Hello,
jayeye's thread requesting that Lenovo bring back laptops with non-widescreen displays spurred me to some forum searching that turned up many members who are frustrated because they can't get a new ThinkPad with a premium display:
* Jed wants to buy a ThinkPad with UXGA IPS screen. ajkula66, erik, Puppy, and others lament the disappearance of high-resolution IPS/FlexView screens. As do novolenyn and lophiomys.
* Monicker wanted a 4:3 T61 just after they disappeared. So do many others.
* MattB deserts HP because no more 4:3 screen but finds he can't get one with new ThinkPad either.
* pauld praises his T61's computing performance and value but complains about its screen's very poor vertical viewing angle, contrast ratio and backlight bleedthrough, as well as cheap-looking plastic.
* Lightning_Racer would pay up to additional $1000 for IPS screen.
* bananaman linked to Matt Kohut's blog post stating that 16:9 displays will soon become the new default (some would say lowest common denominator). Many of the commenters want IPS 4:3 displays.
To sum up the recent screen changes:
- 4:3 has mostly disappeared. The only holdout seems to be PanasonicToughbook.
- 16:10 is about to give way to 16:9.
- IPS, and MVA/PVA have mostly given way to TN.
All of the above changes are driven by cost:
- TN is the cheapest panel technology.
- Higher aspect ratio at fixed diagonal -> smaller screen area, thus reduced cost.
- HDTV is 16:9, and consumers who use their laptops mostly for movies prefer 16:9. High demand leads to increased production of 16:9 panels, which further reduces their cost through economies of scale.
Cost is the one factor that every computer shopper understands. So it is natural that cost drives most design decisions. But design driven by cost alone leads to commoditization: everyone's laptop is the same. That's fine for oatmeal or gasoline. And in fact it may also be fine for a large group of laptop users. But people who buy a ThinkPad have come to expect more than a generic computing unit.
The sheet that comes in the ThinkPad box flatters the new owner: "You obviously appreciate great design..." It's not just flattery, it is often literally true. Lenovo designers need to constantly ask themselves: What is a great design for this computer?
One thing a great design must do is satisfy the needs of its target audience. So the designer must define the target audience and understand its needs. "Laptop user" these days is almost everybody, encompassing a wide range of often-contradictory needs. If "laptop user" is the target audience, then conflicting needs get averaged out, cost dominates, the best design is a commodity, and the ThinkPad is doomed.
Fortunately designers are smarter than that: they group users (of laptops, cars, etc.) into more narrowly-defined target audiences. Each group gets a different product tailored to its unique needs. So Lenovo has:
- Value line for users whose primary concern is cost -> commodity laptop;
- IdeaPad for home entertainment users who want flashy design, cool new features;
- ThinkPad for business users.
And because "business users" have many different needs, Lenovo builds six different ThinkPad series:
- SL Series for business users whose primary concern is cost -> commodity business laptop;
- R Series for business users who would otherwise choose T series, but are willing to carry some extra bulk and weight in exchange for lower price;
- T Series for business people using it as their only or main computer;
- X Series for business people with good eyesight and who travel a lot with their computer;
- X Series Tablet for business people who carry it around and draw;
- W Series for graphics professionals.
As best as I can determine, each of the above ThinkPad series except for the X Series Tablet uses widescreen TN displays. This is pretty clearly the best (cheapest) choice for the SL Series. And possibly the R Series, with its emphasis on cost.
For the W series a TN panel appears to be the worst possible choice. What graphics professional would rely on a screen with such poor viewing angles? Maybe every W gets connected to a calibrated external monitor, and its built-in screen is used only for toolbars? I don't know--I don't know any W users, maybe I've got it all wrong.
For X Series users the TN widescreen panel may be a good choice. The widescreen allows a larger keyboard and shorter computer that fits better on an airplane seatback tray. TN's poor viewing angles matter less on a smaller screen. And for many presentations the X series user will connect to an external projector. Probably a high percentage of X users attach to external monitors in the office, so the integrated screen doesn't matter much there.
T Series users have the greatest need for non-TN, non-widescreen panels. Using the T series as their only or principal computer, they rely on its screen. The display is important to them, else they would have chosen the smaller, lighter X series. These are business users, so the short response time of TN panels (good for action games) is of little importance. The near-uniform color, contrast and brightness across the screen afforded by MVA/PVA and IPS panels is a big advantage for these users. Especially for those primarily working with text documents, a 4:3 screen is significantly better than a widescreen, because it shows more lines of text at a time.
