Same Product, Different Stickers
“Well, you’re obviously being totally naive”, Said the girl, “When you’ve been in marketing as long as I have, you know that before any new product can be developed it has to be properly researched. We’ve got to find out what people want from fire, how they relate to it, what sort of image it has for them.”
“Stick it up your nose,” he [Ford] said.
“Which is precisely the sort of thing we need to know,” insisted the girl. “Do people want fire that can be fitted nasally?”
– The Restaurant at the End of the Universe – Douglas Adams
I thought of this passage when several of you mentioned that you had seen the same series of our latest ThinkPad notebooks with different stickers and wanted to know why. It is probably worth spending a few minutes on the topic.
When we became part of Lenovo over two years ago, we negotiated with IBM to allow us to continue to use the IBM logo on our Think products for several years hence. We thought this important because in the beginning of our transition, many people had no idea of who Lenovo was. Our brand equity, excepting China, was not great. Keeping the IBM name on our products allowed us to keep our sales momentum while beginning to build our brand worldwide. Our partners also needed to know that our service hardware, parts, and help centers were part of the IBM infrastructure.
As we continued to build the Lenovo brand, our research showed that there was strength and recognition in our core brands, especially the ThinkPad name. To help further tie the names ThinkPad and ThinkCentre to Lenovo, we recently embarked on our second stage of product branding – dual branding. Starting in November of last year, we started adding the Lenovo name to our Think products for the first time.
Many of you have noticed that your ThinkPad notebooks have now swapped the familiar eight-bar IBM logo in favor of a ThinkPad series-specific logo. In this example, the ThinkPad X series includes both ThinkPad and the name of the series. Our ThinkCentre desktops include IBM, ThinkCentre, and Lenovo on their front bezels.
However, not all machines from us are following this convention. I’ve been asked several times why some people have a ThinkPad from work with one sticker, while the EXACT SAME MACHINE that they bought for home use has the IBM ThinkPad sticker. They are confused as to why this is the case. Depending on how you as a customer buy your system will determine which logo you will find on your ThinkPad.
Your reaction to that last statement is very dependent on where in the world you are located as well as whether you are purchasing on behalf of your company or yourself. As a general statement, if you are a medium to large customer located in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Western Europe, you are probably comfortable with the name Lenovo by now. Our name, who we are, and what we stand for have been fairly well communicated to you. As a result, your feedback has overwhelmingly been to remove the IBM name from our products in favor of Think branding alongside the Lenovo name.
On the other side of the spectrum, small customers, individual customers, and those located in developing areas like Latin America, still have not all heard about Lenovo. With many of them, the old adage, “no one ever got fired for buying IBM,” still holds to some degree. These customers have repeatedly told me that the longer we can keep the IBM logo on our products, the better.
What is really interesting to me is that there are some areas that want us to promote the Lenovo name as much as possible. While at a conference recently, I was speaking with one of our Business Partners from India. He was very clear that Lenovo is a premium brand with his customers and that our products command a premium price. He wanted me to request that our brand team make the Lenovo name as big as possible on our notebooks so that his customers could proudly show the world their status. While I’m not sure that our branding people are ready to put our name in 72 point type on our products, it was great to hear nonetheless.
There are exceptions to all of three of these examples, but it does illustrate that our customers’ requirements are varied. In order to best serve our customer segments, our team decided on this strategy for labeling our products:
- If you are a customer who buys large enterprise models or our “workhorse” models, your sticker will be the new ThinkPad sticker like is shown in the example above. Under certain circumstances our largest customers have the option of buying systems with the old logo.
- If you are buying our systems at retail or through the web, your sticker will continue to be the familiar IBM ThinkPad logo. You will not have a choice of the logo you receive.
- All of our ThinkCentre desktops today continue to have both the IBM name as well as the Lenovo name on the front. Starting later this year, we will start removing the IBM logo from the products.
- All of our keyboards and mice shipped with our ThinkCentre desktops will feature the Lenovo logo only
- Our options and accessories will either feature the ThinkPad logo if it is a ThinkPad option or the Lenovo logo if is a Lenovo accessory.
In all cases, there is no change in quality (or anything else for that matter) no matter which badge it may have on the front. The products are made on the same manufacturing lines by the same people and come loaded with the same software. The only difference is which sticker gets put on the front.
By early 2008, all of our products will be using the new branding and will not be sold with the IBM name any longer.
