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

[Melrose]

I think the DULL XPS1710 is probably the ugliest laptop in the world. That ThinkPad comes close though!

I'll add my thoughts to that, except I'd put it the other way around: ThinkPads are the ugliest, then the Dell. What makes the IBM uglier are all those little stickers on the front: Bleh!

I once heard ThinkPads likened to 'stealth fighters' in that they look cool, mean, and ready for business (???!!!). I don't think so. Macs are utilitarian as well, but are the coolest looking things on the market by a long chalk.

 

[63dot]

I'll add my thoughts to that, except I'd put it the other way around: ThinkPads are the ugliest, then the Dell. What makes the IBM uglier are all those little stickers on the front: Bleh!

I once heard ThinkPads likened to 'stealth fighters' in that they look cool, mean, and ready for business (???!!!). I don't think so. Macs are utilitarian as well, but are the coolest looking things on the market by a long chalk.

the original stealth fighter, the f-117, was very angular, and quite ugly, not to be seen

same with ibm...not to be seen

macs are more akin to the nice lines of an f-16 - sexy, basically, and very good at multi-tasking, much like the f-16 jet

 

[Gray-Wolf]

Thinkpads are interesting, and have their place, but to me, its limited to business applications. I wouldn't use one around the house.

 

[63dot]

Thinkpads are interesting, and have their place, but to me, its limited to business applications. I wouldn't use one around the house.

i think they could be handy to put under my kitty litter box for my long legged cat

or they could be used as a spacer when you are just one book short on a bookshelf

i could open it up and make an a-frame structure for my hamster habitat

there are many uses for the thinkpad around the house

 

[Melrose]

the original stealth fighter, the f-117, was very angular, and quite ugly, not to be seen

same with ibm...not to be seen

macs are more akin to the nice lines of an f-16 - sexy, basically, and very good at multi-tasking, much like the f-16 jet

Hence I agreed with him . Guess he thought it meant they were the epitome of cool or something.

 

[63dot]

Hence I agreed with him . Guess he thought it meant they were the epitome of cool or something.

yeah, cool for the '80s, i guess, like mullets and parachute pants

today's sleek air force f-22 looks like a normal jet and flies much more like one, instead of the slow f-117 stealth fighter, and has as small a footprint on radar

thus, the air force is going to phase out the slow, ugly-looking f-117...they move with the times, unlike ibm thinkpad design

and like the mba, apple products in general, and the sleek f-22 jet, military manufacturers have found a way to make almost any shape invisible to radar using materials found on italian handbags so one day the usaf will be flying in the latest milan ballistic nylon style!

hey, there's an idea ... a ballistic nylon mac ... i better write sj

 

[Melrose]

yeah, cool for the '80s, i guess, like mullets and parachute pants

But you must admit it looked good on Bono

All this goes without saying that IBM has fallen behind the times: Dell has tried to make changes (FAIL) and Sony, aesthetics-wise, has made some remarkable improvements, the only drawback there is it's not as good as Apple design (of course)... an it runs Windows. On a scale of looks, I'd put the Windows-compatible brands in this order (ugliest to least ugliest)

IBM
AlienWare
Dell
HP/Compaq/Gateway (they all kind of look the same)
Sony

 

[SkyBell]

While I still stand by my original statement that ThinkPads are extremely ugly, I must admit I like those new IdeaPad's Lenovo is crankin' out. Some of them actually look pretty OK.

 

[Shotglass]

HP made some mind-boggingly ugly PCs when I was growing up, and a few of my friends had them. They were all blue and round. Gross.

I don't actually hate ThinkPads that much. They look very practical, and I believe they are quite sturdy. Also, they're great Linux machines, which is always good. I really think Lenovo should focus on smaller but powerful laptops, like 12" PBs, just with Linux on them.

 

[Stridder44]

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.

Please, explain to me how it "works well" and how it makes it any different from most other laptops (as most laptops "work well" too, after you take off all the pre-installed crap). I've heard people tell me they're just great, but they could never give me a valid reason other than that statement. And "they just work" doesn't cut it. It all boils down to you running Windows (XP/Vista) or maybe Ubuntu/some weird Linux variation, and the drivers that power it. They offer the same hardware as many other manufactures, and most manufacturers provide solid drivers for that hardware. So what is it that makes the 90's styled ThinkPads any more special?

Enlighten me.

 

[jb60606]

I love them, and that's how they always looked.

For years Thinkpads were the industry standard -- they're great 'business' laptops. What they lack in flash, they make up in mobility, ruggedness and often great performance. Inexpensive, too.

Th models we use don't have all those colors on the keyboard/trackpad - only the enter key. I don't know how old that picture you provided is, but everything else is black. And I don't know what you mean by clunkiness. Any TP I've ever used was slim, light, and easy to carry around.

I love the way the look. Especially the matte rubber exterior.

 

[Stridder44]

I love them, and that's how they always looked. For years Thinkpads were the industry standard.

They're great 'business' laptops. What they lack in flash, they make up in mobility, ruggedness and often great performance. Inexpensive, too.

