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Is it just me, or are ThinkPads the ugliest laptop on the market?

SkyBell

SkyBell

macrumors 604
Original poster
Sep 7, 2006
6,606
226
Texas, unfortunately.
I saw quite a few on my recent trip to Washington D.C/New York City.
645px-IBM_Thinkpad_R51.jpg

I can't possibly imagine anyone wanting to use these. I do like the "pointing stick" on them, but the colors clash, the design is clunky and in desperate need of an update from the early '90's.

Anyone else agree?
 
Well, there are many users out there who just care about functionality. I've met a rare few who found the MBPs to be unattractive... haha, infact one guy I worked with said it looked cheap (he's a Vaio fan). Although sometimes he just talks **** just to argue :p
 
If Apple wasn't a solution to my laptop needs and I didn't need Mac OS X, I would most definitely go with a thinkpad. It may look ugly, but it works, and works well.
 
janey said:
It may look ugly, but it works, and works well.
Click to expand...

my friend said the same thing. but i did the world a favor and converted her to mac.

so now the world has one more purty MB and one less fugly TP. :)
 
BiTurboMunkie said:
my friend said the same thing. but i did the world a favor and converted her to mac.

so now the world has one more purty MB and one less fugly TP. :)
Click to expand...
I'm just saying...:p

When given the choice between a MacBook (Pro or Amateur ;) ) or a Thinkpad, I would most likely take the MacBook. But when I am not given the choice of an Apple laptop for any of various reasons, I will not think twice about the Thinkpad.
 
Cassie said:
I can't possibly imagine anyone wanting to use these. I do like the "pointing stick" on them, but the colors clash, the design is clunky and in desperate need of an update from the early '90's.
Click to expand...

Personally, I like the Thinkpads and may be getting one.

They are functional and work well.

Don't particularly like the pointing device. Since it is easy to attach a mouse via USB it's not much of an issue.
 
MACDRIVE said:
They've got that little red love button right in the middle of the keyboard that reminds me of a female body part of which I can't mention. :D
Click to expand...

ttttttiiiiiiiiii... tongue?

the females you know must have very small pointy tongues.
 
I used to have a thinkpad (until it got stolen) Nice machine. Kept on going. I've only ever owned mac and thinkpad laptops. I wouldn't buy any other brand (tho I thought about vaio for a while, but too much sony-only junk on them).

I could disassemble the thinkpads really easily (this was 1990s).
 
As I understand it, these laptops are very functional and serve their purpose And that's just what a lot of people need, nothing more.

Still, a little design update couldn't hurt.;)
 
While I agree that the R-series and T-series might need to be restyled, I personally find the X series, i.e. the ultra-portable notebook, very beautiful.

I especially like the type of plastic they use for the screen cover. It feels a bit rubberized and very sturdy.

The only PC brands I find decent are HP (first) and Sony (second). The others are plain ugly to me: Acer, Dell, Asus (leather palm-rest anyone?)...
 
I find them really attractive. Before my PB, I had a Vaio from 2000 which I bought because it seemed like it was a bit more future-proof than other machines. Plus I got a good deal (at least I thought I did). Anyway, if I had gotten he same deal and some of the same features (like FW!) on the TP, I would have gone that way.

I think the whole "who cares what people think, I do things the way I like to" idea plays a strong role in the attraction for a lot of people. A lot of other makes are constantly updating and trying to look fashionable. IBM/Lenovo has bucked that and stayed with something that looks good. In a similar vein, but-for the heat produced by the aluminum casing, I wouldn't mind if Apple sat on the PB/MBP form factor for many more years. Looking good isn't about changing - it's about knowing when you have a classic, and sticking with it.
 
Rokem said:
I love the IBM's second to the Mac laptops.
Click to expand...
Ditto. I worked on a ThinkPad for several years at a previous employer and loved it. If I am ever again in the situation that I need to buy a non-Apple notebook, this would be the first brand that I'd look at. (I do wonder if they're as good as they used to be now that Lenovo took over the brand.)
 
I absolutely LOVE the IBM Thinkpads. Love 'em.

They may not be the best looking, but damn are they good machines! If i had no choice but to by a PC laptop, it would definitely be a Thinkpad. No questions asked.

They are brilliant machines that are built extremely well.

They do cost a pretty penny, too. :eek:
 
I like think pads, they are my favorite PC laptop brand. They're not beautiful, but at least they are not 4" thick dell laptops made out of cheap plastic and sound like a vacuum cleaner when the fan is on.
 
Rokem said:
I love the IBM's second to the Mac laptops.
Click to expand...

Another one under this category!

Before my trusty TiBook, I had an IBM T23. Awesome computer that is now serving well in the hands of my sister (sold it to her to help pay for TiBook)
 
Mitthrawnuruodo said:
I don't know...

It is really, really bad... but then something like this shows up:

View attachment 76144

[Link]
Click to expand...

I like that it's been customised, actually.

My IBM was horrendously ugly. But it served its purpose. It lasted much longer than any other of my laptops (not including PowerBook) and did make me feel a little more grown up with it's business appearence :eek:
 
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