IBM Thinkpad A21m P3-700/10GB/64MB 12.1"TFT $1199

[swNYC]

IBM Thinkpad A20 Intel® Pentium® 700MHz,64MB RAM,10GB HDD,24X CD-ROM,Intel Modem/Ethernet Combo card,12.1" TFT,Windows 2000

$1199 at ecost.com

The price is pretty good, but beware of the Handling Fees they charge.

 

[Nack]

That is a nice computer but the screen is just too small.

A while back there was a guy giving out instructions on how order from the IBM Friends of Employees website. The guy had a lot of friends here, including me. Scored an A21 with nearly identical specs, except with a 15" TFT, a 20GB hard drive and the modem/ethernet built into the computer for $1399+shipping direct from IBM. You might want to search around on the various boards and see if you can find him. He can show you how to get the same deal. I think the thread was about a T21, but I bought the A21 instead. IBM also sent me a cheapie camera for free, which bays for about $50, making the deal $1349.

Nack

 

[RossMAN]

Nack - That's a really great considering it's an IBM, 15" TFT, 20GB Hard Drive and more. Did yours come with w2k?

 

[Herman]

These are at PC MALL for the same price too. Model 2628DTU. I just checked out a quote for 50 of them at work.

 

[Nack]

It came with Windows 98SE, but that is easy to fix, since M$ sent me a free copy of W2K Pro for taking one of their surveys, and all the W2K drivers are conveniently located on IBM's website. Like the model described above, my A21 only came with 64MB of RAM, but that was easy to fix too with a cheap 128MB SODIMM. Hmmm, memory is so cheap... is 192MB really enough RAM for a laptop?

In fact, I'm using it right now. Sitting in an easy chair in my living room, with a network cable from my cable router hooked to the built in ethernet.

Nack

PS: Model # of this unit is 2628-JUU.

 

[meija]

nack, can you please tell us where we can find the guy, or how we can order this laptop?
thanks.

 

[ripley]

its got to have a dvd drive these days, or its a nogo on laptops..
thgis one doesnt..

 

[ithemani]

I too jumped on that deal a about a month and a half ago. The person you are looking for is LowCarb. PM him and if he is still willing, ask him for the info about the Friends and Employees site. If not, oh well. Since he was nice enough to give me the info, I am not at liberty to give out the info myself.

Anyway, I picked up a T21 in the deal..
P3-800
256 MB Ram
15" TFT
10/100 ethernet + 56k modem
8x dvd
Win 98 (upgraded to Win2000 with a recovery disk i had)
free cheapie digital camera too!
It came out to about $2400 after tax and shipping... this thing was selling for about $3200 at the time (with the extra ethernet and 128 mb ram)

my 2 cents
scott

 

[manly]

ithemani,

are you sure about the specs? I can't find a T21 series model w/ a 15" TFT screen. TIA.

 

[Herman]

Insight.com has the T21s for 1799.00. Mine came today. The T series has 13.3 and 14.1 screens available. The employee price was 2034 or so. I don't remember it having a DVD though so I past. I have one at work and just got the same for 1799.00 for home use. Here are the specs ...

ThinkPad T21 264747U
Mobile Pentium III / 800 128/512 SDRAM 20GB (EIDE) Internal DVD 8Xmax-2.3Xmin. 56K (V.90 Compatible) / Ethernet-Optional 14.1" 1024x768 -- TFT - active matrix -- Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition Lotus SmartSuite Millennium License

 

[ithemani]

Manly, you are right about the screen size... it is 14.1. My mistake.

Herman, where did you see that the t21 (model 2647-47U) is selling for $1700 on insight.com??
Here is what I found for this model Model 2647-47U.
I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I would be interested in purchasing another at $1700!
Let me know. It shows a price of $2779 before shipping and taxes.

The IBM Employee price was $2034 or something very close to that. I added a combo 10/100 +56k card and 128 MB of Ram to boost my price towards $2400. I couldn't find a deal even close to that at the time.

Like I said, I can't give out LowCarb's info about the IBM site. You must contact him yourself.
Scott

 

[ithemani]

Herman, I got the same model (264747U) as you have described. It does have an 8x -2.3x DVD-Rom in it. The IBM specs are not very clear. They say it has a 8x-2.3x cd-rom, but I called and they confirmed that this was a DVD-rom.

Scott

 

[manly]

ithemani,

I searched and here's the thread

My friend bought the 264747U at the EPP price, and unfortunately this isn't an identical model or else it'd be an AMEX pricematch possibility. On the positive side, it seems like you save about $200 (relative to the earlier EPP pricing) by giving up Lotus SmartSuite (which nobody except IBM uses anymore). A pretty good deal, IMHO, if you're looking to purchase a Thinkpad T21. I played with the unit a little, and the two minuses I noticed are it runs hot, and that the keyboard doesn't have a Windows button. If that sounds like nitpicking, that's only because the rest of the unit is high-quality.

If you do find the identical model at a lower price within this month, please post a reply so that I can investigate the AMEX pricematch. TIA.

 

[Herman]

Ithemani

Here is the direct link ... 36 in stock

IBM T21 Link

 

[DDCSpeed]

this is definitely a hot deal for a laptop especially for ibm brand.

 

[mrhunky]

meija
I found A21m of nearly the same spec for $1399.
You might be interested in this.
Text

 

[mrhunky]

IBM ThinkPad A21m 14.4 DVD NIC BRAND NEW now $1299 Price Grabber Retail is still around ~$1900

 

[magicbrillo]

nack - TigerDirect has the A21m as you describe in their latest catalog @ $1599. says it has the Win 2000 preloaded. cannot find it on thier web site, here is their item #I70-2628F2U. call 800-888-4437

not the friends & family special of $1399 - but if anyone is looking for this item it can be had.

 

[mrhunky]

another A21m for $1299
here is one more