, I have a new 1.8ghz 23734VU (i can PM the serial number) for $1024 including all tax.
PM me if interested... no profit here, just a service to the Toronto chapter of this great forum haha
Apologies this should be in the sales section, but this post is germane to this conversation