Lenovo Meet the Modder Dean Liou
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 2
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 1
Lenovo H320 desktop
June 12th, 2007 2:14 pm
Maybe Lenovo could offer customisation options (for a fee of course) from 2008 for customers like me who is still rather attached to the IBM ThinkPad logo. Plus a return of the red-blue-red TrackPoint strip would also be appreciated!
It is nitpicking of course and I know it makes no difference whether it came with an IBM or Lenovo logo, but some of us rather like that IBM ThinkPad logo (the new ThinkPad logo IMO isn’t that pretty).
June 12th, 2007 3:42 pm
Matt-
Karl has put it very well. Lenovo is certainly at a tipping point. If you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s runaway best seller, you’ll understand that as a group of people can make Lenovo/IBM trendy and the business way to go, those same people can start a trend that starts to drag Lenovo down. Lenovo may be hot stuff from Bangalore to Bangkok, but according to Porter’s Diamond, domestic demand is the most important factor to any manufacturer of high end technical goods.
Should Lenovo lose its home market of highly sophisticated customers in the U.S. due to Lenovo’s long hold times, ignornat sales people, shipping bungling, and disappointing product releases (T61p should have been out by now)- Lenovo will tip over, and start the medium-paced, but sure walk into mediocrity. Sure, China loves Lenovo. China can’t AFFORD Lenovo. Please the high end base= continued support in your most important market.
Btw, releasing Thinkpad Reserve Edition information is ludicrous without having your flagship T61p out already. Who’d want a $5,000.00 leather laptop without the 570m? Its only upsetting those who want to buy Lenovo’s best technology.
As many of the users at notebookreview.com are starting to say- “I ordered my T61 from LenoWOE but it won’t ship til August 30th.”
Send a message, somewhere, anywhere, to the VP of Thinkpads. The natives are pissed!
June 12th, 2007 3:46 pm
I hope that doesn’t happen to me Matt, I just ordered a T61 today! This is my first T series in over 5 years!
As for the brand, I don’t care. I know it is a thinkpad by the shape, color, keyboard and overall robust quality. I think the internet nearly collapsed when a rumour was floating around that Lenovo was planning different color thinkpads. That is just bad news!
June 12th, 2007 5:51 pm
If I look quickly through the T61, R61, X61, X61s and X61T ThinkPads images, with the two different “IBM ThinkPad” and “ThinkPad” stickers…
- (T61) http://www-06.ibm.com/jp/pc/me.....tpt61.html
- (R61) http://www-06.ibm.com/jp/pc/me.....tpr61.html
- (X61s) http://www-06.ibm.com/jp/pc/me.....px61s.html
- (X61) http://www-06.ibm.com/jp/pc/me.....tpx61.html
- (X61T) http://www-06.ibm.com/jp/pc/me.....px61t.html
…I can’t really tell you if I finally would prefer the one or other. So I would say, as far as it is clearly indicating to be a *ThinkPad* it’s fine either way.
And even the IBM brand has a longtime well known and rock solid reputation, the ThinkPad brand on it’s own is maybe even more famous in the overall notebook segment.
However, I can only hope, that Lenovo will also still in the future be aware of the Thinkpad heritage, all the high expectations and responsibilities which go hand in hand with one of the most famous notebook brand (…since the beginnings when notebooks have been build…) on the market!
June 12th, 2007 6:51 pm
The IBM logo is a symbol of quality to much of the world.
If Lenovo can deliver a quality product at a decent price in a timely manner, and back it up with quality service, it is the Lenovo logo that will become the new symbol of quality.
But should Lenovo fail, the IBM logo won’t save them.
June 12th, 2007 11:27 pm
Well, i dont think your research is applied to my country. In Indonesia, Thinkpad is IBM. Lenovo is 3000 series.
My last visit to our computer retail store still advertised Lenovo T60 as “IBM Thinkpad T60″.
Me : ” I want to buy notebook”
Seller : “OK, what type do you want”
Me : “Which is the best for range of xxxx”
Seller : “Ok, we have HP xxx, Toshiba xxx, and IBM t60 with similar specs”
Me : “Oh, how about that one at the corner?”
Seller : “Oh, that is a Lenovo Y400, it has a subwoofer, want to see?”
…….
