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How does the current Lenovo Thinkpad line fares? I've seen a couple of devices recently and they look solidly built with above-average quality overall. But I di

How does the current Lenovo Thinkpad line fares? I've seen a couple of devices recently and they look solidly built with above-average quality overall. But I didn't own any recently (my last Thinkpad was from IBM), so I cannot comment about details.

pjmlp 11y ago
The plastic has a lower quality feel to it compared with the old IBMs. For example, in some areas close to the keyboard you can make it bend by applying a little pressure. On the T440p you can somehow notice the screen matrix.
- cannam 11y ago
  To be fair, none of the recent models has been as bendy as the T4x series, which I think was the last set of T-series actually built by IBM before the acquisition. (I still have a T40p, kept running with parts from three different machines -- a wonderful machine to use, one of the very best, but that chassis was a bit of a disaster.)
- duncan_bayne 11y ago
  Not just bend. My 530 cracked a couple of months out of warranty, and Lenovo flat-out refused to repair it although they're obliged to do so under Australian Consumer Law. Writing a complaint to CAV is on my TODO list. https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/General-Discussion/Cracked-palm-rest-on-Lenovo-L530/td-p/1922072 https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/General-Discussion/Cracked-palm...
  - userbinator 11y ago
    How did you crack it? I have an X60 where some of the plastics on the case side (near the ports) have cracked off at some point in the past but that was because of some rather extensive... use, it doesn't really affect anything.
    - duncan_bayne 11y ago
      The palm rests cracked from, as far as I can tell, normal wear and tear. Certainly nothing more than I subjected my old L520 to, and that never cracked.
- Daishiman 11y ago
  I disagree that the flexing is an issue. According to several computer techs the flexing is good, since it means the material is less likely to crack under stress. I certainly feel the Thinkpads of yore had a more visually attractive material, but I've recently bought a Thinkpad x250 and frankly the quality is as good as always. Better, in fact, than the x240, in which several very bad decisions were taken.
  - asillystory 11y ago
    How do you like the chiclet keyboard? I'm still holding onto my x220 for dear life.
    - mfjordvald 11y ago
      The keyboard is fine. The problem is the single sheet trackpad. Half the time I right click it registers as a left click instead. I noticed they changed it back to the old style in the new T450 version so I'm pretty pissed I bought a T440s now. Something this expensive should not piss me off on a daily basis.
    - Daishiman 11y ago
      Surprisingly, I'm not hating it. Considering that the x250 is pretty small, they have less displacement than other keyboards (coming from a T410), but it's full size, the grip is good, and the feedback is better than prior versions. The Trackpoint is laid deeper and lower than the T series, but I adjusted in the day. The click buttons don't protrude as much as older versions and I still haven't adjusted. There are minor changes in keyboard coming from the T series. Insert has been bound to Fn + End (which is alright; I've never really used it), and the upper row is now Home/End/Delete. It's a different layout but I can't say it's worse. The light from above has been changed to an illuminated keyboard, which I find just as good and pretty spiffy. The new trackpad feels, to me, perfectly sized very usable, and a decent replacement for the trackpoint if you're just browsing the web and not typing. I bought a refurbished machine that has the HD IPS touchscreen, and it's been nice. It responds very well to touch and is much brighter than I would ever need. Certainly the touch functionality is not something you use every day, but for some occasions it's useful, and I'm already looking at some alternative skins in some DJing software to work from there in some situations and replace an external controller with just an additional sound card. As a person that's been lugging around a T series on his backpack practically every day for the past 10 years, the lighter weight is a very welcome addition, the processor performance is satisfying, and the screen very readable despite the compromise in space. I'm really enjoying the lower weight and I personally think it's a gorgeous machine. I think there's less visible external parts and reminds me more of the first Thinkpads, with a very minimalist blocky feel. My only critiques are that I wish it had an additional USB port (it has 2; 3 would be really nice), that the trackpoint were laid a couple millimeters higher (I know it's impossible because there's barely any room for the screen, but a man can dream), that modern software was better with HiDPI displays, and that the aspect ratio were taller, but the tradeoffs are easily justify the lighter weight, extra comfort, and screen quality, without sacrificing the input methods, which are the real reason why I buy and have used Thinkpads for the past 18 years. I'm a strong believer that Thinkpad + Trackpoint + Vim is the most productive input method for coding man has ever invented, and no trackpad will ever be a satisfactory replacement.
- EricSu 11y ago
  A couple times carrying the W530 around in my backpack I've noticed that the corner of the keyboard will pop out of the casing and I'll have to shove it back in.
rayiner 11y ago
Hit and miss. The #1 problem with PC manufacturers is that each iteration of the product will regress something major. The touchpad on my T430 is shitty, but at least it doesn't randomly lose input, unlike the one in my T450s. The FHD IPS screen on the latter machine might have been acceptable in 2011. The keyboard keys on the latter machine also have a cheaper feeling plastic than on the older machine. It's still good though, the best laptop keyboard you can get. And of course, it's chock full of crapeware.
- danuker 11y ago
  Crapeware? redeem money for the Windoze and install whatever you please.
  - AlexeyBrin 11y ago
    This has nothing to do with Windows or Microsoft, but with Lenovo installing the crapware on the machine.
    - josteink 11y ago
      I think he refers to the fact that any OEM installation, any installation you yourself don't do from scratch, will always be full of crap. So like he said: Redeem the OEM Windows license, install whatever you want, maybe actually Windows, from scratch, and you should be happy. I just bought a Carbon X1, nuked Windows and installed Ubuntu. Not sure if I can redeem the Windows-bit or not, but I'm definitely not plagued by crapware anymore.
eli 11y ago
I still think they're better than most of their peers. Wirecutter's exhaustive review named the T440s the best business laptop: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-business-laptop/ http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-business-laptop/
- adamc 11y ago
  Maybe so, but their trackpads suck.
  - eli 11y ago
    I won't deny that the current trackpads are worse than they used to be.

