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Lenovo: Story of idiots
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

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    Lenovo will continue to destroy all advantages of ThinkPad design.

    They do it one by one:

    • Making construction cheaper and weaker
    • Horrible cheap materials now used for most models
    • Rock solid, best notebook keyboards first were made quite flimsy
    • Secondly keys were replaced to modern cheap ones
    • Famous very good IBM layout had been replaced by one used in cheapest IdeaPads
    • Now we can see fully removed TrackPoint buttons because some designer figured out that it'll be cheaper to force you press trackpad.

    Btw, Ideapad brand will be destroyed as complete failure. And ThinkPad will be widened to try to sell all their crap.

    My IBM 600e looks like something made by alients compared to my modern ThinkPad.

  • 102 Replies sorted by
  • dumiledumile

    I worked for a company that rented older lenovos. We had thousands of them and I had to retire maybe 5. They were awesome pieces of equipment. My newer E series is no different from a cheap HP. Very disappointing.

  • leonbeasleonbeas

    So is this the end of high quality pc laptops????

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    So is this the end of high quality pc laptops????

    No, it is just one of indicators of the world going down.

  • leonbeasleonbeas

    I've already realized that and started some time ago, we are just seeing consequences. It's sad though that IBM is becoming the same crap that many other companies are, I had this strange illusion that they were different.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @leonbeas

    IBM sold all notebook stuff quite long ago :-)

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    I first loughed when I read the name of the topic.
    I can confirm what you say on my own experience:
    IBM ThinkPad:
    - my wife used for years in her office employer's undestroyable IBM ThinkPad T40
    - after it got sorted out, we bought it from her employer almost for nothing
    - it is now older than 12 years and bit slow (USB 1.1 faces its limits) but still works perfectly well

    Lenovo:
    - bought new, inspired by old good IBM ThinkPad
    - after it was freezing all the time with Vista, downgraded to XP
    - one month after the warranty expired, motherboard died without any mechanical reason

    My lesson: buy never again Lenovo!

  • DrDaveDrDave

    I have owned several of these over the years and they were very well made. You would think that there would be a market for something that is well made, but unfortunately people just look at the price and a few features.

  • lenuisiblelenuisible

    I use Thinkpads extensively for the last 8 years, and I can't say I had more problem with lenovos (x61s, x201) then IBM (T40, T41), but I agree that they are not going in the right direction.

    The Helix concept tempted me until I read that the trackpoint buttons disappeared.

  • leonbeasleonbeas

    OK so I need a rugged laptop, (in march) what can I buy then, and don't say mac because they stink with being unrepairable and unupgradeable. I need something for field editing for documentary, and my idea of Thinkpad workstation just went down the drain... :-(

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @subco

    You can also install XP on them, works perfect.

    Yep, their keyboard is no match for modern models.

    One of their flaws is idiotic internal timer battery.

  • leonbeasleonbeas

    I found something that's maybe interesting ORIGIN. Its priced OK and its not limiting anything in options. Just for the record I don't want to play games is for Video/Audio editing in the field for documentary work. http://www.originpc.com/

  • leonbeasleonbeas

    I have all my computer gear assembled by me and I understand all this codec containers, file formats, even how the hardware really works to the point where you must be geek to understand more (I like it but have a life). But it's not possible as for my understanding to do that in the mobile world, (too many things that can't be controlled) and I don't want to carry my desktop (20 kilos) with three monitors around, so it comes the time when having a laptop is essential, more if you are dealing with dozens of hours of video material in the field. That's when you must find trust in reliability from some brands (returning to topic VK) like was IBM before Lenovo, I had in my hands pentium III IBM laptops faster than core 2 duo, how don't know but IBM was the best in the laptop world, and as for now a days they are still the best in innovation and reliability where there is still IBM hand behind.

    So yes I feel betrayed by Lenovo, where they just made crap from a very reliable and almost perfect engineered laptops from amazing IBM machines.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @leonbeas @subco

    Guys, you really went offtopic, we have appropriate place for this discussions, use it.

