ThinkPad Reserve Edition: Gallery Preview
June 27, 2007
Post a Comment (44 Comments)
The Reserve Edition is now available for puchase by exclusive invitation to those customers demanding the ultimate user experience. The entire offering is described at great length on the microsite. There will be a gallery posted on the microsite soon, but I thought I would share here now. The images show both the exterior and the interior. The interior is what the demanding ThinkPad users have come to love: TrackPoint, best of breed keyboard, and the return of the ultimate in a rubberized finish palmrest. Although the gallery preview is focused on hardware and premium leather binding, the included executive class support package is simply amazing.
ThinkPad Reserve Edition Gallery Preview
David Hill
Lenovo Meet the Modder Dean Liou
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 2
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 1
Lenovo H320 desktop
June 27th, 2007 7:27 pm
I really fail to see why somebody would want this. The leather exterior seems to be rather impractical.
But of course – premium products are required, even if it’s just for the image.
June 27th, 2007 8:37 pm
Great news! I wonder how many weeks/months it will take to receive this thinkpad?
I’m glad Lenovo is looking out for those waiting for discrete graphics in something besides the heavy/worthless 14.1WS form factor.
Keep it up…
June 27th, 2007 9:12 pm
Folks,
Please keep the discusson on topic, per the rules. We have a post all about order delays on Inside the Box, please take your complaints there. Thanks for your understanding.
June 27th, 2007 9:18 pm
Can you say “spell check?”
June 27th, 2007 11:21 pm
I know the likelyhood of me personally ever acquiring a Reserve Edition ThinkPad is quite remote. However, if it was in my budget and not invitation only, I would like one of these. It looks to me that the leather binding is well done, and classy. It’s uniqueness and exclusiveness make it a compelling product for those fortunate few.
June 28th, 2007 2:15 am
Guessing we won’t be seeing these on the IBM EPP website anytime soon. How were the invitations sent out? Was it to, say, IT managers who had ordered $xM worth of Lenovo products?
June 28th, 2007 6:12 am
From everything I’ve heard/seen the “Reserve Edition” is less than uninspiring. I don’t want tacky leather surrounding my laptop… that’s just stupid. I think that this just points to how screwed up Lenovo’s priorities are and how they don’t understand the market. Things like leather casing are not what users buy thinkpads for. It’s the build quality. If you wanted to make a reserve edition that would matter focus on rock solid build, best of the best in screen technology (why no LED backlighting yet and why hasn’t the Samsung/LG screen issue been addresed?)… and so on. But encasing the thing in leather is not going to cut it.
June 28th, 2007 8:07 am
I can only say I am very very disappointed that Lenovo decided to make such hideous products. You guys have gone all Chinese-sy! I bet it’s the Chinese in the company that want this product made. Asus’s leather coated S6 and so on are terrible enough, but now you’ve upped a level, and wrapped the whole thing in leather!
But then Lenovo IS a Chinese company, so, well, can say I’m terribly surprised.
And, no, I’m Chinese, from Hong Kong.
June 28th, 2007 2:49 pm
Who on earth would buy this product? Aren’t we talking about an X60s with an alternative antenna, wrapped in leather?
For that kind of money, I would rather buy an X60s with an on-site next business day warranty. And should I be out travelling, I could buy ANOTHER X60s and exchange the harddrives in the time it would take a technician to fly out.
And the leather. I’m sorry, but the Thinkpad line has always appealed to me because of it’s honesty in design. The practical design and solutions tell the story of the people who created it. It show syou how these people considered the scenarios in which the device would be placed.
-The surfaces that don’t scratch reasily.
-The great robustness of the case.
-The lid design which is in full contact with the body, tranferring the forces when pressure is applied.
These things amongst others are what makes the Thinkpad a serious product. When I think of the word Thinkpad (no pun), words like “business”, “black”, “sturdy”, “reliability” and “purpose” come to mind.
When I look at that leather incased X60 there, I can only think of “handbag”, “purse” and “why?”.
This may sound like a rant. But I am being truly honest here. The only people I could imagine buying this product, would be buying it because of the pricetag alone. Simply to be able to say they bought a $5000 laptop.
This of course means that someone did a great marketing job. But really, it’s a shame.