June 13th, 2007 4:48 am
It is a sad day when the ThinkPad loses its IBM badge. I knew this would be coming ever since the Lenovo buyout, but it still hits home. I know and respect IBM; they basically INVENTED computing as we know it.
That said, the ThinkPad name certainly is a powerful brand name itself. Most of the comments raised in this post are valid. Release high quality products, and you will achieve branding. To date, there is plenty of work Lenovo must do before this happens.
June 13th, 2007 5:28 am
Hi,
I notice that aside from the removal of red trim from the touchpad buttons, and stitching out the IBM logo, that you still keep the red color of the trackpoint. Is that the next to change? Will we get a rainbow selection in the future?
June 13th, 2007 9:36 am
Good to see this isssue raised although I would think a more upfront approach could give better results. Lenovo probably needs to keep working on this marketing issue for a long time, because IBM is not an easy image to replace and a very had act to follow.
Maybe someday someone at Lenovo may have to decide that Thinkpads should stand up as a separate business instead of getting diluted with the rest of the Lenovo lineup. Lenovo as most people know outside of China, has not yet shown the class that Thinkpads already take for granted. Maybe take a leaf or two from car companies, which sell the same product under totally different brands in different countries.
But as a long time fan of Thinkpads for their usability over anything else, I do not personally consider branding as a concern because good and bad products come from all sorts of places. And for people like me, labels are not as important as the overall quality of the product and the presentation, which ultimately will win any argument.
As a customer of good technology, I personally would like Lenovo to be putting its energies on design and engineers rather than selling me-too stuff in the PC commodities market. That would be a mistake no one will forgive.
June 13th, 2007 9:49 am
It would be great to have keyboard color scheme options in Thinkpad customization for a return to the IBM colors for those who like the contrast. As regards case color: just so long as you still carry black with the same robust Thinkpad design (none of that flimsy-looking 3000 family, too much like all the rest of the notebook world), I’ll buy it.
June 13th, 2007 10:09 am
@Tholex,
I hope not! A red trackpoint is one of the easiest way of recognising a ThinkPad now that the IBM logo is making its way out. It would be almost like changing the lid to titanium!
June 13th, 2007 10:28 am
What a false statement. There is NO Thinkpad customer that would prefer a LENOVO branded machine over the IBM logo. Nice try at falsly proping up the Lenovo brand. I am in the US and know a lot about Lenovo but I want an IBM branded machine. Plain and simple. I havent read a single post that prefers Lenovo branding over the IBM.
June 13th, 2007 11:49 am
Jason, you have one here: I like the new logo better than the old logo, and I am a longtime thinkpad user.
It is not the logo that matters, but the insides! (but please never ever touch the black color)
June 13th, 2007 6:26 pm
Please keep the IBM logo
June 13th, 2007 9:22 pm
The most likely reason for chaning the logo is that it is cheaper to make (less colors) and cheap is the direction laptops are going… even thinkpad.
Oh…. how can we save more pennies?
I bought a T40 due to its attention to detail. At the time I really believed this was a top notch product. The on/off button had specks of a reflective material to make it easier to see the power button. Things like this were noticed. Things like this are gone.
I honestly don’t know what my next laptop will be. I admire thinkpads but every single one I have had was a headache and customer service is lousy. Last thinkpad I had was DOA.
What I want is simple really… a good product, good service, the ability to speak with people that speak true english, and less headaches.
June 14th, 2007 3:58 am
I also prefer the IBM logo, I can’t imagine many people in the US market preferring the Lenovo branding. But in reality, the logo is just a logo. I prefer the IBM logo maybe because a bit of nostalgia or maybe because I worked for IBM when the ThinkPad was introduced and have used them ever since and make it a condition of my employment.
I really like the red TrackPoint cover, love the black exterior, miss the colored TrackPoint buttons, but the most important little design thing for me is the black rubberized paint.
June 14th, 2007 11:14 am
I’ve owned personal computers for almost 20 years and my latest, a T60, is my first ThinkPad.
Keep the IBM logo for as long as they let you use it. Or at least jazz up the plain vanilla graphic that’s being foisted on the masses. The suits at Lenovo probably aren’t clued to the fact that generations of users instantly equate IBM to high quality. I’m not buying that story of the Indian customers who overwhelmingly want the Lenovo badge over IBM’s. Mmm…sure. Riiiiiiiiight.
