2017 Thinkpad vs.1997 Thinkpad – 25 Anniversary Edition Review

[AlexTheGreatish]

How does the Thinkpad 25th anniversary edition compare to the Thinkpads of old?  We resurrect a 20 year old one to find out.

 

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[Ryois]

New VS Old! I loved the old beeping, you pressed too many keys.

 

[Berget]

Praise the knob

[Princess Luna]

Ohh gonna watch this later, I have heard that rebrand was rather disappointing would like to see Linus team insight.

[Nicnac]

So which one is better?

 

 

/s

[Zagna]

My Thinkpad 360CE is still rockin'

[Egg-Roll]

I might not be a mathematician but I do know for a fact 1997 and 2017 is 100% not 25 years, it's only 20 years.

 

 

*I have not watched it yet.

[Streetguru]

Does lenovo really think the keyboard justifies the price tag?

I need a cheap as they can get version with a 1080p IPS display and raven ridge APU ASAP.

[poochyena]

That laptop is worth $800 at most.

[poisonadder1]

I think it is possible to swap the function and control keys in the bios.

[visitor2015]

Finally, the video I was curious about. I hope someone at Lenovo got the idea why people love the ThinkPads and the classic keyboard. with the Trackpoint. From my feeling the trackpad could also profit from additional mouse buttons below to further decrease size and improve palm rejection clearance. Honestly 3" diagonal for a trackpad is large enough. But what I miss most is the 16:10 AR screen which turned out to be the first choice during the past polls in the R&D phase of that project. Instead of *yawn* FullHD they could also have gone to WQHD (2560x1400) if they had to use the horrid 16:9 AR. This would certainly make it a machine for 2017 instead of a machine of 2014 (as in T450).

Because ThinkPads are also well known as good devices for Linux, the next step would be to ditch Windows 10 and finally install a proper operating system on that machine.

 

Can we now hope for a review of Dell Latitudes and Precisions or more Lenovo ThinkPad T and P series?

[Tankers]

As of me the "AE" is just garbage. I had my hands on it, the keyboard is the same lame one from x230 era, the same with touchpad. At max it have 1080p screen with like ~2379€ price ? No thanks. The only way it connects to old ones is by colorfull logo and that's all of connections, it's still garbage T470. Louis Rossmann did a good video on it 

 

[visitor2015]

@Tankers I also thought about linking that video. I hope that Lenovo leared from that and will bring better devices with their upcoming Tx80 series at CES 2018.

 

By the way: I still love my Dell Latitude D830 which will turn 10 this year. The newer Latitudes have worse screens and keyboards than my machine. Although I would love to have a middle button for my PointingStick. 

 

But the most intersting topic Linus forgot to mention: Bottom side docking port on the T25 for a proper docking station. There is nothing better than just smash your notebook on a docking station and use your favorite displays and input devices connected to it without ever having to touch any cable at all. The notebook itself can then just rest in the station without need to open the display lid.

[Kachunkachunk]

I checked through the description and YouTube comments (and maybe I now need a shower), and I tried a few recognition apps, but no luck so far - can someone perhaps share info on what the cello/piano piece was, from the intro?

It sounds a lot like the Batman medley by Danny Elfman, but none of the recent Batman (2002+) movie soundtracks I've browsed through featured any part of the same piece. I could have missed it, too.

Beyond that, it seems surprising that LTT can put up a video with motion picture soundtrack piece anyway, with Content ID (and takedowns) running amok nowadays, so it could be a coincidence too.

[Guest]

Still only has Lenovo support so you better buy two

[patrick3027]

Underpowered and overpriced from what I see.

[kirashi]

On 1/2/2018 at 1:00 PM, Egg-Roll said:

I might not be a mathematician but I do know for a fact 1997 and 2017 is 100% not 25 years, it's only 20 years.

*I have not watched it yet.

