Why did you buy your lenovo?

I bought my t500 without ever seeing one because:

a. It is solid and has a reputation for physical durability
b. It has an ATI graphics card (3650) that is powerfull and non defective. (See 8000 series nvidia)
c. It runs really cool.. (Switchable graphics helps.)
d. Out side of laptop is not glossy and doesnt collect fingerprints as much. (Rubberized finnish also keeps it secure in your hands.)
e. Screen doesnt collect fingerprints as bad
f. Price is right. (1/2 the price of a mac book pro.)
g. Best keyboard out there

Thanks!

 

I bought my X300 without ever seeing one because:

a. It's very portable at ~3.3 pounds, and has fairly good battery life

b. It has a trackpoint mouse (the more I use trackpads, the more I hate them)

c. 1440x900 on a 13" model is really nice, and will really benefit my work

d. Thinkpad keyboards are the best I've ever felt

e. Amazingly functional design. Everything just seems to be built to provide the best human interface; for example, they build it with carbon fiber / fiberglass / etc., yet instead of a shiny gloss finish to show off the carbon weave like Sony, they put a plain black rubberized coating over it, because while it may not look flashy like the carbon weave does, it's functional (better grip, etc.)

f. Very durable and reliable. I like the fact that it's tough enough to be held by the screen, can survive drops (thanks to SSD I guess), spills, etc. very well. I like the idea that I won't have to handle it like it's made out of glass (although I probably will anyway )

 

I bought my x200 without seeing it specifically, but I do have experience with other thinkpads.

I was shopping for something more portable than a 15.4 dell that I use to use.

So i bought the x200 for:
1. Great size and weight
2. Powerful system with graphics card that can off load decoding HD material
3. Excellent battery life
4. Price compared to the Dell latitude E series
5. Great keyboard

All in all a solid package and I was lucky enough to get the SSD deal from lenovo when they had the website error.

 

The reputation of a Thinkpad is the main reason I decided to get one. I will say something more after I receive mine, which is two weeks away.

 

I bought my Thinkpad because of:

1. Build Quality.
2. The keyboard.
3. The legendary Thinkpad name.
4. (Believe it or not) the legendary "Thinkpad" looks.
5. I got it at a very good price.
6. The Thinklight (yes, I know, another "believe it or not' lol)
7. Portability.
8. Security (Fingerprint reader).

All of these reasons are not necessarily in that order.

 

small - 14" and 4:3 display and non-glossy and has nVidia (that overclocks like a mofo) and has tough cage and looks cool.

and .. that's about it

 

Me too, actually. IMO Thinkpad's have a kind of "functional beauty", that will never be out of style.

So many laptop manufacturers today try to make their laptops into artistic, stylized machines, often sacrificing features in the process. The funny thing is, it's usually these laptops that go "out of style" quickly, in favor of whatever new trend comes next.

Hmm... but maybe the reason Thinkpad's don't get out of style is because they were never "in-style" to begin with

Either way, I think Thinkpad's look very nice in their own way

 

hi,ac500

does your x300 run loudly?

 

I haven't received it yet, it just shipped recently . I doubt it would run loudly though, at least I haven't read any reviews that mention this (in fact notebookcheck.net measured very low noise levels, and most reviews say it's virtually silent).

 

1. i love the very conservative design. the matte black finish all around.

2. price. i was able to pay much much less for the same specs when compared to offerings from hp and dell. when compared to apple, i paid half as much.


Next laptop I get will be a Thinkpad, but something lighter than the T400. I love the size of the T400, but its a bit too heavy.

 

I'd have to agree on the design. They're simple and elegant. They're timeless if you will, not subject to the flavor du jour. If you look at something like the R3x, it looks almost the same as my R60.

I had a 15" T42, which I liked a lot, but wanted something smaller. I think the 14" SXGA+ is perhaps the perfect notebook setup screen real estate and size wise.

I got a really good deal on mine. At the time the R series was a lot less expensive, which is not so true any more. I wasn't as concerned with the weight as I don't travel a ton with mine.

My previous ThinkPads had held up well except for one keyboard and a hard drive, which were quickly serviced. I knew the quality and support would be good.

I wanted something with a higher resolution screen, which was unusual for something outside of Dell in my price range and Dell was terrible at the time.

I wanted something with a dock, which I got then sold and have now purchased again.

