Lenovo unwraps Reserve Edition ThinkPad
Leather-bound for executive class
It's been 15 years since IBM first unveiled the ThinkPad laptop and about two years since Lenovo acquired it as part of a $1.25bn spending spree. So, in an attempt to capitalise on its purchase, Lenovo has unveiled a leather-bound, 5000-unit limited edition ThinkPad.
Lenovo's ThinkPad Reserve Edition: will the leather stand up to executive stress?
Dubbed the ThinkPad Reserve Edition, the machine is clad in hand-stitched, ahem, saddle-grade premium French leather, no less. Each machine is individually numbered and comes with all-hours executive-class service and support.
This, Lenovo claimed, means users receive access to specially trained, dedicated support staff. So if you spill your Martini on it, they might just tell you how to best clean the leather without spoiling it. However, Lenovo didn't mention how documents will be retrieved if you accidentally wipe your hard drive or how to restore the display if you accidentally drop gold bullion on it.
Lenovo did claims calls will always be answered within four rings and in the owner's native language.
Lenovo's ThinkPad Reserve Edition: only 5000 will be made
Unfortunately, the laptop itself is nothing special - aside from the outer skin. It features a 12.1in LCD screen, 160GB hard drive and 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi connectivity. It also hides a low-voltage 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 CPU under its cowhide, with 2GB of memory. It runs Windows Vista - Ultimate Edition, of course.
The notebook does come with a CD and DVD burner, but given the $5000/£2950/€4990 price tag, Lenovo could have offered the option of a Blu-ray or HD-DVD drive. The Lenovo ThinkPad Reserve Edition is available now in the UK, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates and the US.
COMMENTS
Are support contracts good then? For what?
A few of you are saying its worth it for the support. Why is that? Are you saying you can't fix your own computer problems? Are you sure you are on the right web site?
Fugly
Why do companies seem to think that leather is some sort of premium?
I personally think leather is mingin, its a bitch to clean and it just looks cheap.
If you want decent design buy a MacBook pro. If you want to do hardcore 3d tasks on the move then your an idiot.
IBM/Lenovo's Laptops have always looked like something produced by the Easten Block at the height of the cold war. The 'reserve' looks like any other ThinkPad except its been smuggled through the iron curtain inside of a cow and an ugly cow at that.
The other run ...
is wrapped in human skin and will be called "the dissident." 500 will be made and sent to special people at Yahoo, M$ and Google.
Heynow!
I have a BMW and wouldnt buy this! This is more for someone who would buy a Cadillac. You know, get a CTS-v instead of a Menaro/GTO. Somehow convince themselves that they were, in fact, different cars to justify the price hike.
I love thinkpads for their quality (at least my old one was a tank) but you would have to be pretty thick not to see that this is basically an x61 in leather with the accompanied USB DVD bay. I assume you cant even use a docking station or media slice because of the leather cover.
No, this is definately targeted above the BMW sect. This is for the REAL managers, the ones who dont do any actual work. This is for someone whose title is 3 words and begins with Chief. These are the Maybach fans.
Interesting way to sell a service contract...
While I am in total agreement with everyone about the specs, what you are paying for besides the moderate innovation (the external antenna connector and the spiffy covering) is essentially a 3 year extended warrenty which covers accidental damage, on site preventative maintenance and assistance. Essentially, an on site support contract. If they are using IBM's support for that, then it might actually be worth it...
Is it worth 5 grand US? I don't know. Would I buy one if I had the cash? Probably not. Does the leather cover look spiffy? in a round about way, yes.
