Opinion: How Lenovo kept PC sales strong while everyone else tanked - Polidicks

[url]http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsoft-windows/how-lenovo-kept-pc-sales-strong-while-everyone-else-tanked-216244[/url] [quote=Woody Leonhard/Infoworld]By now you've read the IDC report saying that worldwide PC shipments dipped 13.9 percent, year-on-year, in the first quarter of 2013. You may have also read Gartner's report saying that worldwide PC shipments dropped 11.2 percent in the first quarter. Both companies wail about how PC shipments have fallen off a cliff, in spite of their earlier predictions -- IDC had previously foretold a decline of 7.7 percent in the first quarter, and Gartner had cited a 7.6 percent decline for the year. I figure it's just another "oops, forget what we said last time" moment. Neither company has officially updated its crystal (or brass) balls, but I'm sticking to my prediction that PC sales (net of returns) in 2013 will be around 20 percent lower than in 2012. No doubt you've also heard all the reasons for the decline: Windows 8 (yes, it's that bad); hardware manufacturers that can't seem to innovate; the iPad revolution -- I use the term deliberately -- and how consumers are buying tablets and smartphones over notebooks; the economic pinch; the fact companies can't even get upgraded to Win7 and wouldn't tackle Win8 on a bet; and on and on. They're all important factors, and certainly each has contributed to the quarterly train wreck. But there's one outlying data point -- one anomaly -- that bears examining, and I haven't seen it discussed in the thunderous industry self-flagellation: Lenovo's doing pretty darn well.[/quote] Sorry if opinion/editorial articles aren't allowed here, tried asking in AUATF a while back when it was still alive, but got no answers on several occasions.

Thinkpads are awesome. Solid quality for decent pricing. It's not really a surprise.

Quote from the article: [quote]The majority of Lenovo's enterprise shipments have Windows 7 installed; the touchscreen-friendly Windows 8 is discreetly bundled on its own separate disc. Lenovo has learned from the Windows Vista experience that the official Microsoft "downgrade" path can be painful. So the machines are "downgraded" to Windows 7 by default. Of course, that's exactly what customers want -- and Lenovo is reaping the benefit of listening to those customers. The computer maker even throws in a Start menu for Windows 8, which is installable from the Lenovo software bundle. The company wouldn't be drawn on the exact ratio of Windows 7 to Windows 8 machines shipped.[/quote] For many people this is a huge plus if they aren't good with computers and don't know how to downgrade.

Just checked their price and the specs of their 890€ laptop. Why did I buy a Dell already?

The Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 is a fucking great deal compared to its competitors. I would know, I bought one.

Fuck yeah Lenovo

Boo! IBM 4 lyfe!

[QUOTE=SGI Onyx;40261470]Boo! IBM 4 lyfe![/QUOTE] IBM hasn't owned the ThinkPad since 2005.

How well do Lenovo Laptops hold up for gaming compared to Asus? Im thinking that i might get one at some point.

[QUOTE=MacD11;40261489]How well do Lenovo Laptops hold up for gaming compared to Asus? Im thinking that i might get one at some point.[/QUOTE] Y580 is a good machine, apart from some quirks. I'm kind of technically illiterate, and I can't get my external microphone to work with mine. It has an internal mic at the top of the screen, which works fine, but for whatever reason it detects no sound from any inputs I plug in. I was shopping for a laptop earlier this year, and the lenovo offerings were much cheaper than ASUS or dell for similar specs.

All of the work laptops we've purchased over the last 8 months or so have been Lenovo's. Best feature set and best price, simple as that. I'm glad to hear they're doing well.

[QUOTE=Banned?;40261484]IBM hasn't owned the ThinkPad since 2005.[/QUOTE] And I'm never going to own a Thinkpad designed past 2005 until Lenovo stop cheapening the brand.

[QUOTE=SGI Onyx;40261553]And I'm never going to own a Thinkpad designed past 2005 until Lenovo stop cheapening the brand.[/QUOTE] I misread your first post and thought you said "boom" and you still thought they were owned by IBM. Second of all, being angry at this is silly.

I love my Thinkpad. The fact that you can customize them to such a degree is wonderful. My college also has all-in-ones for all their computers, they're really nice.

