ThinkPad X60 Tablet Shipping Delays
Lately we've been getting a few missives on ThinkPad X60 Tablet shipping delays and wanted to take a moment to address them.
The good news is that the ThinkPad X60 Tablet continues to get rave reviews and is in very high demand since it was announced in November. That same month, we got word from one of our main panel suppliers that there could be some delivery issues. As we rolled into December, it looked like we'd made it over that hurdle, and were comfortable that we could ship SXGA+ models that month. However, it turned out that the panel in question was still experiencing a shortage, and we had to bump our delivery dates. We expect to be shipping ThinkPad X60 Tablet PCs again in bunches this month.
We apologize to all of our customers for the delays and thank you for bearing with us.
January 9th, 2007 at 3:31 am
Do you have any comments or hints about shipping delays in general? My company orders new T60’s frequently, and we often experience a frustrating delay that we aren’t informed of until the day a machine was supposed to ship. For example, we will order a machine on January 1. The estimated ship date will be something like January 23, which is a bit disappointing to begin with. On January 23, the web-based order status system will change the date to February 12. It will actually ship on that second date, or a bit before sometimes. We can plan around a lot of different shipment times, including really long ones. But it’s hard to plan around moving ones. Should I really just adjust my expectations? Get a personal sales rep? Never order certain upgrades?
January 9th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Thanks for addressing this issue. I have an x60 tablet with SXGA+ on order since Nov 30, and my original ship date was pushed from 12/14/06 to 1/24/07. I am not in as “desperate” of a sItuation as others who ordered the device in expecation to have it in time for the Jan semester start. Still, I wouldn’t mind actually getting my hands on the machine one of these days
As Ethan said in the previous response, the online ESD date generally doesn’t seem to have much correlation with reality, which causes a lot of confusion/frustration. And triggers a ton of calls to Lenovo sales reps and customer support in hopes of getting more accurate informationl, which can’t be exactly cheap for Lenovo.
January 9th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
You have got to be kidding me. How can the company not come out with an official statement regarding this? This excuse sounds like exactly that, an excuse. Maybe you should quit patting yourself on the back about the great reviews and concentrate on customer service. I ordered my 6366-AJU direct 12/1/2006 and have had nothing but “bumps” on my ship date with no explanation. VERY POOR customer service overall. Every phone sales rep gives a different answer after putting you on hold and going to some other person to find the answer. With CES this week, I’m sure you are going to get many people canceling their orders and going with another OEM.
January 10th, 2007 at 1:30 am
Delays in a certain screen type is one thing and I can understand that but what about those of us who live outside the US. Any idea when Australia will get it?
January 10th, 2007 at 11:32 am
I’m interested in an X60 with Vista. I’ve been holding off ordering one until the end of January, when Vista officially becomes available. But if I’m going to have to wait several weeks beyond that, I’ll be a bit disgruntled.
If I order one now, on the assumption that it won’t arrive for a few weeks, can I be sure it will have Vista?
Finally, I really wish there was an X60-type tablet, but with an Ultranav touchpad. Any prospect of one of those?
Allan
January 11th, 2007 at 1:53 am
Can we get something for waiting so long? Like maybe a memory upgrade or something? I think it would go a long way towards keeping customers that have been really frustrated by this experience.
January 11th, 2007 at 4:07 am
Hi David,
will there be a t60 configuration with ATI x1450 or x1600 graphics soon?
The 1400 is a bit slow for my taste.
Thanks
Philip
January 11th, 2007 at 7:04 am
Personally, I’m wondering if you guys have any plans to put the Core 2 Duo in the the X60 Tablet. I’ve been waiting until the end of CES to buy a new tablet, and I’d rather have a Core 2 Duo in there, or atleast know that there’s an upgrade path.
(I think I heard that the processor is soldered in, so that would be a “no”, I think.)
Any hints?
January 11th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Guys, to those who are asking about any products we do not have in our portfolio, we are unable to comment on unannounced products.
Sebastien, to shed some more light on your question, the X60 tablet uses low volt and ultra low volt technology processors. I do not believe LV and ULV are available yet in the Core 2 family.
January 11th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
[...] Here is their post and a link to the comments posted by readers: [...]
January 11th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Matt, the statement says “We expect to be shipping ThinkPad X60 Tablet PCs again in bunches this month.” Does this include SXGA+ machines? The reason I am asking (other than that I have one on order since Nov 30) is the little word “again” in that sentence. Since SXGA+ machines haven’t shown up really in the market (other than with few select reviewers), it almost seems the sentence isn’t referring to them. But maybe I am just over-interpreting!?
January 11th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Why do you address the issue of the delayed SXGA+ systems, but fail to give an ETA?
By addressing the SXGA+ issue then saying, “We expect to be shipping ThinkPad X60 Tablet PCs again in bunches this month.” it appears that you are trying to make it sound like SXGA+ systems will be shipping this month, without actually saying it.
Please tell me your statement was poorly worded, and that you should have included “SXGA+” and left out “again.”
otherwise, it’s very deceiving, and very dissapointing.
——-
You say, “this month,” but it’s already mid-january – so, what gives?
January 12th, 2007 at 4:23 am
When will you guys bring the higher resolution screen to the non tablet X60 models? In particular the S variant.
Thanks,
Stefan
January 12th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
IT is pretty clear they are talking about SXGA panels :
“As we rolled into December, it looked like we’d made it over that hurdle, and were comfortable that we could ship SXGA+ models that month. However, it turned out that the panel in question was still experiencing a shortage, and we had to bump our delivery dates. “
I know folks on GBM will be pleased to finally get some units.
January 12th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
For those of you in the UK..
Lenovo have today deliverd stock into there UK Distribution channel
Most UK Resellers should be able to get next day delivery from my company
Enjoy your X60t’s when you get them! Mines great!
Thanks
Rob
January 12th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Matt, is the 6366-AJU (aka, an x60T with SXGA) not in your portfolio? Is that why there is no official statement from lenovo other than what little was said on a blog?
January 12th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Allan Jones: Unfortunately no one will be able to order models preloaded with Windows Vista before the date is released. If you’re looking for Windows Vista preloaded, I recommend waiting until it is officially announced and you are able to order it as such. However if you order before the official Windows Vista release, you may be eligible for the Express Upgrade program (not the same as having it preloaded): http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/micro.....grade.html
To address those concerned about the specific fate of SXGA+ orders: tablet models with SXGA+ screens will begin shipping after January 20th. We know you are disappointed over your wait and we are doing everything we can to get them to you.
I would also just like to reiterate what Matt said: we can’t discuss information on un-announced products, and won’t.
In following the reaction to this blog post around the web, I’m seeing some sentiment that we’re avoiding the issue or trying to be vague. I can tell you that if we were really trying to avoid the issue, I wouldn’t have posted any of this information in the first place.
My goal is to keep you informed and up-to-date. However, I will not discuss our suppliers or competitive information, for reasons that I’m sure you can understand. We have sold a significant number of new ThinkPad tablets, and hope to have yours in your hands as soon as possible. Thanks for bearing with us everyone.
January 12th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Our company had an order for 23 of these SXGA+ units budgeted and PO’d. Due to changing dates on the pre-order units, we decided to go with another manufacturer who did not seem to have any issue getting us units with these screens in our timeframe. We really wanted Thinkpads, but at the end of the day, if you really want to tell Lenovo about your feelings just cancel your order and go elsewhere. Calling them and blogging is a good way to express frustration, but comanies’ don’t change their tactics unless they lose money.
Lenovo, here’s a thought: Next year there will be another order for roughly the same number of units. That gives you a whole year to re-earn our business! Perhaps these supply chain issues will be worked out by then!
January 12th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
My service from Lenovo was excellent. Yes, I got a little frustrated with the online ordering system. Expressing my concerns, I received accurate communication from Lenovo concerning my order and my actual tablet within a week of that (repeated) communication. No I did not order an SXGA variant. Yes, I was able to see the SXGA supply issue early on and avoided it. Had my requirements defined the need for an SXGA, I would have been prepared to wait. Of course, I was born before the microwave was invented, and yes, I did walk to school 4 miles uphill both ways.
I would think any of us who order a rollout product should expect delays, often beyond the control of the supplier who must unfortunately deal with 3rd party contractors. I doubt strongly there is anyone at Lenovo that enjoys seeing their customers frustrated over shipping delays. They have nothing to gain by that, and they aren’t stupid.
I think Lenovo deserves a pat on the back for such an excellent tablet. I also think those that are having to wait for SXGA units will be more than pleased with the product, happy that they waited it out. I encourgage them to do so. This being said, it is important to note Lenovo does need to do a little work on their automated shipping estimation system, and perhaps need to train their reps a tad more on presenting a unified view of statuses, as well as provide them with accurate info with which to disseminate.
You may have not have got it perfect Lenovo, but you did a darn fine job.
January 13th, 2007 at 2:50 am
“I also think those that are having to wait for SXGA units will be more than pleased with the product, happy that they waited it out.”
I certainly hope so. But there’s over 2.5 months between when I ordered and the current estimated shipping date. Sometimes I feel I’ll only get the tablet after Lenovo has announced the X61 Tablet or something.
It would be really nice if Lenovo would offer all of us in this situation a) the penalty-free right to return the machine in a few days if we are not completely happy, and b) a set of Vista Business restore discs since we will be getting the systems after Vista is officially available.
January 13th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Hey, I recently ordered an X60 Tablet, and I’m a bit concerned about the shipping delays. I’m a little confused as to what SXGA is and SXGA+ in their tablet models. I purchased mine with an easy touch XGA screen: “12.1″ UltraView + EasyTouch XGA TFT”. The only other model of screen I can see available is the “12.1″ XGA TFT” Can anybody clue me in to which is SGXA / SXGA +. Thanks in advance.
January 13th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Does anyone know whether the x60 tablet that will ship preloaded with Vista will be available with a hybrid HDD?
January 14th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Leland,
XGA = 1024×768 pixels
SXGA+ = 1400×1050 pixels
Lenovo doesn’t offer an SXGA or SGXA screen. The touch screen is XGA. The shipping delays are mainly for tablets with SXGA+ screens, so you shouldn’t worry.
Due to the problems mentioned in this article, it looks like Lenovo has temporarily stopped listing for sale on its website the SXGA+ tablet, though it might be possible to still order one (expect delays).
January 14th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Hey Steve, Thanks for the info. After doing a bit more thinking, now that I’m aware of the SXGA+ option, I’ve decided that I would rather have the greater resolution. My order at lenovo is listed as “in process” I also read on their website that you can indeed cancel orders. Though I have heard some users complain that once the cogs start turning on an order, you’re stuck with it. I don’t mind waiting it out if I can still switch over. Anyone have experience canceling orders or updating their order to a different model number? They’re office is closed today, so I’m nervously awaiting to call them tomorrow. (If you download the parts catalog for the tablets, you can add the model number directly and then check out to order – So apparently SXGA+ models can still be ordered in this way) Thanks.
January 15th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Well, after initially ordering an X60 tablet with the touchscreen feature, I became aware of the SXGA+ option. I decided to cancel my initial order, and today (1/15), I ordered a 636A7U – a SXGA+ model. My estimated ship date is listed as 1/29. I seriously doubt I will have it sent out then given the woes of others who have purchased SXGA+ models. Has anyone heard any good news? Or should I realistically expect to get my computer towards the end of next month?
January 16th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
i was really wanting a lenovo but couldnt wait any longer. Cancelled the order and went with a fujitsu 4215.
January 17th, 2007 at 2:49 am
Matt:
“I do not believe LV and ULV are available yet in the Core 2 family.”…
Found core 2 duo LV models are silently unveiled on the web a few days ago (on 11th):
http://indigo.intel.com/compar.....ture=en-US
Now, again, it’s time for the race to put that up
January 18th, 2007 at 1:12 am
Dean said: “Does anyone know whether the x60 tablet that will ship preloaded with Vista will be available with a hybrid HDD?”
No, they’ve been evaluated for use in ThinkPads and according the the results, the performance gain just isn’t there. It was on this blog not long ago: http://www.lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=46
January 18th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Now that Jan 20 is approaching, I (and others) just received an email indicating that
“Due to the overwhelming demand for our very innovative products we have been unable to ship all or part of your Lenovo order (xxxxx). You are a valued customer and we are working hard to ship your order as soon as possible. However, under Federal regulations, when a delay occurs, we are required to automatically cancel your order within 5 days of this notification and provide a full refund, unless we hear from you that you agree to an order extension. “
This is for an order that was placed on 11/30 with an ESD of 12/14, delayed to 1/24. So I guess I should interpret the email I received today to mean that it won’t ship on 1/24 either?
More clarification regarding the situation with AJU / SXGA+ units would be appreciated. Lenovo is not making new friends with these ongoing problems.
January 19th, 2007 at 4:20 am
Regarding Oliver:
I ordered some tethers, and their shipping date got pushed back over and over, and I received several notices similar to the one you received. However, they did end up shipping, even though I think I had received a notice very close to the day they were sent. I think it is a glitch in their problem-ridden shipping date/notice program.
Have hope and look forward to the glorious day(s) when our beloved x60t (with the superior SXGA+ displays) pcs arrive!!
January 20th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
I too have had an X60 SXGA+ on order since 12/1. Just received the same notice as Oliver above. Since the original blog post regarding the delay was posted on 1/8/07 – I would expect more specifics on the delay asap. My frustration is, and has been the lack of info, and the status updates that appear on the date you expect your unit to ship.
I am crossing my fingers and hoping that Tim Supples remark that “tablet models with SXGA+ screens will begin shipping after January 20th” holds true and doesn’t mean April.
thinkpads.com users (non-Lenovo) forum: http://forum.thinkpads.com/vie.....150#242150
January 20th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
I have a question about the specs and what is orderable on the x60 tablet. I’ve read many reviews and I see that some of the reviewers state that you can get this model with 802.11a/b/g/n networking and also with WWLAN for Verizon or Sprint. I’ve gone to the Lenovo website many times and no matter how many times I click on the configure button, I’ve never seen either the 802.11n nor the WWLAN as an option. Are these reviews incorrect, or what?
Also, I see some users posting that they have downloaded a catalog and entered the part number that they want directly, however, I’ve searched the website and can’t find any catalog to download. If someone can please post a link to it. Thanks.
January 20th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
The “catalog” is called tabook, and the link is item #1 in the FAQ at http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=1689
January 22nd, 2007 at 1:19 pm
Please let us know when the first production X60 Tablets with SXGA+ screens ship.
January 22nd, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Jan 20, 2007 has come and gone. I haven’t seen any reports of SXGA+ units being shipped. What’s the latest?
January 22nd, 2007 at 7:30 pm
What I’d like to know is when will it be possible to purchase WWAN and SXGA+ (again) in an X60 tablet?
January 22nd, 2007 at 7:36 pm
I second Steve’s request…has ANYONE received an SXGA+ model yet?
January 23rd, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Hi all,
I’m sorry, but I don’t have any new information on tablet shipment yet.
Regarding the WWAN/802.11n availability: I am told the inability to order these options on the U.S. Lenovo website is a glitch and it is being fixed. I believe you should be able to call 1-866-96-THINK to order with those options in the meantime.
January 23rd, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Lenovo please talk to us!
It´s hard for us to wait for that SVGA+-best-mobile-pc-ever but it´s even harder to wait not knowing why and how long we´ll have to wait.
Just be honest and fair to us. Keep us up to date. Thats why that blog exists?! If it´ll take another 4 weeks or something thats “fine” (not really) but then we at least know where we stand…
January 23rd, 2007 at 3:56 pm
I canceled my order for an x60 w/sxga+ display and instead got the Toshiba m400; also with sxga+ display and with Core 2 Duo (rather than Core Duo) and higher clock speed. All for $600 less. Very happy!
It is more of a commodity tablet as far as industrial design, but better guts and shipping now!
(but of course, this message will be censored
January 23rd, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I ordered an SXGA model about a while ago and I was hoping to get it a few 2 weeks ago but hey some people must have been waiting longer than me. But anyways what I don’t get is that this problem could be going on for so long and on the Lenovo IBM epp site (canada) it wouldn’t be mentioned If I had known the that I would wait soo long I probaby would have ordered a T60. I would just like to underscore that a long lasting problem should be noted somewhere on the order form or on the site. I hope we can get some news or at least an estimate on when theyll ship soon.
Thanks for your time.
January 23rd, 2007 at 7:58 pm
“Hi all,
I’m sorry, but I don’t have any new information on tablet shipment yet.
Regarding the WWAN/802.11n availability: I am told the inability to order these options on the U.S. Lenovo website is a glitch and it is being fixed. I believe you should be able to call 1-866-96-THINK to order with those options in the meantime.”
Hi, the reps cannot help order the ‘n’ type. they can only order what we can order on the website.
In regards to the SXGA+ models, please get some info on whats going on. if the AJU’s and other SXGA+’s will be shipping when we’ve been promised (late january) (at least for those of us who ordered two months ago) then that means the factory MUST have already recieved the screens by now. so – have you guys recieved the screens or not? I hope someone could at least be able to find that out……..right?
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:26 pm
my post was deleted? So i’ll post again.
Please get some info.
It’s after January 20th, and it’s now the end of January which is when weve been told many times that our SXGA+ machines (at least those of us that ordered two month ago…) would be shipping. At this point, if lenovo has not revieved the screens from BOE Hydis, there is no way you will beable to ship them in time. So I think such an update would be appropritate. ***has Lenovo revieved a shipment of SXGA+ screens??*** I think someone must know or could find out at least this bit of info….right?
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:28 pm
argh. looks like my post wasn’t deleted. for some reason it didn’t show up. Oh well.
January 24th, 2007 at 1:58 am
I have a SXGA+ on order as well, let us know if anyone has received theirs.
January 24th, 2007 at 9:35 am
I have contacted with BOE. They send SXGA screens to Lenovo on December!
January 24th, 2007 at 11:21 am
This feels like a game of twenty questions…Can we get someone to give us at LEAST current representation of the facts? I’ll make it painfully easy
Yes [ ] No [ ] – We have shipped XGAs (the subject version but at least progress)
Yes [ ] No [ ] – The issue with the SXGA is the availability of the screens
Yes [ ] No [ ] – We have received the parts needed for the SXGAs
Yes [ ] No [ ] – We have started shipping SXGAs pre-orders place in Novemeber
Yes [ ] No [ ] – We should communicate more with our loyal customers
January 24th, 2007 at 11:22 am
My order/ESD history for an SXGA+ unit:
Ordered: 11/30/06
ESD: 12/14/06 -> 01/24/07 -> 01/23/07 -> 02/07/07
Shipped: ???
Quite honestly, I am pretty sure you’d keep your prespects and customers happier if you kept them in the loop with what’s going on, instead of updating the estimated shipping dates with what seem to be random, meaningless dates. I am sure you expect the same from YOUR suppliers. A lot of people can deal with delays if they can plan accordingly, but with Lenovo that seems impossible. So you’ll see people cancel in frustration and go elsewhere, and many will be lost as customers forever.
January 24th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
It is really disapointing. As a student I spent my last penny on the X60 SXGA+ model – and I REALLY need for my studies, but as you all say: the ESD just keeps oscillating in the “far” future. I really hope Lenovo does something, QUICKLY!
January 24th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Is there any info about the Thinkpad T60 delays… I’m going to be getting one that I ordered in late December sometime in February, at least (originally, I ordered it a few weeks before that, but that’s another frustrated rant about Lenovo’s customer service and sales involving one fumble after another). A friend of mine order his a few days before I originally ordered it and has had it since around Christmas. It’s been delayed by two weeks twice already. And I only received a canned email response from the representative handling my order about web site upgrades, ironically, to increase customer satisfaction somehow causing the delays.
This situation got ridiculous a few weeks ago – now it’s a guarantee that Lenovo, to me, can’t meet the expectations for the Thinkpad that IBM set. I agree with the posters above, although we are talking about different products, it’s incredibly disappointing and frustrating, almost to the point of driving me to cancel and get that new laptop I need for school (the new semester of which having already started) elsewhere (and cheaper, without the Thinkpad brand attached).
January 25th, 2007 at 10:31 am
When will we even be able to order a X60 with the SXGA+ screen? I’d like to order one even if I have to wait (unless I have to pay immediately), but it seems like we can’t even order it and nobody has any information on when we will be able to order it.
To make matters worse, I want to get one with XP Professional loaded with a coupon for Vista since my work won’t support Vista for the near term.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Well I must say you guys are very skilled at evading questions. It’s a D**N good ting your products have such good track records or else you’d lose a lot of customers over this one little problem.
I have a thinkpad A31 and I am extremely pleased with is but it is a little outdated (especially the ATI 7500 graphics card) and I was expecting to have it replaced within 3 weeks of my order (all my friends and family that ordered theirs got it within One and a half) and because I want the HOTTEST model you have I have to wait? And worst still you cant give at least an Idea of when the this people who first ordered theirs will get it how much less encouraging for those who ordered them in the beginning of January?
January 25th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Sorry for double post but I would like to see MattL’s Questions answered (Its like really easy.
Thanks Again for your time (note not so happy)
January 26th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Hello all,
Oliver, Steve and our other readers on here, you’re asking all the right questions. I’m glad you took the time to post here and let me know what is happening.
I understand you all are getting anxious for news on the SXGA+ tablets and I’m here to report some good news. We have started to fulfill SXGA+ tablet orders and most orders placed in November will be fulfilled next week. The rest of the SXGA+ tablet orders will be fulfilled by February 8th. People who have CTO (configure to order) machines, please keep in mind that other components in the CTO may affect your ship date.
I apologize for the silence these last few days, but with the rapidly changing picture in the last 48 hours, I wanted to wait until I could share something solid. I’m sorry for the delays surrounding these orders and thank you for your loyalty to Lenovo.
January 26th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Well, I really hope this is true!
January 26th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
Tim – thanks for the update. That is encouraging news!!! I’m sure we will post with the same enthusiam we’ve complained with – if this date is meet.
All my fellow X60 customers – keep me update when you get your tablets (I’ll do the same). My ESD is 2/6/07, I hope to be in class taking notes with it soon!
January 26th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Tim — your update is much appreciated, and I am looking forward to getting to experience what I consider (without ever having seen it) one of the most interesting machines on the market right now… which is exactly why I have waited instead of moving my order elsewhere.
January 27th, 2007 at 1:03 am
I’m following this thread closely; I too am a student interested in the X60 SVGA+. I will be ordering some sort of tablet in the next week or so. The X60 is my top choice; and while the SVGA+ still doesn’t seem to be an available configuration on the consumer store, I can order the 6363ADU from the education side (which is where I’d get it anyway for the discount).
I’m wondering when the SVGA+ will again be an option from the consumer store (I may be recommending this tablet to others) – and for any new orders placed on either site, will the shipping times be reasonable, or are there simply too many pre-orders to catch up? My second choice will probably be a Tosh*** M400 – but I’d much rather go with Lenovo! The semester is already under way, and now that I have the funds available I’m anxous to get something to work with ASAP.
Thanks,
Matt(hew)
January 27th, 2007 at 8:27 am
are these dates also valid in europe (switzerland)?
January 27th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Tim — thanks for the clear and comprehensive update on the SXGA+ systems. I’m sure we’ll all be glad when this problem is over.
January 27th, 2007 at 11:00 am
[...] Tim Supples, who writes on the Lenovo Blog, had this to say on the company blog today regarding the delayed Tablet PC shippments: [...]
January 27th, 2007 at 11:16 am
Patrick,
These are for U.S. orders only. I apologize for not clarifying that.
January 27th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Ok. Is there any way to find out, when the sxga+ will be shipping in switzerland?
January 27th, 2007 at 11:56 am
There is a need to clarify at what point we will be ordering X60 tablets with Vista pre-installed & the latter’s disks in the box.
January 27th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Mine shipped today! Thank you, Tim/Lenovo.
January 27th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
[...] Tim Supples, who writes on the Lenovo Blog, had this to say on the company blog today regarding the delayed Tablet PC shippments: [...]
January 27th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
My SXGA+ (CTO) shipped today! Thanks again for the ‘accurate update’
January 27th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Ron,
When did you order your macheen?
Praise the Lenovo! they’re finally shipping!
January 27th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Thanks for the update. Any idea when the WWAN module will be available?
January 28th, 2007 at 1:32 am
I’m too excited by the good news here … I went out on a limb and placed my order just now
I hope I don’t have to cancel it … hopefully they got enough SXGA+ screens in that they can clear the backlog.
One odd thing I noticed .. in a couple places in the ordering process, the ADU model was listed as a “SXGA+ (1024×768)” screen …. a few others listed it properly as “SXGA+ (1400×1050)”, and all my research confirms the ADU should indeed have the high res screen. It was slightly disconcerting/confusing though!
