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Lenovo has jumped the shark...

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cheetahdriver
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Lenovo has jumped the shark...

#1 Post by cheetahdriver » Wed Oct 30, 2013 9:54 am

Ok, one would think that they could have taken some of the money for Ashton Kutcher as a design consultant (USATODAY, WSJ, others) and put a better keyboard on the thinkpads, as well as give me my two buttons back.

I will be buying a Dell, as this shows exactly who they are after as customers.

Adda
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Re: Lenovo has jumped the shark...

#2 Post by Adda » Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:04 am

I agree, if I was to buy a laptop today, it would be a Dell Precision.

But first I'll tell Lenovo what I think, as they don't seem to.

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JonathanGennick
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Re: Lenovo has jumped the shark...

#3 Post by JonathanGennick » Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:21 pm

I don't know about Lenovo jumping the shark, but I am about to buy my first non-Thinkpad since before 2000. It doesn't help that I'm still feeling burned by the T410 that I bough three years ago, that I regret having bought every time I open the lid and look at the display (which is multiple times per day).

Everything Lenovo's done in the past three years has missed the mark somehow, at least for me.

The new T440s and X240 may mark a turn-around of sorts. I saw them on display at a recent conference; they look good. They can be configured with IPS screens. The hot-swap battery design is a welcome innovation.

But Lenovo's product line is muddled. Their ordering interface and process are confusing. I hear stories, and I do not trust that I can order with confidence and *know* that I will receive product on the promised delivery date. The nag-boxes that pop-up when I peruse the Lenovo site are off-putting and the mark of a company no longer selling to those interested in getting work done.

Thinkpad's strong point used to be service, but my recent experiences with Apple have left me happily stunned at the swiftness and reliability of Apple's service. I honestly feel I would get faster and more reliable service from Apple than from Lenovo, and I'll have a snazzier machine in the bargain.

Windows 8.x is the other thing. It's not Lenovo's fault, but I just haven't been sold on Windows 8. The whole schizophrenic desktop/Metro thing is a mess. Maybe it's just time for a change of pace, but I'm liking the look of OS X these days. (And Unix underneath is nice when SSHing into remote servers).

And Apple has Haswell *today*. I can have a Haswell Apple this evening if I want it.

cheetahdriver
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Re: Lenovo has jumped the shark...

#4 Post by cheetahdriver » Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:32 pm

Actually, Dell may not get my business either. My current "A" machine is a Surface Pro running Win8.1. While I would like more screen real estate, they fixed the problems with secondary screens with 8.1, so this is now my "go to" machine while traveling. The Haswell versions are available now, although I am thinking about saving my money for someone to come out with a good 15" transfomer style table/notebook. The performance jump on Haswell isn't that great, and while the battery life is a major jump, battery life hasn't been a problem for me anyway.

Still mulling, but looking at the XX40 series units just leaves me cold.

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Re: Lenovo has jumped the shark...

#5 Post by JonathanGennick » Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:54 pm

cheetahdriver wrote:Still mulling, but looking at the XX40 series units just leaves me cold.
I had a chance to spend some time on one at Oracle Openworld. Lenovo had a booth there. The X240 is solid, and the new-style trackpad worked pretty well. I would not cry if my company were to purchase me one.

I could wish for better graphics. And I wish somehow that the six-cell battery did not protrude from the bottom. I like my devices to lay flat, but that's a really minor nit and I could always just run the three-cell battery.

sir_synthsalot
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Re: Lenovo has jumped the shark...

#6 Post by sir_synthsalot » Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:48 pm

The headline I've read said he's hired as a "design engineer". It almost sounds like a joke.
I'M DONE WITH THINKPADS, JUST DONE!!!

Cigarguy
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Re: Lenovo has jumped the shark...

#7 Post by Cigarguy » Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:31 pm

Don't care much for the newer Thinkpads with the chiclet keyboard (especially keyboard layout), generally crappy screens and trending towards MAC design and serviceability (or lack thereof). Fortunately the industry as a whole is trending towards higher res and generally better screens.

Recently bought 10 new laptops for business and went with HP's Elitebooks. For older machines and personal use, I still love my old Thinkpads.

AnakiMana
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#8 Post by AnakiMana » Thu Oct 31, 2013 2:46 am

Marketing wise, I think Ashton Kutcher was a good idea. It will get a lot of attention, which will undoubtedly lead to many millions of dollars in additional sales. It should pay much more than his salary and nicely fund the improvements we all want, should they choose to do so.

I'm hoping he really does influence better design decisions. At least this celebrity really is passionate about tech.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

lophiomys
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Re: Lenovo has jumped the shark...

#9 Post by lophiomys » Thu Oct 31, 2013 4:27 am

If Lenovo would build good classic Thinkpads or even tablets able to compete with Apple's iPads,
Lenovo wouldn't need an successful actor as marketing Gimmick.
Lenovo has jumped the shark.
Lophiomys
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R51 SXGA+; X31; X41T; X41 Sata Mod; all Made in China; 570E, 701C; MBP15c3UB non-glossy mid09 / formerly 600X, 760E

AnakiMana
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#10 Post by AnakiMana » Thu Oct 31, 2013 5:27 am

They don't need a marketing gimmick, according to their profit levels as of late. They're not doing it because they need it, but because it's the smart and savvy thing to do. And they can afford it.

Of course marketing and engineering departments are different. In my opinion, Android is a far superior platform than iOS, and the new tablet looks to be a great design. The pricing is great compared to an iPad, too. Just my opinion...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

thinkmad1978
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Re: Lenovo has jumped the shark...

#11 Post by thinkmad1978 » Wed Nov 20, 2013 1:08 am

cheetahdriver wrote:Ok, one would think that they could have taken some of the money for Ashton Kutcher as a design consultant (USATODAY, WSJ, others) and put a better keyboard on the thinkpads, as well as give me my two buttons back.

I will be buying a Dell, as this shows exactly who they are after as customers.
Or perhaps sell their products for something comparable in value to their competition (since Lenovo seems to be targeting the bottom end of the market these days).

Premium pricing. Budget quality. Something has to give. They don't separate themselves from the pack in terms of quality like they used to. Today they only differ in price.

:|

cheetahdriver
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Re: Lenovo has jumped the shark...

#12 Post by cheetahdriver » Wed Nov 27, 2013 1:00 pm

Well, actually I did buy Lenovo. I got an LT1421 usb display for a number 2 for my Surface Pro 2. Works exceedingly well, and will probably get the new wireless w/battery version as soon as it actually starts shipping. Sitting in a hotel room with the surface running 3 screens at once. The new type cover 2 is comparable to the real thinkpad keyboards, not quite as good but not bad either.

Dos3.1
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Re: Lenovo has jumped the shark...

#13 Post by Dos3.1 » Wed Nov 27, 2013 7:57 pm

They've jumped the shark for sure in terms of what ThinkPads used to be - years ago. The changes they've made are not for the better, at all.

I think the first indication for me that something was wrong was when I got a Lenovo X60S, and the Think Light was missing! But, they left the markings on the keys for it!? What a letdown...

I'd be hard-pressed to buy a new Lenovo "whatever" machine (don't think they should call them ThinkPads, as they are not that kind of quality machine anymore). There were some good ThinkPads still made after the takeover (T60 for one), but things have changed for the worse.

I love the old ThinkPads with the Track Point (with 2 red buttons and 1 blue!), quality keyboard, Think Light, quality build, and classic design. If they went back to that sort of thing, I'd love to see what could be done.
...typed on a T60...

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