where in the SF Bay Area can I see a 14" T61?

Since someone else on another thread suggested the T61 as an alternative to the Dell XPS M1330 (my estimated delivery date is 9/11 to 9/13), I'd like to see one in person. But, where?

I live in south San Jose and work in Mountain View. Is there a place/retailer where I can see a 14" T61? http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/ "Locate a Reseller" was useless. I get sent to http://bplocator.lenovo.com/ and a server side error page. http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/bp_search.html and http://www-1.ibm.com/partnerworld/pwhome.nsf/weblook/pub_bpc.html were useless too. I also called a local Best Buy in San Jose asking if they have any on display (they used to have older Thinkpads). They replied that the ones they had were removed for some reason.

 

Try Circuit City as I've seen Thinkpads on display there.

Even so there are dozens of T61 owners who post here that can answer your questions about the system.

Its unquestionably the best computer I've owned fwiw.

 

My house.

 

I really don't have many questions about it. I'd just like to see it and physically judge its size. Dimensions in spec sheets don't really give me that great a sense of whether a laptop is within my threshold of acceptable size and weight.

I checked Circuit City's web site and the only Thinkpad they have is the 15.4" T60. I'll try dropping by one or giving one a call (the one around me is TERRIBLE about answering their phones).

 

Wont Frys have it ?

 

Good question. I'll have to stop by and/or give them a jingle. A quick search on www.frys.com for Thinkpad, T60 and T61 turns up no laptops though...

 

I don't think Frys carries business notebooks, at least the one in Vegas doesn't.

 

I went to Fry's in Fremont very recently. No ThinkPads. Only Sony, Toshiba, Fujitsu, and HP/Compaq.

In fact, the only ThinkPad i've seen in a store is the Staples on Auto Mall Pkwy. And that was a Z61m.

 

There's no Thinkpads at Office Depot either, so dont try there.

 

Best buy still has the 8743GZU (t 60 wide) floating around.

Have yet to see a t 61 in b&m though.

 

Sometimes college/university bookstores have ThinkPad models available.

On a side note, this question has been asked and been given the same responses on multiple occasions. I know I have answered it on more than one once. You may wish to use the search before posting.

 

You could try the Stanford bookstore. They usually have a few models on display.

 

I've seen a 15 inch R series at circuit city and an X series at bestbuy not too long ago. I think thats as good as it gets.

 

I did search and was unable to find an answer. After going thru many pages of of what seemed like unrelated posts which didn't help, I ended up posting.

Sorry, I don't normally browse the this part of the forums since I wasn't really even considering IBM/Lenovo laptops.

Thanks to everyone so far for their replies.

I wonder what's up w/Lenovo's retail presence (or lack of) for this model? While it might not make a huge difference for businesses, it certainly makes a big deal for consumers. They also could make it easier to even try to find a retailer that carries what I'm looking for.

 

They traditionally haven't competed with consumer grade stuff- sold mostly through business lines, and through website/phone orders for non business. Then office depot, sams, costco, then best buy...

Now I predict they will start popping up in more and more big box retailers as thinkpad prices drop to compete, and possibly the line between lenovo and lenovo thinkpad dissolves.

 

I went to the Stanford bookstore a couple weeks ago to see the Dells, Apples, and IBMs side-by-side.

I think they had a non-widescreen T60 on display, an X series (12" screens are they?) and some monster or a machine that must have been at least 17".

It was useful to compare with the MacBook that I was also considering. I was on the verge of making the Mac switch, then decided against it. I just really decided I didn't feel like re-learning an entire operating system. Maybe a mistake, but I decided to stick with PC and go with the T61.

 

goto Micro Center. they have 2-3 thinkpad models there but not t61. CAll them up and ask before you go.

 

I went there today. They had a non-widescreen T60, an X60, a widescreen Z61m but no T61. I called them a few times asking if they had a T61. One time they said no and yesterday they said yes. The latter was wrong.

The old clerk at the Stanford store looked at his list, knew it was the successor to the T60 but claimed that T61 wasn't out yet.

