IBM exiting Laptop business. See-Ya thinkpad.....

[trikster2]

False Rumor or true???????????


12/2/2004
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/index.php?p=805
IBM to exit PC business
-Posted by dan.farber @ 9:40 pm (PDT)

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The New York Times is reporting that IBM is preparing to unload its desktop and notebook PC business, exiting the low-margin PC business (of which IBM currently has about 5.6% according to Gartner, trailing Dell and HP significantly).

The sale, likely to be in the $1 billion to $2 billion range, is expected to include the entire range of desktop, laptop and notebook computers made by I.B.M.

According to the people close to the negotiations, I.B.M. is in serious discussions with Lenovo, China's largest maker of personal computers, and at least one other potential buyer for the unit. Lenovo was formerly known as Legend.

I can remember the days in the early 1980s when the IBM PC and IBM-PC compatible defined the personal computer--that was before Wintel rose to prominence and the Macintosh (with 128K of RAM) came along in 1984, setting the bar for usability. PCs have become a commodity business and being the number three provider, with more of an eye on high-margin enterprise product and services, isn't enviable, even if it's more than a $10 billion line of business as in IBM's case.
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[Abhi]

I hope not....

IBM laptops are definately the best.

 

[jdiddy]

Originally posted by: Abhi
I hope not....

IBM laptops are definately the best.

Can't really imagine buying anything but a Thinkpad.

 

[sciencewhiz]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12...4&partner=homepage

 

[trikster2]

Originally posted by: jdiddy

Originally posted by: Abhi
I hope not....

IBM laptops are definately the best.

Can't really imagine buying anything but a Thinkpad.

Better start imagining real quick.

Now it's between Dell HP and Apple. Which is the lesser of three evils? Oh I guess micron and emachines/gateway is in there, kind of.....

Or get a thinkpad and hope the support, parts and community does not die before the laptop does...........

 

[eriqesque]

Originally posted by: trikster2

Originally posted by: jdiddy

Originally posted by: Abhi
I hope not....

IBM laptops are definately the best.

Can't really imagine buying anything but a Thinkpad.

Better start imagining real quick.

Now it's between Dell HP and Apple. Which is the lesser of three evils? Oh I guess micron and emachines/gateway is in there, kind of.....

Or get a thinkpad and hope the support, parts and community does not die before the laptop does...........

No One has even said it's a done deal yet
Damn Vultures

 

[Abhi]

Originally posted by: trikster2

Originally posted by: jdiddy

Originally posted by: Abhi
I hope not....

IBM laptops are definately the best.

Can't really imagine buying anything but a Thinkpad.

Better start imagining real quick.

Now it's between Dell HP and Apple. Which is the lesser of three evils? Oh I guess micron and emachines/gateway is in there, kind of.....

Or get a thinkpad and hope the support, parts and community does not die before the laptop does...........

Dell latitudes are the closest to IBMs in quality IMO.

 

[Conroy9]

what about toshiba tecras?

 

[eigen]

I guess it will be powerbooks from now on.

I will miss you thinkpad.

 

[flloyd]

Or Fujitsus, I love my S6000.

Besides just because IBM is selling their PC business does not mean that the future PCs from them will suck under the new company.

 

[replicator]

Originally posted by: eigen
I guess it will be powerbooks from now on.

I will miss you thinkpad.

Powerbooks as Macs can't even be compared with a Thinkpad.
They look nice but from my experience, their quality inside is questionable. Many people I know that own one have had to bring in their machines within 2 years of ownership.

Probably most of the actual development of the Thinkpad were outsourced anyhow, so there is a change that the quality won't suffer at all. Who knows.. Maybe we'll get Thinkpad quality without the IBM brandname premium.

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: Abhi

Originally posted by: trikster2

Originally posted by: jdiddy

Originally posted by: Abhi
I hope not....

IBM laptops are definately the best.

Can't really imagine buying anything but a Thinkpad.

Better start imagining real quick.

Now it's between Dell HP and Apple. Which is the lesser of three evils? Oh I guess micron and emachines/gateway is in there, kind of.....

Or get a thinkpad and hope the support, parts and community does not die before the laptop does...........

Dell latitudes are the closest to IBMs in quality IMO.