June 28th, 2007 3:07 pm
..and with these people buying the reserve editions, we will surely begin to see these exclusive thinkpads turning up in rap music videos – side by side with hummers, diamond-studded blackberrys, bling-bling and other forms of useless junk.
June 28th, 2007 7:10 pm
how does one change the battery? does the leather come off?
June 28th, 2007 9:02 pm
This seems to be a not well-thought gimmicky. Please create something really premium next time, it is really worthwhile investing more. There are some suggestions for Lenovo to consider in order to make it a genuinely premium product:
1. scratch-resistant and water-resistant/proof detachable leather cover/sleeve (black color recommended)
2. better docking solutions
3. 12.1″ SXGA+ UltraLight Multiview-coated monitor
4. 7K200 200GB Hitachi harddisk
5. A super battery with 10+ hours of juice
6. silent fan
7. sexy LED lights (deeper green, blue, pink etc)
8. rollcage / black alloy casing for an X-series
Also, please take a look at how a laptop is made *sexy-looking* without gimmicking with just a piece of leather-skin: Sony VAIO Type T 10th Anniversary (don’t know how rugged this VAIO is)
Cassio: Hong Kong Chinese are the most rebellious and creative Chinese I’ve met
June 28th, 2007 11:28 pm
let me try to answer a few questions/comments:
Leather adds a practical quality of protection. Trust me, we tested it.
The unique cooling system we invented allows the product to cool exceptionally well. No negative impact from leather binding.
This is not just about the product, the included executive class services is an important cornerstone of the offering.
The leather is easily unhooked from the bottom allowing the battery to be removed or replaced.
Obviously the ThinkPad reserve is not for everyone. It was always intended for a special customer set.
David Hill
June 29th, 2007 5:47 am
with regards to the improved WWAN design, how great is the increasted performance? On my X61T with Verizon WWAN it seems to be spotty.
June 29th, 2007 5:18 pm
I think this was just marketed wrong. I think what was wrong was that it *was* marketed. If Lenovo hadn’t said a peep about this and just handed a couple out as complimentary upgrades to some of their largest/best/oldest customers, then most of the people complaining here would instead be craning their necks to catch glimpses of them and discussing the rumors like schoolgirls. It wouldn’t have suddenly turned them into the target market, but the point is that it would have excited and interested them instead of alienating and disappointing them. Those who didn’t care for it just wouldn’t have paid it much attention.
Some generic problems I have with the reserve edition:
1. It’s too showy. Lots of business people would be embarrassed about owning a “tricked out” laptop. I’m not saying it isn’t stylish, but stylish can be out of place.
2. Support is overrated. If you need support you have already lost, and it’s very hard to trust any company to come through for you in a random city in a very short period of time, especially when your problems may be mostly about data, not hardware. In short, no matter how good it is, it’s hard to estimate the support as anything more than a potentially helpful trifle. If you absolutely *must* have a working laptop for that all-important presentation, you had better just take two or something else drastic but guaranteed.
June 29th, 2007 11:11 pm
I didn’t like it sure other people will.
June 30th, 2007 1:10 pm
I’d rather see X (non-tablet) model with better display resolution than useless XGA
June 30th, 2007 3:05 pm
David, you mentioned that the leather stuff can be unhooked. I hate scratches on the ThinkPad’s rubber lid and don’t like heavy sleeves.
Is it possible to have the leather coating as an add-on accessory for other Thinkpads as well?
As much as I value the retro-brown leather which reminds me of the “Original IBM ThinkPad” pad for written notes, I would certainly like one for my T60, preferably in black or dark green with golden letters – would be nice and very executive style! (Faux leather would be ok, too)
June 30th, 2007 10:56 pm
How about an X-series with a 10 or 12″ widescreen?
Price aside, I like the idea of a limited, high end product. But not crazy about the way the ThinkPad Reserve looks. IMHO, it looks somewhat homemade.
Would have been better to offer a handmade slipcase that the notebook would fit in, rather than glue it on.
Is it glued on? Is the cover removable?
How about a ThinkPad made from carbon fiber? Im not just talking about a cover…but actually molding the LCD cover and base in carbon fiber. Gives some protection, gives a bit of style, but keeps the ThinkPad looking professional and light.
