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Survey: Your Ideal Business-Class Notebook

F

fmyhr

Junior Member
Survey: Your Ideal Business-Class Notebook

A group of ThinkPad users is conducting the above survey about which features are important to us in a business-class laptop. A major goal of the survey is to show Lenovo that there are many of us who would like ThinkPads with better screens -- wider viewing angles, better color accuracy, and possibly higher resolution.

You're welcome to take the survey whether or not you care about premium screen options for your next ThinkPad. Or if you prefer another business-class laptop, like Dell Latitude or HP Business line.

Please tell us which features are important to you.

Thanks for your help! 🙂


Updated survey results are here.
 
Done - for what it is worth. I have gotten excellent service from my T60, and will probably replace it next year or later this year. It will be loaded up. 🙂
 
Wish eSATA was standard. I know it was not on the T61 and earlier T400s. Not sure if it is now.

Also hope they bring back the Flexview (IPS) screen option, but with more brightness...DVI/HDMI out would be great too.

I also wish that Lenovo would offer the WXGA+ (1440x900) screen in an LED-backlit form on the T400. Currently the only way to get 1440x900 is to get the CCFL backlit screen.

 
Thanks for your surveys guys! 🙂

As of tonight we have 372! Can we hit 400? I think we can! 🙂

There are no promises that notebook manufacturers will take any particular action, but I can tell you: people at Lenovo are watching the results.

Thanks again for your help!
-Frank
 
Originally posted by: 996GT2
Wish eSATA was standard. I know it was not on the T61 and earlier T400s. Not sure if it is now.

Also hope they bring back the Flexview (IPS) screen option, but with more brightness...DVI/HDMI out would be great too.

I also wish that Lenovo would offer the WXGA+ (1440x900) screen in an LED-backlit form on the T400. Currently the only way to get 1440x900 is to get the CCFL backlit screen.
Click to expand...


oh yeah, i forgot about the ips panels.
i'm hoping that some day soon they'll start to incorporate e-ips. basically a cheaper version of ips, which i guess was one main reason they stopped selling them

 
444 people have returned surveys as of this morning, July 17.

Lenovo product and marketing managers are watching the survey results, and... they want to see more! They would like to see 500 surveys before analyzing the results in detail and deciding how to move on to the next phase.

We are so close! If you haven't already, PLEASE take a few minutes now to fill out a survey. This is an excellent chance to add your voice to those requesting better screens, and other features, in future ThinkPads. Please also share the survey URL with your colleagues and friends who use ThinkPads or other business-class or workstation-class laptops, like Dell Latitudes, Precisions, etc.

For those who have already filled out a survey, THANK YOU!!! Your time and thoughtful comments are MUCH appreciated, and should help Lenovo to produce ThinkPads that we want to buy.

Thanks again! 🙂
Frank
 
I'll rewrite my comments here:

"Build quality, durability, fast and courteous support, and a rock-solid no-questions asked warranty are ESSENTIAL to business class laptops.

VGA out important for older projectors, but DVI/DisplayPort is CRITICAL for displaying high quality content, and is a major selling point.

Keyboard and Trackpoint familiarity is important: keep the keyboard and Trackpoint response not just similar, but THE SAME as it was during the IBM years. Screen hinge durability, and smoothness of the screen open/close operation, and the screen latch are all design elements where Thinkpad far exceeds other brands: DON'T CHANGE THIS TO SAVE MONEY OR LOWER PRICES: I'D GLADLY PAY MORE TO KNOW I'M GETTING WHAT I KNOW TO BE A THINKPAD."

The base warranty on Thinkpads is really, really lacking. It should be 3 years. Once I got used to the IBM Trackpoint, I just can't work as fast with, say, a Dell trackpoint.
 
Survey link

Survey ends Wednesday, 7/29 at 06:00 EDT
*** 6 days left to fill out a survey! ***


Update:

Forum members responded so quickly to my 7/17 post that it took only a single day to reach our goal of 500 surveys returned! As of this morning we have 631. A big THANKS to each of you who filled out a survey! 🙂

We want to collect as many surveys as possible, because it appears that Lenovo will judge the seriousness of the results at least in part by the raw number of surveys returned.

At the same time, the survey has now been running for 42 days, and we're eager to move on to the next step. Doing so requires Lenovo to analyze the results and decide how they'd like to proceed. They're waiting to do this until the final results are in.

And so we've decided to end the survey on Wednesday, 7/29 at 06:00 EDT. That leaves a little less than a week to fill out a survey if you haven't already!

Please share the survey URL with your colleagues and friends who use ThinkPads or other business-class or workstation-class laptops, like Dell Latitudes, Precisions, etc.

Thanks for your help,
-Frank
 
I think it's funny that Mac OS X was an option on the survey...

I opted for "No Operating System." In the additional notes, I said that they should offer first-party drivers and system software for all compatible platforms (Windows, *Nix).
 
Originally posted by: IlllI
i wonder, how much clout would something like this actually have?
Click to expand...

Nobody really knows -- but we'll find out soon! I'm pretty sure that more surveys returned = more clout. 🙂

With respect to improved displays, the survey is the first step of a plan that eventually involves users putting our money where our mouths are. Money talks, and if we can show Lenovo enough green, it's just good business for them to listen. The hope is that they make a profit selling us the ThinkPads we want to buy.

Lenovo will look at the other results, such as important ThinkPad features, and comments, as well. I would expect they would at least keep these results in mind when designing new ThinkPads. It's in their best interest to satisfy their users. We'll have to wait and see if they take any more specific action based on the survey results.