Anxiously awaiting … current ship date says 2/13 … we’ll see if I suffer the endless slide…
January 28th, 2007 at 8:25 am
MattL – Order date was 12/1/06, shipped 1/27/07 AM from China to NY, UPS tracking says unit arrived in LOUISVILLE, KY 1/27/07 PM; scheduled for on time delivery 1/29/07.
January 28th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Im glad the shipping has begun.
I am in Germany and ordered the SXGA+ on 11/21, can i expect delivery within the next 2 weeks?
January 28th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
THE SHIPMENT IS BEING HELD BY BROKERAGE FOR REASONS BEYOND UPS’ CONTROL;BROKERAGE RELEASED SHIPMENT. SHIPMENT IS SUBMITTED TO CLEARING AGENCY FOR FURTHER CLEARANCE
anyone got this message too?
January 28th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Sascha,
Please see my post above, this is for U.S. orders only. I’d recommend you contact the support services where you purchased your product for the most accurate information.
Henry,
I believe that is just UPS-speak for your package being in customs, but you can call to confirm.
January 28th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Is it possible to have an estimate for Canada (Ontario/Quebec)
BTW thanks for the update
January 28th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Thanks Ron! Using simple math would put mine here in the next week or so!
January 29th, 2007 at 8:12 am
Tim,
Thanks for the info, but you still haven’t answered the question in regards to WHEN we will be able to go to the website and order the SXGA+ models? What good is it to have these great products when you can’t order the darn thing and nobody can give you a straight answer on when you can?
I was pretty worried when Lenovo bought the PC buinsess from IBM. I used to work for IBM many years ago and I will only use ThinkPads. I’ve been plesantly surprised with the new ThinkPad products that Lenovo has come out with, continuing the ThinkPad tradition, but it really seems like Lenovo has dropped the ball with handling product releases and product shipments. Not being able to order something that was announced months ago and then making it unavailable to even order for those loyal customers who would want to order it and wait, really feels like cheapening the brand to the Chinese take-out that we were hoping to avoid.
How about answering the question on when we will be able to begin ordering the SXGA+ models again?
January 29th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
What kinds of delays can you expect if I were to call up Lenovo and order an SXGA+ tablet today?
January 29th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=20936
URL shortened by moderator
January 29th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Hello? Tim, why can’t you answer the question?
January 29th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
“madcow,”
As you worked for IBM at one point, surely you understand it takes time to get the right answers to good questions like your own. Not only is data constantly changing, but I need to take time to make sure any information I pass on to our readers is as accurate is possible. Thanks for bearing with me
January 30th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Tim,
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I understand that it takes time to find the information required. Do you know if the 800 number is taking orders for the SXGA+ screen even if the website may not be?
January 30th, 2007 at 3:38 am
MINE HAS SHIPPED!!!!!
6363-ADU, ordered 12/5/06, estimated delivery was 2/16/07, but shipped today, the 29th!!
I am astonished- the great day has finally come.
January 30th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
SHIPS AHOY! Mine left Lenovo yesterday…s/be here tomorrow!
I’m gonna get Chinese take-out tonight to celebrate!
Order date 11/30
Estimated delivery 2/1/07
Machine type 6366-AJU (SXGA+)
January 30th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
“Tim,
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I understand that it takes time to find the information required. Do you know if the 800 number is taking orders for the SXGA+ screen even if the website may not be? ”
Holy crap. why don’t you call the 800 number and findout for youself instead of asking someone who is probably a busy man?
January 30th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Madcow… instead of waiting for Tim to tell you whether the 800 number will take orders for the SXGA+ machines, why don’t you just call that number and ask yourself? Seems straightforward…
January 30th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
“MINE HAS SHIPPED!!!!!
6363-ADU, ordered 12/5/06, estimated delivery was 2/16/07, but shipped today, the 29th!!
I am astonished- the great day has finally come. “
man, that’s kind of annoying. I ordered on 12/1 and absolutly no sign of shipment here. congrats though.
January 31st, 2007 at 4:23 am
Jonathan dawn and Oliver,
If it were so simple to call the 800 number and ask I would have.
2 issues with that:
1. I don’t trust the sales people that you might get on the phone on an 800 number, most times they aren’t even employees of the company.
2. I don’t live in the US and don’t have access to the 800 number; I also don’t speak the local language so that makes it difficult to just call the local number; I’m also located 11 times zones away from EST so even if I could call, not sure that they would be open to even answer my questions.
The topic of this thread is shipping delays and it was brought up that you couldn’t even order the SXGA+ models anymore, so asking about when you can order is a fair question.
Incidently, it looks like the web page now does allow ordering of the SXGA+ models.
January 31st, 2007 at 10:34 pm
I think there is some confusion regarding the SXGA+, If you look at the tabook.pdf it does not offer the SXGA+ screen that is only available on the non-multiview multi-touch models. So the real trade off is between having high resolution without being able to use your finger. PLEASE CORRECT ME! Thanks
February 1st, 2007 at 12:55 am
What’s the deal with the wireless?
The features are listed with a/b/g/n, but there is still no option on the
website for customizing with a/b/g/n only a/b/g.
February 1st, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Well, I originally ordered my SXGA model within hours of it showing up on the website.
Shipping first said 12-14, then said 12-37 then said 1-31 now says 2-21
I’ll keep my fingers crossed that these will be shipping eventually but I’m a little sad-panda that none of the sales guys at Lenovo seem to know anything about this issue. I’ve called and spoken with so many reps…
I really appreciate you guys taking your time to handle this blog.
February 3rd, 2007 at 10:18 am
Well now my post must have been lost in the fray. CAN YOU GIVE US AN ESTIMATE FOR CANADA?
(even if the answer is probably NO it would be nice to get that answer.)
February 5th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
6363ADU ordered 12/9, just pushed back to 2/26 *sighs and prays it actually ships by 2/8 as Tim said”
February 5th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I placed my order for an SXGA+ x60t on Dec 7. Original ship date was Dec 20-something, then 1/19, then 2/5, and just today changed to 2/27. I called on 1/19 in extreme frustration when the date changed to 2/5 to complain and the phone rep assured me that the 2/5 date should be almost certain. It appears that might not be the case.
When the new date of 2/27 showed up this morning, I started looking around online to see what in the world was going on, at which point I found this post. I saw Tim’s comment above that “the rest of the SXGA+ tablet orders will be fulfilled by February 8th”. Is that comment still true, meaning that my tablet will still ship in the next 2-3 days, or has something else happened at the 2/27 date is now more accurate?
Tim, could you please speak up here with regard to your “by February 8th” statement since I suspect many of us just got our early Feb estimated delivery dates updated to late Feb delivery dates?
February 5th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
What worries me is a post by rautiocination on the gottabemobile forum thread dedicated to this issue
“Bah, my esd was pushed back to 2/12 on 1/29 (my original esd, i ordered on 12/18)
i just e-mailed the guy and he says the ESD is actually 2/23 due to inventory shortage”
Not to mention Okashira ordered on 12/1 and last i heard still hasn’t had his system shipped, while one person who ordered the 5th of Dec has had the system ship, as well as someone who ordered in January, though he cancelled a previous order and reordered it, so that may have had an effect.
Getting. Extremely. Frustrated.
February 5th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
I will ask my question of the Lenovo folks another way…
Why is there no selection for 802.11n when customizing my order?
I do not want to place the order online, selecting the “ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wi-Fi wireless LAN Mini-PCIe US/EMEA/LA/ANZ” option, and not get 802.11n.
Everywhere on their website they PROUDLY list 802.11n as an “option” but then, do not provide the option.
Furthermore, why does the “Chat online” chat center always disconnect my connection upon trying to start up? If THIS is how Lenovo treats people who WANT to throw $2400.00 at them, how are they going to treat people who have already PAID the money and then have a problem with their system?
February 6th, 2007 at 12:19 am
Hey everyone,
First off thanks for letting me know your ship dates are starting to slip again. I’m looking into this.
Regarding 802.11n: I’ve confirmed this is a bug on the website, it has been documented, and is in the process of being fixed. I will keep you all updated.
I have some information on outside-U.S. tablet availability. First of all, the information I gave was in fact for the Americas (North & South America), so Canada is included. Sorry for the confusion there. As far as general Europe, tablet availability should increase in mid to late February (including Switzerland for the one who asked). Unfortunately I don’t have more specific information than that. Please check with your local sales teams for more detailed information.
madcow,
Yes you can call and order specific MTM’s from the TABOOK, including an SXGA+ tablet. As you have also noticed, the SXGA+ screen option has shown up again on the U.S. website.
As soon as I get more info, I’ll let you all know. Thanks everyone!
February 6th, 2007 at 12:49 am
Tim,
You might also be able to relieve some frustration if you can explain in what order these things are being shipped. From the customer’s point of view, it’s very hard to understand why some people who placed their order LATER are receiving their tablets SOONER. Since we’ve all been through delay after delay, it only seems right that you should ship the notebooks in the same order that people originally placed their orders with lenovo, but that does not appear to be the case from reports coming in across the web.
My order date was 12/7 (a standard item, no customization whatsoever), and I know there are lots of people with dates earlier than mine, so the reports of people receiving their late december and early january orders are very frustrating. Now, if you all really do ship everything by 2/8, I’m sure that once I finally have the machine in my hands I’ll forget all about a week or two of seemingly backwards shipping orders, but if we really are looking at another 3 weeks or so before they ship, I think some kind of an explanation regarding why the later orders went out first is needed.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:44 am
I ordered on 12/1. I have been told emphatically by more then one manager that my system and many others will ship on 2/08. So let’s wait until after this coming weekend before raising hell again.
Yes, I was bothered by the fact that apparently a couple January AJU orders had shipped before orders placed a month earlier. that makes me think there really is somthing wrong. Or there is some other reason – like they are repeat/loyal customers or somthing. well, i’m young and this is the 2nd laptop i will have owned in my life..(1st $400 toshiba lappy) haven’t had a chance to be a loyal customer yet!
February 6th, 2007 at 11:19 am
The only thing shipping is bunches in BS. I ordered mine in December. I’ve been given delivery dates for December and then February 6th. On both dates, including today, I was then given a later date of delivery (now the 27th). Now, why should I believe this newest date?
I give up. I’ve cancelled.
February 6th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Tim, when do you project the integrated WWAN option will be available for configuration through the website? From what I can tell, the only way to acquire a WWAN integrated X60 tablet now is to buy it over the phone, pre-configured.
February 7th, 2007 at 7:59 am
Tim,
Thanks for the update, but you must have missed the part where I state that I am outside the US and 11 times zones off of EST. Calling is not an option for me.
Anyways, I will wait for the shipping situation to improve before I consider ordering since I refuse to be charged for the item before it actually ships (especially if I have to wait MONTHS for the product).
I am hoping that you can help to clarify something though. In several reviews, I’ve read that you can order the unit with WWAN capabilities on the Sprint network. When I download the TABOOK I only see Verizon and Cingular but not Sprint. Are the reviews wrong, or is the TABOOK missing some info? Please advise. Thanks.
February 7th, 2007 at 9:39 am
Does SXGA+ have MultiTouch Function as well?
The website took off the sxga+ option again.
February 7th, 2007 at 10:09 am
madcow,
You can now order ThinkPad X60 Tablets with the SXGA+ screen on our U.S. website. SXGA+ models have a lead time of a couple weeks at this time.
Can you point me to the reviews you read? We currently do not offer Sprint WWAN capabilities on any machines.
Fan,
SXGA+ screens do not have touch-sensing (MultiTouch) capability. The U.S. product site still has SXGA+ for me, make sure you are customizing “ThinkPad X60 Tablet” and not “ThinkPad X60 Tablet with MultiTouch.”
February 7th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Tim,
Again I ask, can we please get a status update? On Jan 27 you posted:
“The rest of the SXGA+ tablet orders will be fulfilled by February 8th.”
I ordered my tablet on Dec 7, and my latest estimated date of Feb 5 was recently changed to Feb 27. After several of us posted the new late February dates we were seeing as our early Feb dates passed us by, you posted a day or two ago that you would look into it:
“First off thanks for letting me know your ship dates are starting to slip again. I’m looking into this.”
February 8 is tomorrow. Surely lenovo knows by now whether or not they can fulfill all of the outstanding orders in the next 36 hours. What is the status? Are the new estimated dates of another 3 week delay correct? I don’t mean to be harsh, but are all of the remaining tablet orders shipping tomorrow or not?
February 7th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Thankfully i held out, ordered 12/9, shipped 2/7
February 7th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Holy freaking smokes. It looks like the answer to my previous post/question just might be YES they are shipping. Mine was still listed as in process early this morning but now displays SHIPPED 2/7. I sincerely hope that everyone else who has been waiting will also get their good news shortly, and then we can all leave poor Tim alone.
After all of the customer service reps I talked to on the phone over the past months, it looks like perhaps Tim was the only one with correct info all along (assuming everyone else also gets the same great news as Zach and me).
February 7th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Exactly Brad. Tim seems to have been pretty much the only one with any real clue the entire time. And as of now, i know of at least 2 others on the GBM forums that have said theirs shipped. So hopefully it’s good news for all
February 7th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Hey all,
I’m told everything is still on schedule to ship by 2/8. Again remember CTO orders are also affected by availability of the other components. If anyone hasn’t gotten shipment notification by the 9th, let me know here. Thanks for being loyal Lenovo customers and bearing with us through this.
Regarding 802.11n/WWAN ordering on the U.S. website: this is a bug that is in the process of being fixed. You should still be able to call and build a CTO machine with that part. I will update when that bug is fixed.
Thanks everyone!
February 7th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Tim,
I read the reviews in magazines and online. I am traveling now so don’t have them in front of me but I believe that it was in PC World and PC Magazine.
I have a link to the review on PC Magazine here: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/.....441,00.asp
Thanks.
February 7th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
madcow,
Thanks for the link. I’ve confirmed that it is indeed a typo – Sprint isn’t qualified for any Lenovo product.
February 8th, 2007 at 12:50 am
Tim,
For those of us interested in the option of 802.11n but having already purchased an sxga system with no option of n, when it gets fixed, will we be able to perhaps exchange the old abg card for an abgn + the difference in cost? I’d even tried to get them to add it during this long delay in shipping but they still insisted you couldn’t get abgn with the sxga systems.
February 8th, 2007 at 10:03 am
I order a 6363 (integrated WWAN and SXGA+) on 25 Jan, and it shipped on 08 Feb, nearly as orginally scheduled. I’m in the U.S. and ordered over the phone from a Canadian.
However, UPS says: “SHANGHAI,CN 02/08/2007 9:09 P.M. ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS CAUSED THIS DELAY” Looks like it was supposed to ship on the 6th or 7th.
I hope weather is the last delay for all of us.
Thanks for this blog, hosters and commenters.
February 8th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
I just ordered mine with the touchscreen option
and shipping says 2/22.
February 8th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Well thanks for the clarifications regarding Canada’s shipping time. I’m wondering when “Zach’s” question will be answered I too would like to order wireless N. And of course it would be nice if we could just upgrade our current shipping options to include it.
February 8th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
["Anyways, I will wait for the shipping situation to improve before I consider ordering since I refuse to be charged for the item before it actually ships (especially if I have to wait MONTHS for the product). - Madcow"]
Madcow – I did wait a long time for my 6365CTO SXGA+ to ship (2 months). But Lenovo did not charge my credit card until the shipping date. Don’t let this stop you from ordering.
After a long wait – it was well worth it. Overall, I love my X60.
February 9th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
A brief update on my situation for those who care…
My original order placed soon after the X60’s went up was a CTO with every spec maxed out. After numerous shipping delays I decided to ditch the CTO machine on 2-1 and order a non-CTO machine through EPP.
Tim e-mailed me and was able to help me solve the problem of the multiple open orders and he also told me that the one I ordered on 2-1 should ship before the CTO machine would have.
Now, when I ordered the non-CTO machine the Lenovo website said that it was in stock and would ship in 3-5 business days… Today the ship date changed to 3-1.
Now, I’m not ranting about this. I know very well that I cancelled my 2006 order and placed another one on 2-1 so I should expect a longer wait. I just wanted you all to know that even non-configured machines should expect shipping delays.
February 11th, 2007 at 8:49 am
MY 6365CTO ordered 12/5/06 finally got shipped out 2/10/07. This was just a few days after my est ship date got pushed back from 2/9 to 2/26. So I wouldn’t put too much faith in what the est ship date says. Hope the wait was worth it and it performs to expectations. UPS tracking says it will get here on 2/14.
February 12th, 2007 at 12:41 am
Still sitting here waiting for mine, ordered 12/12/06 and went through the December, 2 dates in January, now 2 dates in February for estimated ship date. It would not be nearly as bad if it was not updates 1-2 days before it is supposed to ship being bumped back another few weeks…so much for a big chunk of the college semester already gone without the laptop I had been planning on keeping notes with.
I do want to put in at least a good word for the phone sales team, I have been dealing with a single guy the entire time who has been very nice – without him I am sure I would have canceled back in January. Here is to hoping mine gets out here in a few days!
February 12th, 2007 at 9:28 am
Good luck John. I know how you feel about the semester. We’re on quarters here, so by the time i got my X60, a full 50% of the term was over. I am, however, extremely happy i waited. I absolutely love my machine.
February 14th, 2007 at 10:26 am
I ordered a custom x60 (not a tablet) on November 24th and just today received that order cancellation notification. I long ago dashed my hopes of receiving it before the start of second semester.
What’s going on? My estimated shipping date today April 10th. Come on now. I’ve been strung along with a series of excuses why my machine hasn’t shipped, which I’ve put up with, but five months to ship is absolutely ridiculous.
February 14th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Rachel,
I’m sending you an e-mail, we’ll get to the bottom of this.
If anyone else is still waiting on their order, let me know here. Thanks!
February 14th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
I was so looking forward for my x60 tablet to ship today and now it got bumped to April 10th!!! I’ve sold my current tablet and promised it for February 22nd (based on my original ship date), and since I keep my promises, I’ll be computer-less for 2 months. I wouldn’t have sold it if the ship date was correct when I ordered. Why does Lenovo keep doing this? If I place a new order today, they say it will ship by Feb 28th. We know this date can’t be real (otherwise I wouldn’t have to wait until April), so why don’t they just say “2-3 months” when you order??? Now I’ll have to rent/borrow/buy something else in the meantime so I can work…
Tim, if you have any information for me, please email me… Thanks!!!
February 14th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
I got my system last week, but my screen is busted. there are problems. someone else has the same problem but lenovo cant fix it cause they dont have screens, the guy who promised my my disocunt hasnt come through on that.
christ.
February 14th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
I agree with some previous posts… why can’t Lenovo just display it on their website that they are backordered on parts and that it will take 3 months to receive my laptop? Instead they deceivingly write “Ships in 1-2 weeks” with a bunch of little asterisks leading to a disclaimer saying that they have the right to change this date. If they already know that parts aren’t there, how hard would it be to tell customers this from the start? At least this way customers won’t be so angry and frustrated with Lenovo for months until we get our laptops.
Also – I truly believe customers should get compensation for these delays. Lenovo surely has the money to upgrade something for us… or at least send them to us on expedited shipping! I could order any other laptop from any other site two months after I ordered my Lenovo and still get the other laptop before the Lenovo. Its not fair to customers to treat them this way.
February 15th, 2007 at 5:05 am
Well now I must say I am not impressed with lenovo’s handling of this situation It’s bad enouph to have to wait for the dumb computer without having thease shipping dates messed with. If you cant fill out your orders don’t let people order them. So what your laptop gets rave reviews I think that we pay the price for it and I could probably have gotten two from another place that would preform almost as well with half or even a quarter of the wait
Correct me if i’m wrong but a small company would die out if they had these
kind of delays and I’m wondering how on this planet these delays could continue to pile up without a proper explanation. And I also must agree that people should get compenstation for their insane wait. Thinkpads have been good laptops for years and I would hate to see that change because
Lenovo can’t give good customer service. If these delays continue to pile up I wont have a choice to cancel my order.
If you people could at least give us a straight answer it would be nice I think many of us deserve at least that for being kept waiting for months on end.
February 16th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Tim,
Apparently my order was one of a small group that caught in some sort of a loop with the new billing system. I initially had the order on Dec 12th and then finally on Feb 6th after I was asking about a warranty upgrade it was re-ordered under the critical list. The sales guy was hoping it would ship out before the Feb 28th it is supposed to but at this point I have no real hope in that. Though I will never find out it really bugs me to think that perhaps this bug in the shipping system has caused me a lot of my problems. I was shipped and charged for a 2nd power adapter I never ordered. Lenovo was great on RMA’ing it (still waiting on an email for that) but one has to wonder if perhaps my thinkpad order was never actually sent to the factory.
You have mentioned a few times other components sometimes cause the delay – I hope customers are notified of this. I would be more then happy to skip some small upgrades like a different wireless card if it would get the laptop shipped out quicker.
I am in the same boat as somebody above, I sold my old tablet back in December because I had “plenty” of time to get the new tablet.
I really am just worrying if I am doing the right thing by ordering this tablet, IBM support has always been outstanding and I will gladly pay for the better support and quality. I have owned an x20, r40, r51, and a t40 as well as some other brand laptops in the past and have loved the thinkpads, all of these problems just really make me wonder if I need to just bail out now.
At this point I just want something, it is becoming increasingly frustrating to hear that all orders should be fulfilled soon only to have your date not change. Some sort of free upgrade/credit/something would be awesome but I doubt that will happen. The perceived openness of the blog is a great idea I just wish it didn’t get my hopes up so much by it looking like they were all shipping out soon so many times over :/
February 16th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
John,
Thanks for letting me know about your issue. It sounds like you’ve been around the block a few times with your order, I’m sending you an e-mail so we can get to the bottom of this.
Regarding everyone else’s comments: I completely agree with and apologize for your frustration with this. Just please know that we are working hard to remedy these problems and ensure they don’t happen in the future. Please continue to let me know of these types of problems. Thanks
February 16th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Tim hasnt updated on this so I will.
My system (screen) arrived DOA.
here’s the status:
-IBM cannot order the SXGA+ screen to do a repair or replacement.
-Lenovo cannot replace the system. Lenovo has removed SXGA+ AND multitouch models from ordering and the reps cannot order even a preconfig.
-apparently the L2500 CPU has sold out ‘indefinetly.’ and this is why multitouch/SXGA+ systems are no longer available. there is some sort of ‘replacement,’ due in late april (which means June or later in Lenovo Time.)
-I’m going to wait until monday and unless my ‘customer relations manager’ can do somthing amazing to remedy the situation, i will have to send the system back for refund and be done with the ordeal. thank god for that.
very sour,
Jon
February 17th, 2007 at 2:11 am
l guess l should count myself lucky. l ordered a SXGA+ unit (6363A7U) on the 23rd of January, and just relieved it today. Seems to be working great. Now if only installing Vista from scratch was a bit easier!
February 17th, 2007 at 9:51 am
J. Dawn’s 2/16 5:56pm email is just what I was afraid of… Is the L2500 CPU REALLY sold out until April? The sales rep’s have tried to convince me that this is not the case but if Lenovo wants to retain any customer loyalty with us they need to be honest. Has anyone received a multitouch recently that was ordered near 1/31? Comparitively my date pails in comparison to some of these other stories but I hope to get a real answer here…
disappointedly…
Carlos
February 19th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Well I was probably the happiest person in Canada on Thursday (15th feb.) The x60 tablet is THE computer to go with. I am still a bit annoyed with lenovo’s handling of the situation but the laptop is all it was cut out to be and even more. I hope all of you receive yours soon and for those who wanna cancel I think that if you can you should wait.
Thanks for the blog and your time people from lenovo but in the future I think thins kind of problem should be added in as a note or a pop up while people are ordering the computers.
February 20th, 2007 at 11:05 am
My sxga x60 was supposed to ship today. Ship date just got pushed back to 3/5. I don’t know why lenovo couldn’t have given me more warning. It feels sort of like being dumped. If I’d known a couple days earlier I could’ve ordered it from buy.com.
February 20th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
My SXGA+ arrived today, here in Switzerland!!!
February 20th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Just got an email from Lenovo – My X60 XGA has been delayed a month and will ship on 3/19 instead of 2/19 (ordered 2/5/07). Based on what I am reading is this a real date? or are they going to keep pushing it out?
February 20th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Johnathan,
You are right, the SXGA+ and MultiTouch/MultiView screen options are no longer be available on the U.S. X60 Tablet website. Unfortunately, tablet sales have used up our supply of the Intel Core Duo Low Voltage L2500 processors. We have been working to integrate the L2400 processor into these models and will have those options available for purchase as soon as possible. In the meantime, they have been removed from our website to avoid excessive backorders and confusion. I apologize for this inconvenience, we are working to make these models available again as soon as possible.
