How They Test the ThinkPad Hinge 30,000 Times

[Marcus Yam]

Laptop use hinges on durability.

How They Test the ThinkPad Hinge 30,000 Times : Read more

 

[seboj]

It's kinda reassuring knowing that at least some notebook manufacturers put their products through extreme repetitive motion tests like that.

 

[scook9]

Agreed, now if we could just get Dell engineers to actually use the M17x before selling it to beta testers, I mean customers

 

[aracheb]

I always love IBM product..

 

[KBentley57]

I can verify this. I've got a thinkpad from 2001 that still works fine with all original hardware (though I've replaced XP with ubuntu.)

The hinges on this thing are huge. It appears to be quarter inch hardened steel, and that is only the part you can see.

 

[headscratcher]

[citation][nom]aracheb[/nom]I always love IBM product..[/citation]
Go try Lotus Notes

 

[blackwidow_rsa]

the hinge lasts way longer than that... Hardware gave out 1st (thanks to idiot users)

 

[danimal_the_animal]

LOL

what about the g530 model....yeah the hinges last forever but the screws that hold the hinges back off over time ( a few months ) and then they pivot from within the chassis causing the video cable to go bad!!!!

we have over 400 of these on our campus!!!

at least they learned from their mistakes on the next model update....

 

[Guest]

The G530s are not that great, but they also are not the same tier of laptop the Thinkpad is in. The G530 is consumer grade garbage similar to an Acer Aspire, HP Pavilion, or Dell Inspiron. However the Thinkpads are a more rugged laptop designed for people who are harder on them. In return they are more expensive. In the end, you get what you pay for.

 

[ProDigit10]

I thought they would open/close the lid at a rate of 100 flips per second or so...

 

[jinxlab]

Is that guy holding a wine glass?? Thats reassuring!

 

[eddieroolz]

I'm sure at the actula factory they do it nonstop for months.

 

[Ragnar-Kon]

[citation][nom]aracheb[/nom]I always love IBM product.. [/citation]

IBM no longer designs or manufactures ThinkPads, Lenovo bought IBM's PC division awhile back.

 

[hp79]

Sony Vaio Z also does this kind of stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4iMjnnXrWg
Crazy thin wobbling lid is kind of scary, but very durable.

I currently own Lenovo x61t, but because the slow CPU, I'm waiting for a Sandy Bridge refreshed Sony Z. I read current Z's hinge gets loose though.

 

[Scott2010au]

Even after transitioning from IBM to Lenovo they've demonstrated that their products are solid. One of my mates used to sell notebooks & the ThinkPad line continued to be a popular (and a wise) choice.

It's rare to see product lines that keep their quality, especially considering the business model IBM uses.

- First one I used was an Intel 486 DX/2

 

[belardo]

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad and I sell them (not directly) to my clients. They are easily better built than the usual $400~800 notebooks on the market. They still have NORMAL shaped keys on the keyboard. The HINGE is dated, but looks fine against the black and works excellent. They are kind of designed for the abuse that people subject notebooks... like picking them up by the lids. 🙁

[citation][nom]danimal_the_animal[/nom]LOLwhat about the g530 model....yeah the hinges last forever but the screws that hold the hinges back off over time ~~ at least they learned from their mistakes on the next model update....[/citation]

The Lenovo G-Series is the Garbage line (was called 3000s) - value for the $300~500 market range. Can't expect much from a $400 notebook. The hinges on the G are nothing like ThinkPads. I wish Lenovo would jettison the low-end market, but business is business... and they want to make some money, BUT it can cost them sales for the higher end.

The IdeaPADs are lenovo's consumer high end notebooks... much better materials and modern looking notebooks. They are $500~900, but they are NOT ThinkPads.

ThinkPad support is still top end. Call them on the phone... go ahead. I do... great to get a human (who speaks english) even to ask them a question. Their staff usually knows their stuff.

PS: IBM buys and resells Thinkpads to their clients. Actually, they sell refurbished ThinkPads for about $300 (Core2), not bad.

 

[g00fysmiley]

i think compaq could learn frrom this as well, my roomate had one that just sat on a desk, within a year he had to put a book behind it cause the hinges stopped keeping the screen up... it kinda flopped around like a wet noodle

 

[shadowmaster625]

Does it deriously not even close all the way? What kind of test is that? For all we know those last 2 inches might really wear on it.

 

[cookoy]

i like the build quality of Lenovo. if only they don't look so stale.

 

[rhino13]

I hope their test machine has a life of more than 10000 cycles 😀

 

[3doog]

The sit-ups of laptop

 

[processthis]

Lenovo certainly puts a lot of work into their ThinkPad laptops.

 

[Guest]

Thinkpad is far superior to the overrated MacBooks

 

[Guest]

Khmm, khmmm,, only one thing to add to all of those comments - if you want real thinkpad, go for T-series, BUT NOT THE SL-series (they are now replacing it with L-series)!! There's soooo many users of SL 400, 500, 410 with their left hinge broken!! I personaly own 3 x SL 510 and they're "like some" better than those, but there's also few people around lenovo-forum with their hinge broken..
So, I'm not sayin anything against ThinkPads,, they are realy great,, almost undestroyable, just this "low-end" thinkpad series isn't anything better than any other usual laptop.. STILL they provide some unique features you can only find on ThinkPad.. So, if u're not planning to "move" your ThinkPad a lot,, I sugest to go for L-series (or SL if they are still on sale at your locals)..

Cheers, and visit lenovo forums for more details if you're thinking about purchasing ThinkPad.. You may find interesting suff out there 😉..