 

Never saw a T400/T500 in person, although my dad has a T60 (and before that, a T43).

In order of what lured me the most:
1) switchable graphics and AMAZING battery life
2) build and design - although some say it's ugly, I love the look
3) price - for the graphics card, battery life, and other options, I couldn't find any better option for the same price
4) great performance - again, especially at the price

 

I find it funny that most people (including myself) put "price" down as one of the deciding factors. However, go back several years ago, and just a basic "R" stripped down Thinkpad would've set you back easily $2,000+ dollars. Now, they are all MUCH cheaper then before. NOT that I'm complaining though Heck, you can get a W700 for what a common T series would've cost way back when lol

 

I have used Thinkpads in the past and I like them. Often I actually do use them on my lap, and because of this I prefer the nib on the keyboard as I don’t have to move my hands when typing. I still use a 600E Thinkpad (over 10 years old) several times a week. For word processing it still works quite well.

I recently purchased a T500. The following were requirements:
1) I was looking for a laptop with good battery life, and a good video card. The T500 has switchable graphics and that allows for both.
2) I wanted to run XP (not Vista).
3) I use the nib on the keyboard.
4) Something that is well built and will last over many years.

The following were nice to have:
1) I like the Thinkpad design. Simple, elegant.
2) I can find drivers on the IBM website. They also have drivers for older models, and this is a major plus.
3) The IBM website has good documentation on the Thinkpads, so if I need to take one apart (out of warranty), I can. Good user support.
4) A mat screen (not glossy).
5) An ATI video card. The Nvidia card’s newer drivers break some older games, but they run just fine with the ATI video card.

Things I don’t like:
1) IBM crippled the sound recording capabilities of the T400/500 series (and the T61 too). If you want features that they used to have you need to pay $65 or so for a sound card.
2) I sure wish the LCD displays had a better vertical “sweet spot”, but this is a problem with almost all displays, not just the IBM displays.

Overall I am quite happy with my T500. It does what I wanted it to.

 

My main reasons were:

- Build quality, durability and reliability.
- The all black professional look. I hate the shiny plastic look.
- Works great with Linux
- Always wanted a Thinkpad in college but never had a chance to get one.

 

As long as Lenovo keeps those elements intact, Thinkpad will always rule !!!

 

I bought it (T61 then T400) because of the reputation of built quality and I have been very disappointed.

 

i brought a T500 for

Build quality
Price
Keyboard
battery
raw power
WSXGA+ screen
Graphics card
service

and

Vista ultimate extras

 

That's pretty much it for me too.

 

The legendary ThinkPad TrackPoint.
The timeless spartan rugged black design - susceptible to neither the whims of a superficial user base nor the fickle marketing trends of the day.

 

Main reason was because it is one of the only computers that you can option with a serial/lpt port.

 

Still looking for somewhere good to buy soon-to-be-mine X200s.
The reason I chose Thinkpads are, as many others have said: Durability, excellent keyboards, the understated "Land Rover" ("rugged" "All work") looks, and to get away from my touchpad.
Not that touchpads aren't okay, but it's really no good for my wrists.

The reason I chose the X200s over any other Thinkpad is that is has an Expresscard-slot, can be gotten with a fairly high resolution (for a 12" screen, that is) of 1440X900, is super lightweight and small, very good battery life (supposedly, anyway, lol) and has a quick processor, relatively speaking.

– Oh and it somewhat caters to my minimallist notion in that I chose a Thinkpad to get away from touchpads et al, and this doesn't even have the option of such a gizmo – it's solely trackpoint. Further, apparently it has only one speaker – I practically never use speakers in laptops.

 

I bought mine since I needed something more portable that my C90s and more powerful than my 12" Powerbook. The T400 fit the bill perfectly with its battery life. I have even gotten another 3-4 people at my school to purchase thinkpads as well.

 

Reasons I chose Lenovo (in no particular order):

• Reputation for build quality, notably the keyboard
• IPS screen quality and characteristics on the X200 Tablet
• General form factor of the X200 Tablet
• Unsatisfactory results "test driving" several models of Vaios
• No Toshibas with the precise form factor I was seeking
• Generally lackluster reputation of Panasonic screens; also no wide screens
• Liked the idea of the clamp-on docking station with X200
• Never tried a Lenovo before -- what the heck?
• Helpful comments/feedback from this forum

There may be other reasons that aren't occurring to me at the moment...

