Do any stores carry IBM Thinkpad laptops?

[Kaido]

I need some later this year for business. My old one was a tank, I loved it. Does IBM even do the Thinkpads anymore, or did they sell the name to a different company? Where would I find Thinkpads in person? If not a Thinkpad, what would be equally reliable?

 

[mehmetmunur]

Lenoco, a chinese firm which is now headquartered in NYC, bought the PC division of IBM and will have the right to use Thinkpad slogan and name for marketing for the next 5 years. The laptops they have been making have been of the same quality from what I have read. They released a tablet thinkpad (x41) and most of the reviewers loved it. I would still go for a a thinkpad. Most of the laptops are being made in China anyway, so I would not worry too much about a decline in quality. Here is a link to the IBM tablet review:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1823700,00.asp

 

[Zepper]

CompUSA and BestBuy usually carry some and there are others (perhaps CDW, Provantage etc.), but IBM had gone heavily into direct sales of custom-configured units.
. And it's Lenovo that bought the Thinkpad line - a slip of the digit I guess.

.bh.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Zepper
CompUSA and BestBuy usually carry some and there are others (perhaps CDW, Provantage etc.), but IBM had gone heavily into direct sales of custom-configured units.
. And it's Lenovo that bought the Thinkpad line - a slip of the digit I guess.

.bh.

Does IBM send out samples for testing? I don't want to sink $10k of business funds into laptops I don't like

 

[Zepper]

In major metropolitan areas there are usually outfits that specialize in notebooks and will have a good cross-section of the Thinkpad line on display - perhaps even an IBM/Lenovo showroom (google on Thinkpad showroom) where you can look at your leisure but not buy - you decide what you want and place your order thru your reseller of choice - CDW is popular with business types.
. But SOME is a key word. If you're in the market for several of their higher-end machines (if I recall, some Thinkpads soared into the $7k stratoshphere) you could have your own personal account rep... Go to the Lenovo.com site and search for resellers near you.

.bh.