June 14th, 2007 3:42 pm
The International Business Machines branding is the only reason I ever considered Lenovo. I will be totally unable to convince my superiors to replace out IBM PC’s with Lenovo and I will be “operationally” fired from my position and redistributed because I cannot buy “IBM” branded machines and my replacement will surely buy Dell or HPQ machines with a closer to “reliable” brand. If I were Lenovo, I would Stick to the IBM double branding for ThinkPad and ThinkCenter until the markets in question have linked IBM with Lenovo. I can also assure you that younger audiences have never heard of the name of the world’s number four PC manufacturer, which is most troubling.
June 14th, 2007 4:15 pm
“What’s in a name?”
EVERYTHING!
ThinkPad IBM for me please.
June 14th, 2007 11:14 pm
IBM is better.
BUT NO MATTER WHAT IT IS, PLEASE SHIP ON TIME.
I care much more on when I have it than the small logo
June 16th, 2007 12:19 am
IBM stands for quality, it has been considered so for a long time ( more that a couple of decades). They are the de facto standard in high end computing and in the service industry. Lenovo is just like Dell, moreover it is a new comer to the PC market. I would prefer the IBM logo just to get the illusion that I am running a product from IBM, even though it is coming from a company at par with DELL.
June 16th, 2007 7:19 pm
From the time I first got to use an IBM ThinkPad, I wanted to own one. I fell in love with the trackpoint. At work, we are an IBM mainframe shop (I am a programmer of our PC software line, however). IBM is synonymous with “premium” and “workhorse.” Up to now, I could not afford my own ThinkPad and bought Toshiba and then Dell, both trackpoint keyboards. Now that only IBM, um, Lenovo offers the trackpoint, I was left no choice. Fortunately, I could afford the X61T this buying cycle.
I’ve always wanted an IBM ThinkPad, not a Lenovo ThinkPad. I know that it isn’t an IBM machine anymore, I will be inordinately pleased if mine comes with the IBM logo. I am exceptionally pleased that it comes with IBM service.
June 16th, 2007 11:04 pm
For America’s bit-warriors, ThinkPad’s branding “crisis” might be little more than an exercise in parts substitution: the pointless shuffle-and-deal of plastic icons, avatars and totems. (Different dynamics may apply elsewhere.)
Or is it religion?
From scrutiny of tech forums, blogs, and press reports, one comes to appreciate that this nominally minor tempest isn’t really about artwork, logos, nostalgia, or even urban legend; it’s a thriller about…cognitive dissonance.
And maybe, it’s a proxy for low-hanging fruit.
If you’re mesmerized by the legacy and symbolism of IBM, take the Grapefruit Challenge:
Let’s say Lenovo offered, behind Door #1, a mobile platform that knocked your socks off (yes, with authentic IPS)–but sported a dripping “Grapefruit” logo. Could you be seduced? Or would you play Door #2, that ever-sensible, commoditized product line dressed in the traditional regalia of Big Blue?
Herewith lies Lenovo’s challenge…and its fate. Deliver science, design, performance, build quality, support, and customer experience like no other. (Charge a little more.) And Grapefruit shall reign.
Thanks for listening, Matt.
–BAM
June 17th, 2007 1:54 am
Please keep the IBM logo! The IBM logo sets a different standard in the purchasers and brand viewers mentality. The IBM logo has long been associated with positive values: technical innovation, workhorses, robustly built, dependable. Heck it even says ‘Business Machines’ so you know their products mean business and gets the business done.
Lenovo is a relatively new brand for us. It’s too soon to associate Lenovo’s brand to the values that the IBM brand carries.
Business-people (myself included) want to been seen by our peers as having an equipment that does the job. IBM thinkpads brings up that image, especially when we walk in a room full of people for a corporate presentation.
So far, ‘lenovo’ brings up images of people jumping around in white labcoats pretending to have fun.
June 17th, 2007 11:17 am
An additional thought…
Why keep the IBM logo?
Displaying it on a machine is a promise that what’s inside the box will think outside the box. That is to say, even if it is a Lenovo computer it is a promise that it meets the atmospheric standards of an IBM.
What do we know about the standards of Lenovo…, yet?
June 20th, 2007 12:07 am
[...] Descobri agora pouco o “Inside the Box”, um blog corporativo da Lenovo que, no último dia 13 de junho, publicou um post muito interessante sobre a transição do selo IBM para Lenovo, as regras da mudança e como os consumidores ao redor do mundo estão reagindo. [...]