 

Reasons I buy ThinkPads

1. Keyboard quality (7 rows with great travel); the x200 is widescreen with the same width keyboard as on the T40 (x30-x61 was compressed)
2. TrackPoint (I hate touchpads, and IBM/Lenovo's TrackPoint is far better than the HP/Dell versions)
3. Durability/Build Quality (my T40 served me five years, and this is what I expect out of a good laptop)
4. Battery Life and weight (primary reason I upgraded, new models offer double the battery life of my old T40 and weigh 1.5 pounds less)
5. Satisfaction with IBM/Lenovo support in the past
6. Timeless design (my T40 looked just as good/current after 5 years as it did when I bought it)
7. Matte display (I use my laptop in a variety of locations, so high gloss is a bad idea)
8. ThinkVantage software. I really appreciate Power Manager (charge thresholds) and Presentation Director.
9. Decent performance and cool/quiet operation
10. Price was not a deciding factor, but Lenovo is price competitive
11. Easy to service the computer myself (HDD, RAM, WLAN, etc. are all accessible)

The above reasons are why I chose a ThinkPad x200. However, the one thing I found lacking (compared to my T40 circa 2003) was the screen (particularly the vertical sweet spot). As a result, I changed over to an X200 Tablet and its screen is superb (AFFS+ & LED).

 

My reasons:

1. Non-glossy screen! --This is super important for me!!
2. Best keyboard! --Also super important!!
3. Classy looks (don't like those fancy-looking laptops)
4. 4:3 screen (Very important, though maybe available in other brands?)
5. Great reputation (also like the name "Thinkpad" )

I have T61 and X61s, both 4:3.

P.S. I did not buy them for the customer service quality, which has constantly been a frustration for me . Although I commend the next day shipping of IBM tech support.

 

It was the best machine for the money.

 

I bought my r61 because I needed to replace my old t42, and because of whats been said already

 

1) i love the construction - the internal chassis, the 180 degrees screen tilt.
2) form over function philosophy
3) the thinkvantage software
4) minimal junkware
5) they keyboard layout
6) trackpoint and touchpad -more option
7) the HDD movement sensor - all HDD should have them, its nice they still equip it in the x300
8) i love the timeless, all business, understated look - nice break from apple looks.
9) the thinkpad legend
10) thinklight - never use it, although it might come in handy sometimes.
11) user servicable part
12) ultrabay
13) spill-drain

for people that says the keyboard is the best, you should checkout the keyboard on the new apple notebook, i think they are either equal or might be better. absolutely no flex too. even on the old macbook pro.

 

I did – it's a copy of Sonys old chicklet keyboards. Neither of which are particularly great in my opinion. Although, youre right, the Apple-one doesn't flex much. They don't travel much either, though.

 

The discreet-key style keyboards, may be solidly built, but they're designed for looks, not usability and comfort. The key action and separation are not conducive to a fluid typing experience. They're just a few steps up from the touchpad-style keyboard I struggled with on my friends old Atari 400 many years ago - just not designed for heavy typing. They look cool, and that's what Apple too often feels is most important. Well, too often for *my* tastes, anyway. Ymmv.

 

I agree. I do not like the chicklet keyboard and would rather have had the older macbook pro keyboard.

 

I agree 100%. The chicklet keyboards just don't feel right. They may not flex, but they have no travel and I am much slower on them. The old MacBook Pro keyboard (silver keys) was pretty good and had business class construction; however, like every other notebook keyboard it was only 6 rows. Therefore, the 7 row ThinkPad keyboard with superb travel still wins.

 

Build quality was the number one reason on my list. This T500 is my first laptop, but I've gotten used to a lot of ThinkPad features without realizing them from using my friend's T42. Another friend has a T30 and a T60 and he has a lot of good things to say about the build quality of both. I started by looking on eBay for a used T43 and actually owned one for a couple of days before returning it for a screen defect, which was a shame because it was a model with the 15" SXGA+ IPS screen.

My only other consideration over the past couple of years was an Asus G series because I wanted a powerful laptop that could handle games—ignoring the fact that I don't really have time for gaming—but I dropped the idea of paying $1500 for a laptop when other expenses took priority. Instead, I just kept stepping up my search and creeping up my budget to a T60p, then a T61p, and finally the T500. It turns out that I will still be able to play the latest FPS games at 1360x768 on my LCD TV.