Regarding the availability of SXGA+ panels for servicing machines: we have a shipment coming in and all warranty needs will be fulfilled. I apologize for the delays, but rest assured all warranties will be honored.
Thank you for remaining loyal Lenovo customers and I will update when I can.
February 20th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Tim,
After reading these original posts I decided to simply order one of the lenovo x60 tablets with an XGA screen…. if the delays are being caused by the lack of the SXGA screen.. then what is taking so long for my tablet to be shipped?
They’ve pushed back the shipping date twice now (I ordered at the end of January… the moved it from 2/10 to 2/13, now to 2/26). I’d like to know what’s causing this delay, as (like others) i’m a college student who needs a laptop!
February 20th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Tim,
How is it that your supply of the Intel low voltage L2500 processor is ‘used up’? Does that mean that your won’t have that speed core duo available for the US market on the Tablet forever? And only the L2400 processor with the SXGA screen will be produced?
This really seems like something about this launch and this model is not being run well. I keep thinking that this is a temporary condition of getting the newer model up and running, but event after event keeps unfolding with these models.
Can you clarify this for us?
February 20th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Mr Supplies,
Thanks for regurgitating what I already said.
Tech Support Story.
So was talking to tech support, and I asked.. ‘If you guys cant get the machine, and lenovo cant replace my brand new laptop, how am I supposed to get this thing fixed?’
Her answer? Search for the part online, buy it and install it myself.
Sweet. Who needs a warranty when I can buy and install parts myself!?!? What was I thinking?!?
So, just for fun, I did a little search. Thinking, ‘there’s no way ill find one.’
But sure enough, I found a place selling the replacement screen, in stock (confirmed via telephone) for $1250.
http://www.acsoutlet.com/13N7204-ThinkPad.aspx
So MY question is, why does a 3rd party reseller have stock of the screen lenovo themselves does not have to fix my 1 week old (3 month old order) laptop? Hint: there’s no reasonable answer to that question.
So, i take it as a simple refusal on Lenovo’s part to fix my machine. They have the stock (why would they be selling off replacement parts.) but they wont fix mine.
Nice.
February 21st, 2007 at 12:41 am
Hi Tim,
What about orders for X60 Tablets with the SXGA+ screen and L2500 CPU which were submitted before this configuration was removed from the web site? Will Lenovo fulfill these outstanding orders? When? My order has an expected shipping date of 3/5/07. Is this realistic?
I’m afraid of being in limbo for months with a pending order that doesn’t get fulfilled. What should I do?
Thanks for your help.
February 21st, 2007 at 2:17 pm
If the L2500 CPU is “sold out”, will we get L7200 instead?
February 21st, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Hello all,
I have just learned that we have completed qualification of X60 Tablets with the L2400 processor and SXGA+ & MultiTouch/MultiView screens. By some time next week, customers can call our 1-800 number to place an order for these updated models. We are working hard to get these new models available on our website and hope to have that up within a few weeks. The complete availability of L2400 X60 Tablet models will be completed by early March, but I expect normal ordering to be available far before then.
As soon as I have more details on ordering these new models, I will let you know.
Gregg,
Our supply of the L2500 processor is used up temporarily, not permanently. These processors are in low availability right now everywhere, but will be available for purchasing again. I do not have concrete information as to when they will be available and as such, would not want to mislead you with incorrect information.
Mr. Dawn,
I’m sorry the technician provided such an unhelpful answer. As I said, we have SXGA+ panels on the way to our service centers for warranty purposes. We are working closely with you to try and fix your situation as fast as possible, your patience and understanding is appreciated.
By the way, my name is Mr. Supples, call me Tim.
David,
People who have orders with L2500 processors that cannot be fulfilled will be contacted to arrange an alternate order with the L2400 or otherwise correct the order to the customer’s satisfaction.
Teddy,
As stated above, at this time we will have all X60 Tablet configurations available with the L2400 processor in lieu of the L2500.
I’m sorry for the inconvenience everyone is experiencing, but thank you for bearing with us.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Hi Tim,
Just to follow up on your response to David: If you have an order with a L2500 processor and your shipping date has been delayed and you have NOT been contacted by Lenovo, can we assume that Lenovo will honor the new shipping date? If we will be contacted, by when will we be contacted? In my case, I ordered originally on 01/31 with a shipping date on 02/21 that was today changed to 03/06. I ordered a machine with a L2500 processor and and SXGA screen.
To echo some of the earlier posts, I think most of us would maintain much more goodwill towards Lenovo, if we were told of changes on the shipping date early on and not when we expect our machine to be in transit.
Last, is there any thinking inside of Lenovo to compensate buyers for their lost time, productivity and extra shipping cost incurred for for faster delivery? Perhaps a warranty upgrade in case the screen goes dark?
Thanks for your help.
February 22nd, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Tim,
After my 6363-ADU (SXGA) finally shipped, I thought it was amazing and worth the wait/stress – but now unfortunately I’m having problems with it and incurring even more stress, delays and aggravation with warranty service. I’m hoping you might be able to get some information or light some fires, since you seem to be the only informed/honest person there sometimes.
The first minor problem was a flaky ‘Y’ key on the keyboard. You have to hit it a few times to get it to work. Not a major deal, but an annoyance for sure.
Then the big problem started with the screen. It sounds similar to problems I’ve seen other people report on various forums – the display rippling when applying even a slight amount of pressure (i.e. using the pen), and now the digitizer is only responsive half the time. It’s basically unusable in tablet mode right now.
Because I was afraid of sending it back, knowing they may not have parts and could keep the machine forever, I decided to call and purchase an onsite upgrade (I already had a 3 year extended depot warranty w/ ThinkPad Protection, just added the onsite coverage). That of course had its own hassles, with support saying they didn’t see my onsite warranty – but they did finally agree to come out the next business day. At one point they even tried to say that since this happened before I purchased the warranty, it was not covered (even though I had a warranty and even TPP before – I just upgraded the service level!).
I explained my concerns knowing about the supply issues, and they said they did indeed have an SXGA replacement screen in stock. I live in the Dallas, TX area btw. They did not have a replacement keyboard, but since that was a minor issue, we decided to save that for a future service call, to avoid delaying the screen replacement while they waited for the keyboard.
About 4 hours on the phone & on hold (with them hanging up on me several times) got me to that point, with a service call for today. This was late Tuesday that I was setting this up, after purchasing the onsite upgrade – Thurs. was the ‘next business day’ since it was already after hours.
Of course, today comes, and now they say they aren’t coming. They say they don’t have an SXGA screen, contrary to earlier reports. 3 hours on hold later, someone else says will get a screen and they set up another appointment for tomorrow.
How am I supposed to know who’s telling the truth here? Should I expect them to show tomorrow, or call and cancel again? And what recourse do I have since they aren’t living up to their side of the onsite warranty bargain? I certainly am not getting things fixed the next business day – the screen is going on 2+ days now, and they still haven’t even started to deal with the keyboard. And 7 hours of sheer frustration and running around in circles on the phone.
I’m really glad I didn’t just send it in to the depot, but I’m stuck without a pen/tablet mode, and the rippling is starting to happen even in laptop mode so I’m worried I’ll have a completely unviewable screen before they get to fix it.
It’s an amazing machine when it works, but the supply and service problems, and painful customer service I’ve had thus far, are really ruining the experience. I feel bad for you Tim, being the brunt of all these complaints, but I really respect your honesty and desire to make things right – I hope the few people I’ve dealt on the phone with are a minority, and that there’s a lot more of you around there.
I have support case #’s, order/serial numbers, etc available if needed – just email me.
Thanks ..
Matthew
February 22nd, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Tim,
I try to keep my posts short I think everyone else should do the same to make this easier and problem identification will be more accurate.
…
I was waiting and just minutes from recieving a call back from my rep to send my unit back for a final refund.
but, then Michael actually called me and we hopefully have a fix for my screen. I sent my system out to him this morning and my fingers are crossed.
February 22nd, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Matthew,
The problem is many people at the depot/tech support/ez-serv will automatically assume the screen is in stock without checking, or they check the wrong part. make sure they check the stock of the right part #, which is 13N7204. dont let them tell you anything else.
also, your screen rippling seems similar to mine. (mabye worse.)
check your screen for flatness. get a 6″-9″ ruler and place it on the screen and check for a gap. mine has a noticable bow inwards, which explains why it’s so easy to get the screen to ripple – somtimes it’s bowed so much, it’s already touching the screen without any pressure applied. hopefully a screen replacement will fix the issue.
February 22nd, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Il-Horn,
Since information regarding L2400 systems has only recently surfaced, our teams are diving into contacting customers as we speak. I don’t know the exact time frame for it, but they are working hard to contact everyone.
I have some more information everyone! As of today (Thursday), we have four new tablet models available for order with the L2400 processor. If you’d like to order one of these, call 1-866-96-THINK.
6366F6U – XGA, L2400, 1GB RAM, 80GB, FPR, Intel a/b/g, 4-cell, Vista Business, 3 Year Depot Express – $1,799
6366L5U – XGA, L2400, 1GB RAM, 80GB, Ultrabase w/CDRW-DVDROM, FPR, BT, Intel a/b/g, 4-cell, Vista Business, 3 Year Depot Express – $2,099
6366L6U – SXGA+, L2400, 2GB RAM, 100GB, Ultrabase w/DVDRW, FPR, BT, Intel a/b/g, 8-cell, Vista Business, 3 Year Depot Express – $2,499
6366L4U – XGA MultiTouch/MultiView, L2400, 2GB RAM, 120GB, Ultrabase w/DVDRW, FPR, BT, Verizon WWAN, Intel a/b/g, 8-cell, Vista Business, 3 Year Depot Express – $2,799
More models will be coming, and we hope to have full CTO capability on the web again soon. Stay tuned!
February 23rd, 2007 at 2:53 am
Tim,
When you say that these four models are available, does that mean they are currently in stock? If I were to purchase one today, would I still have to wait a month or two before it arrives at my door?
Also, does this mean that previous orders will finally be shipped out within the next few days? That would be a great relief to a friend of mine.
Just want to make sure before I go ahead and jump at this good news. Thanks!
February 24th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Just curious, for anyone, what’s the difference between L2500 vs L2400?
February 26th, 2007 at 4:51 am
$27999 sounds a little steep for the 6366L4U model… do I get a Chery with that?
February 26th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Tim,
I just placed an order for the 6366L6U. The order status says it only has 1GB RAM not the 2GB you mentioned.
Also, it states the screen is ‘WAXGA’ is that the same as SXGA+? The order showed up as the following, thanks:
6366L6U TP X60T TS 12.1WAXGA L2400 1024MB 100GB RAMBO 8C WV32 3YD
February 26th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
I’ve tried to read through most of this forum, but I have a question for you Tim as I’ve been waiting on this system for months, and at this point may turn elsewhere.
I’m sorry if this has been asked or if you don’t know the answer, but will the X60 tablet ever ship with a Core 2 Duo (something like a 2Ghz).
Also, will it ever be possible to get an SXGA+ screen with the WWAN built in?
February 26th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Bryan,
I’ve put your question to the right people and will find out for sure. I think you’re fine though, as when you lookup the MTM on our Support site it shows the right config:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/supp.....ry=6366L6U
The difference between the L2500 & L2400 is clock speed only: L2500 is 1.83GHz and L2400 is 1.66GHz.
Thanks for the catch Bill
I’ll post an update on availability of these systems soon
Zach,
I cannot comment on future products. However you are supposed to be able to get an SXGA+ screen with WWAN – there is a glitch on our website that wasn’t showing the option when it was listed previously. Once full CTO capability is back for the tablet, you should at least be able to call in and order SXGA+ with WWAN.
February 26th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I purchased three Lenovo Tablets with the L2500 Processor in them from a reseller. My date got pushed back from 2/22 to 3/8. Is this a realistic date? I have hired new employees and need these machines for them to generate revenue for mycompany. If these are not going to ship 3/8, then I need to know it NOW so that I can make other plans.
February 26th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Hi Tim, first of all THANKS for providing this blog and actually answering some of the questions.
No, it’s not great that there are delays and confusion with the supply of this kit, but next to losing a kidney or hearing that a family member has been run over by a truck, I can live with it.
One small point of note – the SXGA+ non-touch 80gb 1.83gb (UU0A7UK) has been put back another month in Europe (UK) – er, if it ever arrives – which means that it falls out of our financial year (which runs thru 31st Mar).
I think that means that many people keen on a tax break may jump for a Tosh M400, which I would be tempted to do also, except for having actually had an X60 in my hands at an exhibition and realising that the comfort and usability of the Lenovo means that there is no alternative.
Any more information you can give in the near future (especially to those of us on the other side of the pond) gratefully received…
February 26th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
Tim,
I replied to your email over the weekend and followed up again tonight with more details about my efforts to get my system repaired. I’m just posting here to make sure you’ve received the messages in case they’ve been trapped by spam filters or something. I’m desperate to get any sort of resolution here…
Thanks,
Matthew
February 27th, 2007 at 3:39 am
I was furious today when I was told about a 2-3 month delay. I guess I’m not alone.
I understand that I’ll be able to get the 1.67 ghz version sooner than the 1.83 ghz. I know that the x60t is an ultraportable with a light graphics card and slower processer and heard that the 1.83 ghz would only marginally support Vista and all of its graphical bells and whistles. This was confirmed to me by a Microsoft employee who was skeptical about the horsepower of the 1.67.
Have you guys tested it on Vista? Does the 1.67 ghz work with all of its features? Or is it noticably slower?
February 28th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Well how nice, initial order date of Dec 12th and though I have had a few delays it was supposed to ship today. Both my sales representative and Tim assured me it looks fine and on time…4am today I get an email saying its been pushed back another 2 weeks. Tim was supposed to get back to me last week on what was going on with it but so far nothing.
At this point unless something huge happens I am just going to cancel the order I cannot take this any longer. Some initial delays are to be expected but this is just ridiculous to keep pulling my chain and make me think its going to be shipped. At the rate I am going if I don’t cancel it will probably take another 6 months… :-/
February 28th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
One question.
I received so far several pieces of my order, placed in late Jan. The order status page shows many of these pieces with individual shipping dates well into March. They’re on my desk.
Last week I received two announcements that “all or part of my order” was shipped. Yet there was no change on the order status page linked in the email, and the most substantial part (a X60t SXGA+) still carries a 3/5 date. The only other piece I miss (a spare pen) is part of a kit that will ship on 3/6, and of which the two other pieces have been on my desk for weeks.
Apart for the obvious question (how can a major firm have its shipping notifications so screwed up), what I’d like to know is whether the emails announcing shipping happen by chance or by circumstance, and if there is an alternative way of getting tracking numbers that doesn’t involve this pantomime.
Thanks for any help.
February 28th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
I am convinced that my decision to cancel my order with Lenovo for a X60T and go instead with a Toshiba M400 was the correct decision. After wasting a lot of my time getting the run around from Lenovo, my order with Toshiba has been fulfilled predictably. The touch screen would have been nice, if only I could touch it. It would appear that Lenovo really is not IBM.
March 1st, 2007 at 12:12 am
Tim,
A few simple questions.. and i request a simple answers please…, Will Lenovo (definitely not the IBM we know) ever sell X60 Tablets with the SXGA+ screen, L2500 CPU, and WWAN? If yes, when
How could a company (previously IBM), mess this up? Product announced in Nov 1 2006, and you have shipping problems from December!?
Dosen’t your company fear losing customers?
March 1st, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Yeah I cancelled one of my X60 Tablets a week ago
along with other colleagues.
Too bad lenovo had lost many sales due to
supply chain problems.
March 4th, 2007 at 7:00 am
Looking at gottabemobile.com, there are defnitely a fair few purchasers of the SXGA+ X60 tablet mentioning screen distortion/image loss after a few days of use.
Yesterday, one forum user reported that, disassembling the screen, he noticed a lack of support for the middle of the screen area (i.e. between the screen and the lid).
He handmade some rubber spacers and it solved the screen problems straight away.
This suggests that there could either be a design or assembly issue – understandable if these SXGA+ screens have been sourced in a hurry, I guess.
One thing that would be disappointing is if Lenovo know this to be the case, and are not being honest about the problem.
March 5th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
It appears that all the new X60 2400-based products are shipping with Vista. What should a corporate customer that is uninterested in supporting Vista at present do for a Tablet XP-based implementation? Will Lenovo fully-support toasting Vista and laying down an image based upon Tablet XP? Are there any ‘gotchas’? For existing orders for 2500-based units, if and when they ship, will they ship with Vista or Tablet XP? Many corporate customers are not ready to support a Vista OS at present (Tablet or otherwise) and would just like to understand what the options are in this regard.
March 7th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
OK, this blog is just like the rest of Lenovo – a place to scream into the wind, hoping that someone will listen, knowing full well that nobody will. Thanks Tim for being there when you could. I can afford the luxury of waiting on my order so I will wait again, but this has been my worst customer experience so far, and I had a few horrible ones. I only hope I won’t have to send back all the minor pieces of my order I got already – almost all of which show up on my order page as “in process”, with shipping dates changing into the future all the time, when they all were shipped weeks ago…
March 8th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Tim,
Will you please advise me of how I may obtain a SXGA unit? I have had an order in with CDW for 6 weeks and have been advised that they can no longer obtain the product I ordered. 6366AJU. I am a dental surgeon and I want to do a demonstration at a conference with a tablet PC. I would prefer to use a x60 rather than the toshiba units that we currently use. I have found this customer service experience quite upsetting. I understand the supply issues but I do want an answer as to if and when these units will be available.
I appreciate your time in responding to this query.
Dr Stephen McCullan
March 10th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
I am deeply disappointed. I spent every penny I had (and more) and got mine a few weeks ago, and now, after a short period of usage (very careful usage) virtually everthing (screen, pen, vent, harddrive, various mechanismes ect.) is “broken” (meaning still working somehow, but with ugly damage). The quality of this incredibly expensive laptop is so poor, it’s just sad. Don’t get me wrong, the machine itself is absolutely amazing and I love everything about it! But its just when you spend so much money on something, that COULD be so great, its very, very, very disappointing.
I hope I’ll get a new one, with better quality from lenovo, because I really would like to stick with the X60…
March 10th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Could Patrick Fisher be kind enough to give some more details about his problems?
I am planning to buy a X60 and can’t afford to spend lots of bucks on something thats going to break down a week after getting it.
Thanks,
R
March 11th, 2007 at 5:26 am
Hi. Ok, most of them are “small” things, but considering the price of this machine (and the reputation of thinkpads in general) i think its pretty inacceptable.
1) The NavDial button is broken (browsing down is nearly impossible)
BIGGEST PROBLEM: After 2 weeks of usage the screen started to flicker every time you touch it with the pen (or hand)m, rendering the whole notebook completly unusable.
2) The SXGA+ screen has brown discolorations on the borders.
3) The ventitation and/or harddisk has problems, because after a short while of usage the whole machine vibrates like there was an earthquake (great when you work in tablet mode and hold the thing in your hands)
4) The pengarage is so poorly constructed that it takes somtimes ages to get the pen in – you have to try up to 10 times until it stays in there!
5) The chip inside the pen itself has detached somehow, so the inking feels now very “slippery”. It never hit anything nor fell down even an inch!
6) If the “resume system upon removing pen” function (wich would be really handy) works is absolutely random – mostly it doesn’t work.
7) If you put the pen on the screen it humms so loud, i can’t even use it in a library. (but I think they fixed that problem with a new bios)
maybe even some other little things i forgot to mention.
if there were any alternatives to the X60 i think i would check them out, but unfortunately it seems, there aren’t any. it really is amazing machine and at least 10 times better then any other convertible out there…thats why its REALLY such a shame that the quality is so poor…
hoping for the best,
p.
March 11th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Hi Patrick, thanks for the quick reply.
Oh dear,
Thats just terrible. Can’t you send it back and get all those things sorted out? My last three laptops were Dells and I was always careful to buy “next day onsite repair”. One machine took five visits within the first month of buying it, before everything was up and running. I just keep ringing those chaps up and they keeping coming out. Eventually everything got sorted out. If I buy the X60, I will definately be buying the “next day onsite repair” option.
Sorry to hear about all your problems, you really seem to have got a “Monday morning” machine. Hope it works out.
R.
March 12th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Well I fell for the Lenovo sucker line:
“I have some more information everyone! As of today (Thursday), we have four new tablet models available for order with the L2400 processor. If you’d like to order one of these, call 1-866-96-THINK.”
I ordered 2 weeks ago today, the ship day was set for March 12th, two weeks after order placement. So I went to check the status and now it’s March 26th. No one called me or notified me, they just changed in on-line. So I’m looking at, minimum, a one month order time despite Tim stating that those systems were available. Now I have to decide if I should just cancel this order and go with the Fujitsu. I am leaning towards that, I don’t want to be strung along like all you guys were.
March 12th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Tim seems to be MIA, no responses in over 2 weeks. While it is good to see that Lenovo is offering newer processor options for the X60 tablet, it’s sad to see that it is the slower L2400 procesor. Most people want to buy faster and faster machines, I for one am waiting until Lenovo comes out with an X60 that supports the ULV Core 2 Duo processors. I feel really bad for people who have been waiting for the X60’s using the L2500 (1.83GHz) and who are now being offered the L2400 (1.67GHz) as a replacement. For all the delays, Lenovo should be giving these loyal customers FASTER machines, not slower ones.
By the way, Tim, I have seen 2 more magazine reviews of the X60 where they specifically mention Sprint WWAN in the form of a built-in EVDO radio. That just sounds like too many companies that made a mistake on the brand of included wireless. Is it possible that reviewers were given access to a machine that was being used to evaluate the possibility of providing support for Sprint?
March 13th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
I ordered an x60 online several weeks ago. While waiting the 2 weeks to get it I started looking around at reviews and opinions. When I ordered it there was only one screen option available. At the time, I was ignorant and did not know that there were 2 other screen options available at one time. I learned about the processor change. I learned as a shareholder I could have gotten a discount.
Long story short, after trying to communicate with sales reps, who do not call you back when they say they will. Who act like you are wasting their time. I sent it back. It was very hard looking at the boxes for several days until I finally made up my mind. If you open the boxes you have to pay a 15% re-stocking fee, which in my opinion is absurd.
I believe that the x60 is the best tablet option available now. But, Lenovo is awful at dealing with customers. This unit is very expensive, and I was willing to pay it. I am still waiting for my refund. And still looking at my options.
Dear Lenovo, please get you act together. Learn how to treat customers.
March 14th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
I just had my 6366L6U order (scheduled to be shipped Today!!) delayed to 3/28/2007. I have some of the accessories–already shipped–sitting at home.
I’m also a little worried that my SXGA+ screen has now become an XGA screen as the details on the website have recently changed. (see Bryan’s comments below).
A long period of anticipation (Feb 19th order date)… not really knowing what will be in the box when it arrives… if they can wrap the x60 Tablet in some festive paper, I will concider this Christmas in March… or April… or May.
_____
Bryan Says:
February 26th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Tim,
I just placed an order for the 6366L6U. The order status says it only has 1GB RAM not the 2GB you mentioned.
Also, it states the screen is ‘WAXGA’ is that the same as SXGA+? The order showed up as the following, thanks:
6366L6U TP X60T TS 12.1WAXGA L2400 1024MB 100GB RAMBO 8C WV32 3YD
——–
March 14th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Tim,
There was a configuration of the Thinkpad T60 that I customized on the website in mid-February (I believe it was on special). In spite of the great deal on the T60, I decided to order the X60 Tablet (Feb 19) and can no longer find the same configuration of the T60. Is there anyway to bring those specials back up since my X60 Tablet may not ship anytime soon?
Does anyone else know if Lenovo has any standard configurations that ship immediatly?
March 15th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
I don’t think Tim is around anymore. He’s no longer listed on the main blog’s homepage (with the other blog posters) and if you click on his name/image at the top of this page, it redirects to Matt Kohut’s posts. We may have lost all communications with Lenovo!
March 16th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Tim’s still around and still helping out those of us with X60 woes–I received my X60 today, and it was well worth the wait! Thank you very much, Tim, for resolving my order issues! Best of luck to everyone still waiting.
March 18th, 2007 at 2:55 am
Yup, looks like we lost Tim. He probably got frustrated with all the problems and decided to find something better. Like I mentioned many posts ago, looks like Lenovo has turned our beloved ThinkPads into cheap Chinese takeout. I pray that I am wrong.
March 19th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Hi everyone,
Yes I am still here! Sorry I haven’t posted back much, but I have been contacting the people here who still have had some issues (like Rachel, above) and working with them to make sure we take care of them.
You won’t see me post new blog posts for the most part, Matt is running full steam ahead with that!
The latest commenters here with order ESD dates slipping did indeed have their systems ship as was originally scheduled, for some reason the dates changed while the actual shipment occurred on time (as I last heard).