Aside from the keyboard, I love the way the look. Especially the matte rubber exterior.

Fair enough.

 

[Slumbercub]

Ugly they may be but they are very good computers. Despite the fact they run Winblows they offer good features, excellent build quality (the are like little tanks! ) and are good value for money. Before switching to Mac I owned one and it I actually liked it very much.

 

[63dot]

IBM
AlienWare
Dell
HP/Compaq/Gateway (they all kind of look the same)
Sony

god, you really think alienware is that bad?

i love those things, but can't afford the ones i have seen in the gaming store...but that was a few years ago

but i am sure by now, several years later, alienware has probably tapped into the low end market on pc laptops and they have some ordinary looking stuff as much of the product in pc laptops is outsourced to a few companies like acer where there seems to be this boring uniformity to them

what i love about apple inc is that just when you get comfortable with a nice machine, they change it all up and top themselves, over and over

recently, one pc gamer told me alienware sold out and are not as premium as they used to be on all their models

 

[davidg14]

The stickers on the front are the worst part .

 

[Tom B.]

While Thinkpads are definitely no where near Apple in terms of design, I still kind of like them because while they are ugly, it is only because Lenovo do not even try to make them look nicer, which makes them a million times better than HP's abhorrent monstrosities, considering that HP really did try to make their laptops appear desirable.

Despite this, if I was going to buy any laptop other than an Apple one, it would be a Dell XPS M1330. I used to think Dell were worse than HP, but now, Dell have really improved, while HP have taken a huge leap backwards.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

What makes think pads so great is they are all about business. The entire design is for function not for form or to be pretty.

They are very clear on screw looking pretty. If it does not serve a useful function then it is not worth it.

They are tanks of a laptop. This compared to Apple MacBook Pros that dent so easily...

I personally think apple needs to take a page out of the think pad book and look at function over form.

 

[Stridder44]

While Thinkpads are definitely no where near Apple in terms of design, I still kind of like them because while they are ugly, it is only because Lenovo do not even try to make them look nicer, which makes them a million times better than HP's abhorrent monstrosities, considering that HP really did try to make their laptops appear desirable.

Despite this, if I was going to buy any laptop other than an Apple one, it would be a Dell XPS M1330. I used to think Dell were worse than HP, but now, Dell have really improved, while HP have taken a huge leap backwards.

Oh God. HP laptops are some of the worst POS I've ever come across. I don't know if it's just their build quality, or the drivers they provide for their hardware, but damn do HP laptops suck huevos.

 

[jb60606]

Oh God. HP laptops are some of the worst POS I've ever come across. I don't know if it's just their build quality, or the drivers they provide for their hardware, but damn do HP laptops suck huevos.

Though, their Professional/Graphics/Workstation series notebooks are top of the line, and aren't tremendous eyesores...

 

[Aperture]

Though, their Professional/Graphics/Workstation series notebooks are top of the line, and aren't tremendous eyesores...

Looks to me quite a bit like a Thinkpad.

 

[Melrose]

god, you really think alienware is that bad?......

I do - Component-wise, for Windows machines, they're powerhouses (no argument there at all) but looks-wise, they're as ugly as sin. On second thoughts, I would put them in first and IBM in second.

The distraction is that AW makes them specially to look like that, whereas Lenovo/IBM tries to look like a sleek, modern business laptop.

On third thoughts, they're a tie.

 

[jb60606]

Looks to me quite a bit like a Thinkpad.

agreed - basic, no flash. At one point, all laptops looked like thinkpads.

I don't know about everyone else, but I don't need or want an eye-catching laptop.

 

[GroovyLinuxGuy]

Please, explain to me how it "works well" and how it makes it any different from most other laptops (as most laptops "work well" too, after you take off all the pre-installed crap). I've heard people tell me they're just great, but they could never give me a valid reason other than that statement. And "they just work" doesn't cut it. It all boils down to you running Windows (XP/Vista) or maybe Ubuntu/some weird Linux variation, and the drivers that power it. They offer the same hardware as many other manufactures, and most manufacturers provide solid drivers for that hardware. So what is it that makes the 90's styled ThinkPads any more special?

Enlighten me.

Tough, very little downtime due to hardware failure, hardware that works under Linux, I like the way the BIOS is laid out, neat little top of the screen keyboard light (not quite as cool as MBP's back lit keyboard), decent enough for me speakers, ports placed in accessable spots...need more

Consider yourself yourself enlightened!

 

[nitrofurano]

thinkpad is one of the best

well, from so many computers designed all these decades, i only can point the work from the following product designers:
- Ettore Sottsass (Olivetti)
- Hartmut Esslinger (Apple)
- Jonathan Ive (Apple)
- Richard Sapper (IBM)

Well, ThinkPad is a work mostly from Richard Sapper (i think) - maybe some people may think ThinkPad is ugly, but please compare it with computers from Acer, Dell, Asus, HP, Toshiba, Packard Bell, etc. (no offenses, but who designed all these craps? which projecting methodologies and ideas does they use to follow and pursue?)

 

[mac2thefuture]

It's 'minging'