THINK: A brief history of ThinkPads, from IBM to Lenovo

[Redaktion]

The ThinkPad line is one of the most renowned device families in the laptop world. Ever since its inception under IBM in 1992, the ThinkPad brand has seen its fair share of successes and failures. In this overview, we will take a brief look at the history of the storied brand.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/THINK-A-brief-history-of-ThinkPads-from-IBM-to-Lenovo.418728.0.html

[sticky]

Unpopular opinion, the 90 series screwed up worse than the 40 series.

[Sam Medley]

@sticky:
True. At least the 40 series had a removable battery and upgradeable components. That ClickPad, though....

[Not_Reginald]

NBC, how about a article about the Dell Latitude from 1994 to now?

$20 says Dell will bring out a Latitude Anniversary Edition like they did with the Precision 5520 back in 2017.

[Konstantinos]

I love Τhinkpads as they prioritize functionality, upgradability and durability over fashionable and non-upgradable designs (see Apple and ultrabooks). I owned few of them but it seems that I am going backwards in time!

First I had the T550, then the thinkpad 13 and since two years now I customised a Thinkpad T420s (changed the TN screen with an excellent IPS FullHD, installed 16GB memory, SSD, new battery and secondary battery on the DVD bay) and I could be more happier with the long travel old style keyboard and other unique design features (trackpoint, 5 mouse buttons, lid-lock, wireless hard-killswitch, extra dedicated keys like  "PrintScreen", "Delete" and "Backspace", "Home", "End" "PageUp", "PageDown" etc... and even Thinklight just for fun!!). Funny thing is the i5 H-series in my old T420s model is almost as fast as the i7 U-series on the much newer T550 I used to have!

The latest ultraslim Thinkpads are not my thing as they tend to loose the characteristics that gave them so good functionality and upgradability.

If I was to buy a new one I would go for the workstations and the P-series e.g. P52 or P1 for those on the go.

Great Article!

[Konstantinos]

 meant to say: "and I couldn't be more happier"

[suo.eno.1357]

I can't post the link but please everyone google for Panasonic LV and yes the direct Japanese link.

Yes I don't speak, read or write Japanese as well but bear with me here. Knew about Panasonic's awesome designs from akihabaranew's older days and been an avid follower ever since. Can't buy these outside of Japan of course and even if you could it'd be expensive from sources such as dynamism.

My point here is; it has been entirely up IBM now Lenovo's rest of competing OEMs to have really stepped up the plate for years now...

I mean just look at these Panasonic laptops? They start from barely 1.3kg and downwards for smaller models and still are able to keep them with the usual "thick specs' gamble". But... yes being a Japanese OEM with their typical distaste towards a more international markets' risk exposure, they'll keep these on their home turf.

I agree with most Lenovo critics here that the Thinkpad line are being cut down too much to "Instagram-friendly" levels and it is unfortunate.

[Jimbo]

I understand Lenovo's predicament--stay with the times or stagnate and be overshadowed by by other companies' smaller and lighter offerings--similar to what happened in the early 2000s with IBM. I don't mind the chiclet keyboard, the lack of 4:3 aspect ratio, the loss of the full-sized RJ45, or even the loss of replaceable batteries, but I prefer many of the older things over the new designs. I continue to wish that Lenovo will introduce a "nostalgic" or "retro" line where they bring back things like the classic 7-row keyboard, replaceable batteries, RAM, and a full-sized SD card reader. They were close with the Thinkpad25, but that was way overpriced ($1800 US for Intel 7th gen/940mx in 2018 made me laugh and cry at the same time). It is my hope that Lenovo will continue to introduce products like the Think25 at more reasonable prices, but until then, I will continue to use my X220 until it dies.

[Sam Medley]

Feature author here.

@Not_Reginald: That's a great idea! Maybe we'll have features covering Latitudes and ProBooks later on. I'd love to explore the history of competitor lines. I actually used a Dell Latitude E5450 as my daily driver for a while and preferred it to that year's ThinkPad (T450, I believe).