If anyone has any further issues like this be sure to let me know
March 19th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Hi,
Do you know how soon do you expect to get X60 tablets with 2500L processors? Thanks.
Lilit
March 20th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Tim,
I have been posting about SXGA+ screen distortion problems over on GBM. I have the NBD service option on my x60 tablet. It has been at the depot for over a week, in backorder waiting on a new display. I can supply you with case numbers, if you like.
Do you know when the depot will get a shipment of working SXGA+ displays to fix my tablet?
Thanks,
–woodstock
March 21st, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Hi,
I ordered my X60 tablet on January 30, 2007, after buying an X40 a few years ago and four other lIBM thinkpads in the last 10 years…a loyal IBM customer to be sure!
LENOVO customer loyalty…now that is a debate!
Some of my hardware and software items shipped, including a very foul-smelling tablet sleeve that people noticed (very stong pine-like smell). Later I noted that the items I received were not manufactured by Lenovo, which is why I probably got them.
After many delay notices, I finally got a X60 ship date with a charge to my AMEX card. I promptly transferred funds to my AMEX amount for the X60 proceed to wait “late” at my school for four consecutive days, missing meetings (earnings). Our school principal, secretaries, teachers, and custodians remained on the “lookout” too.
All “polite” Lenovo representatives kept telling me that my X60 tablet would come soon, because after all, my AMEX account had posted a charge (about $3,300.00)
NO TABLET, after another two weeks, with a looming March 15 AMEX closing due.
March 15: I asked AMEX to dispute and investigate Lenovo charges for the undelivered X60 and to further hold my extra funds as a credit amount in my account.
March 19: I call my Lenovo representative, who “politely” informed me that my order was canceled on March 15. I responded with something like, “I did not cancel my order, I only disputed AMEX charges for something that was never shipped, and no tracking number either.
March 21: I read an email that the L2500 processor is the cause of my delay and therefore my tablet may never be sent as ordered, even though my AMEX was indeed charged on March 1 for the X60. I trust that Lenovo’s general policy can’t be to charge for unshipped goods, but somehow this happened to me.
Summary:
Lenovo caused me to transfer funds to them, via AMEX, for a non-existent X60. Lenovo caused me to loose income due to my lost time waiting for a non-existent X60, that was promised would be delivered withing 24-48 hours, by multiple Lenovo representatives.
How and where do I submit an invoice to Lenovo for their representatives inducing me to give my time over several days to wait for the “invoiced and shipped” tablet?
Has anyone else been invoiced for unshipped products?
Should I order another X60 and be hopeful for better outcomes?
Can I expect more of the same poor service and false promises?
Has anyone been offered compensation for this confusing mess?
Sharon
March 21st, 2007 at 5:39 pm
X60 Did ship and is configured as ordered. Now the only complaints I have are the same as with any new products, mainly increased flexibility in new order configurations available and watching the prices drop.
X60 Tablet seems like a well-built machine and I’m glad it finally arrived. Good luck to anyone else that is waiting.
Thanks to Tim as well!
March 21st, 2007 at 11:21 pm
SHAME ON LENOVO.
This is the 3rd time (3months) that
Lenovo had canceled orders without notifying the customer.
This is what I got from our University Procurement representative after calling them.
“Upon my status request for your order I got the response which is not good at all, I am really sorry to let you know that Lenovo has increased the item price and the new price is $2767.63 also they have extended the lead time to 4 weeks, I don’t know what is going on but they are not ready to honor the price on which we have placed the order and at this point I really can’t do anything.”
How can this happen in today’s PC market?
March 21st, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Tim,
Could you explain how Lenovo could
1. Not honor contracts
2. Not notify the customer about delay or changes
3. Cancel multiple orders without any notification
4. No Response
It may be time that this matter be brought up in public.
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:13 am
I’m from Canada, and I’m happy to report that these shipping issues haven’t appeared — I got mine within a couple of weeks of ordering it. I can’t comment on the accuracy of the ESD, though, as there is no online tracking system up here…. *sob*
Imagine my horror, then, when I encountered the screen seizure. I am writing this with a binder clip attached to the edge of my screen (with some protective cloth, naturally) — if you apply pressure on the right location, you can temporarily restore normal functionality to the screen. But, as you might imagine, clips are much harder to use in tablet mode….
Basically, I’m torn. I don’t really want to send it in, as it will probably sit there for a couple of weeks. (from what I’ve heard….) But more importantly, if this is such a widespread problem, and if they’re just going to replace my screen with an identical part, it’s probably going to break again. And then what will I do, when the warranty wears off? I went with this laptop in part because of the “legendary IBM quality” — my only other laptop experience was with a Toshiba — equally legendary quality, but legendary in a less positive manner. I’m just hoping that Lenovo can somehow deliver……
March 23rd, 2007 at 9:27 am
Hello
I place my order for the X60 Tablet PC along with almost all the accessories available for the PC, on Dec. 14, 2006.
Configuration: 6366AHU L2500 1.83GHZ 12SXGA
Initially, I had a Jan 30, 2007 ship date, but each shipping date has been delayed (5 times) with the current date now April 9, 2007.
I have been borrowing PC’s from associates, but now I am in to Renting a PC while I wait for mine to arrive.
Like others I have received all the accessories and options, but No PC.
Would someone please look into my order and see if it can be expedited?
Please contact me (directly) for order number and other information.
Thank You
DonS
March 28th, 2007 at 5:40 am
Hello,
I find Lenovo’s whole approach to selling Laptops totally frustrating. The desire for the X60 has been stoked up by giving test machines to all and sundry and then they leave all the customers hanging by not being able to deliver. I live in Germany and have been watching the German, United Kingdom and the USA site almost daily since December. I don’t know if there is any body from Lenovo updating the site at all. I still see Window XP machines with the label “New” on the web page, although they have been up for at least 6 weeks. What’s new about XP?. The only X60 with the built in 3G antennae (wireless broadband) has been removed from the both the German and the UK site in the last couple of days so somebody is appears to be doing something. Unfortunately nothing very positive.
And to top my frustration, I have heard from the procurement dept in my company that the X60 with Vista is not available at all.
Great.
Lenovo has a wonderful sales machine. Or is it a case of only b2b and to h… with the rest?
R
March 30th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Why are your laptops held up in US Customs? There are dozens of sites on the web complaining about holdups that UPS reports as: “THE SHIPMENT IS BEING HELD BY BROKERAGE FOR REASONS BEYOND UPS’ CONTROL”.
When you search for that phrase you find two pages of results, ALL of which are for Lenovo. This is not good for your reputation in the US.
April 3rd, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Bill – That is a standard UPS message, although we understand how some might be concerned. Generally, systems flow through with no delay. There were some issues in late 2005 and early 2006 which were resolved, and those comprise the majority of hits in google on the matter. Since that time, other customers have posted about the message, but the processes has not resulting in significant delays associated with customs holds. I feel your pain with the added delay, but unfortunately it is something outside of Lenovo’s control.
California – Unfortunately your situation is rather different from those who purchase from Lenovo directly. Your university likely has a contract or specific sales process setup with Lenovo, which changes the entire order and notification process. I can’t speak to how it should happen in your situation, but it does appear some mis-communication is occurring somewhere. I recommend you contact the persons who are in charge of that relationship with Lenovo and inquire why these breakdowns are occurring. I would suggest they inquire with their appropriate internal Lenovo contacts, who would have much more intimate knowledge of your university’s situation than anyone else.
April 11th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I too have the dreaded x60 “screen flicker” issue. Lenovo wants to send me a box to return it to them so they can repair it. Based on the comments here I am going to sit tight. I got my unit within 1.5 weeks from China and I doubt that I’d get my unit back in a timely manner. This is lame.
April 12th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
When will there be a multiview+multitouch+sxga+ screen? This is the only thing preventing me from upgrading to this machine. 1024×768 was a resolution I was using nearly 10 years ago. :/
April 13th, 2007 at 10:38 am
I have placed an order the X60 tablet and Lenovo has been increasing my ship date. they told me that is because of the CPU 1.83GHZ is in short supply. This is surprising to me. If this OUT OF DATE CPU is in short supply, why not replace it with the Duo 2 chip that everyone else is using instead of the just the Duo???
April 14th, 2007 at 1:38 am
Wow! I was researching out the various screen options and planning to order a X60 tablet tonight. After reading all of the above, I’m afraid to go with lenovo because of customer service issues. It’s not so much that these people had problems, it’s mostly that lenovo chose to ignore them.
If lenovo has such a bad attitude about maintaining good customer relations, I’ll just go with toshiba. A superior machine made by a company that makes no attempt at good customer service or even “the golden rule” … doesn’t deserve to stay in business
Thanks for the heads-up informative blog! It was very helpful in helping me make up my mind.
I understand that lenovo isn’t going to go out of business because I don’t buy one of their laptops. But if enough people like me vote with their wallets, lenovo can and will go out of business
April 15th, 2007 at 1:25 am
Lenovo’s inventory sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I ordered my T60 on 3/23/2007. EST ship date was 4/11/2007.
on 4/12/2007, i received the notice saying 4/30/2007!
They are cheating!!! to get more sales on the Internet.
April 15th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Here was my experience:
I bought a 636386U – L2500 1.83 GHz, 1.0GB, 100GB 7200 rpm, multi-touch screen from a reseller about 3 weeks ago. I used it gently for a week and had some disk errors during paging, and the fingerprint reader stopped working. I called support several times. They confirmed the hard drive/mainboard problems and suggested that I call the reseller to get a refund as they would not be able to repair it in a timely fashion. I took their suggestion and sent it back – still waiting for a refund one week later. Lousy service/attitude from reseller.
So, I’ve got a quote from another reseller for a 6366L6U – L2400 1.68 GHz, 2.0 GB, 100 GB 5400 rpm – SXGA screen. After reading entries here, I’m hesitant to buy the SXGA model and a bit confused about the difference between the L2400 and L2500 research.
Based on research at the Intel site: http://www.intel.com/distribut.....o_spec.htm
the L2500 has a faster clock speed but slower front side bus (FSB) than the L2400. According to the link above, the L2400 has a 667MHz FSB while the L2500 has a 533MHz FSB.
Can anyone out there validate this – the Lenovo site specs indicate that the L2500 models have a 667MHz FSB. I believe…
Also, anyone have thoughts about the performance ramifications of the slower clock speed but faster FSB? Seems like paging, etc ought to be faster on the L2400.
Still debating how to proceed here. As a former IBM employee who spent alot of time working on Thinkpads, I am truly sad to see the apparent decline in manufacturing quality in the line and the truly lousy customer service and supply chain management.
MG
April 17th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
My X60… My X60 is (was) a 6365-CTO and arrived 4 weeks ago. Tim followed up on my order and was very nice and sincere about helping understand the shipping issues with the Intel 950 chip.
Anyway got the machine and have been a bit disappointed. My main problem isn’t with Lenovo, but with Vista. Vista is much slower than XP, especially in shutting down and starting up. My old system is a A31p (Thinkpad) and it still rocks, but it’s a bit big which is why I went with the X60. Software incompatibilities, minor software issues, etc. Vista isn’t really ready for prime time yet. The system also has 2Gig of ram and the big 100Gig 7200 rpm drive (currently dead).
My main issue with the Lenovo is that the screen is pretty dull. I bought the system because I understood that it was a great system for seeing the screen outside (I live in sunny San Diego), it is anything but. In fact it cannot be seen outside, and seems to be half as bright as a standard good quality flat panel. Putting it next to my Viewsonic VP2130b is like looking at an old burnt out 12″ thinkpad. The screen has a patina effect, it seems to show all the pen marks and even a couple of scratch lines (even though it has only been touched by the pen which is part of it.)
I was expecting a bright excellent display, and my main machine for the next couple of years certainly isn’t something to write home about. That being said, the fingerprint stuff works fine, the hardware seems solid and IBM/Lenovo dependable.
On Sunday, I turned on my 4 week old system and the Hard Drive was dead. Ouch, and very disappointing. Called support and after trying to reseat it, was told it was dead. IBM got out a new hard drive (received Tuesday) and found that the support tech ordered me the wrong drive. Additionally, it was a USED and repaired drive. My system is a 100Gig 7200rpm, i was shipped a used and repaired 100Gig 5400. Just straightened it out and was told that the ‘fine print’ says that they will repair the drive by substituting a repaired drive. Was also told by the tech that he doesn’t own an IBM so he doesn’t take sides on how good they are. Were some issues on the shipping address, the original tech fixed my address to the proper shipping address, and verified it, but I was about to get the new drive shipped back to the changed old address. Both tech’s were likable, eager to help, but seemed to have some training / people skill issues. PLEASE don’t get me wrong – I don’t think that they are at fault and I was very pleasant to them. They were trying to make my happy but being one of the owners of a computer service company makes me a pretty good judge of system controls, and Lenovo might want to invest in some more customer support systems / skill set assessment.
I think it’s a poor customer relations policy to send out a used/repaired hard drive for a virtually brand-new machine which has been used for 3 weeks and who’s hard drive has failed. After all, with accessories, this notebook was almost $4,000.00 – and I am evaluating arming our execs with these notebooks – currently we use Toshiba’s (which we are not very impressed by so far). Toshiba gives us a huge discount – but ultimately I’ve been a long time supporter of IBM and of IBM service and wanted to give Lenovo a chance.
Lets see if my drive ships out quickly, it ships out new, and there aren’t any more snafus!
April 18th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Brian,
Thanks for your response, it has helped me make up my mind. Sadly, I’m going back to HP for my tablet hardware.
My experience with the indoor/outdoor display mirrors yours. I live in sunny Colorado, and the less than impressive outdoor experience combined with the tendency of the multi-touch screen to show wear and attract dirt has led me to the conclusion that the Thinkpad is no longer the gold standard in laptops.
Hopefully Lenovo and IBM will be able to correct the recent problems and preserve the reputation and actual quality of the product line. I wish them well, but my dollar must follow the quality leaders in this market segment – HP.
Mike Golden
April 19th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Hello all,
Thank you for continuing to let me know about continuing issues and please continue to do so.
Paul and Brian,
You have an e-mail from me!
Richard,
I’m sorry you decided to choose another company for your tablet, but I understand your reasoning. I do have to disagree with you on one point though: I didn’t think our actions showed a bad attitude about maintaining customer relations. Mistakes were made and doing what we can to make good to our customers affected by that mistake. It has always been my belief, and the belief of Lenovo, that without our customers, we are nothing. We depend on you to exist and are very aware of that. If you think we did something wrong towards maintaining customer relations, please let me know. This communication, through the blog, works because it is interactive!
Goldenboy,
My last recollection was that the L2500 ran on a 667MHz FSB as well, but you are correct – Intel’s websites state it is a 533MHz FSB. Let me follow up on this!
April 20th, 2007 at 12:12 am
I’ve had problems with my order, similar to those mentioned by others here. I ordered a Core 2 Duo SXGA X60t on April 2. The expected ship date was listed as April 16. On April 17 I got an email announcing that the expected ship date is now May 7. Then I looked around the Web and found out that Lenovo isn’t even selling a Core 2 Duo tablet at the moment. Apparently it was listed on the web site prematurely. Still, Lenovo has been perfectly happy to sit on my order without letting me know that the product doesn’t exist! Will they push back the order indefinitely until they finally start selling a Core 2 Duo tablet? Should I just cancel?
April 20th, 2007 at 10:29 am
I too am very close to canceling my order! I place the order back in March and now my order has been delayed until mid MAY! Every time I speak to customer support, I get nothing but lies, like “the date is incorrect. It will ship in a couple of days”, and of course it doesn’t! I received the statement twice now and every time I get another delay. I CAN NOT GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER FROM THEM AT ALL. With the money that I plan on spending (over 3K) to max it out with 4 GB, even thou it can only use 3 GB. I must be crazy even thinking about ordering a machine that is out of date. If they have issues with the CPU, start creating these things with DUO 2 CPUs and start supporting 4 GB and x64 OS!!!
April 23rd, 2007 at 10:17 am
Andy and Carmelo,
Thanks for letting me know about your issues, you will have an e-mail from me shortly.
Regarding Core 2 Duo and the X60 Tablet: today we did officially start offering Core 2 Duo processor options on the U.S. website. You should be able to order these new configurations in most geographies as of today. With the low availability of the L2500 processor, we heard the cry of our customers for a Core 2 Duo processor option.
April 23rd, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Tim,
Thanks for letting us know about the availability of the Core 2 Duo models. I thought that the L7400 had a 4MB L2 cache. The Lenovo website is reporting only a 2MB L2 cache. Can you please clarify?
April 23rd, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Whoops, I meant to put in a link to the Intel website that shows the specs. Here it is:
http://www.intel.com/products/.....re2duo.htm
April 23rd, 2007 at 6:11 pm
madcow – As always you have a good eye! That is a typo that is in the process of being updated as we speak
April 23rd, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Tim,
Thanks for your note. I really appreciate it. Its great that your offering the new DUO 2 CPU L7400 and I did notice it a few weeks back, but once I returned to the web site, it was no longer offered. I went ahead and chose the faster CPU (1.83) L2500 I believe.
I have another question that maybe someone can help me out on. I ordered my system with 4GB and later found out that is only supports 3GB (at least Windows Vista/XP only displays the system has 3 GB). I read somewhere that a system running 32 bit Windows has a limit of 4 GB due to video memory and other things and depending on some systems Windows will show available memory between 3 – 3.5 GB. My question is, having a X60 tablet with 4 GB running on Intel DUO windows x32, will the tablet display 3 GB or 3.5 GB? Any ideas?
April 23rd, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Carmela,
I use a Z61p with Core 2 Duo processor & Windows XP 32-bit. I have 2×2GB modules installed and it shows up as 3GB in Windows.
Matt is working on a post about this very question now, so he should have more details for you soon!
April 23rd, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Tim,
Thanks for the reply. I just ordered an X60 with the Core 2 Duo, SXGA+ screen, 100GB 7200 drive, X6 dock, multiple power supplies, 3 year on-site warranty, etc. I am a Federal Government employee and ordered using that process. I live in Japan and have an FPO address. I was sad to see that Lenovo doesn’t ship to APO addresses (it didn’t mention FPO but there was no choice for AP in the state field so thta pretty much means no shipping to APO/FPO).
I’m sad to see that Lenovo doesn’t support our troops or the civilians that live overseas supporting the troops. I had to put the ship to address as my parents house in Hawaii. This kinda sucks because now I have to pay tax ($116.82) and have to pay to ship this order twice. Is this by design? Can you please help to see if we can find a way to have this unit shipped directly to be at the base so I can save on the shipping and on the taxes? Thanks. I can provide you with an order number if necessary.
April 24th, 2007 at 12:09 am
madcow,
I’m looking into this, I’ll let you know when I hear something.
April 24th, 2007 at 1:48 am
Well, I was all set to buy a X60 tablet when they start shipping with Windows Vista. In reading this long list of issues and shipping nightmares it looks like I’d better find another tablet product instead. Any suggestions?
April 24th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Hi Kelly,
I have to say that I was concerned about the shipping issues and I have encountered these issues myself. However, after reading the reviews and checking all the other tablets available, I do believe the wait will be worth it.
April 24th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Tim,
Thanks. I can understand that maybe it’s a limitation of the online ordering system. Hopefully we can get it worked out.
April 26th, 2007 at 12:31 am
Many thanks to Tim for his help — my machine apparently shipped today.
April 26th, 2007 at 3:49 am
Tim,
I was contacted by Lenovo to update my credit card company on the shipping address. I’m really hoping that you can help me out with this before this thing ships to me and I’m charged tax and have to pay for double shipping. Thanks.
April 26th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
I just purchased mine two days ago, and was seeing what the hype was about the shipping problems with the X60. I was very exited to order this particular model.
I need my laptop as soon as possible, because my old one died (a toshiba, after emitting some extremely deathly sparks). I have isolated my old tablet because I think it will electrecute me if I touch it, haha..
I will be out of town in exactly two weeks from yesterday. It is scheduled to ship on the 8th of MAY and I am leaving the 9th of MAY. What luck.
Has anyone recieved their laptop before the ship date?
Should I hold on to my order or cancel it and purchase from Best Buy or CC where I can get it on the spot?
I am keeping a blog for my “New Tablet Experience” at http://mynewlenovo.blogspot.com/
April 26th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
madcow,
My apologies for the delay in responding. I did look into this, but unfortunately our systems don’t support APO addresses (as you know). The best information I have found thus far is that there are warranty and tax implications behind shipping to an APO address, but I too agree that it is something we should offer. I’m terribly sorry I don’t have a better answer for you at this time.
SS89P, you have an e-mail.
April 27th, 2007 at 12:01 am
Tim,
Thanks for the reply. That really sucks since this will now cost me nearly $200 extra ($116 for taxes that I shouldn’t have to pay – we’re exempt overseas, and double shipping). Lenovo can make this right by getting me some free accessories (battery maybe) or a coupon code (I could cancel and reorder).
Indicently, I noticed that when I placed my order, I selected the X6 ultrabase option and the 4X DVD recorder. I also selected the Bluetooth option and neither the DVD recorder or the Bluetooth option show up in my order confirmation. I tried this 3 times before finally pressing the order button because I thought that I had made a mistake or the system didn’t record my selection of those options correctly. You might want to have someone look into the ordering system a bit because I think it should properly state exactly every option that we’ve selected, especially those that have $$$ associated with them. Thanks.
April 27th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Hi SS89P,
I have a shipping date of May 11th, but I was told that it should ship April 30th. I will let you know if it does.
April 28th, 2007 at 1:14 am
Thanks Carmelo. I am hoping mine ships early! I really want the X60 and don’t really wanna settle for another tablet just because I couldn’t get it in time.
April 29th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Hello SS89P,
Good Luck to you, I just checked my order status and found that mine had shipped today (04/29). I hope you have some good news as well.
Tim,
Again Thank you very much for taking the time and checking on my order. I know you didn’t have to go that extra mile for your customers and you did! You made me feel that I made the right decision on choosing Lenovo!
Thanks again!
April 29th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Carmelo, you are lucky. Mine hasn’t updated yet,, but I am hoping I get it earlier thatn the shipping date. BTW, they ship on Sunday?
April 30th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Apparently in China.
I received the tracking number today and its still in China. They must have updated the order status on Sunday and then UPS got it on Monday.
April 30th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Hi All,
I have also encountered the screen flicker issue with the x60t. I encountered it a few weeks after using my tablet everyday both in normal laptop mode and tablet mode. I called lenovo and they were very helpful in getting it fixed. I wasn’t on hold for very long, they shipped me a box the next day. I shipped it back and it was fixed in about 2 weeks. I did have to call and check on it after a week, at which point they told me they were waiting on a part and would escalate the request.
I have the SXGA+ model (6366AJU) so I don’t know if it’s specific to this model. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and this is a great machine.
That said, I recently noticed the flicker has returned. I am very upset about this. It is only when I grab the tablet by the top of the screen so I will be more gentle with moving the screen and see if it helps but like last time I’m sure it will just get worse and worse until I have to send it in.
Is lenovo doing something about this? I don’t want to have to send my tablet in every other month to get it fixed for the same issue…
May 1st, 2007 at 10:13 am
Tim and everyone,
Is the Intel® Core™ 2 Duo L7400 LV (1.50GHz, 4MB L2, 667MHz FSB) better/faster than the L2500?
May 1st, 2007 at 10:27 am
Carmelo ,
You are very lucky! I don’t even know what’s happening with my order of the S60 tablet. My credit card still hasn’t been charged, and my order status has not been changed since when I purcahsed it. It’s been a week now almost.
I called Lenovo and they said I should wait a day or two before I cancel, so I will.
Azhar,
Yes, the Core 2 Duo L7400 is definetly faster and better than the L2500 (which is just Core Duo). Both of them have two cores, it’s just that the Core 2 is more recent tecnology. The Core 2 Duo is also better in power management, especially for mobile computing.
Lookie here: http://www.intel.com/products/....._body+proc
SS89P
http://mynewlenovo.blogspot.com/
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:48 am
Hi Tim,
I just wanted to say thank you again.
I am glad that I waited So far this machine is great!
May 2nd, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Ray,
Please keep us updated on the flicker on your “repaired” X60 tablet.
I am holding on to the box that Lenovo sent to repair it until after you update us on the newest flicker problem. I am not willing to be without the machine for 2 weeks just to have the problem happen again. This is a known problem and there is nothing being done to assuage our concerns about it.
Tim Supples: Is it ok to remove the HDD before sending it in for the screen repair? I can’t go 2 weeks without the 20G of business data that I have on that drive. I am ordering an external enclosure to use with the HDD so that I can use the data on the drive while the machine is getting its display repaired.
Steve
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:30 am
Carmelo – I’m glad things worked out for you and that you are now a Lenovo customer
SS89P – I am still working on your issue, I apologize if I’ve been a little quiet about it.
