Nice information about IBM/Lenovo laptops, via The Register reporting on a recent reliability survey.
I’ve had a series of Thinkpads. I think the first was a 770 (prior to joining IBM)… then a T23 running Windows and Linux; a T30 which I handed in to go back to the T23 because the screen resolution of the LCD panel was better; a T40 which I used as a workhorse until recently; and now a T60p. Those were all work-supplied; at home we’ve got an R40, which has survived drops, tumbles off the sofa, etc..
Every one of the machines has been rock-solid. In fact I don’t remember any particular hardware-related problems, except for the Ethernet port on the T40 stopping working after about 3 years (and I was mostly using wireless by that point anyway). I can’t say I haven’t had occasional OS-related problems, but then I do some pretty unusual stuff with software on my laptop!
Although some other brands look fairly shiny – Sony, Samsung, HP are turning out some very nice glossy-looking machines at the moment – I have to say that I don’t think you can beat the Thinkpads, especially the T-series line which I’ve been able to use on a daily basis for the past 5 years.
What’s next? 🙂
Most of the thinkpads I have used are reliable, but when I gave my dad my old T23, he returned it with serious hardware problems.
My brother is now using it, but all onboard networking has died.
Then again, my dad has replaced motherboards on many other laptops, so perhaps if it survived with only networking dead then it did well compared to the other laptops he has used.
That’s a shame, although presumably it’s a reasonably old machine (well – 5 ish years!).
When the Ethernet port went on my T40, a colleague was good enough to lend me a PCMCIA card with a pop-out RJ45 port. Worked a treat.
Thinkpads? Hm… how about contrasting them with the Mac Book Pro? R50 here, but I this beast is in no way pleasing than the MBP. Too bad I cannot afford it 🙁
I’ve previously admitted (possibly not in print) that I’d love a MacBook Pro. They look lovely, the UI is fantastic, and generally I only hear good things. Like you though, the closest I get is running my hands across their shinyness in the local Apple store.
The point is not that ThinkPads are necessarily sexy (thus my comment about the glossy alternatives), but the ones I’ve had have been well-built, well-specified and just did the job.
Go for the MBP. You know you want to. 🙂
I know I want to. My wallet is making loud noises in my ear, though. Who’d have thought a wallet could do that?
Mine usually makes quiet, hopeless sobbing sounds….
Thinkpads are great! Do you know this feature?
Not a very experienced ThinkPad user, I’ve had my T43 for about a year now, but it’s definitely one of the best machines I’ve had. A real work horse, as you wrote.