BTW, to add insult to the injury regarding Lenovo's apparent retail presence incompetence, http://bplocator.lenovo.com/ (Locate a reseller) from www.lenovo.com actually works now but the results are really suspect. When I put in the zip 95120, the first hit I get is
CompUSA
638 Blossom Hill Rd, San Jose, CA
95123

The store was one of the many that got closed (and is confirmed closed via http://www.compusa.com/locations/closing_stores.asp). When I put in 94043 (where my work is), I see two VERY suspect results:
Intuit Inc.
2535 Garcia Ave, Mountain View, CA
94043
Tel: 650-944-6000

Silicon Graphics Inc.
1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA
94043
Tel: 7157268445

You mean to tell me that Intuit, makers of TurboTax and Quickbooks sells Lenovo laptops? The SGI one is really hilarous. The above address is Google's address where they've been residing for many years. They were once leasing the property from SGI (which has been in a downwards spiral) and it looks like they bought it/are buying it per http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/06/19/newscolumn3.html.

 

^ Bump

Any new suggestions? I'm really tempted to cancel my long delayed Dell M1330 order and pull the trigger on a T61 14.1" WS (too bad I can't get the WXGA+ display via BTO). The price w/the National Association of Realtors discount and the USXNARTRIPLE coupon looks really good.

 

BTW Microcenter in Santa Clara has x61, x61 tablet, and T60p 15inch, but no T61 14inch.

 

Microcenters in NJ and Long Island were the only place I could find Thinkpads around New York. The stores didn't stock T61s but the models they did have were enough for me to get the idea, as far as widescreen vs. standard, case feel etc. I went w/ a 14" SXGA+.

 

Still no luck for me. I called several Best Buys, Microcenter in Santa Clara, several Office Depots and the Stanford Bookstore again. The worst part is that the Office Depots put me on hold for ages and sometimes disconnected me too.

I wonder what's up w/Lenovo's lack of retail presence. They could get a decent # of additional sales...

 

I don't think so. Most people's first instinct when they buy a notebook is the look. I think most people agree that ThinkPads aren't the flashiest and best looking notebook in the market.

 

I'll have to agree w/your latter statement. Thinkpads are almost all very business-like and somewhat clunky looking. The pictures of say the Dell M1330 and some of the Sonys I've seen in person look pretty cool.

 

I agree with you on not the flashiest, but I'll have to disagree on not one of the best looking. The thinkpad pad line, to me, is extremely aesthetically pleasing with clean simple lines. Most notebooks have went toward the wedge look which i really cant stand.

Either way, lenovo's thinkpad line is targeted at bulk order business users. I've seen plenty of 3000 series notebooks, which are more consumer oriented, out on store shelves.

 

Where in the SF Bay Area are we talking? If you're anywhere near Pleasanton, or Los Gatos, I might be able to help you out if you're really that hell bent on seeing one before order?

 

I second that. They are definitely not flashy. No where close to the concept of being flashy. But I find many ThinkPads to be very nice and professional looking. No nonsense clean design. Not all ThinkPads are easy on the eye though - some of the big ones being to bulky.

But the X-series and the T-series (not the T61 with the off center screen) I find to be nicely designed. The X61 is by far my favorite of them all, due to the keyboard taking up all the space (leaving no side space) and the screen edges being quite narrow.

I used to have a Sony Vaio TZ90 which was quite flashy and also aesthetically very pleasing. Completely different design concept though, but nonetheless quite an eyeopener. One thing I disliked though were the screen edges being to wide, making the screen look like it was too small for it's casing.

I cannot always put my finger on it 100%, but I just like the ThinkPad. For lack of a better word, it makes me feel good

 

I live in south San Jose but work in Mountain View. I was willing to drive as far as a little north of SF or Oakland to see one.

I pulled the trigger earlier today (well, yesterday) and ordered a WXGA+ 14.1" T61. Unfortunately, the ESD is 10/8/07 and the coupon didn't seem to work right (long story)... Will be on the phone w/Lenovo later today.

 

My favorite is still the X6x series in terms of style. I hope they keep the 4:3 screen for a while because a widescreen would just look strange. The shape and size are just proportionally perfect.