Dr. Steve – My informal understanding is that for normal diagnosis, etc they do want the hard drive with the machine. However given your machine has a clear hardware issue, you should be fine with keeping your hard drive.
One point of clarification: we are aware of the SXGA+ screen failures and have been tracking it. I don’t have any information to report on it yet, but it has not gone unnoticed.
May 3rd, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Hi Tim,
I am aware of the supply problems, but was wondering whether you could give me a rough indication as to when Lenovo plans to distribute the SXGA+ Tablet models to South Africa (where I currently reside) or to the UK where I could pick one up in a month’s time. I’ve looked around online, there seems to be evidence that UK models exist, but nobody seems to have any stock.
Failing that, if you could put me in contact with someone who could provide me with this information – I’d appreciate it. I have already contacted Lenovo SA through their website but didn’t receive a response.
Thanks for the frank information and feedback.
May 8th, 2007 at 8:59 am
Hello again,
Lenovo is awesome!!
I am so glad I went with a Lenovo instead of the other tablet PC’s. The loaner I recieved helped me get acquainted with the machine — and it is awesome–so light, and portable.
The Lenovo customer service department is great—they let you know what’s going on, and they even call you to work out a problem!
From the tracking, I can see that I will be getting mine tommorow, so I can send the loaner back. For those of you that are considering one — I would definetly recommend it.
Thanks Tim for your help — I really appreciate it!
You guys rock,
SP
May 8th, 2007 at 11:18 am
I’ve had the same screen problem as others, which is still recurring after the repair. In my case the repair was delayed an extra couple weeks by confusion about the screen resolution (they initially replaced the sxga+ screen by an xga screen, then spent another week of so confused about why that wasn’t OK). I’ve had it back for a few days now, and had the problem recur once. The machine also came back with a couple new problems (e.g., occasionally it reports a key stuck on, rendering the keyboard unusable; and the repair people stripped the head of one of the screws completely smooth for some reason).
I liked this machine a lot–the screen in particulary is wonderfully sharp–but after over a month without a usable laptop I’m ready to give up.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:45 am
[...] Looking at us and our competitors’ announcements, please tell us what you think.
May 11th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
I also have experienced the screen flicker issue. The Lenovo customer rep I spoke with recommended that I take my x60t to a Lenovo certified repair shop. He recommended the repair shop because I informed that I am currently a medical student and have all of my school stuff on this laptop.
It took about a week for the laptop to be fixed. But, when I returned home and turned on the laptop, the repair shop had replaced my sxga+ screen with a xga screen. I was furious and immediately called the repair shop. They basically told me that this was out of their hands now because they replaced it with a part number that matched the description they had in their database.
I then had to call Lenovo in hopes they could straighten it out. The only solution I was given was that I had to spend another $2000.00 dollars to buy a new one and when I received the new one to send back the old one and I would eventually be credited the amount.
How am I suddenly held accountable for a faulty screen and and incompetent Lenovo service center??? Not giving me any other choice, I had to buy a new one. Now I am a struggling student out of $4000.00 and I have no laptop. Also, Lenovo now has had my laptop in their possession longer then I have had it.
I eventually received my new laptop and was credited the $2000.00 back.
I had the new laptop for about a week before the screen flicker started to happen again and I just had to deal with it until this year ended. I have now sent the laptop to Lenovo’s depot and am awaiting the repair. I babied my second tablet because of the fear of having the flickering screen returning.
It will probably take 2 weeks, and the laptop screen will probably break again. This is definitely grounds for a recall. I purchased this laptop because of the name IBM has created for itself. Although, after this horrific experience, I am going to inform all of my fellow classmates, future colleagues, and my father who owns a business that uses ibm as their main supplier for computers to never purchase another product from ibm or lenovo.
-Tonio
May 15th, 2007 at 8:58 am
I have to echo much of what has been said here. I ordered an x60 Tablet a month ago expecting it to ship today. One month seemed like an awfully long delay time but so be it. But today I checked into the customer order site and saw I was being delayed another two weeks. Who knows if that date is accurate. It is fairly pathetic supply chain management to take six weeks to slap together a bunch of generic components and it is awful customer management to delay like this without any explanation. Lenonvo shoud learn to put products up for sale when they are actually available rather than this bait-and-wait nonsense.
What products have people who gave up and went to competitors purchased?
May 15th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
I am about ready to just ask for my money back and buy the fujitsu t4215, I found it over on newegg for about $1750 and it comes with the core 2 duo. The only reason why I chose the x60t was because it came with an sxga screen. However, the screen has been the major downfall with this tablet.
May 16th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
I as well ordered my machine, and have been subjected to waits. I ordered it on April 30th, and right now its telling me it will ship on the 28th. With what im hearing, it sounds like expecting it to even ship before the end of the month is a false hope. The really sad thing is the accessory pack for the computer arrive this morning, only to act as a painful reminder of not having the x60 tablet I ordered
Can someone please check into my situation? Not only was the shipping date longer then the website advertised, but I called to add the said accessory pack, which apparently delays the computer building (HUH??? Why should that be especially since it has just arived well before the computer!). But it gets worse, as they some how messed up and added a second system to my order. This was easly corrected, but I was told that my card would be charged another 6 dollars that would have to be refunded after the computer shipped.
My question is then a simple one.
What is Lenovo willing to do about it?
A frustrated but loyal customer,
-William A. Turner
May 18th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
William, one answer for you, Nothing!
I purchased my original laptop 5 months ago, and have had it in my possession for about a month.
Lenovo provided me a resolution agent, but when I attempted to contact her today, a new voice was on the answering machine saying that she no longer works for the company and to leave a message on a different voicemail and a new resolution agent will be assigned to my case.
Can anyone who mods this forum help me out? This is ridiculous. I just want my money back now so I can buy a tablet that I can actually use.
May 19th, 2007 at 3:16 am
My laptop shipped but appears to be stuck in customs since Thursday night in Ontario, CA. Does anyone know how long it usually takes go through customs? UPS claims a delivery date for Monday but there’s no “On-Time” tag with my In Transit status. Thanks.
May 19th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Is the item shipping from HK or the US? I recieved my accessory pack from the HK, and it didn’t seem to be stuck in customs for more then two days (if it helps, on the tracking it appears to have gone though several different customs checks)
-Will Turner
May 19th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Why can’t Lenovo give us loaner PCs? At least those of us with the accidental damage coverage. SS89P posted on May 8th, 2007 at 8:59 am, that he was able to get that arrangement… *pages Tim Supples*
-Will Turner
May 21st, 2007 at 9:58 am
Any updates on the screen flicker issue. I got mine about two weeks ago and now it started to flicker. Not that funny.
/M
May 21st, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I’ve read this entire thread from beginning to end, and I had wanted to order an X60, but it’s been trying my patience a great deal. What’s in the thread really makes me reluctant, because so many people have had problems, some which sound like their design problems, and some which are downright scary… your high resolution screen dies and you send it back for replacement and they give you a low resolution screen and think that is okay??? Be serious!!! I’ve had nothing but Thinkpads for a decade, and I can tell you from that experience that this is something that never would have happened when it was still IBM. Lenovo is not the same company… The way Lenovo changes its offerings from week to week has been something I can’t fathom.
After reading this and the T61 thread, it is really discouraging to hear that the Multiview screen option may no longer be available, at least in the IPS panel technology because of lack of panels from supplier. This notice completely killed my interest in buying the T61 I had planned to order, because there is no way I could order a portable workstation with a killer nvidea graphics card, and then have a sub-standard old technology display on it. I’d rather go without.
I now see that the there are X60 tablet models available on the website with Multiview – Multitouch displays again… my questions are: are these panels IPS technology, or has Lenovo decided to re-name some other technology as “Multiview”??? And what is the screen resolution- 1024 x 768??? The answer to these questions will decide whether or not I place this order, so I hope someone can get back to me ASAP, before Lenovo takes this option off the table again.
Thanks- hoping to hear from you soon.
May 21st, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Not sure it helps, but apparently from the research I did at the ThinkPad Forums and other places, the screen that have the multiview capability are not IPS but some other random and unknown type, however the features and quality is the same so it is on par (but perhaps not exactly the same as they have supplier problems). I wouldn’t think that would be an issue. (Check this video out if you want to see what its like:http://www.gottabemobile.com/LenovoThinkPadX60TabletPCMultiTouchAndUltrabase.aspx)
However I ordered an SXGA+ and I believe its the primary reason my order is delayed. (although it may also be a glitch as some people ordered the same thing and have already recieved within the time I have been waiting).
The computer will be worth it… if you read the ThinkPad forums, you will soon discover that their are many loyal customers, as shipping and suppliers is Lenovo’s main problem and so the laptops themselves are worth the pain.
With that being said, I wouldn’t buy one of these without an on-site protection warranty, as I wouldn’t want my laptop stuck at a depot while they have my screen backorderd!
You can visit the ThinkPad Forums here:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/
-Will Turner
May 21st, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Sorry, I had a little confusion about the terminology I used in the above post. I guess that Multiview actually is what Lenovo refers to as the sunlight readable display. I hope someone at Lenovo can expand on what this technology actually is… is it a ‘transreflective’ display (has both backlighting and reflective light readable) or is it a display with a more powerful backlight, or something altogether different???
What I would really like is what IBM called a FlexView display (which I guess is IPS panel technology) and what I have on my R50P… a beautiful display which I enjoy because I am a photographer and video editor. I hope Lenovo will realize how the lack of a screen with this or better performance affects the quality of their product (and ultimately their bottom line). It seems that the lack of a suitable screen will cause me to keep the $6000 I had allocated for 2 laptops in my bank account.
No comment from Lenovo has been received yet.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:02 pm
thank you will…
still waiting for a comment from lenovo…
May 23rd, 2007 at 12:00 am
Hello again folks,
Hopefully I can help clear up a few details, and the rest I will try to follow up on if I’m not able to answer them entirely.
*MultiView/MultiTouch screens are entirely different from IPS/FlexView. All of our screens on our tablets have a wide viewing angle already, similar to the FlexView’s, but the MultiView/MultiTouch is designed for improved outdoor viewability and of course touch screen interaction.
*FlexView/IPS displays are no longer readily available, as Matt discussed here.
*The only time we ever pulled the MultiView/MultiTouch screens from our site was when we had to re-qualify them for the new Core Duo LV processors – never due to quality or supply issues.
*SXGA+ panels are currently in good supply and shipping readily. If there are SXGA+ Tablet orders delayed, it is likely due to other issues. (Will – you have an e-mail from me, your order’s delay is not related to the display)
*A few people accidentally received XGA panels in replacement of their SXGA+ panels early on, due to an internal glitch. That has been corrected and no one was denied what they paid for – if anyone is still out there with with that problem, please let me know!
I believe I have already contacted everyone on here who has had a delay or other order problem, but if I did miss anyone please let me know.
Let me know if I can answer any further questions
G’night folks!
May 23rd, 2007 at 1:23 am
Will, thank you for the links… those videos cleared up a lot regarding the various screen options on the x60 tablet… I’ve read everything in Lenovos literature, and still was unclear, the documentation on the website is still inadequate, even after 5 months…
Thanks for the reply Tim, I don’t mean to sound like I’m bashing Lenovo, but I am trying to keep it real, and as I said before, Lenovo is not the company that IBM used to be when it comes to laptops. The idea of releasing a state of the art portable workstation like the T61 without a screen at least as good as the IPS on my old R50p may do them more harm than good. Yes, I read every word of the blog on screens as well as a few others that mentioned them, maybe you are having difficulty in procuring IPS screens, but maybe Lenovo will end up doing more damage to their (IBM Thinkpad) reputation in the long run than can be repaired in the future by releasing a state of the art portable workstation without a state of the art screen… maybe they should have waited, and pressed harder for either a new supplier, or a new technology screen. We all know that it is much harder to recover a damaged reputation, than it is to just refuse to damage your reputation by rushing an inadequate product to the market. In the long run, Lenovo may pay the ultimate price for their short-sighted decision.
Tim, you are doing a great job of damage control for Lenovo, and they should kiss the ground you walk on for that. But there are limits to what you can do in your position, and you should be at a much higher level in the organization, where you could make a more significant contribution. After all you’ve said, I still wouldn’t be able to buy a T61 now with the screen options available because the image is everything in applications that I use, and CRTs are still the best option, and the only thing that ever came close in a laptop was the IPS option… and almost as good as IPS just doesn’t cut it. It might be okay for an X60 tablet, because my only use for it would be for ultra portable communication and for GPS applications, where the ultimate in screen quality is not as critical.
Tim, could you please comment on the comparison of screen brightness between the multiview-multitouch screen vs the XGA and SXGA+ screens? As I understand it, there are currently 3 screen combinations… the Multiview-Multitouch XGA with 1024 x 768 rez and the ability to use either a digitizer pen or a finger as a pointing device, the WVA XGA display with 1024 x 768 rez with only a digitizer pen input, and the WVA SXGA+ with 1400 × 1050 rez with only a digitizer pen input.
Elsewhere in the Lenovo blog on shipping delays, someone mentioned an ‘Ultraview + EasyTouch XGA combination… wtf is that???
Thank you,
Jim K
May 23rd, 2007 at 1:33 am
Oh, and Tim- I noticed that the description for the Multiview display does not mention the ‘WVA’ prefix that the other screens carry, which I assume to mean ‘wide viewing angle’… does this mean that the Multiview screens have a narrower viewing angle than the XGA and SXGA+ screens??? And you never responded to my question about whether the Multiview screens were trans-reflective screen technology…
May 23rd, 2007 at 7:17 am
Jim,
I realize our display nomenclature is certainly confusing at the least. I would like to make one note about the T61 before diving into the Tablet displays: you mention not having an IPS screen for a workstation machine. While I do not believe IPS screens are coming back anytime soon, I must say that we have not released the workstation version of the T61 yet. As such I can’t talk about it, but rest assured that the legacy of special option screens for workstation models is not something Lenovo takes lightly.
Now onto the Tablet: we actually have four screens currently.
XGA TN (smaller viewing angles than XGA WVA, introduced later as a lower cost screen option)
XGA WVA (standard XGA digitizer display)
MultiView/MultiTouch (indoor/outdoor viewable with touch & digitizer interfaces, still considered WVA)
SXGA+ WVA (high resolution digitizer display)
The “UltraView + EasyTouch” was a typo in our system sometime back, nothing to worry about.
I personally cannot remark about the screen brightness of the touch vs other screens on the tablet as I have only seen one of those models in passing. However given the design to be viewable indoors and outdoors, the normal usage brightness should be more than sufficient. I might recommend looking for further individual comparisons of those screens at a place like GottaBeMobile.
I actually don’t know for sure what the technology behind out MultiView screen is, however I don’t believe it is trans-reflective. I’ll try to find out the details!
I’d also like to remark on the IPS screen quality compared to other offerings. Matt addressed the IPS legacy well in his post and my first ThinkPad was a T42 with 15″ SXGA+ IPS display – a beauty for sure. It was plenty bright, somewhat viewable in sunlight (which it obviously wasn’t designed for), and had AWESOME viewing angles – I will always cherish that machine as my foray into ThinkPads (a good 2 years before I joined Lenovo). I have experience with most every ThinkPad since the T42: the T43(p), R52, Z60t/m, T60, R60, Z61t/m/p, X60(s), X60 Tablet (SXGA+), and to a very superficial level the new T61 & R61. The WUXGA on my previous Z61p was nearly as good as an IPS display: it had more than sufficient viewing angles, good brightness, and color reproduction was good for my novice uses – the same goes for the WSXGA+ display on the Z61m. The T60 obviously continued to offer IPS for a while, and as I forgot to mention you might still be able to order some T60 15″ SXGA+ IPS models through our 1-800-#. The WVA panels on the X60 Tablet (including MultiView/MultiTouch) all have more than sufficient brightness and of course super viewing angles.
While IPS may be gone for the forseeable future – there are other options that I think even a hardcore computing enthusiast such as myself can appreciate. The industry is changing and we’ll continue to do everything we can to serve the needs of our customers while delivering the best engineered PC’s out there.
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:16 am
Tim, two final questions… can you tell me what the relative brightness of the various screens offered, and what is the performance of the 1.83GHz Core Duo versus the 1.50GHz Core 2 Duo processors?
May 23rd, 2007 at 11:11 am
Sorry Jim – our spam filter caught my comment (who knows why!)
The performance of the L2500 Core Duo & L7400 Core 2 Duo should be very similar. I’m not speaking from any internal benchmarks, but from an anecdotal perspective. From my personal reading of 3rd party reviews, it seems that depending on the specific circumstance Core 2 Duo can deliver anywhere from 10-20% better performance at the same clock speed. Based on that assumption, the two processors should perform very similarly. My other input to you based on my technical knowledge is that you would be hard pressed to notice the difference between such a small difference in clock speed.
Hope that helps!
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Tim, I know you mentioned that the supply issue has been resolved. We purchased an X60 tablet and found it back ordered untill June 5th, would you be able to contact me I want to find out why it is backordered.
Thank you!
May 23rd, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Tim Supples said:
“I would like to make one note about the T61 before diving into the Tablet displays: you mention not having an IPS screen for a workstation machine. While I do not believe IPS screens are coming back anytime soon, I must say that we have not released the workstation version of the T61 yet. “
Well, that statement certainly titilates the curiosity… I would have considered the Thinkpad T61 7662CTO with the 2.4GHz Core™ 2 Duo T7700 4MBL2, 14.1 WXGA+ TFT, nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M video card, 2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM), 100GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm, DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim, ThinkPad 11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN Mini-PCI Express Adapter, Integrated Bluetooth PAN, Integrated Wireless WAN, 7 cell Li-Ion Battery, UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader to be a near-workstation machine, the only caveat being the screen could be bigger and higher resolution (and IPS or better quality)… so what besides that would make it a workstation?
Re: the Core Duo 1.83GHz vs the 1.5GHz performance, after doing a lot of research from various sources, the performance tests indicate that the Core 2 Duo runs 10-18% faster than a Core Duo of the same clock speed based on what applications or test suites are being run. This means a Core 2 Duo 1.5GHz would be equivalent to a 1.65Ghz- 1.77 GHz Core Duo. On balance, the Core 2 Duo does have the advantage of being able to run 64 bit OS’s.
Another 2 questions cropped up today which no one at Lenovo seems to be able to answer:
I have a broadband Cingular PC card service already established… I should be able to take my SIMM out of my PC card and install it in the broadband card in the X60 and be ready to go, right?
Also, is the WAN internal antenna the same for the Cingular solution and the Verizon solution (as in, if I ever decide to change my service provider, can I buy the appropriate FRU WAN card from Lenovo and switch service providers after establishing a new account?
Re: IPS and other displays… I am very critical of quality. I have worked for 30 years at one of the 3 big television networks where I spend my day analyzing image quality and identifying reasons why it is less than perfect; so what may be acceptable for many people is often a display of many inadequacies for me. The R50p I am looking to replace has a super quality IPS display, and replacing it with anything lesser will be difficult if not impossible (this comment is regarding portable workstation-class laptops that I might use for video editing and graphics use). The X60 will not be used for a workstation, but for communications, remote access and control of other systems, and gps apps, so I may accept a slightly lesser quality display for those applications. It would be nice if it had a killer screen though, as I am also a photographer and being able to check photos taken in the field would be an obvious advantage.
Thank you for all the info Tim… help with resolving these questions means the money for the X60 may still be on the table…
Regards,
Jim
May 24th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
I ordered a T60p on 03/23/07 and it has still not shipped. I was given estimated ship dates of 04/11, 04/23, 04/30, 05/08, 05/18(build start date), and now 05/24(build start date). I am not getting any reilable reply from customer relations. I want everybody to understand that what it takes to get a computer from Lenovo. The worst part is that they give you a false shipping date which is not very far and then at the last moment kick it further back. In my opinion it is not a fair business practice.
The worst part is they dont even admit that it is not right, see the reply I got from lenovo:
LENOVO REPLY:
I understand your questions and concerns. Th einformation that we are providing are estimates, they are not guarantees so unfortunately at this time I cannot give you a guarantee of when you will receive this machine. They have indicated that your machine is beginning it’s build today and should ship early next week. Thank you.
May 24th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Hi,
Can you comment on what the ordering time is now for a X60 tablet? I’m considering purchasing 5 of these for my department, but need it in the next 2 weeks – is that possible?
May 24th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
I tried to post this reply, but it disappeared…
I re-read the entire thread a second time… Tim has done a great job of handling many of the squawks that Lenovo’s customers have raised. One thing still bothers me that hasn’t been addressed and there are still posts regarding it even as recently as several days ago- the number of SXGA+ screen failures. There seems to be no resolution as to the root cause of the problem or whether there is a fix for this yet. At on point Tim Supples responds on May 3, saying:
‘One point of clarification: we are aware of the SXGA+ screen failures and have been tracking it. I don’t have any information to report on it yet, but it has not gone unnoticed.’
So far, no response…
May 24th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
here is a compilation of the screen issue and a one or two other serious issues- the latest post is dated May 21st:
—-
Then the big problem started with the screen. It sounds similar to problems I’ve seen other people report on various forums – the display rippling when applying even a slight amount of pressure (i.e. using the pen), and now the digitizer is only responsive half the time. It’s basically unusable in tablet mode right now.
—
Looking at gottabemobile.com, there are defnitely a fair few purchasers of the SXGA+ X60 tablet mentioning screen distortion/image loss after a few days of use.
Yesterday, one forum user reported that, disassembling the screen, he noticed a lack of support for the middle of the screen area (i.e. between the screen and the lid).
He handmade some rubber spacers and it solved the screen problems straight away.
This suggests that there could either be a design or assembly issue – understandable if these SXGA+ screens have been sourced in a hurry, I guess.
One thing that would be disappointing is if Lenovo know this to be the case, and are not being honest about the problem.
—
Hi. Ok, most of them are “small” things, but considering the price of this machine (and the reputation of thinkpads in general) i think its pretty inacceptable.
1) The NavDial button is broken (browsing down is nearly impossible)
BIGGEST PROBLEM: After 2 weeks of usage the screen started to flicker every time you touch it with the pen (or hand)m, rendering the whole notebook completly unusable.
2) The SXGA+ screen has brown discolorations on the borders.
3) The ventitation and/or harddisk has problems, because after a short while of usage the whole machine vibrates like there was an earthquake (great when you work in tablet mode and hold the thing in your hands)
4) The pengarage is so poorly constructed that it takes somtimes ages to get the pen in – you have to try up to 10 times until it stays in there!
5) The chip inside the pen itself has detached somehow, so the inking feels now very “slippery”. It never hit anything nor fell down even an inch!
6) If the “resume system upon removing pen” function (wich would be really handy) works is absolutely random – mostly it doesn’t work.
7) If you put the pen on the screen it humms so loud, i can’t even use it in a library. (but I think they fixed that problem with a new bios)
maybe even some other little things i forgot to mention.
—
I’m from Canada, and I’m happy to report that these shipping issues haven’t appeared — I got mine within a couple of weeks of ordering it. I can’t comment on the accuracy of the ESD, though, as there is no online tracking system up here…. *sob*
Imagine my horror, then, when I encountered the screen seizure. I am writing this with a binder clip attached to the edge of my screen (with some protective cloth, naturally) — if you apply pressure on the right location, you can temporarily restore normal functionality to the screen. But, as you might imagine, clips are much harder to use in tablet mode….
Basically, I’m torn. I don’t really want to send it in, as it will probably sit there for a couple of weeks. (from what I’ve heard….) But more importantly, if this is such a widespread problem, and if they’re just going to replace my screen with an identical part, it’s probably going to break again. And then what will I do, when the warranty wears off? I went with this laptop in part because of the “legendary IBM quality” — my only other laptop experience was with a Toshiba — equally legendary quality, but legendary in a less positive manner. I’m just hoping that Lenovo can somehow deliver……
—
I too have the dreaded x60 “screen flicker” issue. Lenovo wants to send me a box to return it to them so they can repair it. Based on the comments here I am going to sit tight. I got my unit within 1.5 weeks from China and I doubt that I’d get my unit back in a timely manner. This is lame.
—
My main issue with the Lenovo is that the screen is pretty dull. I bought the system because I understood that it was a great system for seeing the screen outside (I live in sunny San Diego), it is anything but. In fact it cannot be seen outside, and seems to be half as bright as a standard good quality flat panel. Putting it next to my Viewsonic VP2130b is like looking at an old burnt out 12″ thinkpad. The screen has a patina effect, it seems to show all the pen marks and even a couple of scratch lines (even though it has only been touched by the pen which is part of it.)
I was expecting a bright excellent display, and my main machine for the next couple of years certainly isn’t something to write home about.