[QUOTE=Winner;40261301]It probably has more to do with the fact that they make excellent laptops which are relatively cheap I bought a laptop last year, and Dell/HP wasn't even an option when compared to Lenovo/Acer[/QUOTE] Acer is shit too. I used to think they were okay now with the Aspire line, but a lot of Aspires don't even have a heatpipe running to the GPU. Cooling is the number one thing I'm going to look for when I buy a new laptop. Does Lenovo have good cooling?

I've had my T530 for almost a year now, and I still get wonderful battery life, it has the best laptop keyboard I've used (also beautifully backlit as a secondary option to the ThinkLight). I haven't had a single issue with this laptop since I got it. I plan on upgrading to an SSD in a few months, and maybe a bigger/extra battery because I like to use it for obscene amounts of time for pretty much anything I ever do on a computer. I highly suggest it. It's beyond wonderful. [editline]12th April 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=ShaunOfTheLive;40261619]Acer is shit too. I used to think they were okay now with the Aspire line, but a lot of Aspires don't even have a heatpipe running to the GPU. Cooling is the number one thing I'm going to look for when I buy a new laptop. Does Lenovo have good cooling?[/QUOTE] Runs a lot cooler than my Dell Inspiron did; I've never hit any dangerous temps.

[QUOTE=iFail;40261534]Y580 is a good machine, apart from some quirks. I'm kind of technically illiterate, and I can't get my external microphone to work with mine. It has an internal mic at the top of the screen, which works fine, but for whatever reason it detects no sound from any inputs I plug in. I was shopping for a laptop earlier this year, and the lenovo offerings were much cheaper than ASUS or dell for similar specs.[/QUOTE] Thanks! Im now considering getting a Y480 unless someone says otherwise or unless I decide to save up more money for a Y580.

probably in 2-3 years when this dell craps out i'll buy a lenovo next, dell was just more in my budget when i bought this, dell is restructuring right now, theyre trying to go private again to be able to do more stuff without worrying about stock prices

im not really happy about the cooling situation on my dell as it is, it tends to reach scorching temps with things like minecraft yet strangely i can play fallout and it remains cool to the touch, also they put 3 tiny little fans with 3 very small air intakes and one big air vent on the side, but the vent is on the side with all the ports, such as the HDMI and SATA port, so if you put a HDD their it would get cooked, i have an insperon now and its not actually bad with gaming, because it has an nvidia graphics card as well as the i7 processer, just they failed misrably on cooling, it heats up with even low graphic intensive games

it has to do with teh fact that tech nerds jizz over thinkpads...

I recently bought a series 7 Samsung laptop. I say recently, but it was really six months ago... Anyway, I've loved it. The only computer that I even considered next to it at all was a lenovo. They do seem like quality machines.

Lenovo and Apple are the only PC companies that sell products that don't scream "3rd world country fetish"

[QUOTE=The Baconator;40262147]Lenovo and Apple are the only PC companies that sell products that don't scream "3rd world country fetish"[/QUOTE] What do you mean by that?

IBM and Lenovo laptops have always been the only laptops worth their price to me my t60p was and still is bulletproof

That's pretty nice of them to include a windows 8 disk for those who do want to upgrade, plus the windows start replacement thing for windows 8.

[QUOTE=Winner;40261301]It probably has more to do with the fact that they make excellent laptops which are relatively cheap I bought a laptop last year, and Dell/HP wasn't even an option when compared to Lenovo/Acer[/QUOTE] Did you mean Asus? The last major failure rate chart I saw put Acer among the worst manufacturers, and was actually a fair bit worse than dell. Granted that was a few years ago.

They make great laptops. I bought my girlfriend one for about 600 and she can play many games on it at a decent fps rate. Unfortunately its out of stock on newegg but I recommend it if anyone is interested in a good value laptop. [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246327"]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246327[/URL]

I'm currently stuck with a shitty Dell I got for free from my university. It can barely run Microsoft word let alone run windows 7 with all of Dell's "support" shit popping up every 3 or so days. I'm going to buy a new desktop computer soon to replace it, but when the Dell flunks out, I'm getting a Thinkpad for sure. I also had a Toshiba laptop that lasted a very long time.

lenovo didn't tank because they have the corporate market nailed thank you for pointing out the blindingly obvious

I have a HP, which somehow hasn't burned down yet.