June 30th, 2007 8:04 pm
I’m with Sri, everyone knew sooner or later the IBM logo would be gone, that is not the point, the thinkpad is still carrying on the tradition of the high end laptop, regardless.
July 3rd, 2007 4:43 pm
Keep the IBM logo.
If the IBM logo is removed then I will no longer buy ThinkPads.
July 4th, 2007 3:21 am
Dun Buy Thinkpad loh! I am sure Lenovo wont miss you lah!
There has been so much thrash talking about Lenovo since they aquired the ultimate symbol Corporate America – The ThinkPad. Now, the Chinese own it – Tough – Move on.
Face it, the products are the same, if not better then before. The Thinkpads are still by far more desirable then most of the disposable crap out there anyway – so if you reall, really need to show your Patriotism, go ahead and buy Dell cause no one is noticing.
July 4th, 2007 9:45 pm
There is one truth no one in this blog can deny: removing the IBM logo has caused an emotional reaction from the people who buy the products. People notice and many are passionate about the heritage of IBM. IBM means PC. Remember the world before Windows95? A world with two computer choices: Apple or IBM Compatible. Imagine Steve Jobs leaving Apple, its computer division sold, and that company removing the apple. We should feel the same for IBM’s heritage.
In one regard, the IBM PC Division still exists. Most of the designers and engineers remain working on Think products, almost like a merger between Lenovo and the IBM PC Division.
I believe there is a solution that would appease everyone: keep the name IBM PC Division. Look at Volvo. There was just one Volvo corporation ten years ago. Many people don’t realize Volvo sold its car division outright, leaving Volvo Cars and Volvo Group, which produces every other Volvo product ie. commercial trucks, construction vehicles, aviation products, et cetera. They both continue as seperate entities but both also retain the heritage and symbol of quality the masses expect from the Volvo logo.
I propose IBM PC Division keep its name, its logo and its heritage. I am sure IBM Corporation and Lenovo could arrange this solution and both make a profit from a loose tie with each others complimenting services.
Heritage is important to everyone. It tells us who we are and where we came from. It also compels us to look at out faults and strive to acheive more for our future. It would be a good thing for our great grandchildren to see the IBM logo on whatever machine they may have and instantly recognize its heritage from the very beginning of the computer age.
Big Blue, I love ya.
July 4th, 2007 11:17 pm
Empires have come & gone, certainly a company, no matter how venerable in subjective eyes, cannot possibly claim eternal permenance.
Today, its the symbol of computing, tomorrow the cars will go ( See Chery QQ & Chrsyler )
As its is, everything is already made in China (including those DELLs & HPs), when they are big enough and good enough (see Lenovo), the Chinese will just buy the lot from the American brand owners.
The phase out of the plastic IBM badge on a PC is a nothing more then just a business reality. It really just personifies the monemental shift of economic and eventual political power to the Chinese.
Nostalgia is overrated.
July 9th, 2007 2:37 am
You should keep the IBM logo for as long as they will let you use it.
I would be willing to pay more for the IBM logo.
Don’t be making a bunch of changes. We like the ThinkPad the way it is now. It’s been that way for a long time.
July 9th, 2007 10:43 pm
I dont think they are making a “bunch of changes” – I think Lenovo is doing a great job keeping to the ThinkPad values and actually enhancing them.
I mean why get hung up on the IBM logo? IBM does not even make the machines anymore!
July 10th, 2007 12:31 am
I have bought Thinkpad T60 yesterday (July 9). Sadly, when i open the box, and plastic cover, i am noticed that, there is no IBM logo in my machine. My heart was broken. It’s doesn’nt metter how reliable the machine was, but when no sign of IBM on top of it, is just like u drove Ferrary with Dihatsu logo stick on it. U know what i mean ?..
ps : anyone has IBM logo sticker ?. just email me please
July 10th, 2007 4:11 am
IBM had left that to the IBM PC Division a long time ago. IBMPC+Lenovo=Merger.
I doubt you’d be able to find a lot of people to support a notion that Lenovo would lose money or business by keeping the name of the company it “merged” with.
The bottom line Lenovo, think business sense.