On Sunday, I turned on my 4 week old system and the Hard Drive was dead. Ouch, and very disappointing. Called support and after trying to reseat it, was told it was dead. IBM got out a new hard drive (received Tuesday) and found that the support tech ordered me the wrong drive. Additionally, it was a USED and repaired drive. My system is a 100Gig 7200rpm, i was shipped a used and repaired 100Gig 5400. Just straightened it out and was told that the ‘fine print’ says that they will repair the drive by substituting a repaired drive.
—
Thanks for your response, it has helped me make up my mind. Sadly, I’m going back to HP for my tablet hardware.
My experience with the indoor/outdoor display mirrors yours. I live in sunny Colorado, and the less than impressive outdoor experience combined with the tendency of the multi-touch screen to show wear and attract dirt has led me to the conclusion that the Thinkpad is no longer the gold standard in laptops.
—
Hi All,
I have also encountered the screen flicker issue with the x60t. I encountered it a few weeks after using my tablet everyday both in normal laptop mode and tablet mode. I called lenovo and they were very helpful in getting it fixed. I wasn’t on hold for very long, they shipped me a box the next day. I shipped it back and it was fixed in about 2 weeks. I did have to call and check on it after a week, at which point they told me they were waiting on a part and would escalate the request.
I have the SXGA+ model (6366AJU) so I don’t know if it’s specific to this model. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and this is a great machine.
That said, I recently noticed the flicker has returned. I am very upset about this. It is only when I grab the tablet by the top of the screen so I will be more gentle with moving the screen and see if it helps but like last time I’m sure it will just get worse and worse until I have to send it in.
Is lenovo doing something about this? I don’t want to have to send my tablet in every other month to get it fixed for the same issue…
—
I’ve had the same screen problem as others, which is still recurring after the repair. In my case the repair was delayed an extra couple weeks by confusion about the screen resolution (they initially replaced the sxga+ screen by an xga screen, then spent another week of so confused about why that wasn’t OK). I’ve had it back for a few days now, and had the problem recur once. The machine also came back with a couple new problems (e.g., occasionally it reports a key stuck on, rendering the keyboard unusable; and the repair people stripped the head of one of the screws completely smooth for some reason).
I liked this machine a lot–the screen in particulary is wonderfully sharp–but after over a month without a usable laptop I’m ready to give up.
—
I also have experienced the screen flicker issue. The Lenovo customer rep I spoke with recommended that I take my x60t to a Lenovo certified repair shop. He recommended the repair shop because I informed that I am currently a medical student and have all of my school stuff on this laptop.
It took about a week for the laptop to be fixed. But, when I returned home and turned on the laptop, the repair shop had replaced my sxga+ screen with a xga screen. I was furious and immediately called the repair shop. They basically told me that this was out of their hands now because they replaced it with a part number that matched the description they had in their database.
I then had to call Lenovo in hopes they could straighten it out. The only solution I was given was that I had to spend another $2000.00 dollars to buy a new one and when I received the new one to send back the old one and I would eventually be credited the amount.
How am I suddenly held accountable for a faulty screen and and incompetent Lenovo service center??? Not giving me any other choice, I had to buy a new one. Now I am a struggling student out of $4000.00 and I have no laptop. Also, Lenovo now has had my laptop in their possession longer then I have had it.
I eventually received my new laptop and was credited the $2000.00 back.
I had the new laptop for about a week before the screen flicker started to happen again and I just had to deal with it until this year ended. I have now sent the laptop to Lenovo’s depot and am awaiting the repair. I babied my second tablet because of the fear of having the flickering screen returning.
It will probably take 2 weeks, and the laptop screen will probably break again. This is definitely grounds for a recall. I purchased this laptop because of the name IBM has created for itself. Although, after this horrific experience, I am going to inform all of my fellow classmates, future colleagues, and my father who owns a business that uses ibm as their main supplier for computers to never purchase another product from ibm or lenovo.
—
Any updates on the screen flicker issue. I got mine about two weeks ago and now it started to flicker. Not that funny.
—
May 25th, 2007 at 2:41 am
All I can say is I won’t be supprized, if lenovo stops offering 12.1in SXGA+ screens… as I believe they are already at a major loss as it is… that being said I am still faithfully waiting for my computer to ship, and apparently its now held up by a DVD drive unavaliability…
I emailed Tim (1.5 days ago) about this, and am still waiting to hear why they don’t just ship my system, and then ship the drive/ultrabase later. I ordered on April 30th… The system has my shipment scheduled for memorial day (which is quite funny… not) which is about a month of waiting. This would be ok… Except people have ordered and received their computer within the time that I have already waited…
*Begs the Gods of the domain of Lenovo for absolution*
Faithfully still,
-Will Turner
May 25th, 2007 at 2:47 am
I’m just wondering when somebody is going to pull the plug on this article… effectively silencing the lamb, although their are the Thinkpad Forums which I highly recommend. I have learned a lot about the computer I am supposedly about to have, including problems, features, Lenovo policy, expert tweaks, and a great general knowledge. Here is the link to the X60 Forums there:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewforum.php?f=30
-Will Turner
May 25th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
I placed an order on 03/23, initial ship date was 04/11 and has been delayed by 5 more times: 04/23, 04/30, 05/08, 05/18, 05/24. Yesterday lenovo rep told me in the morning that LCDs were received and my machine is currently being built and in the afternoon says that they had the wrong information and now new ship date is 06/20.
I WANT EVERYBODY TO HAVE A GOOD LOOK AT MY ORDER DATE AND ESTIMATED SHIP DATE (03/23 ——> 06/20). I HAVE GOT NOTHING BUT LIES FROM LENOVO CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGEMENT TEAM. ON TOP OF THIS THEY SAY THAT THEY CANNOT GUARANTEE WHEN THE MACHINE SHIPS (EVEN AFTER 2.5 MONTHS).
I WILL NEVER NEVER BUY AGAIN FROM LENOVO AND DISCOURAGE EVERYBODY NOT TO BUY FROM THEM.
May 25th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
I guess Tim is having a well-deserved long Memorial Day weekend… by the time he comes back, he can tell us about when the X61 will be shipping…
May 26th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Wow who would have believed what I have just experienced…
I just got an email, stating that my order had shipped… well when I looked nothing new had shipped (I already had my accessory pack), but instead my whole computer has been removed from my order… If this is really the case (and I have no idea why this would happen on a Saturday), then Lenovo will be hearing from me on Tuesday… If they don’t ship my system next week, a month after I placed my order, and have to reorder it, I WILL be pissed! I have never had my computer disappear from my any order before… quite strange.
And if they think they can get away with that after already charging me for the accessories, their wrong.
-Will Turner
May 26th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Wow thankfully it came back! phew… its getting close to the ship date (which is still ironically the 28th), and im getting nervous.
-Will Turner
May 27th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
I was just looking at the Lenovo website, looking at the T61 CTOs and see that Lenovo is ONLY offering them with Microsoft Vista as the operating system. I guess Microsoft is pressuring their suppliers to unload this turkey on the public so hard, they’re withdrawing their support for Windows XP… if this is the case, Lenovo can kiss my business goodbye. I will go without ever buying another laptop from them if it means getting it with Vista on it. I’m pretty fed up with Lenovo’s way of doing business, offering one thing this week and withdrawing it the next… having a ’sale’ this week, and next week the same laptop is $200 less. It’s all a bunch of bull, and Lenovo should take the Thinkpad brand off their laptops, because they do not have the same high standards that caused me to buy Thinkpads for the past 15 years, they’re not even close. There are a few of their employees like Tim who are trying to do their best to continue the tradition, but without support from above they are helpless. Too bad the US allowed this sale to the Chinese to go through… shame on us.
May 28th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
“your high resolution screen dies and you send it back for replacement and they give you a low resolution screen and think that is okay??? Be serious!!!”
I think that’s probably a response to my comment that “they initially replaced the sxga+ screen by an xga screen, then spent another week of so confused about why that wasn’t OK.” I was being a little flippant–it’s not that they thought I should be happy with a lower-resolution screen, it’s that they simply didn’t understand that I could have ever had anything else. Whatever database they were relying on must have only listed one type of 12″ screen.
Anyway, I called the IBM repair center; they took a lot of notes and told me they’d escalate and call back, and also recommended trying Lenovo sales. The salesperson I talked to didn’t think they could do anything more than try to repair it a third time, but I got a call back a couple days later from someone at Lenovo who offered refund, replacement, or repair, and I’m now working through the refund process.
Not the happiest resolution, but by then I couldn’t see what other choice I had–I’ve just seen no evidence yet that they can ship a 12″ SXGA+ LCD that will work reliably for longer than a few weeks or a month.
May 28th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
i ordered a T61 on May 9th and was supposed to ship today. I checked my online status and now its delayed until Aug 30th. Whats up with that? Why is lenovo having so many problems fulfilling their orders?
May 29th, 2007 at 8:48 am
I almost ordered a T61 about the same time you did Brian, but decided against it at the last minute for several reasons, not the least of which was I re-read this entire thread for the third time before pressing the ‘order’ button. It’s certainly depressing… the Thinkpad has always been the premiere laptop in the marketplace. Now, with Lenovo at the helm, they are continuing their downward spiral. I wonder if the technology exchange agreements that IBM had with Intel regarding details of their processor architecture and microcode transferred to the Chinese when Lenovo bought the Thinkpad business. If so, it would make very real the possibility that the Chinese might start counterfeiting Intel processors just like they have lots of other of other US technologies… I have always wondered how Lenovo could legally buy the Thinkpad division, since it seems to go against so many laws that restrict or forbid the sale or export of advanced technologies to many foreign countries.
May 29th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Minor Update:
I was hoping something might change by today, but nothing did…
My order which was scheduled for memorial day, has now changed the date to 6/11/07… thats more then a week away. Whats funny (or not so funny) is that the recycling fee is dated to “ship” today.
-Will Turner
May 30th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
I see Matt has been posting in other blogs, I guess he has abandoned this thread.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:05 am
To all the people who are waiting for their X60 tablets who have been waiting a while, what model did you order? Due to the recent price cuts, I actually placed a few orders and Lenovo has been slow to cancel them, so I got 2 e-mails today indicating that they just shipped.
I ordered:
ThinkPad X60 tablet
SXGA+ display
Intel Core 2 Duo L7400 4MB cache 1.5GHz processor
1GB RAM (1 SODIMM)
100GB 7200 RPM hard drive
ThinkPad 802.11a/b/g/n wireless
BlueTooth
Fingerprint reader
Windows Vista Business
X6 ultrabase with 4X DVD recorder
8 cell battery
3 year next business day on-site warranty
My guessis that if mine shipped then yours probably did also, but if not, and you’d like to buy one of these then please let me know. I’m not trying to make any profit on this, just trying to help people who may have been waiting a long time.
May 31st, 2007 at 7:50 am
I also have the screen flicker problem. Originally I ordered my x60 tablet with 1400×1050 screen a couple of months ago. Within a week it had a power problem and wouldnt start up consistantly. I sent it nack and recievend a repaired unit after a couple of weeks. Only a few days later (after some light pen use) the screen started to flicker in the bottom third. Light pressure to the bottom of the left hand side of the screen proved to be a temporary fix but after a few more days it became unusable. I sent the tablet back again and it was then a further MONTH AND A HALF before I recieved it back. For the first month i was told by IBM support that they had no idea when they would get new screens in. After a month I escelated the support call to a complaint (which means it gets handed to Lenovo rather than the IBM support team) and after a week recieved a very old thinkpad (not a tablet) to use in the mean time in the post. I finally got my new unit back last week. I just sat down to do some work and the screen problem has occured again. I am pretty frustrated now. I think i will be asking for a refund but i dont think there are any other machines with the same spec. For anyone thinking about getting this machine… dont. If you have to then steer clear of the high res option. I only recieved mine back last week (end of may 2007) so this problem has NOT been resolved by lenovo.
May 31st, 2007 at 4:32 pm
the X61’s are now on the Lenovo website; interesting to note they are only offering Vista as the operating system, if they’re trying to force Vista on their customers, I think they’re in for a backfire; personally I don’t want an operating system that is overbloated and wastes cpu cycles running Microsofts’ DRM (digital rights management) software in the background to make sure I’m not copying dvd’s or cd’s- whatever… it wastes my processor power that could be used for something useful like the business apps I use… especially when the processor in the convertable tablets have relatively slow processors already. But regardless of whether I want Vista or not, the large Blue Chip corporation I work for has not qualified Vista for use at work, and has no intention of doing so, either now or any time soon… and there are a lot of other corporations that have no interest in switching to Vista either, so I guess that’s it for me and Lenovo. I’ve wasted 6 months waiting for a decent laptop from Lenovo. I’m not wasting another second after watching them turn their backs on their customers, and fail to respond to most of the questions I’ve had.
And I guess it’s time for someone to start an ‘X61 shipping delays’ blog.
June 1st, 2007 at 3:17 am
I ordered the T61 too on 17th May and I tried to call Lenovo on 31st May 07 to verify the status of the laptop as I just realised that they actually shifted the date by a few days.
However, now that I read that people who ordered the laptop before me are facing troubles, I fear so shall I. I will call to cancel likely today.
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:15 pm
William A. Turner Says:
“May 25th, 2007 at 2:47 am
I’m just wondering when somebody is going to pull the plug on this article… effectively silencing the lamb”
Apparently Tim and Matt have abandoned this thread, so it seems you were right, William…
And it seems that Lenovo does not like anyone to speak dissent in their blogs… I posted in another Lenovo blog that was asking people what they thought about a leather thinkpad… my post said that instead of wasting their (Lenovo’s) time thinking up ways to tie up their notebooks in pretty little ribbons, they should focus on fixing the problems they have with screen failures, sub-par screens, constant lack of parts supply, and failure to ship on schedule.
Guess what their response was? My post was deleted for ‘breaking the rules’… when I protested, and asked what rules I had broken and to see the proof, there was no response to that, only that I should ‘tone it down a bit’… guess who that was from… Tim Supples… who has been MIA here for a while, who apparently has plenty of time to chastise me while ignoring the posts here and claiming ignorance.
Well, I’m sure this post will get deleted as soon as the Lenovo police discover it, but at lease some of you will probably see before they do that there is nothing in this post against ‘the rules’… just a lost of disappointment at what Lenovo has done to Thinkpads…
Thank you William for another, independent Thinkpad forum… I’ll see you there. I’m anxious to see what else has been covered up.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
This is a great ongoing discussion everyone.
Comments are read, but may not always be responded to by Lenovo staff members. Matt’s ongoing responsibilities span more than blogs, and his focus is rightfully not on chasing down issues raised here. I always take note of the tone of the conversation and try to help individuals, but I make it a rule not to comment unless I have concrete information on the topic.
This thread on X60 Tablet was originally started to discuss the constrained panels, and subsequent L2500 processors, the discussion has now moved on to some screen failures and service experiences, and most recently, some inaccurate projected August delivery dates for T61 systems.
I’ve posted a new entry to cover the T61’s today and hope that you will find it helpful http://www.lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=84
William Turner,
I understand some members of our excellent sales team have been working with you to help correct your poor ordering experience. I’m glad to hear your machine shipped as promised, despite the incorrect ESD. I hope everything works out for you.
With regard to the flickering and related ownership troubles with SXGA+ displays experienced and commented upon by some customers in this thread, it has been actively worked by engineering, and I have been awaiting the release of information for a subsequent update. In the meantime, for any that experience trouble, please contact 800-426-7378 (for the U.S. – international customers please contact your appropriate service groups) to initiate service to resolve.
Thanks.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Yes I received the machine, and it runs well… although I have already had to do a factory reset thank to vista… but my screen came with a bright dead pixel… quite depressing.
I know it’s your policy not to replace screens with one dead pixel, but it’s quite hard to concentrate when I notice it constantly (I have attention deficit disorder). Is there any way to have it replaced despite all this, besides having my screen take a nasty accident and get replaced?
Perhaps if I payed some upgrade price to switch to the x61?
Also I wanted to mention that I have been working with Jim Macdonald, and while he was nice at first, he hasn’t returned my calls or emails for the past 6 days…
-Will Turner
June 5th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
In response to Jim, I just want to comment that I believe Highly in free speech and free expression, however I also understand this set of blogs is very important to Lenovo. I can understand your tone being beyond their liking, but its always important to keep the discussion on topic as well…
That being said this blog appears to have become the shipping problems blog (which believe it or not Lenovo you need this, you need this because its fair and because this will help you to improve yourself!), and so it really should be redefined as that, or have a different blog to cover these kinds of public issues (public because they effect the public constantly).
Lastly I just want to point out again that I am a Loyal customer. I am not threating to take my business elsewhere, but I am demanding that business is done and done right. I think everyone wants the same thing, so lets be respectful of each other, and encourage good service, not discourage cooperation.
-Will Turner
June 11th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
So I suppose Lenovo doesn’t want to give any official public comments to this? Not supprising, but cirtanly disapointing…
-Will Turner
June 11th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Will – I apologize I’ve been working hard on the T61 issues and just now noticed your comments here. What are you looking for an answer to?
June 14th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
“I know it’s your policy not to replace screens with one dead pixel, but it’s quite hard to concentrate when I notice it constantly (I have attention deficit disorder). Is there any way to have it replaced despite all this, besides having my screen take a nasty accident and get replaced?
Perhaps if I payed some upgrade price to switch to the x61?”
Thanks.
-Will Turner
June 22nd, 2007 at 1:54 pm
So I guess you just won’t ever respond to that? Probably because you “don’t have any information about it”… but that doesn’t stop you from asking someone else to respond from Lenovo. I give up…
-Will Turner
P.S: if you are having serious problems with Lenovo, submitting a report to the BBB actually will get you a good response. The proper place to do this for Lenovo is http://www.bbbenc.org/. The location is specific for businesses not consumers (I’m in California)
June 24th, 2007 at 12:38 am
“With regard to the flickering and related ownership troubles with SXGA+ displays experienced and commented upon by some customers in this thread, it has been actively worked by engineering, and I have been awaiting the release of information for a subsequent update.”
Any news yet?
June 24th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
This happens to my x60 as well–any news on a fix?
July 6th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
I’m still having the same tablet flickering issue and its getting worse. The binder-clip fix isn’t working anymore.
Has anyone gotten it fixed by Lenovo and remained fixed?
July 11th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Tim,
I purchased two X61T’s from Lenovo (I cancelled one 3 weeks before it shipped, it still shipped). I received both, subsequently I returned the one that was errantly shipped. I am having a whale of a time trying to get a refund. I talked to the CSR who placed the order and she said my card had been credited but it was not. I tried to call her back and was told by the operator that she is not responding to calls. I also contacted her manager who picked up the first time but did not pick up after that. I have left numerous voicemails and I have received no response. I cannot believe that Lenovo employs CSR that act like this. It seems like they are in hiding not willing to process the refund. If you could shed some light on why this is occuring I would appreciate it.
July 22nd, 2007 at 9:50 am
I was one of the first to order my X-61 Tablet on June 7th. Was promised delivery on June 28th which came and went without any notice from Lenovo. After hours on wait and 4 reps and 2 “supervisors” later I was then promised July 11 delivery PLUS I was now put on the so called “critical list”. Another rep subequently told me this list was bogus and it was basically just something to say to upset customer in hopes of not losing their business. I would have to agree since I’ve been on this list for about a month now.
Well, July 11th passed with no update or one single communication from Lenovo. When I logged on to check my order it now showed 8/31. When I called yet again I was assured that this was not accurate either. Perhaps I would be interested in an extra battery for my troubles was the response this time. Are you kidding me. And to top it all off, the rep sounded actually surprised when I asked him what I would do with the battery he promised to ship right out without the machine.
How can you so completely blow a launch? Production and supply issues do occur, but to not communicate with your customers and out and out be dishonest with them is not acceptable. To continue to sell the machines knowing you can’t deliver them is pathetic. On top of this, Lenovo seems incapable of handling orders, refunding people money and providing basic customer service.
I’ve had IBM machines for 10 years. No more. I am done, as are many more.
Out.
July 24th, 2007 at 5:42 am
Here comes another report of a FLICKERING SCREEN (SXGA+)!!!!!!
I have the SXGA+ model (6366AJU)
I purchased it around March 1st or so.
Like the many people who already reported this, I ALSO started having the FLICKERING SCREEN problem after about 2-3 weeks of use.
So, i called lenovo, they sent a box, i sent it to them for repair.
I got my laptop back and immediately noticed that they changed the back of the screen. They put a thicker one (making my laptop a little thicker). The original display backing was soft, so when touching/pressing it, I would see finger spots on the screen itself.
Anyway, about 2 months of non-intensive use after the repair, the flicker problem has come back!!! (I don’t know if it is a coincidence but the flicker problem came back after a flight, so maybe when they put the laptop through an xray machine something goes wrong?, probably just my crazy theory) This sux, spending almost $3k and having a defective product.
So, there you have it folks. flickering problem came back after repair.
I love SXGA’s resolution, and if there was another company offering it, i would definitely switch. I have bought 3 laptops from lenovo/IBM and I am pretty much disgusted at this situation.
Lenovo should either recall this laptop, or we should get lawyers and pursue no-lemon guarantee type of a suit.
July 24th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Ordered an X61 Tablet CTO on 7/10 with the SXGA+ screen.
Estimated ship date is 8/31. I was well aware of there being a 2-3 week delay due to the configuration of the unit I ordered.
What I find disconcerting is that there still are reports of a defect with the SXGA+ LCD panels. There were reports of this same problem occuring on some on X60 Tablets. I thought this would have been corrected with the X61 release.
Does anyone know the real cause of this problem?
July 25th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Just a small tip for those with screen flickering problems. It seems like this is unlikely to be permanantly fixed by lenovo unless they choose to use a different screen (do they make them themselves?). It seems like it is caused by a loose connection inside the screen itself. I have had this problem repeatedly and already sent my machine back once. In the end the only way to resolve the issuse was to remove the screen from the housing and insert a rubber spacer (made of of a rubber band and insulation tape) about two inces from the top of the screen and one inch from the left hand side. This has recified the flicker temporarly. This will probably void your warranty though. I just needed a working laptop urgently.
July 25th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
James, I agree, I am pretty sure the problem is with some loose connection, because usually if I press on the edge of the screen, the flicker goes away until I touch the screen again in the wrong way.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Ok, I’m done. The machine can only be used with an external monitor at this point which completly negates the reason for having a notebook/tablet.
Tim, how can I get this expedited so I’m not without a machine for 2 weeks. Its not like I can do CADD on my TREO.
July 27th, 2007 at 6:52 am
Tim,
You had written months ago that the SXGA+ screens were in good supply-
May 31-
“*SXGA+ panels are currently in good supply and shipping readily. If there are SXGA+ Tablet orders delayed, it is likely due to other issues. (Will – you have an e-mail from me, your order’s delay is not related to the display)”
But my order has an ESD of 2 months, and I continue to be told that there are problems with the screen’s availability when I call to ask about the status of my order. Between the talk of this screen’s problems in use as well as its lack of availability, can you update us on the status of this screen?
It sure seems that this screen’s issues are worsening and not improving since last year. What is the status of this?
July 31st, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Hi all,
I’m sorry to see that some are still having X60 Tablet SXGA+ screen issues. We do have panels that are not affected by this issue so it will be fixed under warranty, however as of several days ago I was informed that the service depot’s are waiting on another shipment of the screens. As soon as they are have arrived, your machines can be serviced. I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience, unfortunately circumstances conspire for the worst sometimes.
Gregg – First and foremost, it should be noted that I made that statement two months ago. Supply availability changes on a daily basis, so while we do everything possible to forecast availability, a two month time progression certainly puts an estimate out the window like that. On X61 Tablet’s, we are experiencing a delay with the SXGA+ SuperView panels. This is not currently an epidemic issue, but just a function of normal supply and demand. On X60 Tablet’s, we do not currently have a delay with the SXGA+ panels.
July 31st, 2007 at 6:18 pm
Tim, thank you for responding.
What number do I call to get an RMA?
Steve
July 31st, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Tim,
Thank you for responding to this delay topic on the SXGA+ screens.
First and foremost, it should be noted that it is moving toward 2 months ago when I placed my order (even if it’s made soon it will be about 2 months for me by the time it arrives) when I was told 2-3 weeks. How can one place an order at any time when projections of parts are not viable for the spread from order to potential delivery? There’s got to be some collective knowledge since last January when this specific blog began and the issues with inconsistent SXGA screens were ongoing even at that time (see above posts).
Granted, 2 months is a long time, but I ordered back when I thought it wasn’t going to be 2 months.
Possibly great news: I did just check with one of the online ordering people who told me that all X series units are going to be made and shipped next week (including SXGA+ screen tablets). If it’s true, then I cease my complaints. If not, I’ll chaulk it up to another dialog that doesn’t come to pass.