Probably for the above reasons, Lenovo used to offer T Series users a choice of screens with different aspect ratios, panel technologies and resolutions. I suppose only Lenovo knows the sales numbers for T60s with each different screen type. It would be very interesting to get at least a rough idea. I'm pretty sure the T series is the most popular ThinkPad, so even a small percentage would have been a significant number of machines.
The needs of the T Series users haven't gone away, even though their panel choices have. For now, I suspect that a significant number of T Series users are delaying the purchase of their next laptop, hoping for better options.
As the economy improves, as more workers shift to careers in IT, and as existing 4:3 and IPS ThinkPads go out of warranty or finally expire, the demand for new laptops with premium screens will grow. I think it would be a good idea for Lenovo to plan to meet this need.
I suggest the creation of a new Lenovo laptop that targets business users wanting a highly-portable desktop replacement laptop primarily for working with text documents. Basically the folks who bought the 4:3 T60s and R60s, along with the new IT workers referred to above. The laptop should have a 4:3 MVA/PVA or IPS screen, with multiple different resolution options starting from XGA on up. To minimize development cost it should be offered (at least initially) in a single screen size, either 14.1" or 15", whichever sold more T60s. Because its target audience includes writers, the keyboard is of paramount importance: it should use the solid-backplane keyboard from the T61, NMB if possible, for best touch. Or even better, go back to the 600X keyboard: best ever! Continuing the premium theme, the plastics should be of the highest quality. The computing guts can be essentially the same as the existing T Series. But to clearly differentiate this premium model, it should be given a Series, or even Brand of its own. If it were a car, "SE", "LE" or "GT" might be appropriate series. Or you could call it a VisionPad, emphasizing its superior display (and the vision of those discriminating enough to purchase it).
The immediate hurdle faced by users wanting such a premium machine is that none of the major laptop manufacturers are convinced it would be profitable to build. It could be that they are right. But maybe not? There might be a point on the demand curve where the number of users and the price we're willing to pay is sufficient for Lenovo to build us the VisionPad we want.
Mark_Lenovo and ernstloeffel bring up analogy to custom/upscale cars.
Mark speaks of a "group buy" whereby a sufficiently large number of customers buy the same custom product that the development/production cost is reasonable when split among the group. ernstloeffel brings up the storied case of Porsche, which has made fantastic profits from a niche (very high peformance, very exclusive, very desirable) product line. As with Porsche, computers with superb design, high performance, exclusivity, coolness confer prestige and command a premium price. Think: MacBook Pro, high-end VAIO, ThinkPad Reserve Edition.
Mark_Lenovo floated an intriguing idea for a web ordering system that would let customers configure their laptop with premium components and commit to buy that customized laptop. Each customer's bid would be binding (presumably for a limited time, maybe 90 days?). If at any time enough customers committed to buying a particular configuration, Lenovo would actually build those laptops and ship them.
Mark, that sounds fantastic! I'm all for it!!! Such a system would have two features crucial to convincing Lenovo to build our laptop:
- Customers have to put our money where our mouth is. Rather than merely claiming we would purchase a hypothetical laptop, we commit to buying an actual laptop at an actual price. Leading to actual, hard demand numbers for that laptop: invaluable!
- Lenovo can wait until sufficient real demand is demonstrated before committing to build the laptop. No development effort/funds are wasted on unpopular/unprofitable machines. Profit can be ensured!
Can you tell us, is there any development work toward implementing such a system?
fmyhr,
Great initiative, and thanks for pulling together a very comprehensive and community based summary of feedback...will be interesting to see where it leads. 
Since I've been quoted here, I think I need to provide some caveats to my statements.
My posts were hypothetical and do not commit Lenovo to a course of action.
Please proceed as you will with the understanding that my opinions expressed were solely my own and were not an official company position.
Mark
@ajkula66:
Thanks for the link to the sister forum discussion. It's clear that there are some who would be willing to pay a premium for a ThinkPad with an IPS display.
@Mark:
Thanks for the kind words. I think we all understand your need to include the disclaimer. We want our beloved ThinkPad maker to remain in business! As much as we want a notebook with a premium screen, we also need it to be profitable. That's why I think your idea is so cool: it has the potential to prove profitability with very little risk.
@all:
It's clear that for Lenovo (or anyone else) to even consider producing the premium laptop we want, we have to gather a large enough group of paying customers. "Large enough" means 15,000 - 20,000. Can we do it? I don't think anybody knows for sure.
Our best chance lies in settling on a "standard" (oxymoronic though that may be) design that the largest number of us would pay for. Probably it's ok with Lenovo to have multiple configuration options for things like cpu speed, installed memory, fingerprint reader, bluetooth, wireless card, webcam. Those are all modular and I expect that leaving them configurable wouldn't add much to the cost of the premium notebook. (Please correct me if I'm wrong about this!)