@Konstantinos: Thank you for the kind words. I agree with you - the older ThinkPads still hold up remarkably well. A T420 or T430 is more than usable today, especially if you get a quad-core CPU. The biggest area they fall flat is battery life, but with Power Bridge/replaceable batteries, that's not too big a deal.

@suo.eno.1357: That looks like an interesting line. There are still a few OEMs out there that hold to older styles, but they are few and far between. Panasonic laptops are notorious for scarcity outside of Japan, as you pointed out.

@Jimbo: I honestly don't find the older ThinkPads that unwieldy. Yes, new ThinkPads are significantly and noticeably slimmer and lighter than the older T420/T430 era laptops, but the T420 isn't unmanageable. It's bulky, but it's still fairly portable.
I agree that Lenovo is trying to keep up with the times, but the ThinkPad used to *define* business laptop standards rather than follow them or borrow from other market segments. I know many people in the IT world that are hanging on to their XX20 and XX30 series ThinkPads with a death grip.

[Jimbo]

@Sam

I totally agree that older Thinkpad form factors and weights are fine. I'd rather have chunkier laptops with better cooling solutions than something super thin and light with gimped GPUs (think 1D12 MX150 and Max-Q), and soldered RAM. However, we are in the minority. Thanks to the likes of Apple, what was niche (Mac Air) is now mainstream (XPS 13, LG Gram, ZenBooks, etc.) It sucks that Lenovo is riding this wave and copying other folks instead of trailblazing it's own path of innovation, but such is business.

[Thinkapoo]

I think the consumerizing of the famous business class lines is truly gutting. It's like a cancer that's slowly destroying what made these machines great. Thin, light, glossy are garbage that Apple dumped onto the world and to justify their bloated price called them Pro.

I haven't given up my T420s or 14.1" 16:10 T61 and the respun NV gpu. The T420s is IPS FHD swapped and basically fully loaded, I can hold it one handed, and type.

I've used the T*30 systems and their keyboards are a step down. In terms of quality, keypress feel, typing comfort, sound, and functionality. I guess if you are basing it off the consumer stuff or Apple keyboards then it's 'great'. Still ironic that the chiclet Thinkpad keyboard is still the best keyboard available currently. Lenovo brought their B game and the other manufacturers still can't match it.

A note:

A big difference between the T61 and T400 was the use of AMD gpus rather than NV because of the solder issues due to NV cheaping out.

[Unkasos]

imagine a x300 with the new cpu, the x390 would not even compare

[ngazi]

The T was always for corporate, so it should be no surprise if the changes don't make sense for personal owners. The L always has some old features, but primarily the screen is worse. The E as a consumer line is very good now, especially the dual drive bays. But it really needs a bigger battery and better screen options.

[Konstantinos]

THE PERFECT THINKPAD:

Swapable hardware modules, including CPU (especially AMD since the motherboard supports many future CPU generations like in Ryzen models), RAM, SSD, Screen, batteries (two) etc. Swapable (mobile) CPUs used to be available for barebone laptops not long ago and with even relatively slim designs. I used to have an ASUS J96S like that and it was light and slim.

Bring back at least as an option the old style 7-row mechanical keyboard with deeeeep travel!

Better heat dissipation solution (most recent thinkpads underperform due to thermal throttling) and unlocked BIOS for Watts configurable CPU.

Bring back the screen lid-locking and Screen "Eyebrow" against direct light!

And importantly! Why Thinkpads are sooo expensive everywhere else except USA? In US prices are almost half of most other countries!

Any other ideas?

[Ken]

After almost 24 full years of ThinkPad use (765CD from December 1995 to 2003; T40p from 2003 to 2011; and T420s from 2011 to the present), all of which I still have, I remain undecided about my next computer, now that my T420s has a broken hinge which seems to have disabled the screen.  This article prompted me to plug in the 765 CD and turn it on again (it still works!)  So, X1C6 with the glossy 500 nits screen for my aging eyes?  Or T480s?  Or repair the T420s and live with it?  Any recommendations?
Much about the computer age is positive.  But the comments above are spot on - the leadership that was so visible in the ThinkPad line under IBM has yielded to consumerism.