August 8th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
I’m curious, has anyone here received an X61 Tablet with an SXGA+ screen? I see a lot of folks complaining about delays but it’s not clear if those are ongoing or not. I suppose part of the problem is that one is more likely to post when having an issue, but not when it’s fixed.
Maybe we can all compare dates. Mine was ordered 7/9, current estimated ship date 8/9.
August 10th, 2007 at 7:41 am
Heh, my estimated ship date was just updated this morning to 9/11.
August 10th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
I ordered an X61 back in June but canceled due to the shipping delays. I recently reordered (July 23) for a substantially lower price and can’t believe that they are still not shipping. Is it a rumor that they are shipping out next week or is there some validity to it? My estimated ship date of August 23 is barely tolerable. If it ships out any later, I will have to buy something else, as I simply cannot be without a computer for school this fall.
Also, I am extraordinarily disappointed with Lenovo’s representatives (like everyone else). When I called, they said the X61 tablets were delayed because of “demand” and that they wouldn’t be shipped until early September.
August 11th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
The site now shows my X61 Tablet shipped on 8/11. I guess 9/11 was a, um, conservative date.
September 5th, 2007 at 10:50 am
I too ordered an X61S back in June but canceled the order in August due to shipping delays. Lenovo’s rep told me the reason for shipping delay was that there was an error on the configuration. What?! Are they kidding?! Someone needs to be fired.
Anyway, I went to Sam’s Club to pick up a old model of Thinkpad for urgent use. The salesperson at Sam’s Club really trashed Lenovo brand computers and strongly recommended not to buy lit. I ended up purchasing a HP notebook instead.
September 5th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Just FYI: I ordered on X61S on June 24th, shipment was originally scheduled on July 24th, then delay to Aug. 14th, the again delayed to August 30th. I canceled the order on August 16th.
September 8th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Has anyone actually received their X61t tablet with he SXGA+ screen? I ordered mine on Aug. 3rd, was told it would ship on Sept. 4th, got an email on Sept 5th saying it was delayed for 1-30 days. Reading this forum it doesn’t sound like anyone has actually received their tablet. I anticipate at this point that on Sept. 28th I’ll get another email stating another delay. When will this all end?
September 11th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
I’m feeling the same way as Scott… sitting here wondering if my x61 w/ SXGA+ will ever ship… I have been checking this blog for updates almost everyday. I ordered the x61 SXGA+ tablet on Aug. 2nd and was told to expect a 4 week delay before it was shipped by the rep on the phone (even though the webpage indicated it should only take 2 weeks for the options I ordered). Once the order was entered into the system, it officially issued a September 4th ship date to me in e-mail… I received most of the accessories (even some that arrived in less than a week from China) immediately after my order was placed.
This is the first Lenovo product I have ordered and reviewing the accessories, I was impressed with their quality (even though the tablet sleeve does not allow the machine to be used in clamshell mode as explained by the sales rep. and the battery charger will not fit the 8 cell battery because the charge wire is too short…)
Having all these nice accessories staring at me everyday and anxiously anticipating my Sept. 4th ship date, I logged on September 5th to find that I had not received a tracking number for the computer but an e-mail stating my shipping date had been pushed back to September 28th with no explanation and an offer to cancel my order. Upset, I dedided to simply wait it out until Sept. 28 to see what happens.
What customers like myself really want in this situation is some information, and most of all options. If there was the chance my order would not ship on Sept. 4th, how about some options prior to Sept. 4th to keep it on track? Maybe a week ahead of the ship date I could be called and asked about my priorities… is option A more important or is getting the machine on time more important? In my case I ordered this machine because I needed it for a specific contract I am working on that started August 1st and concludes October 31st. My current shipping date means 2/3 of the time I needed to use the machine will have lapsed and Lenovo has offered no options to help me.
So I still sit here with over $500 in x61 Tablet accessories wondering what’s going on with my order.
To add to my concern, I have also noticed that the Lenovo x60/x61 tablets are getting some additional bad press about the bezels coming unglued.
Additionally, reviewing their website I have also noticed that the SXGA+ screen is no longer available when ordering a machine…
This leads me to worry that something maybe wrong with the computer or the SXGA+ screens that’s delaying the order or if the configuration I ordered will ever ship because it has been discontinued…
I understand cutting edge technology has it’s downsides with unexpected problems and such, but understanding the risks is an important part of making your decision to spend the extra money, time and usually effort associated with new technology. Knowing what you are getting yourself into is the important difference between happily living with the product because you knew what to expect and hating the product the company and the whole experience because you feel you were not dealt with honestly in the beginning and were left to deal with a lot of problems you were not expecting.
So… Lenovo – come clean with those of us willing to sacrifice our time and money to get our hands on your products. We will only continue do so because we trust both the product and the company standing behind it… Unfortunately, I am starting to loose my trust in the company after reading 6 months of reports on the blogs about persistent customer neglect and now finding myself experiencing the same thing. No one wants to feel like a sucker… I’m starting to hear the mischievous voice of the blogs about Lenovo customer service and shipping delays saying softly in my ear “I told you so..”
Please come clean with your most important resource, your clients, so we can regain respect for you and make informed decisions when ordering your products, now and most importantly in the future.
Finally, I will conclude with what I think you should do to rectify situations like the one I find myself in regarding my x61 order.
1. Spend some effort understanding your clients needs. If you are going to delay an order for a $3,000 computer a month due to a part shortage, please provide the client some options. If it’s a specific part, let’s say its the screen, provide your client the option of a different screen if they want to keep their original shipping date.
2. Provide more information. In a situation where you are providing some of the best products on the market, let your clients know why you are encountering the problems you are with supplying that level of quality. We will understand a delay if we feel it was prudent in order to supply us a quality product. Silence just makes people irate and forces them to seek other venders willing to supply them what they want irregardless of the quality in some situations.
3. Avoid penalizing your clients. If you are forced to have a client wait 2 months for a product… make sure you have offered them the best product when it does ship. In my case, I ordered a machine with the fastest processor and highest capacity hard drive at the time. If things change in the 2 months I am waiting, I should have the option to upgrade when new options become available without pushing back my ship date again. If I were to modify my order would fall behind others in the shipping cue even though I had waited 2 months already.
4. If possible expedite orders with abnormally large shipping delays… for example, if a client is expecting a 2 week build time and it ends up taking 8 weeks they should be offered something for their hassle, free overnight shipping would be a nice gesture.
Please consider my input…
Greg Thompson
September 14th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
I spoke with Lenovo this morning regarding my order. They indicated that they FINALLY have the screens in stock and are building systems now. My laptop order has been sent to the factory and as a worst case I’ll receive my order sometime during the last week of the month…..I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Anyone else had success in receiving their laptop?
-Scott
September 18th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
I was told this morning on a follow up call I placed to customer service, that my machine was delayed due to the sxga+ screen’s availability and that it would definitely ship by the new date of September 29th. So having a report that there is a new batch of screens available sounds like positive news.
Greg
September 26th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
I’ve been following this thread since it was created, and I’m unsure at this point if it’s being monitored by Lenovo…
but I’ve noticed for at least a month now that the website has ceased to offer the SXGA+ screen. Is it going to be put back up anytime soon? I know the delays are because of it, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep the option available, and just let customers know that it’s a first come first serve basis.
September 26th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
To all concerned parties (those still waiting for their laptop) I might have some encouraging news. I called Lenovo today, but rather than hit the option for order status I hit the option for order placement and was able to speak with someone that I could actually understand. He placed a “formal complaint” on my order which is suppose to alert a high ranking relations team that will be contacting me to give me a real ship date and possibly offer some incentive for having waited 2 full months since my original order date of August 2nd. I’ll keep you posted on what comes of this. Hope it is encouraging for others still waiting and being abused by Lenovo.
September 29th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
I placed an order for a Lenovo X61 on August 2nd, 2007 – According to Lenovo’s website, the machine would be delayed 2 weeks because of some of the features I had requested, such as the SXGA+ screen. I assumed this meant I should receive notification of shipment sometime around the middle of August. When I received my order confirmation e-mail, I was surprised to find my ship date was not Mid-August but September 4th, more than a month later! On September 5th, I anticipated a tracking number for my X61 however I received notification that my order was delayed and would ship on or before September 29th. (That’s 8 weeks from the date I ordered) Around September 18th, after calling customer service I was told my computer had been delayed because the screen had been on backorder but it would definitely ship on or before September 29th, and a priority flag had been added to the build order for me. On that call I was also told that the screen was available and again assured my machine would definitely ship by the 29th. Well, it’s September 29th… and guess what… my shipping date has magically been changed to October 24th, 2007. (12 weeks from the day I ordered) To say that I am pissed off about this is somewhat of an understatement. I strongly feel I was misled by Lenovo so they could keep my business. How does 2 weeks end up being 3 months? Was I lied to on the 18th about the screens being available? I ordered with Lenovo knowing there was a short delay on the machine as stated when I ordered the tablet. When the order was initially delayed 2 weeks I was not happy but willing to make due. When the order was delayed 4 additional weeks, I was upset but felt stuck because of accessories that had been ordered and installed and the cost of switching to another machine would just about equal the cost of sticking it out another few weeks by that time. But now that Lenovo is asking me to wait another 4 weeks, (10 weeks of total delays in addition to the original 2 week delay I was told about when I ordered…) I’m pretty upset about my decision to choose Lenovo. As an independent contractor, this machine was crucial to the completion of a specific contract. Not having the tablet, I have been forced to subcontract work to 3rd parties while I wait for Lenovo to deliver. My business has suffered because I chose to be loyal to the Lenovo brand and I am left feeling like a sucker for doing so.
It was not simply loyalty to Thinkpad that kept me attached to this order for so long. I ordered many accessories for the X61 with my order as well as other accessories from 3rd parties on August 2nd. All of these accessories arrived within a week and were then unpacked, inspected, and in many cases installed at the office and in vehicles. It’s now September 29th (60 days later) and all of the 3rd party accessories (many of which are permanently installed in vehicles or offices) are no longer returnable… (drilling holes, cutting and running wires and mounting brackets, etc..)
My decision to purchase Lenovo was based on the need for the features this computer offered for a contract that ran from August 1st through October 31st. I’ve now subcontracted out a great deal of the contract at my own expense, I own a bunch of Lenovo accessories I have no use for and I have spent money and time to prepare my work areas to accept the X61. I need the machine now more then ever and Lenovo’s solution is to allow me to cancel my order.
My conclusion is that Lenovo offers a lot of great features, but they are a poor choice for businesses who require their venders to deliver when they say they will. Sticking with Lenovo was my decision, and that decision has now cost me thousands of dollars. The Thinkpad’s reputation persuaded me to take a chance with Lenovo and ignore the growing number of complaints Lenovo has been generating about their company and products. If you choose Lenovo, do not expect them to live up to the service you would expect from IBM.
As for my great new Lenovo Thinkpad X61 tablet, I say thanks for nothing Lenovo!
Greg Thompson
October 1st, 2007 at 9:43 pm
I placed my order on July 26th, 2007 for one x-tablet and one x-laptop. (7675CT and 6365CT). The shipping date have been postphoned several times. now the estimated shipping date on the website shows 10/08/07 for 7675CT and 10/23/07 for 6365CT.
I will have to call the customer service… I wish Lenovo can get back on track asap. It seems that the new management team is not running the great laptop section (at least used to be) properly.
Just here to share my experience.
October 2nd, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Just update my status.
Ordered on evening, July 26. Got shipment on the morning, Oct 2nd .
I got two surprises this morning.
1st, I got Tim’s email on my way to my office. That’s a fast respond(I posted my message last night). Which also answered some questions posted above (if Lenovo keep following/monitoring this post.)
2nd, I got a package on my desk when I step into my office, which has my two ThinkPad laptops. I finally got my laptops.
But I still would like Tim know all the details so that Tim have the information to investigate what delays the process and improve those parts in the future. I love ThinkPad product. I’d like to see that ThinkPad take bigger and bigger market share, which also means ThinkPad will be backed by a powerful team, give great product, and provide one of the best customer service. I’d like to help ThinkPad as a customer to improve it’s product and service further.
There is one more thing I’d like to say, The price showed in the order status page is different from the webpage when I place my order, which may also confuse customers. I know I can always call back to have the price adjusted. But It will be even better if the website can be improved to make the shopping cart consistent with the order status.
Wish ThinkPad all the best, and Thanks Tim!
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:28 pm
WOW, so you have been waiting longer than both Scott and I for your machines…
My part number is listed as a 7764CT:
Here is how my system was configured:
7764CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM
7764CTO THINKPAD X61 TABLET SERIES
42X1587 VISTA ULTIMATE 32
42X0464 12.1″MV SXGA TFT L7500LV
(This should say SXGA+)
41W2064B 2GB PC2-5300 667MHZ 1DIMM
42V9154 100 GB HDD,7200RPM
42V8193 INTEL TURBO MEMORY 1GB
42T6741 THINKPADX6 ULTRABASE
42V8177 INT.WIRE.WIFI/LINK4965AGN
42T6786 BLUETOOTH W/ ANTENNA
I Received a follow-up call from Lenovo today (Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007). I was told my new ship date is on October 11th (revised from October 24th). In fact the Lenovo representative used the words, “I assure you your order will be shipped by October 11th” These words were familiar because they were almost the same ones used when I called for an update on September 18th, when I was told, “I assure you your order will be shipped on or before September 29th.” Knowing that Lenovo’s ‘assurance’ about shipping dates was now worthless, I asked if they would guarantee that to me in writing… that request was quickly denied because he could not guarantee shipping dates…
So my new assured shipping date which is not guaranteed is October 11th… at least that is better than October 24th… That will be slightly more than 10 weeks from when I placed the order…
BTW – they were unable to explain why the second revised shipping date of September 29th was missed… just that they saw in their notes that I had been assured on September 20th that the computer would ship on or before September 29th.
I have looked elsewhere for this configuration have not been able to find it… I was willing to cancel my order and even go e-bay for the machine but can’t seem to find one with all the bells and whistles…
Greg
October 2nd, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Upgrades & Lower Prices:
Check out the new features available on the X61 -
New processors are now available up to 2.2GHz
Faster/Larger Hard Disks are now available up to 200MB @ 7200RPM
I’m submitted a request to start a (formal complaint) with Lenovo where I may have the opportunity to modify my order to include the new hardware without loosing my place in line… (October 11th)
I expect a call back from the formal complaint department in about 24 hours… I’ll update what happens with my order here. I am told that the person who takes my ‘formal complaint’ will become my contact at Lenovo, providing a single point of contact for me until this matter has been resolved.
Did I mention that the prices have also dropped? Looks like my configuration is many hundreds of dollars less than when it was ordered in August… make sure you call in and have them credit you the difference with their 21 day price protection once your machines actually ship – price protection is not something Lenovo does automatically, you must initiate it after you are invoiced. I’m sure exactly how this will work with those of us who have purchased the SXGA+ screen because you can no longer price a machine with that feature. I assume this will require additional hours on the phone with Lenovo… good thing I’m getting that single point of contact now…
Finally, I was also told if I accepted my configuration as originally ordered… they would offer me $100 discount for my inconvenience. I told them that was great, but I would forego the $100 for the opportunity to upgrade my components and get overnight shipping at this point…
I’m not the type of person who yells and scream on the phone or asks for discounts in situations like this, but I do expect the opportunity to upgrade (at my cost) to the best components available at the time my machine is built. If you agree with this please post your opinions here about it and maybe Lenovo will listen to us on this issue. I think it’s pretty lame that Lenovo requires you to cancel your order and place a new one in order to modify it. In situations where customers have been waiting for 2 months for a machine there should be some sort of policy that allows upgrading without all the road blocks and hassle on the consumers end.
So this is where I stand with the Lenovo order desk at this point…
Greg
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Greg,
I couldn’t agree more regarding upgrading your order after having waited for so damn long! I do have to tell you that I’ve had my order placed on the “critical path” as well and I’m still skeptical about it speeding up my ship time. Apparently the Chinese factories are shut down this week due to a holiday, otherwise I was told it could possibly ship out this week. I have also heard that there is now a back order on the wireless N cards. I now anticipate that this won’t be worked out the in the week the factory is shut down and once the wireless cards do come in there will probably be another shortage on the screens starting this viscous cycle all over again.
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:25 am
Greg,
I’m sorry to hear you’ve had such a long wait. However you are on the right path to making sure you are taken care of. Our CSAT teams do a great job working with unfortunate situations like yours, I’m sure they will take great care of you.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Tim, any response as to why the SXGA+ screen is no longer offered on the X61? Will it be again?
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Zach,
As a general rule, if something is removed from our website it is due to availability. We try not to offer items for sale if we don’t feel there is consistent supply to meet the demand. This is the case of the X61 Tablet SXGA+ currently. As soon as the supply stabilizes, it will be offered again. You can still call 1-866-96-THINK and order a pre-configured X61 Tablet SXGA+, but keep in mind you may face a bit of a lead time. Hope this helps
October 3rd, 2007 at 9:40 pm
Short update:
I have been contacted by a Lenovo Resolution Owner. It was a pleasant conversation and it will be more convenient to have a direct number and a single point of contact with Lenovo for following up on my order. However, I have to say I am rather surprised by the constraints they are forced to work with.
As Scott said above, Golden Week in China is hampering the flow of information from the Lenovo factories in China this week, so my ship date has yet to be verified, adjusted or whatever… However I have received an e-mail stating my machine will ship on October 11th now, even though the order tracking website still reports October 24.
Regarding Lenovo’s “Resolution Owners”. This group of 8 individuals are Lenovo’s top customer support team and are authorized to do what they can to make things right with customers who have issues formal complains. Even so, they do not have the ability to modify any detail on orders already in the build queue… (not even the shipping address if you have moved or need the machine re-routed because you will not longer be at the place you were planning to be when your order was originally going to ship. However “Resolution Owners” can adjust the orders priority.
As I understand the Lenovo order priority system, there are 3 levels your order can be resting at;
1) Normal – Most orders which have not missed their initial shipping date.
2) Critical – Orders which have missed at least 1 of their shipping dates. Unfortunately, I was told there is around 1000 systems with this type of status currently… so it appears this is just a way to separate outstanding orders from new incoming orders… I believe it is relatively easy to get on this list and it can be done if Lenovo has missed your first shipping date.
3) Executive Priority – A special ultra critical status which puts your system in a true priority queue. This status is usually reserved for high priority Government orders and other clients with high priority needs. If you can get your order in to this category it sounds like you really have some sort of priority over other orders, but I would not expect Lenovo to upgrade your status to Executive Priority status without good reason. Missing 2 or more shipping dates might be a good reason, I’m not sure…
It appeared to me that few X61 order have been delayed as long as mine and I also was able to get my sales rep to acknowledge that I had stipulated my order was contingent on having it ship on time when it was placed, and that I am a business customer were all facts that have allowed me to have my order escalated to the Executive Priority status…
What I have not been able to do is get Lenovo to upgrade my components to the best available at time of build. For my order this would be the 200 GB 7200 RPM HD and the 2.2 GHz processor… again I was happy to pay for these and was not asking for freebies…
… We all know a lot can change in 60 / 90 days… unfortunately your Lenovo order is not one of them… Because there is no way in Lenovo’s order system to modify an order sent to the build tem in China after it’s submitted by the order team… you are basically stuck with your order… I suppose it could be possible to submit a new order for a system and have someone upgrade it to Critical or Executive Priority… but for those of us who need the SXGA+ screens this is not an option because new order must be processed by the Order Team and their systems will not allow them to design any X61 systems with SXGA+ screens anymore… so that shuts the door on that possibility…
Additionally, for those of us who can install things like CPUs and HDs on our end… it could be possible to send the system as ordered and the upgraded components separately… however the CPU is soldered to the system board so it’s not end-user upgradeable. (however this could work for the HD if you had a way to re-install your OS.
One thing I would like Lenovo to explain is what the hold up on the SXGA+ screens, who’s manufacturing them, what their allocation quota is on them, how many orders are delayed because of this, when they are scheduled for more screens, etc… and what actually caused such a massive delay with them in the first place?
Delays in receiving supply may only be half the story with the SXGA+ screens, there is also the bezel issue widely reported on the net (which I believe is still without a solution) and there may also be a performance issues with the SXGA+ screens at play too. During my conversations with Lenovo, I started to get the impression the Lenovo engineers feel the SXGA+ screens are working well enough to ship, however they should be performing better than they are… perhaps it is engineering modifications to improve the performance to the screens which is causing the delays… It would be nice to hear something official from Lenovo on this issue, especially if it is affecting over 1000 orders in the build queue currently. Knowing Lenovo was willing to delay shipment to improve the performance is a good thing but knowing that ahead of time would have been helpful if it were the case.
So much for a short update…
P.S. Lenovo, when is it estimated the Order Team will begin offering SXGA+ screens again for anyone who might still be interested in ordering additional machines configured with that feature?
October 6th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Tim,
Thanks for your response…. I would agree with what you have said, except for one thing. The X60 is offered on your site with only the SXGA+ screen! and the X61 is only offerered with the standard screen. Is there a reason why each has only one screen exclusively offered? Seems a little strange to me…
October 8th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Zach,
I was unable to find the X60 or the SXGA+ screen on the website (lenovo.com)… is it possible to provide a link to the X60 configuration page you were looking at for us?
Greg
October 8th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILib.....B34EB7FAA9
October 8th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
and here’s the page with both the X60 and X61:
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILib.....9E0E7C9A2D
October 9th, 2007 at 6:07 am
I too have the flickering screen problem, it hasn’t become consistent yet, but there is a spot on the lower left hand portion of hte screen that is sensitive to the touch, this is very bad for using it in tablet mode, and I don’t have the freedom to be without the tablet for the period required to repair it. Maybe this has to do with the fact that it’s closest to the fan duct? Anyways the right side seems unaffected, so for those of you who have problems with it try setting hte screen rotation to counter-clockwise (if you can, I don’t remember)
Anyways, what I wanted to ask is ifanyone can provide a link as to start a service request, while I can’t part iwth it yet, when I come up with a temporary solution I and many other people would like to know how to make use of the warranty, as the website is very difficult to navigate, what with the remnants of ibm’s warranty service combined with lenovo’s frontend.
October 9th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Greetings Lenovo.
I apologize if I am posting in the wrong place. I could not find a better forum for my words.
On September 12th I became a new Lenovo customer. While I might not represent Lenovo’s target audience (I’m buying just a single laptop, the X61T) I feel oddly angered by a company I have no experience with, just some adornment for after reading reviews of well-built, functional hardware. From what I read I don’t seem to be alone in this. So why the divide? Why do I feel this way? When I saw my order had been split into two orders, the first to be delivered on the 15th September, I was ecstatic. It was possible, though not necessarily probable, that my new Lenovo laptop would be arriving with the accessories to come later.
The package of accessories arrived just three days after placing my order, leaving me wondering when I’d be able to make use of them. My estimated ship date showed 8th October for the remainder of the order, but in calling Lenovo several times – mainly to ask about getting XP (and what a headache) – I was given such a variety of estimated ship/arrival dates that it made my head spin. No matter what I was told, when I got off the phone with Lenovo I felt like my call was senseless and useless. “It’s being shipped tomorrow”, “It’s being shipped next week”, “It will ship 8 October.” Earlier yesterday, 8 October, I called in to find out where my order was. After being placed on a few brief holds I was told my order will ship the 3rd week of October. Now, almost 12 hours later, the estimated ship date is 2 November. In case you don’t have access to a calendar that is nearly 2 weeks later than what I was just told today.
Is this really a good way to prep your new customers for future dialogue? I have accessories I can’t use, a laptop with an estimated ship date that from all directions appears to point to “between one and four months”, and a whole lot of concern for other customers’ bad Lenovo stories of which I have had the time to read several while waiting for my new laptop.
As for the XP/Vista debacle, to any other new Lenovo or would-be Lenovo customers, here’s the scoop after several phone calls to Sales and Tech support. In order to request the downgrade CD you will need to speak to the Tech support people who are off-site. They will ask you for your machine type (4 digits), your model # (7 digits) and your serial # (7 digits) before being able to take your information. If you, like me, do not yet have your order and are just trying to have XP readily available since your Vista experience will likely blow chunks with standard 1gig RAM, you MUST have this information before Tech support will even discuss order info with you. For the X61 Tablet I have been told the Machine type is 7764 and that the Model # is “X61 Tablet” (yeah, not 7 digits, but whatever). This is all the info Sales was able to provide me. So when I next feel “up” to calling Lenovo and talking more to myself than to anybody interested in helping me I will provide this information and with some luck order the XP downgrade CDs for some ~$43. Judging from my own, personal shipping delay fun, I will have plenty more time to talk with Lenovo about Vista before I have to be concerned about even using Vista.