  • trevmartrevmar

    Still using the five Lenovo S10 netbooks I bought several years ago. They are solid construction, although the keyboard is, as you say Vitaliy, pretty cheap. I have them scattered in various rooms, doing various things, and of course the best is set aside for travel (with a Seagate hybrid drive). Their Windoze XP works fine and is solid, even with the max 1.6GB of RAM. But Lenovo IdeaPad went downhill after the S10 model, with the S10E and cheaper plastic variants. I was shopping for a ThinkPad at Christmas, and I found everything exactly as you have described - quality is no longer anywhere to be found. Although I did feel that other manufacturers ultrabooks were even more flimsy than Lenovo's ThinkPads (and IdeaPads). But here I sit typing away on an old Model M8 IBM clicky keyboard... nothing has ever touched them for quality and longevity. Heck, I bought this one in 1993, and am still using it...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_keyboard

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @trevmar

    We have good topic about keyboards. :-)

    I really suggest you to get TP 600e in good state. Remove battery, DVD, and replace HDD to small IDE SSD. Will be light, solid and with perfect keyboard.

  • trevmartrevmar

    My daughter has had a Lenovo SL500 for several years. She uses it for video editing with Sony Vegas. Although it is flimsier than a TP 600e, it has worked flawlessly (it has suffered a lot of wear and tear) (using Windows XP Pro). It is just about as fast as the newer laptops I was looking at before Christmas, since it has a core-2-duo class of CPU.

  • johnnymossvillejohnnymossville

    the keyboard was the best part of the thinkpad for me. made using it a joy. heck, up until very recently, my desktop keyboard was an old SGI Indigo unit because it felt so great.

  • WhiteRabbitWhiteRabbit

    SGI Indigo 2, the memories...

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    New ThinkPad looks far more modern. The reality is that older ThinkPad bodies never really felt as if they were designed for the current generation, but the company has abolished needless hooks, latches and bumpers, while also ridding the interior of the convoluted multi-button control mechanism.

    Via: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/17/the-inside-story-of-lenovo-thinkpad-redesign/

    Let me rephrase this

    New ThinkPad designers are far more modern. The reality is that older designers never really felt as if they are making designs for current generations, but company heard the crowd and cutted needless hands, legs, pricks while also abolishing their heads and by decree moving their functions into their asses.

    Shorter version:

    Get your hands out of Thinkpads, motherfuckers!!!

    P.S. And remember that manufacturers now frequently buy good comments for all leading blogs and publications :-) At least I know that Panasonic like to do it.

  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev Do you have a suggestion for pre-built alternatives now that the Lenovo line is going downhill? The people I suggest laptops to are not looking to assemble their own and or mod older systems. :)

  • ahblezaahbleza

    @thepalalias I find a surprising source of nice laptops, designed in USA, comes from Vizio.

    http://www.vizio.com/computing/

    Might not be available outside of USA. Minimalist with no crapware.

    http://www.pcworld.com/article/2020567/vizio-ct15-a4-review-performance-and-elegance-in-one-slick-package.html

  • trevmartrevmar

    I just bought a 3.4GHz quad core T530 and retrofitted it with Win XP. Works great, compared to the 2005 vintage Core 2 Duo I am replacing. Cost about $970 with various discount offers. I don't worry about keyboard or screen as I almost always have external keyboard, mouse and monitor plugged in... Seems functional enough for me. And I can throw it into a suitcase when I need to relocate. With all four cores crunching away it draws about 70W, 40W on light usage. 240G SSD plus 500G hybrid instead of the CD drive. Plus various external USB3 RAIDs (USB3 via expresscard).

    What do I think? I agree with Vitaliy - the keyboard changes are stupid. Don't use the trackpad much on Netbook or Laptop, but dropping the buttons so that it can run gestures is pretty silly too, IMO. Haven't noticed any real flimsyness yet. CPU and GPU cooling is very effective. A full set of Win XP drivers was the selling point for me, however. I needed that...

  • trevmartrevmar

    Actually, I just opened up my T530 (normally it runs sitting closed on the top shelf and I have a 23" HDMI monitor and my 1993 vintage IBM keyboard hooked up) and I noticed it actually has two trackpad buttons after all... But I never use the trackpad...

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

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    New Thinkpads :-)

    Fucking bastards.

  • johnnymossvillejohnnymossville

    IBM thinkpads used to be a joy to work on (By laptap standards of course) With great keyboards being the best part, but also quite responsive for most tasks. Lenovo makes them feel like every other piece of crap out there.

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