Just my $0.02
July 1st, 2007 4:15 pm
The one thing I’m basically wondering about. What’s the point of putting it on the blog. I’m sure there’s a special customer set that its aimed at, my gut feeling is that set also doesn’t read blogs at all
July 2nd, 2007 4:51 am
To everyone and his brother who seem to think they know what Lenonvo should design if they really knew their market/their customers/product design/how too spel/etc., give it a rest! If you have something constructive to say about the Reserve Edition design, then please do so. Otherwise, quit with the wish lists of components for your dream T-Series or PS-2 or whatever. Some of us are actually interested and excited about the Reserve Edition in that it represents a departure from traditional ThinkPad designs and may be indicative of future directions for the line. Please take your hating somewhere else! There is no need for being so mean and nasty. Leave this space for those of us who aren’t quite so threatened by the distant possibility of a future alteration to out precious ThinkPads. By that I mean to say I sense a fear expressed in previous posts that somehow because Lenovo released the Reserve Edition they will now extend the “luxury” features of that model to the entire product line and will thus be wrapping each and every model in leather while they use the profits garnered from the exorbitant prices they will now charge to fund the selling of cigarettes to baby harp seals in Cuba. Please! If you are all so concerned with homogeneity of design (I understand that this may be a repressed, unconscious fixation for many of you), then go buy a Mac and post to one of the thousands of mindless forums available to the users of that very sexy, well-designed product.
Perhaps I should add, that given the vast knowledge of product design clearly in evidence on this forum, I feel confident in presuming that my fellow posters are, themselves, product design professionals. Seriously, do any of you know what you are talking about when you rant about battery life, fan acoustics, the compromises of screen resolutions, consumer tastes, market demands, and the like? Of course you don’t! Otherwise you would probably be working at Lenovo and spending your days devising creative and realistic solutions to such problems. Instead, you dream-up fantasy computers in your head (as if such creations would actually–read: really would NOT– make your life easier/your work more manageable/your online D&D experience more [less?] lifelike/etc.) and then post the specs of these machines to this forum. Many of the posts I read seem to imply that because Lenovo is not doing XXX or addressing YYY, that so-and-so is simply at wit’s end and can no longer function because Lenovo still does not offer integrated/discrete graphics on the X/Y/Z Series, or that so-and-so’s very sanity is at stake because he will not be getting his new super-laptop (read: marginally improved over his current model) RIGHT NOW and will instead have to wait a number of months before it arrives hand-delivered to his door at home or work. (All the way from China, no less, which is, itself, a miracle of modern logistics and transportation.) Is there no justice in the world? Is there no recourse for those who are slighted against so greatly?
A quick note to Cassio: Is it entirely correct to imply that because you live in HK or are Chinese that you have some sort of special license to speak on behalf of what and what is not “Chinese-sy,” as if there is one unifying theme of Chinese culture which is linkable to any sort of Chinese-sy-ness(?). I hardly think that simply because you live in HK (or are from there–your letter wasn’t entirely clear on that point) you are in any more authoritative a position to comment on the need (as you see it) for Chinese people to wrap electronic gadgets in leather than you are able to comment the modes of irrigation preferred by farmers in Gansu Province. China is a big place with a vast range of cultures and peoples living within its borders. As such, to flippantly categorize the choices of Lenovo management as “Chinese-sy” is severely reductionist and more than a little lame.
Having ranted, I would like to now add my opinion on the Reserve Edition: I like, more than any of its other features, the way it combines, through the use of its leather wrapping, the laptop and the laptop bag into one. I live in New York City and spend my day walking from place to place with my laptop. As such, I keep my laptop in a sleeve which I then keep in my backpack as I walk around. I am excited about the possibility of a laptop that needs no protective sleeve in order to be kept very mobile and in a backpack. Perhaps a Cordura wrapping, or even the heavy-duty vinyl tarpaulin material used for flat-bed truck tarps, would work well.
Thanks!
July 2nd, 2007 3:39 pm
“Seriously, do any of you know what you are talking about when you rant about battery life, fan acoustics, the compromises of screen resolutions, consumer tastes, market demands, and the like? Of course you don’t! Otherwise you would probably be working at Lenovo and spending your days devising creative and realistic solutions to such problems.”