So to sum all of this up: Lenovo, you suck horribly when it comes to customer service and this from a person who is completely new to Lenovo products and who still has not touched one. I am left wondering what kind of Lenovo commercial you are working on instead of actually filling your customer’s orders. Beyond that, I am left wondering whose orders are more important to you than mine. Finally, I am wishing you’d just tell me the truth about your delays, or better yet plan for possible delays and give me a more accurate shipping date. This is ridiculous.
October 10th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
I don’t know if this is going to angry more people, but I actually received an X61 yesterday, and wow am I amazed…
I have a close friend who works for IBM and got into the employee purchased program. There is no special treatment besides the fact that you can order machines that are already built, and sealed, probably returned from customers. The problem was that I had to guess in some cases what was actually in the system I ordered. My machine was suppose to come with Vista Ultimate, but instead I got Home premium… after looking at the differences online, I didn’t see a problem with it. After popping in another 2gigs of RAM into it, the thing is fast. It’ll be even faster when my 7200rpm drive comes tomorrow.
Oh and the screen? It was listed as SXGA… so I was praying they forgot the +, and they did. This screen is AMAZING. Not too small at all, and brighter then I saw in reviews online. And the flickering problem? I havne’t had any issues or seen anything to suspect it, so maybe they actually fixed it in these new ones. My model is 7764 if that helps anyone else.
So all in all, I feel bad for how Lenovo has handled itself. The customer support is not that good, although I had a very nice contact for my order, the system behind it all is crap. My ship date slipped as well, but it turns out that the system just doesn’t know. So my computer shipped 2 days after I ordered it, but even after I received it, it told me online that it had not shipped. I called my contact once I had received it, to follow up on some stuff, and the system told him my computer was backordered! (A system that was already built, lol).
So deep down I feel bad that Lenovo is doing such a horrific job meeting demands and dealing with customers appropriately.
The worst part about it, depending on how crucial it is for you to get the laptop in a timely manner, I do think this laptop is worth the wait :-/
October 11th, 2007 at 5:15 am
I’ve been looking at Dell’s equivalent ultraportable and it looks very nice. I want to give Lenovo a chance, but at the same time there is a reason why I ordered a laptop to begin with. A reasonably accurate estimated ship date and a courteous phone call or letter explaining the delay would have been more than enough to satisfy me.
I tuned in for the broken web conference earlier today and again later for the on-demand. In that program one of the speakers makes mention of the turnaround between testing new processors from Intel and Intel putting them into production (some 6-8 months if I remember correctly). The X60 Tablet was released 14 Nov 06, and the X61 Tablet on 31 May 07, leaving six and a half months between the two. With four months already passed, one since placing my order and another month worth of estimated shipping time ahead of me I am left wondering whether I should cancel the order and shop somewhere else. It isn’t like the X61T just came out. Why should I wait 2+ months for a product I have purchased when something better is just around the corner?
Considering this X61T isn’t special order, just WVA XGA, I can’t understand what’s taking so long. The site still says ships within 2-3 weeks. Nobody from Lenovo ever called or e-mailed to tell me there was a delay or that the ESD had changed or would be changing or to give me any semblance of reason for this. From all accounts this is normal operating procedure..and it is horrific.
October 12th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Zach it is good to hear that someone is actually receiving their laptop after such a long wait.
An update to all of you others out there still waiting, like me, for their laptop (X61 tablet). I’ve been following up every other day with my customer service rep that has been assigned to my case. He went from telling me it would ship out shortly after the Chinese holiday to the screens and wireless network cards are on back order and at this point they have no idea when they will be in stock so they can build my laptop. I can’t see receiving my laptop any time within the next month. Nothing Lenovo or it’s reps have told me has come to pass.
To anyone at Lenovo who cares. I think me and all those still waiting for their laptops are entitled to an explanation as to what Lenovo is actively doing, if anything at all, to correct this problem. I mean more that just the regular mumbo jumbo about suppliers and doing your best. I’m not smart enough to understand the dynamics of the supply chain, but I do know what if I had ordered this laptop from a competitor I would have had it months ago without problems.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing at this point is that I’ve waiting so long for this machine that I can’t turn back. I’ve invested to much to simply cancel the order and order from someone else, while at the same time I feel like Lenovo doesn’t deserve my money because of this customer neglect. A 10% discount on the order is a small consolation prize for my troubles.
Anyone out there from Lenovo that might read this please through us a bone!!
October 13th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Update: SHIPPED 10/13/2007 – X61 Tablet w/ SXGA+ & Wireless AGN+BlueTooth
It appears that my machine (which was ordered on 8/2/2007) shipped sometime in the last 24 hours from China. UPS says it left Shanghai China about 9:00PM (local) on 10/13/2007. Since leaving China it stopped in Osaka Japan and is now on its way to Kentucky, USA. Shipping was originally Ground, but by tracking number shows the service type as Express which gets it to me on 10/15/2007 – that’s pretty terrific, 2 day shipping door to door from China… nice job UPS.
So it appears that at least one X61 tablet has cleared Lenovo’s factory this week with both the SXGA+ screen, and Wireless A,G,N card + bluetooth installed…
I received no discount, no upgrades (except for express shipping) or other compensation for having to wait for 70 days. I was however offered the ability to return the machine and it’s accessories without a restocking fee. The total I paid for the machine + the ultrabase was $2,306.79 shipped
I’ll report back if I feel the wait was worth it on the 15th. I for one sincerely hope it has been.
Greg
October 15th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Greg,
Great news! I hope this means mine is shortly behind yours as I also ordered on 8/2/2007. I even downgraded my monitor to speed things up, but it would seem Lenovo still can’t deliver. Please let us know when you actually receive your laptop and what you think in hopes that it encourages us that are still waiting.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Add me to the list, though I guess I’m still a small fry with a 9/6 order date. I’ve already made the trip I originally bought the tablet for, so I guess now the waiting is just annoying, as the disaster already happened. Support from other waiters much appreciated! Tell me to hang in there and that it is worth waiting!
October 16th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
OK – The X61 Tablet showed up before 9:00AM on Monday morning.
The machine was ordered on 8/2/2007, shipped 10/12/2007, delivered 10/15/2007.
Not having the computer forced me to subcontract out work I would have otherwise been able to bill for myself, so the delay in shipping impacted my business over the last 2 months. However, the machine is well built and the screen looks great.
If I had to do it over… would I order the X61 again? In the same situation I might not have. I would have ordered a much cheaper machine under $1000 to get me through my time critical contract obligations. Then once the drive and CPU speed were doubled on the Tablet I would have tossed the $1000 machine and upgraded… However if time was not an issue for me I would wait again for the X61.
I ordered the machine with Vista Ultimate – So far I very much enjoy the performance of the computer. I opted for the 1GB of Turbo memory and have 4 GB of RAM in the computer so Vista is not the slightest bit sluggish on the machine even with Aero. I have primarily been using the computer in Tablet mode and relying on the stylus to do all of my input. I am VERY impressed with the software’s ability to convert writing to text. The worst/only issue with the handwriting to text conversion I have had is that it tends to want to add spaces between elements in things like IP addresses and e-mail addressed such as emailaddress @ domain. name and you have to go in to delete the gaps before you insert the data into the form.
Continuing on with the digitizer pen, it’s excellent. It truely feels like I’m writing on paper… well, I should say it flows like I am writing on paper… To make it “feel” like paper, it would need not to weigh 3 pounds or emit heat…
The machine gets WARM but not HOT. We have a few HP Laptops here and were forced to get cooling platforms for them because they would shutdown due to overheating. On the HP we were unable to run CPU intensive software on them for long periods such as the BOINC distributed computing screen saver… I plan on testing the x61 with BOINC later this week…
Kid tested and mother approved… Both my daughter and wife had a short period to play with the machine and both of them liked it… the digitizer was a big hit and produced lots of great artwork when in their possession.
The screen… SXGA+… WOW! You sacrifice some with the touch screen… but I would not have bought the machine without the SXGA+ I was willing to pay big $$$ and wait long periods of time for this feature. Id not for the SXGA+ I would have gone with another computer the second my order was delayed. If the SXGA+ was not available I would have easily sacrificed all the other features for a larger HD and faster CPU. Only having 100GB was the hardest sacrifice for me because the computer will be handling a lot of graphics and video… but it can be upgraded if necessary or augmented with an external drive… the screen can not. The near crystal clear resolution and ability to run several applications AND display them on the screen is the X61’s best attribute.
I’m new to the mouse key on the keyboard… I find it a bit sluggish and a little inaccurate, I find myself reaching for the pen a lot when in clamshell mode with is also equally as awkward when you are trying to use the keyboard. I plan on hunting down a good smallish Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to use with the machine and keep it in table mode 99% of the time. So far I have not found a keyboard I’m happy with… The small Apple Bluetooth keyboard looks great but I’m not sure it would work with Vista. If anyone has tried this I would like to know how it worked out for you.
The screen autorotation does not seem to work, I have to select the orientation manually… autorotation may be defaulted to OFF and I have not spent much time on figuring out this feature. On the first boot, during the configuration I pressed the screen rotate button and it appeared to crash or halt the configuration… the screen went black, I had the pointy hand cursor but nothing else happened so after 5 or 10 minutes I rebooted the machine and it was all OK after that. That has been the only ‘glitch’ I have encountered with the computer.
Screen becomes smudged VERY quickly… you can see smudges on it even with the cleanest of hands as soon as you lightly brush it. I have found that once the build up is all over the screen its less noticeable… might be a good reason NOT to clean the screen… still figuring out how I want to address this in the future.
The screen’s hinge. My biggest gripe about the physical construction of the X61 is the hinge for the screen. When in clamshell mode, there is some sort of ’spring’ tension that holds the screen in place, however it does not rest the base of the screen exactly perpendicular with the base. If you were to simply open the screen 90 degrees in the normal clamshell configuration the spring forces the right side away from you about 1mm more than the left side, if you try to adjust it to center the rotation perpendicular to the keyboard, the spring returns the screen slightly off perpendicular. It annoys me… anyone else have this issue?
X60 Tablet Case – I like it more than I though I would when it sat there looking at me for 2 months waiting for the X61 to arrive. The screen protector is not cut exactly right and the seem around the edge prevents you from getting the pen into the corners without a struggle. Fortunately you can remove the screen protector because it is Velcroed into the case. I like the screen protector, it keeps water off the computer if it were raining outside (I’m not saying it’s waterproof… it’s far from that) but waling from a building to a car or such it would protect the machine from getting wet. The case is well padded and provides a lot of protection for its size. It is difficult to get the computer in and out of the case. If the computer had a way to secure a nice strap to it I would probably say forget the case… if you need to walk around with the computer or give it to kids to play with I think the case it worth the hassles it introduces. I would prefer a case that protected the computer from a fall less and fit it better. If you have had a Motorola flip phone, the thin genuine leather cases for the flip phones is what I had anticipated, they add a nice texture to the unit to grip it, allow you to open and close the phone and protect it from minor liquid encounters. This is not what you get with the X60 tablet case… (Oh yeah, the case will not allow you to open the computer or access the keyboard in a crunch… you have to fully remove the computer from the case… You can not access or remove the battery when the computer is in the case… did I say it was a PAIN to remove the computer from the case?
Having the pen have it’s own storage compartment in the machine is very handy. I like that a lot.
Ultrabase – bigger (thicker) than I expected… have only attached it once.. will need to read up on it a bit… seemed to be ‘very’ loose when attached… allowed the computer to slightly rotate when attached… they didn’t “click together” like you would expect them too… it seemed like a couple of mis-matched plates stacked up than a couple of lego blocks. I will admit I could have done something wrong here and I will look into this more later.
Wireless Network – Works great…. I have Dlink equipment and had been using 108Mbps G connections here, the Lenovo’s wireless will only connect at 56K but does a very good job at that speed. I have the wireless N card but no access point for N yet. Might pick something up at Costco later this month and see how it works then. I was able to browse, download, scan for viruses and pull a video stream from an HD Homerun networked digital tuner without a problem on the 56Kbps G connection.
Have not tried the Bluetooth adapter yet.
Portable power adapter… Nice… plugged it into the cigarette lighter and was mobile with power ASAP.
Battery life… so far the 8 cell battery seems to die in about 3 hours… the 4 cell less than 2 hours…. but I have not let them completely drain yet. The appear to charge in less time than they drain. Very nice. If you can find power a few times a day to plug into you are probably good.
Sprint EVDO – USB adapter – worked great around town… I highly recommend Sprint’s service… performs better around town than my Wireless G does around the house. (In regards to connectivity not speed) This radio may have impacted my battery performance…
External battery charger – Does not fit the 8 cell battery properly… the cable to connect the battery is not long enough to allow the battery to sit in the cradle. 4 cell battery fits fine. Very nice if you want to keep a spare battery charged and ready to roll.
Overall is a great machine and exceed my expectations. On a scale of 1 to 100, I was expecting a 80 and I would say it’s an 85. It would have needed a faster CPU, minimum 200GB 7200RPM hard disk, slightly lower price and the few very small issues addressed above to get the full 100 points… so its pretty close and I rarely find myself saying that a product has beet my expectations, the X61 did.
Greg
October 17th, 2007 at 11:34 am
ActiveRotate is off by default. Click the briefcase right next to the screen. Click Settings. ActiveRotate is near the bottom/middle. Tick the box and configure.
I don’t seem to be having the screen perpendicular issues.. I have four little rubber things under the screen, two on each side that seem to put the screen in place. A good design technique. My battery life also doesn’t seem to be that low, I’ve only run it down to 50% or so, but its been at least 2 hours at that, maybe 3.
I only have two complaints about my system. One, I have Vista Home Premium, and I have an ugly Vista Basic sticker on it… lol.
The other, the AC adapter makes a high pitched squeaky noise when it’s plugged into my PC! This is easily remideed. Just need to make a service call to Lenovo.
October 17th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Update:
Ultrabase attaches perfect, I must have had something seated wrong the other day when I attached it. It’s a little clunky compared to the sleek X61 (about doubles the X61’s width when attached), but if you are doing work with your machine where you need the ports it would be very handy… DB9 Serial port on a modern laptop is a nice feature for the few of us who still need it.
Bluetooth is working great… had to call tech support to explain that my Bluetooth radio was off. I thought that might be the case, unable to figure out how to turn it on because there were no Bluetooth devices showing up in any of the Device Manager or other areas you would expect to see it. The trick was to use the Lenovo utility parked under the Fn-F5 key. Once I turned on the Bluetooth radio the Bluetooth device showed up in the device manager and everything was good. BTW – Tech support was easy to reach & quick to answer my question.
I am becoming more comfortable with both the mouse key (using it now) as well as the X60 tablet sleeve. I have started to use the sleeve without the plastic screen protector and it goes in and out much easier now. I can also reach the edges of the screen with the digitizer pen in that configuration. Mouse key is better after a few days but I plan on getting a Bluetooth mouse. Took a look at the Targus Bluetooth mouse at Office Depot the other day, looks like the best one for my needs. I would rather have an entire Bluetooth mouse/keyboard combo. I’m having a hard time finding a small keyboard without the number pad on it however. I have seen an older keyboard from BlueLogic WingKey but it’s very old and I can’t see to find one for sale. I also use the Gyration Keyboard and Gyro/Laser Mouse combo on another machine I use but it’s not Bluetooth (yet).
My machine has the Windows Vista Basic sticker on it too… fortunately it was properly installed with Vista Ultimate as ordered.
The rubber ‘things’ under the screen do not touch the screen when it’s open in clam shell mode… if they did, it would probably place enough friction to hold the screen in place perpendicular, it would not take much.
Battery Life – the 8 cell battery appears to be giving me slightly more than 4 hours now… I realized that last time there was a lot of disk access going on which may have impacted things.
Installed BOINC today and it causes the X61 to run hotter but nothing that would cause me to be alarmed so far… does anyone know if there is a Lenovo or Vista utility that monitors heat on the CPU?
Vista has crashed/locked up a couple of times now… It appeared to have something to do with switching from WIFI to Sprint WAN. CTRL-ALT-DEL closed the window manager but would not allow me to select any of the options with the keyboard or the pen so I had to power down.
Greg
October 19th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Just another quick update for those of you that, like me, are still waiting. I was told early in the week that my laptop would ship out on the 18th, then on the 18th my agent told me that due to a backorder, gasp!, the date had been pushed to the 22nd. I then requested that the agent provide me with contact information for some one higher up on the chain of command so I can share my experience with them. I don’t know what good it will do, or if in the end Lenovo even cares. Considering the on going waiting we are all doing I double that they do. I just hope that Greg is correct in stating that the X61t is worth the wait, I’m not counting on it.
October 21st, 2007 at 2:58 pm
I have noticed that the SXGA+ screens were again listed as an option to the X61 Tablet… I would hope that means that there are enough screens available to fill the outstanding orders now in their order queue.
If you are in urgent need of “a computer” I would make sure you get someone in the SALES department forward your request to a RESOLUTION MANAGER by requesting to make a formal complaint.
From here, you need to get a real ship date for your machine from your Resolution Manager assigned to your case… this will likely take 48 hours for them to even look up your ship date if all goes well…
Base your decision on this date… if you need something because you are going out of town or have a business contract that requires the machine… I would buy something off the shelf if you going to be financially impacted by Lenovo not delivering. You are likely able to buy a nice temporary machine for $500 to get you by while you decided if you want the X61.
After using the machine, and looking at other systems I have here that are heaver, and have less screen resolution than the Lenovo’s SXGA+ I would suggest that you strongly consider waiting for the X61 Tablet if you can.
I had several needs for my machine, I am using it for graphics and video editing… as well as using it to replace my old Windows 2000 server used to do most of my day to day work. I wanted the portability afforded by a tablet but the power of the work station I was accustomed to using.
So far the X61 has done a good job for me… the few things I am learning to adapt to are the following…
1. Screen resolution…. even the SXGA+ is cramped compared to what I usually use. My Win2K machine ran 3840 x 1440 so 1400 x 1050 is limiting. For most people it might be seen as a luxury however. I can not imagine using a machine with a wide screen or even a 4:3 XGA resolution… I was willing to sacrifice and live with this in order to have the freedom to work from wherever I wanted to. So far it has been worth the sacrifice, XGA would have been unworkable however. I can always attach another monitor to the X61 when necessary to get the extra screen space.
2. Pointing device and keyboard input. I could really use a detachable keyboard and wireless mouse for this thing… The best mouse I have seen (but have not used yet) is the Targus Bluetooth mouse…. I have been hesitant to order one without selecting a wireless keyboard. I want something portable that can be used in conjunction with the X61 primarily when it’s close up tight inside the X60 leather tablet case… it’s a real pain to take it in and out…. pulling the machine in and out of the case is easier when the plastic tablet screen is removed from the case, but if you use a USB WAN modem like I do, it seems to wreak havoc resetting the network when you disconnect the USB modem to pull the machine out of the case. It would be cool feature in future models if the keyboard was detachable and wireless… that would solve a lot of problems. They could also provide a case that allowed you to convert the tablet to clamshell mode when needed without removing the case… I almost think the removable keyboard would be easier to technologically achieve than a convertible case
3. The fact the screen does not completely center when opened has not bothered me at all… I even had to closely inspect it to make sure it was still that way before writing this…. so this has become a non-issue for me now.
4. Biggest problem would be the 100GB hard drive… I need a lot more space than that and dual drives would be perfect… a pair of 200GB drives would have been perfect… I knew I needed to sacrifice something to get a machine this small and compact but a 200GB drive would have been nice… and while I was waiting for 70 days for my machine they began offering a 200GB 7200RPM drive…. In the last week that I have had my X61 I have used over 35GB of the drive space and still have quite a few applications to add not to mention any work data that will be generated… I will likely need an external drive to do any video work which will be a drag, but I see there is an adapter to install another drive in the Ultrabase when I need to upgrade.
So for most users I think my complaints will likely been seen as petty, and they are, because overall this machine has been keeping up with the work load I have been putting on it.
Greg
October 21st, 2007 at 6:15 pm
I just ordered on 10/08 a tablet. Ship date is 11/01/07. It seems as though from all the reports I keep reading about that lenovo supply chain is in shambles.
They should hire a consulting firm to analyze and implement a strategy. It seems like lenovo themselves can not do it and need help.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:37 pm
The nightmare continues……..
I was being told that my order would ship out on Oct 22nd, however, true to form Lenovo let me know today the 23rd that they had to cancel my order due to a “configuration problem” and had to re-enter it into the system. At this point I don’t know when it will ship. I can’t believe I’m having these problems and this is with a customer service manager handling my order. I can’t imagine how you get your order in the “regular” system. My ONLY incentive at this point is that I’ve invested too much time to turn back now. Hope you others out there are having better success.
November 5th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Yet another update…..yet another delay. Now I’m being told that the DVD superdrives are on backorder and my order isn’t expected to ship until Nov. 21st unless my “customer service” manager can get it pushed to the front of the line. Anyone else received their x61 tablet other than Greg?
November 12th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
It would appear that my order finally shipped. Originally ordered on 8/2/07. It is suppose to show up tomorrow 11/13/07. You do the math….that’s over 3 months. I am getting a discount due to my long wait. I’ll update you all once it actually shows up and include some quick first impressions.
November 13th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Well, it finally arrived today 11/13. Original order date was 8/2/07. Was it worth the wait, probably not. It is a great laptop from what I can tell at this point. I did get a discount on the laptop which eases the pain a little. In hind site I probably would have canceled the order and placed an order with another manufacturer, their laptops are good too. Good luck to the rest of you still waiting.
November 28th, 2007 at 2:15 am
Here’s an update on my screen flickering problem with my X60t and the SXGA+ screen:
1. Worked great for a month after buying it and then started flickering.
2. Got it fixed (took about 2 weeks) and it worked for another month then started flickering again.
3. Worked great for about 6 months and now it’s flickering again. It’s a lot worse than before and the screen is only readable when pinching the bezel on the left side of the LCD.
Tim,
Your last couple updates mentioned engineering is aware of the problem and actively working on a solution – do you have any more information? Have they produced a solution?
Lenovo customer service has been great when handling the warranty process. I’ve never been on hold for very long and I haven’t had to pay anything which is great.
What’s not great is I have to be without my tablet for 2 weeks which I really can’t manage to do very easily since I’m a student and take notes with my tablet.
I’ll be waiting until exams are over and sending my machine in. Any updates about the status of the issue or possible fixes would be greatly appreciated.
-Ray
November 28th, 2007 at 2:42 am
I meant to mentioned I got it fixed before number 3 above, it didn’t magically start working again. This second repair also took 2 weeks.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Ray,
I’m sending you an e-mail, we should be able to get this sorted out for you.
For others who come across this looking for information on the X61 Tablet bezel, please see this blog post:
http://lenovoblogs.com/connections/?p=6
December 18th, 2007 at 12:02 am
I bought an X60 last summer and soon had the dreaded screen flicker on my SXGA screen. I sent in in for repair in September. It came back a month later with the screen working but the tablet digitizer disabled, a faulty battery and another issue that I can’t recall at the moment. Back for repair for another month. I received my repaired tablet in November. Only a few weeks later, the flicker has returned.
I rely heavily on my laptop. I’ve owned Thinpads since the 90’s. This is my last time purchasing one. My own time spent managing this issue, transferring applications and files, etc. would be worth at least one if not a few laptops. I’m incredibly frustrated by this entire experience. I pay a premium for Thinkpads expecting solid performance, engineering and reliability. I can accept one failure (fool me once), but to hit me again with the exact same issue, that’s a crime.
At least it will make a good case discussion in poor service and a failing brand for my MBA students.
Ron
December 27th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Hello all,
I have a question regarding purchasing a Lenovo X61 tablet. Which one of the two below would you recommend me to buy:
1. Lenovo X61 tablet (Excellent deal now – approx $1500 for a decent configuration)
2. Toshiba Protege M700 tablet (nice features)
Also are there still a lot of delays in shipping from Lenovo? (I need the tablet in 3-4 weeks). Please let me know your opinions.
Thank you
March 2nd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Flickering problem with my X60 tablet too.
But it only happens once in a while if my power supply is not in. Once I plug it back in, it’s perfect… i don’t need to move the screen or pinch the screen in any way… Lenovo replaced the screen once but it didn’t do any good.
Piece of crap.. not much use of a laptop if i’m going to need to carry a 200 feet extension cord.
June 28th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Well…Screen Flicker (1/3 of screen…tapping on lower left makes it go away) here as well:
6366-AJU
June 29th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Cool down everyone. This is the issue with the drivers, rather than with the laptop itself.
The flicker problem started to happen after installation of 7.14.10.1437 drivers for Intel 945 chipset on my T60 (only when unplugged and working on battery).
Rolling it back to the previous driver, 7.14.10.1329, solves the problem
You can download the older driver from here:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/.....d528ww.exe
March 29th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
The same problem persists on Windows XP. For that, 6.14.10.4860 drivers need to be installed.
Get them here:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/.....d133ww.exe