July 17th, 2007 1:40 pm
The new R61 & T61’s sport Intel’s newest “Santa Rosa” processors which have a front side bus speed of 800Mhz. However, these PC’s are only being offered with 667Mhz RAM and therefore cannot take full advantage of the “Santa Rosa” capabilities. Anybody know why 800Mhz RAM is not available for these PC’s and/or when it might be available?
Thanks!
July 26th, 2007 3:33 am
I prefer IBM badge, contrast color keyboard and red-blue-red trackpoint strip. I have to agree with Jon C that the new ThinkPad logo isn’t that pretty (compare to IBM logo strong colors). And oh, pls keep the professional design as much as forever, please…please…
I also agree with Tom that Lenovo better stick double branding with IBM first until the markets get used to it. And have finally accept and agree that Lenovo hold the same quality product like IBM. After that you may remove the IBM logo.
July 26th, 2007 2:35 pm
IIRC, the Lenovo/IBM deal allowed Lenovo to keep using the IBM logo for a period of 5 years. I’m very loyal to IBM, and seeing the red-green-blue IBM logo just gives me a warm-fuzzy feeling. I don’t think there’s anyone who feels that way about Dell or Toshiba. People have allegiances to HP, Sony, and especially Apple. Apple doesn’t even need to put the word “Apple” anywhere on their product! I just don’t see Lenovo in that category, at least not here in the US.
If people get emotional about IBM and people get emotional about Apple … Lenovo needs to do something to evoke that same type of feeling with their brand name.
August 3rd, 2007 1:59 pm
Will the Verizon EVDO Rev A card be made available to upgrade Thinkpads that have the slower EVDO cards?
August 6th, 2007 8:10 pm
First time here. Must say I’m impressed with Lenovo’s business honesty and the way they use the customers actively for research through these blogs.
In any case, just got the X61 a few days ago. It came with the new logo. At first my initial reaction was disappointment as it didn’t have the colorful (and oldfashioned) IBM logo on it. I’ve had 6 different Thinkpads and I’m obviously used to the old Corporate Identity.
Having said that, I must say that I now absolutely love the new ThinkPad logo. Still conservative but with a fresh and streamlined look to it. I am one of those customers who definitely prefer the new logo. The whole idea of the old and tired looking IBM logo on a brand new Thinkpad is not appealing to me anymore, after having seen the new logo. I especially like the red dot above the i. The new travel mouse I got has the matching logo. I actually find it a bit annoying that there isn’t consistency in the CI, i.e. IBM logo on the notebook or mouse, but Lenovo branded power adapter, etc. I like consistency.
I would however like you to put back the colors on the TrackPoint buttons. But I understand I am not the only one
One last comment about the whole “China bought IBM” thing. Just as one poster wrote: Get over it. China is a force to be reckoned with. Forget your stereotypical views on poor low quality China. Instead watch and learn from the new upper-middle class in the big cities. Stop looking down on the Chinese, when they in fact are tempted to do the same to you. Having seen the dynamism in Asia and having experienced a lot of lazyness and ignorance in Corporate America, I can only urge some people to come out of the pond and smell the coffee.
September 3rd, 2007 11:20 pm
You need to keep the IBM logo because my business requires a computer with either an IBM HP or DELL logo.
Whatever you do, don’t put the word “lenovo” any bigger than it is right now. It’s fine how it is right now, but just don’t change it or you will screw up.
October 29th, 2007 1:51 am
Meh, I also am fairly well attached to the IBM logo, I’d be fairly annoyed at having to use a Lenovo sticker on my Thinkpads and sides. Please keep the IBM logo on everything from the actual machines to mouses and drives? Please? Otherwise I’d have to keep taking the IBM stamp off of my X40s or X41 or X60 or X61s and glue it onto my X100 (or whatever). I’m extremely loyal to the Red, the Green, and the Blue and also get that fuzzy feeling like how Edward gets. Every Thinkpad user I know (and mind you, I know a lot, seing as I’m involved in several active computer comunities, such as UC Computer Science students, high school nerds, and Linux gurus) and the Thinkpad is quite well liked, and there is strong loyalty to IBM, not Lenovo. There was a little alarm when the PC division was bought, and the communities are still queasy, we still want our IBM logos on everything. Thanks?
October 31st, 2007 5:00 am
Jesus, you people don’t even understand your consumers do you? Are you actively trying to alienate your target?
