Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Lenovo splits the Think brand into a separate group

engadget.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 67 posts

Re: Lenovo splits the Think brand into a separate group

#11

Post by djmdjm »

I hope this doesn't mean further abandoning the Thinkpad design values (centered around excellence in functional design) to compete on the ones that Apple has been so successful on (excellence in visual design). If they do they won't win and will mess up an excellent and unique brand in the process.

They've already started down this road IMO, dropping their near-perfect keyboard for a trendy chiclet one in the x230. To be fair, it's a great chiclet keyboard, but it doesn't have the action of the old ones.

Re: Lenovo splits the Think brand into a separate group

#12

Post by sp4rki »

I think this is a good idea. Thinkpads have evolved to a point where - regardless of IBM or Lenovo being the brand behind the product line - the name is a synonym of dependability and quality. I think that by separating the brand from the rest of the Lenovo pack, and giving it it's own two feet they might steal quite a bit of Apple's customers.

I went from my own homemade machines, to exclusively Apple hardware, to owning a t420 (wanted the old keyboard). I'm in the process of leaving the Apple ecosystem and going back to Linux (Arch to be specific) because I dislike the direction Apple is going (the Mac App Store was the inflection point that made me want to leave). The Thinkpad brand was the obvious choice because of upgradeability, quality, dependency, and the fact that they make some of the best laptops for Linux. Even better than Zareason and system 76 hardware IMO. Making the perfect business computing tools AND at the same time the perfect Linux portable hardware is a big plus in my book. Even more than unibody pieces of aluminum and the retina bs that while commendable to a point, I've found is more of a nuisance than anything else.

Anyways, Lenovo earned a customer by keeping the Thinkpad brand alive and maintaining it's quality standards. Any step to make the brand better is AOK with me.

Re: Lenovo splits the Think brand into a separate group

#13

Post by miahi »

djt wrote: post #2

This is a great idea. Allowing for two different brands to evolve with their respective markets.

But this also means they will compete in some of the markets. We'll see what happens.

It should be easier to pick a laptop then, as I don't think we will see any Lenovo with a non-glossy screen.

Re: Lenovo splits the Think brand into a separate group

#14

Post by shalmanese »

fest wrote: post #10

The best they could do is ditch Thinkpad brand for their consumer grade machines (SL , R ). T and X series are Thinkpads. The rest- not so much. SL and R series "Thinkpads" are rubbish, imo. Not to mention the cheap Ideapad's- the build quality is on par with pretty much every other cheap notebook manufacturers.

Don't forget the W mobile workstations.

Re: Lenovo splits the Think brand into a separate group

#15

Post by kayoone »

ww520 wrote: post #6

ThinkPad is amazingly solid. I had two so far and both were wonderful machine. Lenovo's service is pretty good as well. My latest laptop's Intel SSD drive went dead after a year. They shipped a replacement right the way with no question asked.

And that is one the main reasons why Apple isnt suited for professional users right there. When having a Dell Laptop some technican came the next day to my house and repaired my laptop without any cost. With Apple i can go to the nearest Store and hope that some of the hipsters there want to help me, after which i will have to wait until my repaired hardware comes back from wherever in the world.

Re: Lenovo splits the Think brand into a separate group

#16

Post by elithrar »

miahi wrote: post #13
djt wrote: post #2

This is a great idea. Allowing for two different brands to evolve with their respective markets.

But this also means they will compete in some of the markets. We'll see what happens. It should be easier to pick a laptop then, as I don't think we will see any Lenovo with a non-glossy screen.

> But this also means they will compete in some of the markets. We'll see what happens.

I see this as an issue now that they are two separate groups, likely with their own KPIs and numbers to meet. As we see so often with other organisations, they tend towards in-fighting rather than (good) cannibalisation because of the "silo" structure they've created.

Re: Lenovo splits the Think brand into a separate group

#17

Post by msutherl »

sp4rki wrote: post #12

I think this is a good idea. Thinkpads have evolved to a point where - regardless of IBM or Lenovo being the brand behind the product line - the name is a synonym of dependability and quality. I think that by separating the brand from the rest of the Lenovo pack, and giving it it's own two feet they might steal quite a bit of Apple's customers. I went from my own homemade machines, to exclusively Apple hardware, to o…

I feel the same way. The ThinkPad is the only computer that could potentially tempt me away from my MacBook. So far I'm stuck to OS X though (dreaming of Arch minimalism).

Re: Lenovo splits the Think brand into a separate group

#18

Post by meaty »

Great idea.

This will save the following thing happening again and again:

1. Someone asks me for a laptop recommendation.

2. I tell them "ThinkPad T-series" and state you can get them online for the price of a mid-range laptop in a retail outfit from http://www.lenovo.com/ with a direct link to the product page - they say thank you.

3. Some time passes

4. I get a call from the person saying they bought a "Lenovo" laptop at their local electrical supplier and it's rubbish and they'll never trust a recommendation from me again. They have inevitably bought a cheap Lenovo close-out machine which has died after 3 months (their cheap machines are crap).

5. Argument ensues and email is re-sent with "ThinkPad" highlighted. Much "aaaah" is to be had.

4 times so far. People just don't get the difference between good and crap, which is to be honest, where Apple are quite good.

Re: Lenovo splits the Think brand into a separate group

#19

Post by meaty »

msutherl wrote: post #17
sp4rki wrote: post #12

I think this is a good idea. Thinkpads have evolved to a point where - regardless of IBM or Lenovo being the brand behind the product line - the name is a synonym of dependability and quality. I think that by separating the brand from the rest of the Lenovo pack, and giving it it's own two feet they might steal quite a bit of Apple's customers. I went from my own homemade machines, to exclusively Apple hardware, to o…

I feel the same way. The ThinkPad is the only computer that could potentially tempt me away from my MacBook. So far I'm stuck to OS X though (dreaming of Arch minimalism).

Arch is a maintenance nightmare if you want to be productive.

Re: Lenovo splits the Think brand into a separate group

#20

Post by meaty »

kayoone wrote: post #15
ww520 wrote: post #6

ThinkPad is amazingly solid. I had two so far and both were wonderful machine. Lenovo's service is pretty good as well. My latest laptop's Intel SSD drive went dead after a year. They shipped a replacement right the way with no question asked.

And that is one the main reasons why Apple isnt suited for professional users right there. When having a Dell Laptop some technican came the next day to my house and repaired my laptop without any cost. With Apple i can go to the nearest Store and hope that some of the hipsters there want to help me, after which i will have to wait until my repaired hardware comes back from wherever in the world.

Yes and as I found, those annoying hipsters actually are quite rude, arrogant and unhelpful (Kingston Upon Thames Apple Store, Surrey, UK).

An hour to get replacement earphones for my daughter's iPod due to the well known problem of the rocker switch which failing after a week! I asked "so what happens when these fail? Do I have to spend an hour a week down here?". The reply was simply "it's not my problem".

She owns a Cowon now.

Post reply on HN