But consider screen size and aspect ratio: each combination requires a unique (read: expensive) chassis design. So we need to settle on a single screen size and aspect ratio that works best for the largest number of us.
To this end, I plan to set up an online survey so that we can vote on our favorite screen size and aspect ratio. I plan to include the following choices. I'm very interested in your comments before I start the survey. Are there options that should be added or deleted? Are there other problems with the options?
A few notes:
- I assume we're designing a desktop-replacement type laptop, thus no screens smaller than 13.3"
- Weights are fictitious (or course!) - let me know if you think they're unrealistic
- Screen resolutions are included along with screen size and aspect ratio, since many of us think in terms of pixels. A few of the resolutions are fictitious, but I think all are technically possible today (again let me know if I'm wrong).
- lb = pounds; MP = megapixels; ppi = pixels per inch; text: columns (1/12") x lines (1/6")
THANK YOU!
---------- 13.3" laptop weighs 4.8 lb -----
13.3" 1024x768 (4:3) 0.8MP 96ppi text: 128x48
13.3" 1280x960 (4:3) 1.2MP 120ppi text: 128x48
13.3" 1400x1050 (4:3) 1.5MP 132ppi text: 128x48
13.3" 1600x1200 (4:3) 1.9MP 150ppi text: 128x48
13.3" 1872x1404 (4:3) 2.6MP 176ppi text: 128x48
13.3" 2048x1536 (4:3) 3.1MP 192ppi text: 128x48
-
13.3" 1280x800 (16:10) 1.0MP 113ppi text: 135x42
13.3" 1440x900 (16:10) 1.3MP 128ppi text: 135x42
13.3" 1680x1050 (16:10) 1.8MP 149ppi text: 135x42
13.3" 1920x1200 (16:10) 2.3MP 170ppi text: 135x42
--
13.3" 1366x768 (16:9) 1.0MP 118ppi text: 139x39
13.3" 1600x900 (16:9) 1.4MP 138ppi text: 139x39
13.3" 1760x990 (16:9) 1.7MP 152ppi text: 139x39
13.3" 1920x1080 (16:9) 2.1MP 166ppi text: 139x39
13.3" 2048x1152 (16:9) 2.4MP 177dpi text: 139x39
~
----------- 14.1" laptop weighs 5.4 lb -----
14.1" 1024x768 (4:3) 0.8 MP 91ppi text: 135x51
14.1" 1280x960 (4:3) 1.2MP 113ppi text: 135x51
14.1" 1400x1050 (4:3) 1.5MP 124ppi text: 135x51
14.1" 1600x1200 (4:3) 1.9MP 142ppi text: 135x51
14.1" 1872x1404 (4:3) 2.6MP 166ppi text: 135x51
14.1" 2048x1536 (4:3) 3.1MP 182ppi text: 135x51
---
14.1" 1280x800 (16:10) 1.0MP 107ppi text: 143x45
14.1" 1440x900 (16:10) 1.3MP 120ppi text: 143x45
14.1" 1680x1050 (16:10) 1.8MP 141ppi text: 143x45
14.1" 1920x1200 (16:10) 2.3MP 161ppi text: 143x45
----
14.1" 1366x768 (16:9) 1.0MP 111ppi text: 147x41
14.1" 1600x900 (16:9) 1.4MP 130ppi text: 147x41
14.1" 1760x990 (16:9) 1.7MP 143ppi text: 147x41
14.1" 1920x1080 (16:9) 2.1MP 156ppi text: 147x41
14.1" 2048x1152 (16:9) 2.4MP 167ppi text: 147x41
~~
------------ 15.0" and 15.4" laptops weigh 6.2 lb -----
15.0" 1024x768 (4:3) 0.8MP 85ppi text: 144x54
15.0" 1280x960 (4:3) 1.2MP 107ppi text: 144x54
15.0" 1400x1050 (4:3) 1.5MP 117ppi text: 144x54
15.0" 1600x1200 (4:3) 1.9MP 133ppi text: 144x54
15.0" 1872x1404 (4:3) 2.6MP 156ppi text: 144x54
15.0" 2048x1536 (4:3) 3.1MP 171ppi text: 144x54
-----
15.4" 1280x800 (16:10) 1.0MP 98ppi text: 157x49
15.4" 1440x900 (16:10) 1.3MP 110ppi text: 157x49
15.4" 1680x1050 (16:10) 1.8MP 129ppi text: 157x49
15.4" 1920x1200 (16:10) 2.3MP 147ppi text: 157x49
------
15.4" 1366x768 (16:9) 1.0MP 102ppi text: 161x45
15.4" 1600x900 (16:9) 1.4MP 119ppi text: 161x45
15.4" 1760x990 (16:9) 1.7MP 131ppi text: 161x45
15.4" 1920x1080 (16:9) 2.1MP 143ppi text: 161x45
15.4" 2048x1152 (16:9) 2.4MP 153ppi text: 161x45
George and Erik, thanks for your comments :-)
After some very helpful PMs from Mark (thanks!) it seems that our best chance for a business notebook with a premium screen is to do what each of you suggested above: focus on putting a premium screen into an existing ThinkPad. That decision fixes the screen aspect ratio to 16:10.