I don’t have to be a chef to point out that McDonalds food is mostly crap. I don’t have to be an automotive engineer to ask WTF was GM thinking when they launched the Aztec. And…
I don’t need a masters in marketing to point out a bad idea in the making, i.e. the Thinkpad Reserve Edition. Brought to you by the mastermind who pitched the “Gold Label Makita Power Sander” and the “Ruby Encrusted Wireless Router”.
July 2nd, 2007 7:17 pm
if i’m allowed by sasho to voice my opinions…
the reason i said i’m from hk is because i don’t want anyone to mistake me as some non-chinese bashing the chinese. make no mistake, i love thinkpads, and i fully respect lenovo for doing such a good job, keeping thinkpads as thinkpads, not lowering the prices and quality and mess up the legend. (i should add i was disappointed and worried when i heard lenovo bought ibm’s pc business, but now lenovo has done more than enough to assure me, and probably other thinkpad fans, that they CAN make a thinkpad.) i certainly am not speaking on behalf of what and what is not chinese-sy, but merely voicing my opinions. that said, i would also add that i’m not the only one i know that think leather wrapped (or embedded-gems in phones (vertu) or what have you) are hideous and only useful when you want to show off. And that is not because i can’t afford one.
i just honestly think that a true thinkpad lover would like a thinkpad as a thinkpad. I’m sure the leather would add a practical quality of protection. but then so would coating it with something else, and i don’t believe that’s the reason of making this. if you ask me, an nice special edition (or reserve edition if you like), would be a return of the japan-only piano black on the cover, a la s30. or something more interesting the brilliant engineers in lenovo can think of.
July 2nd, 2007 7:26 pm
i’d also like to add, we’re upset merely because we all love thinkpads, and this is just not what a thinkpad should be. i’ve got no problem whatsoever if they made a Lenovo 3000 N100 Reserve Edition. if we don’t give a damn we won’t even be reading this blog. blogs are used to trigger comments and opinions. so if you, sasho, don’t like what we say, tough.
July 2nd, 2007 9:09 pm
[...] Some of you may know that I am as passionate about Thinkpads as the Apple guys are about their machines (I have been using Thinkpads for 7 years now) so I keep up with what is going on in the Thinkpad world via a couple of Lenovo blogs. That said, I read on the Lenovo Design Matters blog today that they are releasing a limited edition “Reserve Edition” Thinkpad. [...]
July 3rd, 2007 1:28 am
Somewhere, the guy who originated the phrase “form follows function” must be rolling in his grave.
How proud you must be – engineering a piece of dead animal flesh to fix a heat problem that is only created by the use of that same piece of dead animal flesh in the first place.
Excess adornment that adds nothing to the intrinsic use of the equipment.
How sad. You’ve really lost your way.
July 3rd, 2007 1:29 am
And yes, by the way, I am an industrial designer.
July 3rd, 2007 2:04 am
So many here just don’t get it. This is a limited-edition ThinkPad. The probability is very high that this model will have no effect on the future of ThinkPads as far as the general ThinkPad buyer is concerned.
Technical resources were not siphoned away to any appreciable extent to design this ThinkPad Reserve Edition. In all probability an outside source was used to aid in the design and manufacture of the leather cover. This Reserve Edition does not diminish the remaining ThinkPad lineup, and it does not affect the availability of other ThinkPad models.
In light of the above, the only issue here is if one likes the design or not, or if one perhaps would prefer a different color of leather and stitching. All this ranting against it and claiming it is not a ThinkPad is just ludicrous. It is simply misplaced anger because a certain one’s ThinkPad was not shipped expeditiously, or the current offerings do not include a display of one’s liking. These issues have absolutely nothing to do with the Reserve Edition ThinkPad.
The Reserve Edition thinkpad was not designed as a different model ThinkPad, but rather some enhancements were added to an existing model. Lenovo’s priorities remain as always; in the design of complete ThinkPads, from the CPU, Graphics Chip, Keyboard, Display, on down. We see something very similar in the automobile industry. There are limited editions from various manufacturers that come out every spring to rejuvinate interest until the new models come out in the fall. These limited editions really do not take a lot of resources to bring to market. A limited edition Lexus is still a Lexus. Same thing with this leather-bound Reserve Edition. It is still a ThinkPad.
