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I'd rather have a ThinkPad, too, and I'm using one to write this. But I think you have to recognize that the PC market is massively fragmented and if you walk
by thrownaway2424 12y ago
I'd rather have a ThinkPad, too, and I'm using one to write this. But I think you have to recognize that the PC market is massively fragmented and if you walk into a retail outlet you're going to see a lot of laptops, and none of them are going to be ThinkPads. Lenovo undermines their own products through the same fragmentation. If I just search on Google for "laptop" there are 8 top-ranked shopping items, one of which is a link to Best Buy to buy a 15.6" AMD-based Lenovo G50, which is a complete piece of shit no matter how you look at it. There are no piece of shit in Apple's catalog.
Now let's suppose it was just ThinkPads going head-to-head with MacBooks. I'd take the ThinkPad every time, except if it was a ThinkPad made in the last two years. They took a break from making good computers and instead decided to make expensive, fragile ThinkPads with useless keyboards and no mouse buttons. Apple can ship a laptop with no mouse buttons because Apple's software works. Lenovo doesn't have that luxury; they run Windows.
And let's not forget how many years Lenovo spent pissing on their loyal customers. For YEARS they insisted that it was not possible to 1) economically source IPS displays, and 2) source 4:3 displays. Then Apple comes out with the iPad, it has a 4:3 IPS display. Turns out Lenovo just didn't care if you had a good screen; they know you need a laptop and they are just trying to squeeze more profits out of you. Apple actually wants you to have a better product.
Now as I said I'm typing this on a ThinkPad. Why? Only two reasons: trackpoint, which is God's own pointing device, and a huge Esc key, for using vim. There are other minor reasons, like the fact that if you drop a MacBook it's guaranteed to get bent or dented, whereas if you drop a ThinkPad some little plastic giblet will break off, which is a better outcome in my experience. But if you forced me to think about it I'd have to admit that it's a reasonably durable case and a decent keyboard and mouse wrapped around a really mediocre computer. And the display is ghastly.
- signal11 12y agoAnother Thinkpad (X230) owner here. Mine has an SSD and works really well, and I get a replaceable battery which I wouldn't with an Air. However -- my wife wouldn't consider buying one because of the quality of the display. I suspect Macbook Airs sell well because they're designed with a wide swathe of people in mind.
- AlexandrB 12y agoRecent Thinkpads are a horror show. The t440p has a touchpad so atrocious it renders the trackpoint unusable (because the L/R buttons are part of the touchpad). Palm rejection is nonexistent. And yes, the screen is awful, with a tiny vertical viewing sweet spot.
- thrownaway2424 12y agoIt looks like the X1 Carbon (3rd Gen) might be adequate, but the more compact X240 still has the virtual mouse buttons.
- adl 12y agoThe coming lineup has restored the trackpoint buttons. I have a t440s and the clickpad is horrible! I'm selling it as soon as the T450s is available.