Lenovo bought the world-class top-of-the-line notebook brand to add to it’s portfolio. Look at Lenovo laptops which are not Thinkpads. They are a joke, cheap and flimsy things that even here in China people laugh at. Thinkpads are what you buy when you want quality. It is different because it is bland, bland in a sexy way. It’s not shiny, it’s dull and black and utilitarian. It’s built like a tank and has the best keyboard out there.
Lenovo had a very simple task to do: Change NOTHING. Update hardware, get better screens, but change NOTHING ELSE. My T42 never had a problem with it’s software. Why does my T60 like to lock up on boot with Lenovo software on it the first time I took it out of the box? Error messages in engrish are not appreciated either.
Keep the 4:3 screen, keep it matte, keep it black, do NOT change the keyboard and make the touchpad larger again. Give me a video-out option in addition to VGA and that’s it. That’s all you have to do. Simply undo all the horrible and stupid changes that have been made over the last year. Thinkpads are a niche market. It’s where you go when you are sick of the consumer-oriented products and want something solid and enjoyable. Lenovo does not understand this at all it seems. It wants to rush out to fight in the consumer market while abandoning it’s existing market.
All that will happen is IBM will be associated with Lenovo which is associated with cheap Chinese garbage filled with lead. Buick made this mistake in China before, now everyone wants a Benz or Audi. We pay more because we CAN pay more because we WANT high quality and no cut-corners. Do NOT mess with us. HP business is already at par now and Acer is coming up too. If Lenovo continues to ruin IBM products, the next upgrade our 20,000+ company makes here will be with HP systems.
November 9th, 2007 5:17 pm
Please keep the IBM logo.
I’m extremely loyal to the Red, the Green, and the Blue and also get that fuzzy feeling like how Edward gets.
Please keep the IBM logo.
Please keep the IBM logo.
Please keep the IBM logo.
Please keep the IBM logo.
we still want our IBM logos on everything. [how Bob.]
Where would I be without all my toys?
Where would I be without seeing you again?
Where would I be — without IBM?
November 12th, 2007 7:43 pm
[...] Same Product, Different Stickers blog post on Lenovo blogs provides an interesting insight into the transition process from a [...]
November 21st, 2007 6:45 pm
After reading all the posts here, I strongly agree with the overwhelming majority – Please keep the IBM logo for as long as possible.
As a matter of fact, I just bought a T61 today because I wanted to have a ThinkPad with IBM logo on it after learning recently that the logo would be gone in early 2008. Lenovo shall never underestimate the power of positive emotions that are associated with the Big Blue. Another reason I bought now was because I learnt that Lenovo is phasing out the classic 4:3 ratio screens just like the rest of the crowd has already foolishly done!
Follow the crowd will only ring the bell of demise, so please don’t!
November 22nd, 2007 3:30 am
Emma,
Big Blue should not evoke positive emotions for ThinkPad users, they didn’t want to be associated with it any longer and were willing to sell it to the highest bidder. Lenovo on the other hand treats ThinkPads as a top priority and are evolving the ThinkPads in a way consistant with their heritage. The logo aesthetics are a personal thing, I think the IBM logo was dated (and not timeless like ThinkPad design itself) and the new logo is much nicer, however, I do wish they would stop creeping the Lenovo branding in, ThinkPad is the brand, there is no need to have Lenovo written in plain sight.
I’m with you on the 4:3 issue, but you cannot blame Lenovo, they simply have no choice, nobody makes or has any interest in making decent 4:3 screens any more – blame all the consumers who think they prefer widescreen for this market demand.
December 19th, 2007 11:28 am
i own a T61 with the new logo. Frankly it is not that nice compared to the classic IBM logo, but the quality remains the same, at least the legend keyboard still feel exceptionally comfortable to type. Although IBM equals quality, the change of logo simply tells the truth of “made in china”. The bottom line of thinkpad will be keeping the legend of the classic thinkpad, sooner or later people will appreciate the quality rather than it is now being lenovo product.
May 19th, 2008 8:25 am
hi guys!
the article is over six months old now, but i would like to ad that the ibm sticker is available on ebay now … so you may change your lenovo back to ibm …
http://cgi.ebay.de/NEW-IBM-Thi.....dZViewItem
nobody likes the leneovo sticker in germany … i thinks it’s because noboda thrusts in the quality of the new owner …
July 5th, 2009 10:54 pm
I thing it is not the fault of vendor. However this really strange to me. use of such stickers.