In regards to the somewhat high cost; this only serves to increase the exclusivity of the product. For the group it was designed for, the high price makes it more appealing. For the average Joe, the high price is a turn off. One needs to consider the market the Reserve Edition was designed for. When this is taken into factored in, ranting about the high price does not make any sense.
July 3rd, 2007 3:52 am
Yes, Carbon fiber would be much better than leather. Carbon fiber case with “black titanium” keys on the keyboard. Now THAT would be something special.
July 3rd, 2007 7:49 pm
Carbon fiber is not new to ThinkPad. The X and T series have used carbon fiber reinforced composite materials for years. It does not, however, look like the woven material people often associate with this technology. The woven versions are not cabable of achieving the thin walls, production volumes, or mold details required for ThinkPad moldings. Carbon Fiber is also a problem for radio performance, thats why the antenna for some technologies are positioned outside the case boundries or have less exotic plastic “windows” to allow for radio waves to pass.
David Hill
July 4th, 2007 6:09 am
“Carbon Fiber is also a problem for radio performance”
So THAT explains the lack of carbon fiber cellphone cases
July 5th, 2007 7:29 pm
OK, now I get it…
The Reserve Edition (2007) to a large extend is a customer service package for premium Thinkpad owner experience, together with an individually numbered top-end X series Thinkpad + a functional handcrafted fine leather sleeve (to show the privileged status)
Somehow, it seems to be that there is still some distance of it from looking like a real collector item of Thinkpad enthusiasts. i series S30 glossy edition, TransNote, Butterfly keyboard are still the foremost items that have popped up in my head…
It is really difficult to create a collector-item status for a laptop design (with so many of its components being developed under Moore’s Law); yet there were many such items in the Thinkpad series with designs that work against Moore’s Law, so there’s still hope
I have no idea on where to look at for inspirations of “special edition”, I have somewhat an impression that the qualities that people are looking for from these special-edition laptop items may be a bit different from the qualities of special editions of cameras or cars
July 6th, 2007 11:33 pm
Well, what I can say is:
For a special edition it is very very clever design, it’s unique, (who would have thought to wrap a laptop with real leather?), it looks expensive (exclusive) If you take to any fashion houses in Europe(I live in London) all big names will be amazed about it. It’s not just having the shock factor, it’s practical too, someone who is as clumsy as me scratch every of my powerbooks and macbooks, the leather will be really good protection.
Unique+expensive/exclusive+loud+useful=classic design
Finally just few thoughts about Chinesey, 1stly I actually quite like the direction Lenovo is leading the Thinkpad, no disrespect, I don’t think this special edition is designed in China by Chinese people, secondly there are few cool Chinese designs in the market, so what’s wrong with it being Chinesey?
July 8th, 2007 11:08 am
Gorgeous. I would buy one right away, if I could afford it!
But! I would also immediately order a regular X61s with the same technical specification.
July 10th, 2007 9:28 am
A mistake was made. Either the engineers and designers completely misread what their customers want in a top of the line business machine, or the PR and advertising guys dooped its audience by teasing and then revealing machines that were never intended to reach or appeal to those who would have access to this information!
Hopefully, this mistake will not be repeated. I do worry when the “best of the best” and newest ThinkPad seems to appeal more to Paris Hilton than a businessman. I am also worried that I was told by a Lenovo insider that Lenovo is “phasing out” the Txxp models. I know from just this blog I am not the only ThinkPad customer looking for more robust graphics options. Everyone, we may not see many more, if any, “p” models in the future. If this is the case, Lenovo needs to increase its options for discrete graphics cards. I don’t see this yet with the T61.
There is another blog on this site regarding the demise of the IBM logo on ThinkPads. If this reserve edition and the possible end to the “p” workstation line are any indication to the future of ThinkPad, then maybe the IBM logo is better off not being included.
July 10th, 2007 11:54 am
Bryan,
Our ThinkPad T61p models were announced today.
July 11th, 2007 12:08 am
I just finished reading the T61p’s specs and I am very excited! A top-of-the-line highly configured T61p model would have made for a much more exciting “reserve edition.”
