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Blog: Gadgets Lenovo Touts $5,000 ThinkPad Reserve
Brandon Hill (Blog) - September 5, 2007 11:07 AM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 13 comment(s) - last by rdeegvainl.. on Sep 6 at 5:05 AM

  (Source: Lenovo)

  (Source: Lenovo)

  (Source: Lenovo)
Lenovo unveils ThinkPad Reserve to commemorate the ThinkPad's 15th anniversary

I've gotten some flak recently for my purchase of a Samsung Q1 Ultra UMPC. The device cost me $1,163.99, which some felt was entirely too much for a mobile device.

To me, the price was definitely worth it considering full access to Windows Vista Home Premium, 1.5 pound system weight, 4 hours of battery life, 60GB hard drive and 802.11b/g connectivity. I can honestly use the system as my "desktop away from home" on a regular basis.

However, if I'm going to get called out for my purchase of a nearly $1,200 UMPC, those who purchase Lenovo's new ThinkPad Reserve might be stoned to death.

Lenovo's new ThinkPad Reserve is priced at a whopping $5,000 USD. The notebook amounts to little more than a ThinkPad X61 wrapped in cow hide. Given its X61 roots, the ThinkPad Reserve features a 12.1" display, 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 processor, 2GB of DDR2 memory, 160GB HDD, external 80GB USB HDD, external USB DVD burner, Windows Vista Ultimate and Office Small Business 2007. Lenovo also throws in a three-year warranty in 24-7 tech support from its Executive Support staff.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Reserve was constructed to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the ThinkPad line and only 5,000 units will be built.

"The ThinkPad Reserve Edition was designed for the world's most accomplished professionals, so it delivers the best ownership experience available. It combines expert personalized service, exquisite design and materials, and superior technology to surpass any notebook PC available today," said Lenovo VP of Branding and Strategy Craig Merrigan.

Maybe someone should tell Merrigan that $5,000 will buy you a heck of a lot more than what the ThinkPad Reserve offers currently.

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Not just leather
By fbrdphreak on 9/5/2007 1:59:52 PM , Rating: 2
How much would you pay for someone to be on-site to fix your problems within 4 hours in most major worldwide cities? How much would you pay for a dedicated support staff? How much would you pay for the latest, stable technology in an ultraportable form factor with 7+ hours battery life?

Most portable users don't care about processing power or gaming. They care about portability, reliability, and having a quick fix when the sh!t hits the fan.

Try buying all that for 3 years and see how much it runs you.




RE: Not just leather
By Munkles on 9/5/2007 2:48:47 PM , Rating: 2
Based on your post, I would imagine this would cost ~$5,000


RE: Not just leather
By rdeegvainl on 9/6/2007 5:02:51 AM , Rating: 2
Oh you mean for a VOODOO? I still think they are overpriced...


RE: Not just leather
By rdeegvainl on 9/6/2007 5:05:30 AM , Rating: 2
And no I really don't think VOODOO is all that great, but at 5K you can get another laptop with much more under the hood and still pretty good tech support.


Like you couldn't buy these yourself....
By JasonMick (blog) on 9/5/2007 11:57:09 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
external 80GB USB HDD, external USB DVD burner


This package seems to be for either the horribly busy, or the computer illiterate, as you could easily buy these yourself, for far less a premium.

Basically these add ons are insignificant, so they should not tout them as part of their system.

Also 80gb for an external hard drive is horrible. I just bought a 2.5" Western Digital 250gb for a very reasonable price. You can get a higher capacity drive for well under $100 on sale at Best Buy/NewEgg/other electronics retailer.




RE: Like you couldn't buy these yourself....
By TomZ on 9/5/2007 12:03:47 PM , Rating: 2
Think about the target market: people who will pay $5000 for a laptop that has dead animal skin wrapped around you. Do you think those kind of people are looking for value?


By TomZ on 9/5/2007 12:04:27 PM , Rating: 2
Sorry, typo, "wrapped around you" -> "wrapped around it"


wow...
By Moishe on 9/5/2007 11:30:08 AM , Rating: 2
With the regular X61 being around $1200-$1500 there is no way they will sell many of these. That leather must be hammered gold!

I think the "look" of it will appeal to some people. If they had just added some extra hardware features to justify the price it would probably do well.

*15 years, now it's time to cash in on the Thinkpad name that IBM made so famous!*




RE: wow...
By brenatevi on 9/5/2007 9:59:10 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
and only 5,000 units will be built.
They don't intend to sell many.


A fool and his money...
By R Nilla on 9/5/2007 12:51:59 PM , Rating: 2
"Reserve Edition" - is it reserved for the computer illiterate and fiscally irresponsible? $5k and no HD-DVD or Blu-Ray support? No spiffy discrete graphics card to speak of? No quad core processing? Only 2.2 GHz, 2GB RAM, and 160GB @ 5400RPM? Aside from the animal skin and absurd price tag, what does this laptop possess that owners of it could possibly brag about?




RE: A fool and his money...
By peldor on 9/5/2007 1:28:42 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
what does this laptop possess that owners of it could possibly brag about?

That you couldn't afford to throw money around like that. That's enough for some people.


By andylawcc on 9/5/2007 12:49:45 PM , Rating: 2
no text




"Special" leather
By thestereotype on 9/5/2007 7:47:16 PM , Rating: 2
Word on the street is it is wrapped in special hand-clubbed baby seal leather.




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