I've never supported IBM laptops but I've owned one for about 3 weeks now and I'm very pleased with it so far.

In the past I supported a fleet of Dell Latitudes (C600 & C610) and they were garbage. A number of them needed complete motherboard changes because they would just refuse to boot or have random BSOD's on fresh loads of Win2K. Then there was the constant keyboard/mouse nub problems, display problems, and failed HD's one after another.

I sure hope IBM isn't dumping their laptop line. Wouldn't make sense considering all the advertising they've been doing lately.

 

[cy7878]

Don't you people realize IBM DOESN"T make their own computers???? They outsource Chinese companies to make the Thinkpads anyway.

 

[dannybek]

It is a gamble on their part. I believe that the current technology has been pushed to the point of no more innovation. Therefore IBM is jumping ship. The demand for notebooks will still be high, but then the demand will drop and the prices of notebooks will plummet. Only companies that present the newest technology can sell high, but IBM isn't known for that. All they make is stable computers which more companies should follow suit.
Personally I am not going to purchase a new computer until my T40 dies which will take 10 years. It is good enough for videos, music, word processing, and internet surfing. What more can be done? That is why I emphasize that no more can be done. Unless they make some virtual holographic thingy or some other groundbreaking use for the notebook.

 

[Fun Guy]

Originally posted by: cy7878
Don't you people realize IBM DOESN"T make their own computers???? They outsource Chinese companies to make the Thinkpads anyway.

Sorry, you are wrong on that. IBM makes their own laptops.

 

[eriqesque]

I believe that they are only selling the Desktop line and Thinkpads will remain new article on
Digitimes only mentions the desktop portion.

 

[dnuggett]

Originally posted by: dannybek
It is a gamble on their part. I believe that the current technology has been pushed to the point of no more innovation. Therefore IBM is jumping ship. The demand for notebooks will still be high, but then the demand will drop and the prices of notebooks will plummet. Only companies that present the newest technology can sell high, but IBM isn't known for that. All they make is stable computers which more companies should follow suit.
Personally I am not going to purchase a new computer until my T40 dies which will take 10 years. It is good enough for videos, music, word processing, and internet surfing. What more can be done? That is why I emphasize that no more can be done. Unless they make some virtual holographic thingy or some other groundbreaking use for the notebook.

Current technology is not to the point of no more innovation, companies are to the point of extending the current tech's life to maximize profits. You say that all of the sudden demand for notebooks will all of the sudden fall off the map? Why?

As far as the newest technology, IBM does offer it. As far as selling high IBM has always priced their books above most of the competition. I really don't follow your post much at all.

 

[cy7878]

Originally posted by: Fun Guy

Originally posted by: cy7878
Don't you people realize IBM DOESN"T make their own computers???? They outsource Chinese companies to make the Thinkpads anyway.

Sorry, you are wrong on that. IBM makes their own laptops.

Gee, the x31 I own says it is made in China. The x40 is made in China. They both are made by Winstron. IBM DESIGNS their computers, but the assembly is all outsourced.

 

[eriqesque]

Google up Winstron and you will all find they also manufacture for Lenovo(formely Legend)
This is really not going to be the big deal the internet and most people have made it out to be.

 

[WackyDan]

There is supposed to be an internal document floating around calling the news from Friday nothing but rumor.

 

[eriqesque]

UPDATE

 

[trikster2]

What a riot.

You mean china is going to outsource support to the united states?

**************************************
As part of the deal, IBM -- which is estimated to generate about $10 billion a year in revenue from PC sales -- would keep the often-lucrative PC service and financing business, the Journal said.

It also reported that Lenovo plans to move the joint venture's headquarters to Raleigh, North Carolina, and employ 2,500 IBM employees.

 

[Cross]

As far as I was aware IBM just out sourced everything anyway. I do agree thinkpads are great but from what I have learned IBM just uses the patents they have as there main stay for income. But either way I think IBM is in a position that they control so much of the performance changes that made Home PC's possible that they will be fine for years to come no matter what they do.

 

[eriqesque]

Looks Official Now

 

[alienb]

I'm trading a nice camera to get my T23 back. Hopefully she'll last me a while...well..she'd better...grmbl...damn IBM