pjmlp 11y ago

The plastic has a lower quality feel to it compared with the old IBMs. For example, in some areas close to the keyboard you can make it bend by applying a little pressure. On the T440p you can somehow notice the screen matrix.

cannam 11y ago
To be fair, none of the recent models has been as bendy as the T4x series, which I think was the last set of T-series actually built by IBM before the acquisition. (I still have a T40p, kept running with parts from three different machines -- a wonderful machine to use, one of the very best, but that chassis was a bit of a disaster.)
duncan_bayne 11y ago
Not just bend. My 530 cracked a couple of months out of warranty, and Lenovo flat-out refused to repair it although they're obliged to do so under Australian Consumer Law. Writing a complaint to CAV is on my TODO list. https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/General-Discussion/Cracked-palm-rest-on-Lenovo-L530/td-p/1922072 https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/General-Discussion/Cracked-palm...
- userbinator 11y ago
  How did you crack it? I have an X60 where some of the plastics on the case side (near the ports) have cracked off at some point in the past but that was because of some rather extensive... use, it doesn't really affect anything.
  - duncan_bayne 11y ago
    The palm rests cracked from, as far as I can tell, normal wear and tear. Certainly nothing more than I subjected my old L520 to, and that never cracked.
Daishiman 11y ago
I disagree that the flexing is an issue. According to several computer techs the flexing is good, since it means the material is less likely to crack under stress. I certainly feel the Thinkpads of yore had a more visually attractive material, but I've recently bought a Thinkpad x250 and frankly the quality is as good as always. Better, in fact, than the x240, in which several very bad decisions were taken.
- asillystory 11y ago
  How do you like the chiclet keyboard? I'm still holding onto my x220 for dear life.
  - mfjordvald 11y ago
    The keyboard is fine. The problem is the single sheet trackpad. Half the time I right click it registers as a left click instead. I noticed they changed it back to the old style in the new T450 version so I'm pretty pissed I bought a T440s now. Something this expensive should not piss me off on a daily basis.
  - Daishiman 11y ago
    Surprisingly, I'm not hating it. Considering that the x250 is pretty small, they have less displacement than other keyboards (coming from a T410), but it's full size, the grip is good, and the feedback is better than prior versions. The Trackpoint is laid deeper and lower than the T series, but I adjusted in the day. The click buttons don't protrude as much as older versions and I still haven't adjusted. There are minor changes in keyboard coming from the T series. Insert has been bound to Fn + End (which is alright; I've never really used it), and the upper row is now Home/End/Delete. It's a different layout but I can't say it's worse. The light from above has been changed to an illuminated keyboard, which I find just as good and pretty spiffy. The new trackpad feels, to me, perfectly sized very usable, and a decent replacement for the trackpoint if you're just browsing the web and not typing. I bought a refurbished machine that has the HD IPS touchscreen, and it's been nice. It responds very well to touch and is much brighter than I would ever need. Certainly the touch functionality is not something you use every day, but for some occasions it's useful, and I'm already looking at some alternative skins in some DJing software to work from there in some situations and replace an external controller with just an additional sound card. As a person that's been lugging around a T series on his backpack practically every day for the past 10 years, the lighter weight is a very welcome addition, the processor performance is satisfying, and the screen very readable despite the compromise in space. I'm really enjoying the lower weight and I personally think it's a gorgeous machine. I think there's less visible external parts and reminds me more of the first Thinkpads, with a very minimalist blocky feel. My only critiques are that I wish it had an additional USB port (it has 2; 3 would be really nice), that the trackpoint were laid a couple millimeters higher (I know it's impossible because there's barely any room for the screen, but a man can dream), that modern software was better with HiDPI displays, and that the aspect ratio were taller, but the tradeoffs are easily justify the lighter weight, extra comfort, and screen quality, without sacrificing the input methods, which are the real reason why I buy and have used Thinkpads for the past 18 years. I'm a strong believer that Thinkpad + Trackpoint + Vim is the most productive input method for coding man has ever invented, and no trackpad will ever be a satisfactory replacement.
EricSu 11y ago
A couple times carrying the W530 around in my backpack I've noticed that the corner of the keyboard will pop out of the casing and I'll have to shove it back in.

rayiner 11y ago

Hit and miss. The #1 problem with PC manufacturers is that each iteration of the product will regress something major. The touchpad on my T430 is shitty, but at least it doesn't randomly lose input, unlike the one in my T450s. The FHD IPS screen on the latter machine might have been acceptable in 2011. The keyboard keys on the latter machine also have a cheaper feeling plastic than on the older machine. It's still good though, the best laptop keyboard you can get. And of course, it's chock full of crapeware.

danuker 11y ago
Crapeware? redeem money for the Windoze and install whatever you please.
- AlexeyBrin 11y ago
  This has nothing to do with Windows or Microsoft, but with Lenovo installing the crapware on the machine.
  - josteink 11y ago
    I think he refers to the fact that any OEM installation, any installation you yourself don't do from scratch, will always be full of crap. So like he said: Redeem the OEM Windows license, install whatever you want, maybe actually Windows, from scratch, and you should be happy. I just bought a Carbon X1, nuked Windows and installed Ubuntu. Not sure if I can redeem the Windows-bit or not, but I'm definitely not plagued by crapware anymore.

eli 11y ago

I still think they're better than most of their peers. Wirecutter's exhaustive review named the T440s the best business laptop: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-business-laptop/ http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-business-laptop/

adamc 11y ago
Maybe so, but their trackpads suck.
- eli 11y ago
  I won't deny that the current trackpads are worse than they used to be.