Now that I've had this T500 for a while, the features I like the most and consider indispensable are TrackPoint and the keyboard, after having Lenovo send a replacement for the Swiss cheese model that the T400 and T500 initially received. I'm also impressed with the stiff hinges on this thing. I think I'm going to start showing them off to other people by placing the laptop upside down and opening it part way. It holds at every point from barely open to 90°. Beyond 90°, you're obviously dealing with physics.

Everything else mostly boils down to features that aren't unique to ThinkPads, such as the actual specs.

 

That, good sir, is one of the greatest joys of owning a thinkpad.

 

After having an HP laptop, I needed something that wouldn't burn my leg or fall apart. I basically had to combine two Hp laptops to get a working one. Even then the laptop was basically on fire.

I just received my T500 today and this thing blows HP in so many ways. While I do have the plain look Lenovo laptops. I do have of hell of a sturdy laptop, that will last awhile.

 

Hey everyone.

I just registered and I figured that I might as well explain why I decided to buy a Thinkpad.

+ very rugged design, i wanted something to last for the better part of a decade
+ great keyboard
+ trackpoint!
+ the most beautiful laptop there is
+ it is a great deal in the US when you buy it online (I just came here from Sweden last semester, in Europe Thinkpads cost 2-3 times as much!!)
+ perfect 15 inch size (4:3)
+ A quiet fan with good fan control! A noisy laptop is a big no-no, very important to me.



So, how did it turn out?

* They discontinued the non widescreen laptops I really wanted a 4:3 aspect ratio W500...
* The Screen brightness turned out to be a disappointment.. No LED backlight for
* Battery life is much better than expected, even on 6 cell battery. (4h 20min or so)
* The Trackpoint is truly addictive, I dont think i can ever get a laptop without one.
* Vista is slow, but I love the new start menu search.


Also my W500 turned out to be defective, but thats a story for another thread..

 

Because my school forced us to buy one. My t500 is okay, nothing special.

Though this only reflects my opinion that even the most amazing laptops are compromised desktops at best.

But desktops, notebooks, paper and pen, hammer and nail...who cares? At the end of the day they are just tools. It's you who must get things done.

 

If that's your mindset, then laptops in general obviously aren't for you. Laptops aren't about performance, they're about portability. Unless you realize that, you'll never fully enjoy the use of a good laptop because they'll always seem compromised.

Even the fastest gaming grade laptops are, like you say, only a compromise compared to desktops. But at the same time, they're compromised laptops too because they often lack the central point of having a laptop: portability. In other words, they're useless.

IMO the optimal setup is a powerful desktop for gaming / intensive computations, and an ultra-portable laptop. If you absolutely have to do everything on your laptop, and a desktop is not an option for heavy computing, then prepare to accept a fairly major compromise in terms of both portability and power compared to a desktop/ultraportable setup.

 

I am in full agreement on this point.

I have a desktop workstation with a quad core CPU, two GPUs in SLI, 3 monitors (4640x1050), and 2TB+ of storage spanning 7 drives. This takes care of the gaming and multi-tasking needs better than any laptop (although it probably pulls 400+ watts when running at tilt).

I then have a truly portable and versatile TabletPC. It's by no means the fastest laptop, but it's very light, gets great battery life, and is extremely flexible. I also find myself using the laptop 80%+ of the time because its more than adequate for the vast majority of tasks. Because I don't expect premier performance from a laptop, it is also quite easy to keep one a while (I used my T40 for 5 years).

 

I recently bought a T400. I haven't received it yet; it is currently en-route from China.

I bought the T400 for the following reasons:
-My mother owns an older Thinkpad Z60t. It is absolutely first class. Love the keyboard.
-Although reviews say the design has changed, I am still hoping for at least a quality keyboard.
-Reputation for general build quality.
-Switchable graphics.
-The price was right, as compared to the Dell E6400. (NOTE: this makes me concerned that I am not getting the same great quality as the older Z60t, but hey...money talks.)

 

I ordered a lenovo T400 because dell gave me a hard time trying to buy an E6400. I tried 4 times with no luck and much frustration. I guess I was destined to buy a T400.