I've been a loyal Thinkpad user for more than a decade. There are three things that have kept me buying new thinkpads: The keyboard, the trackpoint, and the high degree of serviceability.
I recently got a T-530 and was extremely disappointed with the changes made to the keyboard. The chiclet change was lame, but it was something I could ignore. The changes to the layout are a complete disaster. Important keys are gone, and other keys are poorly positioned.
I joked that the next version thinkpad will eliminate the trackpoint and be as non-servicable as a Macbook.
Well, it looks like I underestimated them. They didn't eliminate the trackpoint. They just took the buttons away...
We unified the clickpad by integrating the trackpoint buttons into the elegant glass touchpad, making it appear even larger and more streamline. The trackpad now has five buttons which you can customize for Windows 8 gestures via the device driver.
Hardcore long-time ThinkPad fan. This breaks the way the computer is used.
I don't even know what I'll do. The only other quality hardware maker I know is Apple.
Lenovo, or any other manufacturer, will not keep producing gadgets for your exact same specification for the rest of your professional life. Actually, what they come up with in the first place was not designed by your specs, you got used to the gadget in time. Now it seems it's time to start using another one, getting familiar with it, and having some uncomfortable one or two weeks.
I don't feel it really applies here. Thinkpad are (were ?) tanks. Robustness people were willing to pay a premium. Now it feels like they just want the premium without the "too" expensive counterpart.
There's still DELL. I was a long-ish time ThinkPad fan and when I switched to DELL I liked it even more. Serviceability was the same, keyboard was surprisingly better, trackpoint with buttons was there as well. It's over a three years old model though, don't know where they moved since.
They have a "business" lines of products for notebooks, desktops, servers, .. they even have top of the line monitors. In the case of laptops, look for "Latitude" which is basically equivalent to Lenovo's ThinkPad.
I have E6400 and it has all the nice perks - metal-ish body so it's not squeeky and wiggly like a plastic notebook, one screw to remove bottom (to clean up fan, change ram, ...), one screw to change hard drive, "multi/ultra"bay slot so you can swap the useless optical drive for battery or hard drive, only few screws to change keyboard (so you can get an underlit one), docking station, international next business day care (with accidental damage) ... They just don't look so good as ThinkPad did/does. But that's a matter of opinion of course.
I haven't seen any of their books recently but if I were to buy something new I would definitely look into them.
Dell's painted plastic finish was also a big turnoff to me. The paint comes off and scratches much easier than the Lenovo black plastic and rubberized case.
I've had the T20, the T30, the T41, the T60p, and the X200. The build quality has just been going down. I have a T60 with a busted fan with no screen, think anti-tablet, as a server right now. The X200 had to be sent in for repairs a few times, luckily under warranty, while the T41 keeps going (others have been retired). And before the service was incredible, now it just seems to take longer and longer (well, as of 2 years ago as far as I know).
In 2011, I was shopping for a new laptop and wanted to get something with an SSD, but the X-series was more expensive than an MBA. After a tirade about Apple, I finally gave in despite reservations about no trackpoint and durability. I just don't treat my hardware very well. Regarding durability, I've had this thing protect me while I got clipped by a truck, dropped it off a motorcycle, and had it fall several times. A few dents, but it keeps on going. And the trackpoint, well, I've just learned to live without. C'est la vie. The keyboard works, gotten used to it.
I'm still waiting for something better than the MBA that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Carbon for $1200 + the honor of having to recompile kernels to get less battery life than other OS's just doesn't cut it anymore. This new one ain't it either.
Loyalty is misguided nowadays. They don't build them like they used to.
I am also worried about the buttons being part of the trackpad surface. For two reasons: (1) no haptic response when hitting the keys. I think I need to try it before making any judgement. (2) Will it still be possible to switch off the trackpads? I always switch off the trackpads on my thinkpad and use only the trackpoint, like this my palm will does not accidentally interfere with the mouse.
I recently got a T-530 and was extremely disappointed with the changes made to the keyboard. The chiclet change was lame, but it was something I could ignore. The changes to the layout are a complete disaster. Important keys are gone, and other keys are poorly positioned.
I joked that the next version thinkpad will eliminate the trackpoint and be as non-servicable as a Macbook.
Well, it looks like I underestimated them. They didn't eliminate the trackpoint. They just took the buttons away...
My next computer won't be a thinkpad.