I am VERY happy to see the return of UXGA! Even if Lenovo has a difficult time supplying these units quickly (which might not even happen), offering this top of the line display and resolution is a ThinkPad Txxp series trademark and it will definitely make many loyal customers happy and relieved to see it offered again, myself included.
I did hear from a Lenovo engineer that the “p” is going to be phased out in the future. Is this true? As long as workstation class discrete graphics card and top quality high resolution screen are offered as a configuration, I don’t think losing the letter p will matter.
Thank you for the info Tim!
July 11th, 2007 7:24 pm
What Lenovo needs to do is celebrate the uniqueness of the ThinkPad and release a Thinkpad that is so thinkpad-y that no one who isn’t a thinkpad lover would buy it. Would it sell very many units? no. It wouldn’t require excessive research and design though.. so no biggie.
possible features:
1. absolutely no touchpad. maybe even design and release a new trackpoint cap type to coincide with the release
2. aluminum or some other lightweight metal for the keyboard keys. No more gross looking keyboard like my T42 a few weeks after purchase (most keys completely worn to being glossy).
3. a red thinklight. Red is a great color to use for this since it has the least effect on your night vision. That being said, since the display is all bright and shows white, it kinda negates the purpose.
4. a function key to go into ‘night mode’ where it displays everything in high contrast grayscale, but with JUST RED. It kinda goes along with the above.
5. no windows key on the keyboard. not all of us pander to Micro$oft, don’t need that advertisement of a key. Plus on an ultraportable it makes the spacebar tiny. just go back to an ‘ibm-era’ keyboard design.
6. dvi port, just to be the only thinkpad with it at the time of release
7. laser-etched number on the casing and motherboard for collector’s purposes
8. LED backlighting (of course)
9. standard thinkpad protection warranty.
10. a new, even more durable coating over the screen casing.
yeah it wouldn’t be cheap.. at all. but well people would buy it, because they’d be paying for technology not available in any other thinkpad.
High technology > high style. Leather is no innovation, frankly I think it would hinder the cooling capabilities unless the bottom is riddled with holes for ventilation, the spill drains, etc.
July 12th, 2007 3:22 pm
I think it looks great. Then again I am one of those that loves leather AND the Thinkpad aesthetic. The X62, whenever it is released, should not only include LED backlighting and some of the other features mentioned in this post and the other X61 specific post by Mr. Kohut, but similar detachable leather covers for models with the regular and extended batteries.
I have a T60 now that will eventually be replaced by an X series and would love to see more customization options when that time rolls around.
August 1st, 2007 11:24 pm
PLEASE answer a few questions if possible.
David Hill…anyone…I’m in need of assistance!
1. Is there any information on the WWAN card (US\CA, etc) that will be supplied for this system? Is it internal or external?
2. I see that the support seems to be out of this world, but will the customer be provided with recovery disks (media) for these systems or will they only utilize Rescue and Recovery or the exclusive support?
3. Will the customer have a choice in the OS? Can they choose XP or Vista? If Vista is the choice, will they be offered the opportunity to revert to XP if this new system will not let them operate their applications in the same fashion as their previous system? I’m told that not all applications are up to speed with Vista at this time.
I sincerely thank you in advance.
August 2nd, 2007 1:55 pm
Just checked the specs for the X61 model where the WWAN is embedded…so at least that covers my internal/external question…
I look forward to hearing more about the other questions.
This system looks like a great resource for the targeted market!
August 7th, 2007 11:38 am
Featuers that would be interesting for a future thinkpad.
1.Quick boot.
2.Improved built in sound system
3.Firewire port and Digi input output
4.Inbuilt camera/ internet chat
5.Solar Cell on the cover
6.1GB Graphics card
7.200GB HDD
8.4GB/8 G B RAM
9.Microphone
10.T series Tablet
11.Touch Screen
12 Built in card scanner
13.TV/Radio Tuner built in
June 20th, 2009 1:36 am
[...] further and shows the beast on screen, as well as talking up the T400s in a way reminiscent of the ThinkPad Reserve Edition. Hopefully the waves will break soon and the Adonis of laptops will [...]
September 15th, 2009 12:24 pm
[...] display, much less on a non-convertible notebook? Crazier things have been done, like wrapping a laptop in leather. To make use of the multitouch features, Lenovo loaded a mostly-final version of Windows 7 on the [...]