Lenovo

[CFster]

I had an Averatec 6240 which broke repeatedly. After replacing the motherboard and resoldering the powerboard, I find it difficult to find parts.

I haven't heard about Lenovo until recently. If I want a laptop that will be reliable and I can fix in a few years should I stick with a Dell or is Lenovo here to stay?

 

[DaSinical1]

Lenovo purchased IBM's laptop business & they are a big time player. I don't think that they are going anywhere.

 

[corkyg]

Lenovo = IBM in terms of quality and technical prowess. Dell is almost bush league by comparison in today's market.

 

[jaqie]

Lenovo is what DaSinical1 said. They bought out big blue's (IBM's) PC division and as far as I can tell are building systems just as well as IBM did, if not better. Lenovos are tanks, to be honest, and they aren't going to go bye-bye anytime soon.

 

[ther00kie16]

Lenovo is excellent quality. And I thought I read somewhere around their buyout of IBM PC that they had been building IBM PCs even before then.

 

[Cheesetogo]

Lenovo's laptops are of excellent quality, but from what I've heard, the warranty service is pretty terrible. It sounds like waiting a month for repairs is pretty typical, and it's very difficult to find out the status of your computer.

 

[coolVariable]

It is amazing.

Head over to some laptop/table pc specific forums and read about lenovo there.
http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1005

It is the exact opposite of what people say.

I have had a Lenovo x60 tablet for less than a year and have had 3 things repaired/replace:
- HDD
- battery
- motherboard

they have big issues with screens (although I have been lucky).
My customer service was ok but many people complain.

 

[corkyg]

Every OEM has lemons in their harvest. By and large, Lenovo is excellent. I have owned six notebooks - last three being Gateway, HP and Lenovo. All of the last three served me perfectly with zero defects.

 

[lenjack]

I have 2 Lenovo notebooks...both perfect.

 

[punchkin]

Originally posted by: Cheesetogo
Lenovo's laptops are of excellent quality, but from what I've heard, the warranty service is pretty terrible. It sounds like waiting a month for repairs is pretty typical, and it's very difficult to find out the status of your computer.

Nope. This is false.

 

[slugg]

Thinkpads are absolutely solid. Unfortunately, I can't afford to keep mine... so maybe you'd be interested? click here

 

[FreedomGUNDAM]

currently using a Lenovo T40 laptop, previously I had a Dell 600m.

The Lenovo is like light years ahead of the Dell in terms of general construction. The case feels much more sturdy and well built. I would say the Lenovo is like Toyota vs Ford (Dell).

 

[drquest]

I would agree... I'm typing this on my Lenovo T60 widescreen, and It's so much nicer than my work provided Dell 600M that I tend to bring my personal laptop to work to use.

 

[nervegrind3r]

ive been looking at the lenovo laptops for the past 2 months, among others. They always have end user deals, plus I can take advantage of employee offers. But, in my research, there is alot of bad feedback about lenovo, specially customer service and warranty. Perhaps the biggest complaint I saw is that if you lappy is doa, you can only return with a 15% restocking fee. How accurate is this?

I plan to get a laptop, with a 3 or 4 year warranty with it so I dont have to deal with uncontrollable problems like an lcd crapping out. I like buying quality products, and from what I read, the laptop itself is very good, plus I use them at work and love them. But I am concerned about buying a product whose product support is poor.

FWIW, I am looking at a t61 or r61 with dedicated video card and widescreen disply. BTW, can anyone tell me exactly what the difference is between the T and R series? I am yet to find in black and what what the difference is. Thanks.

 

[masteraleph]

Originally posted by: nervegrind3r
FWIW, I am looking at a t61 or r61 with dedicated video card and widescreen disply. BTW, can anyone tell me exactly what the difference is between the T and R series? I am yet to find in black and what what the difference is. Thanks.

The R series is slightly heavier, slightly thicker, and uses a different Ultrabay (cdrom/spare battery bay). The 15.4 inch model is also lacking the roll cage for the screen, making the top less solid (the 14" model has it).

 

[kamiller42]

According to the Lenovo brochure, the 15.4" R61e has a roll cage.

http://shop.lenovo.com/ISS_Sta.../PDFs/R61e_USEN_01.pdf

 

[PCTC2]

I have a 14" T61 w/ T7300, 2GB, 1400x1050, NV Quadro NVS 140M, Fingerprint Reader, and a 9-cell battery, and it works great. very sturdy compared to my "old" Toshiba (T7200, 2GB, 1280x800, NV GeForce Go 7300, Fingerprint Reader, 6-cell). My old Toshiba died (Motherboard & video). Definitely like my Lenovo better.

 

[cubsftw]

So I had a R31 for a few years and then replaced it with a T60 2 years ago. I could never put a finger on it, but the Lenovo stuff always seemed to feel cheaper than the stuff made by Big Blue prior to the divestiture of the Thinkpad division (this even in comparing the business class T60 with the budget R31). That said, the battery life on the T60 was superb and the keyboard was still second to none (even with that stupid windows key wedged in). I then went off and bought a Dell Latitude D620 and it's been the most unreliable computer I've ever owned (I've gone through 3 motherboards), but it's still easier to upgrade and work in than the T60 ever was (believe me, upgrading RAM in the T60 is like pulling teeth compared to the D620). Additionally, Thinkpads used to be slim and trim on the software side when IBM sold them; now Lenovo adds so much bloatware and it's utilities aren't as nice as IBM's (e.g.: Access Connections is now harder to use IMO). Finally, having called Lenovo's tech support, it has definitely deteriorated from the days of IBM even though they claim to use the same call centers in Atlanta (longer hold times and the techs seem to be more scripted).
So, IMHO, Thinkpads have suffered since being sold to Lenovo. They're not the worst by any means (I give Toshiba that dubious distinction), but I wouldn't buy from them again. Additionally, I will NEVER buy another Dell product; my D620 has been a nightmare. I've heard good things about Asus and the new HP Business line laptops, so I'd do some research on them.