We still have the question of which Thinkpad most of us would like to have a premium screen in. And also the most popular screen resolution. I still plan to start an online survey to answer these questions. Writing the survey is a bit tricky because cost will come into people's decisions, and we can only make guesses at this early stage. Following is the question I'm planning to ask, along with the possible answers. Please post your comments or changes, I'm by no means stuck on the survey as it appears below.
After we're more or less happy with the survey question and possible answers, I'll start the survey. (I plan to run it on KwikSurveys.com)
Thanks for your help,
Frank
-----
Survey (draft)
Question
You are shopping for a new laptop to use for work. You will purchase it using your own money. Your local Laptops Unlimited stocks the following models. Each laptop is based on a Lenovo ThinkPad, but has been upgraded with your choice of premium screen. Compared to usual laptop screens, the premium screen has higher contrast ratio, wider viewing angles, superior color accuracy, high brightness, and a non-reflective surface. Each laptop, including its upgraded screen, is covered by Lenovo's factory warranty.
Each laptop allows you to upgrade the processor, memory, disk, operating system, and application software to suit your needs.
There are 4 basic models which differ in size, weight, and price. Within each basic model, you can choose from several different screen resolutions. A higher screen resolution shows more Mega Pixels (MP), has more pixels per inch (ppi), and costs more.
Which one of the following laptops are you most likely to buy?
Options
------ ThinkPad X301: 13.3" screen with space for 135x42 text characters, 3.3 pounds -----
Res 1: 1280x800 1.0MP 113ppi, $2300
Res 2: 1440x900 1.3MP 128ppi, $2350
Res 3: 1680x1050 1.8MP 149ppi, $2400
Res 4: 1920x1200 2.3MP 170ppi, $2450
~
------ ThinkPad T400: 14.1" screen with space for 143x45 text characters, 5.0 pounds -----
Res 1: 1280x800 1.0MP 107ppi, $900
Res 2: 1440x900 1.3MP 120ppi, $950
Res 3: 1680x1050 1.8MP 141ppi, $1000
Res 4: 1920x1200 2.3MP 161ppi, $1050
~~
------ ThinkPad T500: 15.4" screen with space for 157x49 text characters, 5.9 pounds -----
Res 1: 1280x800 1.0MP 98ppi, $950
Res 2: 1440x900 1.3MP 110ppi, $1000
Res 3: 1680x1050 1.8MP 129ppi, $1050
Res 4: 1920x1200 2.3MP 147ppi, $1100
~~~
------ ThinkPad W500 workstation: 15.4" screen w/space for 157x49 text chars, 6.2 pounds -----
Res 1: 1280x800 1.0MP 98ppi, $1300
Res 2: 1440x900 1.3MP 110ppi, $1350
Res 3: 1680x1050 1.8MP 129ppi, $1400
Res 4: 1920x1200 2.3MP 147ppi, $1450
~~~~
None of the above: I'd buy a different laptop.
Comments (optional)
Why did you choose the above laptop?
It occurred to me that it might be a good idea to include a disclaimer with the survey to prevent possible misunderstanding. I'm not a lawyer (in case you haven't already figured that out :-)) but the following might suffice:
Disclaimer: This survey is being conducted by a group of laptop enthusiasts, and not by Lenovo or any other laptop manufacturer. The laptops and prices listed in the survey are fictional, though they are based on existing business laptops.
while i'd love to see an IPS display option return at a low price, i would expect a custom display adding at least $800 to $1000 to a system's price. keep in mind that the last IPS-display-equipped T-series model sold for $2600 USD and this was using a display panel that already existed in the market for years and in mass quantity. in this thread we're talking about a custom panel purchased in small quantity (100,000 units or less). this will add to the cost exponentially.
disclaimer: the commentary above is based on my personal experience, math, and opinion and is not the official standpoint of lenovo. 