The original ThinkPad laptop was released in 1992, so I'm not sure where you're getting 1997 from... 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThinkPad

 

While I wouldn't give up my Dell XPS 15 for the new ThinkPad, I do love the build quality and proper design implemented on most of Lenovo's business products. A proper productivity machine should include all the ports and functionality you need to get the job done, so kudos to Lenovo for doing something that Apple, LG, and even ASUS haven't been able to do in the last few years with their ultraportable laptops: including a mix of full size USB 3.0 Type A ports, a Thunderbolt 3 / USB C 3.1 port, headphone/mic combo jack, AND the most important for photo enthusiasts, a full size SD card slot. My only complaint about the laptop is not using USB C for charging, since, I mean, if it's supposed to be the new standard, I kind of expect manufacturers to be the ones pushing its' use.

[Egg-Roll]

1 hour ago, kirashi said:

The original ThinkPad laptop was released in 1992, so I'm not sure where you're getting 1997 from... 

The video's title

 

Based on the title reading it real fast and/or knowing nothing about ThinkPad one could simply think that's not 25 years, its 20 years.

 

Even tho they were reviewing the 25th anniversary edition they were not reviewing the 25 years gap they were only comparing 20 years. It was being brought up even more so on youtube, I figured what they were doing before i posted it and before I watched the video. I'm actually amazed they got a 20 yr old laptop...

 

A better video title would of been "25th Anniversary Edition ThinkPad - How does it add up with it's siblings" Or something like that. How the title is now makes them look like this:

 

Because you can look at the title in 2 ways:

1. They can't do math
2. They are comparing a 1997 ThinkPad with a 2017 ThinkPad

My post was based on the 1st but i figured it was the second.

 

Edit: I own that t-shirt, and yes I've walked into work with it on.

[kirashi]

6 minutes ago, Egg-Roll said:

The video's title

Duly noted, I totally missed that. Your comment makes sense then. I think too the title could be a bit better.

[mikel10k]

Please tell me, what is that track at the beginning 

[Barbarbarbar]

On 1/2/2018 at 10:16 PM, visitor2015 said:

Because ThinkPads are also well known as good devices for Linux, the next step would be to ditch Windows 10 and finally install a proper operating system on that machine.

 

Can we now hope for a review of Dell Latitudes and Precisions or more Lenovo ThinkPad T and P series?

Indeed. My main interest in this video, and in ThinkPads is for using Lubuntu or a similar low-spec distribution so that I can pull every last cycle from pushing the DE to, y'know, programs rather than a Windows 10 installation I don't need. Not like I can't run any windows executables through WINE if I can't find a native alternative. I wouldn't want myself to get distracted by any games other than Klotski & Chess anyways, so there's not much use for Windows on a productivity laptop.

However, given the unjustifiable price for my own needs (forums, streaming video, and word processing) I'd be interested in more critical review of this market. How are the Dell Precisions?

[D4nt3]

During the course of my professional life, the companies I've worked for have exclusively used Thinkpads and a Dell Latitude in one company. We're not stupid. We know full well that these machines are worth far more less than the sum of their parts. I remember the Thinkpad when they were still made by IBM. They were clunky, heavy, boring matte black, but hold one and you'll feel like they could stop a bullet, You walk into a client meeting and it commands attention. It gives you instant credibility whether you deserve or not. The  IBM badge means a pedigree anchored on reliability, innovation, and quality. 

 

But that's in the past. The laptops that Lenovo are currently churning out are a far cry from the Thinkpads I remember. Reliability and quality were the first to go. It's not unusual for us to see components fail within the first few months because there's always something that goes wrong with each iteration. Lenovo took an icon and demolished everything special about it. Thinkpads today are simply on the same league with everything else.

 

Which makes me wonder, if the Thinkpad branding is removed, would the laptop sell on Lenovo's name alone?            

 

 

[Crunchy Dragon]

I'd like to see how this compares to a P50 honestly

[Silentprototipe]

2 words, Louis Rossman