Originally posted by: slugg
I think it's funny that Mac OS X was an option on the survey...
Click to expand...

Glad that amused you. 😉
We can always hope, can't we?
(But of course it is impossible with current OS X licensing.)


Thanks for the comments, and please keep the surveys coming!!!
-Frank
 
Interesting survey. I'm partially biased since I just got a Thinkpad. Ranked trackpoint higher than the touchpad in the importance part.

I wish Lenovo's screens were better. The one on my x200 is pretty crappy, but it's manageable. I'd have no problems paying for the difference if it was reasonable.
 
Thanks for the link to the IBM TrackWrite / Butterfly keyboard, IlllI! That is too cool, it seems MoMA thinks so too. 🙂

Thanks for taking the survey, boorns! Most of the survey respondents so far agree with you, and prefer TrackPoint to touch pad. And more than a few people are asking for better screen options for the X200. For now, if you need a screen with wide viewing angles, your options are:
- X200 tablet
- tablet from another manufacturer
- Panasonic ToughBook
- used ThinkPad with FlexView screen

674 surveys returned as of this morning! Please keep 'em coming!

Thanks,
Frank
 
Back then screen size drove the butterfly design. Screens got larger so there was no need for butterfly screens anymore.

On top of that, the 701 series with it's butterfly keyboard was a service nightmare... Thanks to that butterfly design. The mechanism was always fouling up or breaking and there was always cracking near the battery cavity.

Innovation for the sake of innovation does not always merit bringing the product to market.
 
Originally posted by: WackyDan
Back then screen size drove the butterfly design. Screens got larger so there was no need for butterfly screens anymore.

On top of that, the 701 series with it's butterfly keyboard was a service nightmare... Thanks to that butterfly design. The mechanism was always fouling up or breaking and there was always cracking near the battery cavity.

Innovation for the sake of innovation does not always merit bringing the product to market.
Click to expand...


but you missed the most important point. it was so frikin cool!

😀

 
This is a reminder that the survey ends tomorrow (July 29) at 6 AM EDT. Last chance to fill out a survey, if you haven't already:
http://www.kwiksurveys.com/onl...urveyID=IONKF_a68057ef

739 people have returned surveys as of this morning. We're on pace to hit 750, 50% more than Lenovo requested. 🙂

After the survey ends it will likely take several weeks for Lenovo to analyze the results and decide how they'd like to proceed. I'll keep you posted about significant developments.

THANKS AGAIN for all your help!
-Frank

-----

Survey results are kept here:
http://forums.lenovo.com/lnv/b...&message.id=4912#M4912
 
I guess I saw this too late.

As a current Thinkpad owner I have a couple of comments:

1. DON'T LIE IN YOUR MARKETING OR SPECS!!! (e.g. SATA2 speeds on x60t, Expresscard, 'multi-touch' ...)
2. WTF! I don't want the supid "Recovery Media" - give users a Windows OEM install disk!!! I wasted 7 hours (!!!!!!!!!!) the other day helping a co-worker 're-install' windows ... something that would have taken 1 hour or less with an actual Windows installation CD.
3. NOBODY WANTS YOUR F*CKING SOFTWARE PRE-INSTALLED/THRUST DOWN THE CUSTOMERS THROATS!!!!
4. I have the 'outdoor' screen ... which is totally unreadable outside. Screen brightness also svcks compared to other laptops, e.g. Apple.
5. Better graphics in the small and light category - put the pressure on intel to finally offer a better IG solution or switch to AMD or nvidia.
6. Less heat - runs too hot.
7. Looks? It certainly doesn't even try to compete with the Apple laptops.
8. WTF? Don't call it multi-touch! It's dual sensor!!!!
9. A lot of times laptops get used while they are plugged in - making the battery suffer (the software attempt at prolonging battery life is nice but this should be a hardware chip that is built in)
10. Why the screwy size? Just so it is impossible to find bags/sleeves for thinkpads or so customers have to either buy the official ones/totally overpriced solutions?
11. Battery lock is not the best/most secure ... the battery has some play and sometimes can loose the connection when being moved => no power/shutdown.
12. SATA3 (with not F*CKING speed limits!!!)
13. No limits on the mini-pcie cards that can be used!!!!!!!
14. The little 'dildo' for a mouse is ridiculous! Drop it and put in a touchpad!


What I like:
- durability of plastic
- thin and light
- dual sensor technology (pen and touch - although I would like to see capacative touch + pen)
- ok battery
- fan is ok (could be even more quieter but at least is better than some other jet engines in laptops)


While I like my tablet, the annoyances far outweigh the pros!
At the moment, I will certainly discourage others from buying thinkpads, unless I see some effort from lenovo to fix these issues!!!!


 
I missed out on the survey, but as a former Lenovo owner, I would have answered that they need to work on the quality of their telephone tech support - it was awful - the screens are woeful, and the touchpads are WAY too small.
 
Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
I missed out on the survey, but as a former Lenovo owner, I would have answered that they need to work on the quality of their telephone tech support - it was awful - the screens are woeful, and the touchpads are WAY too small.
Click to expand...

My telephone tech support has been minimal but it was ok.
Called - said what was broken - got the new part shipped.

The screens are woeful and count yourself lucky that you have a touchpad.
Lenovo seems hell-bent on continuing with the dildo, instead of touchpads.

(Also, ignoring the fact that it is 2009 and other manufacturers now have multi-touch touchpads.)
 
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