T42 Killer? Opportunity for Dell, will they take it?

My company recently switched me from an NC6000 to a D600 and I must say I strongly prefer the D600.  It's faster, more stable, more ergonomic, better looking, and cheaper.

Steve911

Just curious... do you have any heat issues with the left palm rest?  There have been hundreds, perhaps thousands, of complaints about the left palm rest getting very warm with extended use.  I use my laptop ALL day long... it's my primary computer, and I would NOT be able to tolerate a heat issue.

I can see that the D600 might be better than the nc6000, depending on the configuration, but I'm really talking about a T42 killer.  The T42 is IBM's most "business-like" laptop for the mainstream business person.  What's missing from the D600 in comparison to the T42? 

1.  No scroll button for surfing the web.

2.  Trackpoint is really a poor implementation on the D600.

3.  Thinkpad ergonomics are superior from weight, size, solid build, keyboard layout, etc.

4.  GPU on the D600 is a 32MB ATI 9000 (I think) and on the T42 it's a 64MB ATI 9600. 

The D600 is a solid machine.  However, you won't find anyone choosing it over a T42 unless there is HUGE price difference... and there isn't!

Thanks for your reply.  The D600 is a nice computer, but I really think that Dell is going to overhaul it with the refresh due in January or February because of the new Intel chips coming out. 

I've got a D800 and an M60 and they are just way too bulky ... granted, the components are good, but the ergonomics are terrible.  Especially the touchpad / trackstick combination. 

I agree with you regarding the uncertainty of the continuuing quality of the Thinkpad now that they have sold to Lenovo.  However, unless Dell can come up with something better than the D600, I think HP will pick up the Thinkpad users who want to go with a different brand.  Although the Thinkpads are more expensive than Dell, HP's are much more competitive for comparable systems.

Don't get me wrong... I'd love to see Dell come out with a thin and light 15.4" laptop to compete with the T42.  I'd be the first one to buy one, but not until they fix the ergonomics.

Just how hot does the palm rest get on the D600 after a couple of hours of use?

What about the screen... how is the viewing angles and dvd playback?

What about the build quality?  Any flex in the keyboard or flexing and creaking in the case?

How long have you had yours?  Does it stand up to wear and tear well?

I'm a little sick of the all black case on the Thinkpads.  They get discolored in spots after sliding in and out of backpacks a bunch.  Of 4 Thinkpad T42's that we bought in October, 3 of them had to go back for repair in the first 30 days of use.  Not good!

You laptop use sounds very similar to mine.  I use it without a docking station in the early a.m. (at Panera's bagel store) and late p.m. (at home).  At work, I use an IBM port replicator and a 21" Samsung 213T LCD with 1600 X 1200 resolution.  I do programming and so I need something with good speed and a great keyboard. 

Funny, you mentioned catching your fingers between the keys on the D600 and I've done the same thing with a Dell M60 that I have.  I generally liked it, except for the weight and the keyboard/trackpoint.  This seems to be a design flaw in the keyboard that Dell uses because I've heard this from more than one person.  It never happens with my Thinkpad nor does it happen with a Compaq nc6000 that I have.

It's little things like that ... that really annoy me about Dell.  It wouldn't take much to fix the keyboard, yet they don't.  I guess enough people don't complain for them to make a change. 

Do you use a port replicator with your Dell?  I used a Dell port replicator with my M60 and periodically, the screen would blink.  The only way I could get it to stop was to reboot the laptop.  I think it was the laptop, not the port replicator because I hooked a D800 up to the port replicator and never experienced this. 

I still have the M60 and use it as a backup at the office.  Since my laptop is my only computer, I need to have something ready to go if it fails.  It's happened before.

I think the Thinkpad quality is starting to slip a little.  We bought four of them for our staff in October, and three of them had to go in for service.  The service was top notch though.  They were all back within 4-5 working days.

Any other issues with your Dell D600 that have proven to be a problem? 

You know, it's kind of funny.  I really want to like Dell.  I really like their marketing, although some of Thinkpad's new TV spots have been pretty hillarious.  I especially like the one where the two guys are sitting in a restaurant (or bar) and one guy is talking about the feature that can detect it when your laptop falls and move the hard drive heads to a safe place so it doesn't crash the drive.  So he picks up a Thinkpad and drops it on the floor.  Then the other guy tells him that isn't his laptop. 

I'm more than a little concerned about the sale of IBM's pc business to a Chinese company.  I don't, no won't, buy high tech equipment from a Chinese company.  It just doesn't seem right.  It's one thing to be manufactured by a Chinese/Taiwanese company, but something entirely different to be designed, assembled, and sold by a Chinese company.  I still think that it will only be a matter of time before the quality and features start to fall behind. 

Just curious, what kind of software you run on your Dell?  I do software development.  We use Visual Foxpro for application development, Office for wordprocessing and spreadsheet, and Frontpage for web development.  I'm kind of a photo nut so I do some photo editing.  I use Adobe Photoshop Elements, ULead PhotoExploer, and Qimage for printing.  What are you taking in school?  How's the battery life on your D600 with the extended battery?

There was one other thing that annoyed me about the Dell.  I usually setup a bootup password.  On the Thinkpad, it prompts you for the password with a little padlock prompt in the top right corner of the screen.  Very professional looking.  On the Dell, it also prompts you for the password on bootup, but the screen that is displayed almost gives you the impression that something is wrong.  Naturally, if you read it you can see that it's waiting for the password, but it's not very professional looking.

If you close the Thinkpad and let it go into suspend, when you open it again, it simply asks you for the Windows password if you have one setup.  On the Dell, whenever you suspend and open it up again, it displays that ugly password screen and you have to re-enter your password again. 

I bought my Thinkpad through a website called www.thinkpaddepot.com.  Their prices are much more competitive than buy direct or any of the other resellers.  There is also a Thinkpad forum, not unlike this one, that has lots of Thinkpad owners posting messages.  The url is www.thinkpad.com.

The moderator of the Thinkpad forum is a guy named Bill Morrow and he will actually sell you Thinkpads cheaper than any reseller, but you'll have to pay in advance and he will only take minimum orders of 3 or more.  But if there are other members who are interested in ordering, you can place a group order with them.

I appreciate all the information you're giving me regarding your Dell and experience with Dell.  How long have you had your D600?  I use a backpad to carry my Thinkpad around in because it's much more comfortable than a laptop bag.  One other question... I use my wirelessly alot.  Do you have a wireless card and if you use it, any problems with it?  The T42 I have now works better than any Thinkpad I've ever had.  I have had some problems with network connections with a previous Thinkpad and even IBM couldn't fix it.  I think it was a lemon.

I have an 80 gig 5400 RPM Hitachi hard drive in mine.  I opted for it instead of the 60 gig 7200 RPM because I wanted the extra space for photos.  I'm waiting for the 100 gig 5400 RPM (there's even a 100 gig 7200 RPM drive coming) to get released and I'm going to buy one of those and install it. 

Hey, thanks again for all the good info.  I really appreciate it.  Hope you have a Merry Christmas.  

I really don't see a big difference in price between Dell and IBM.  Especially if you compare apples to apples.  When I purchased my T42, I compared the price to an comparably equiped D600 and M60.  Actually, the M60 is closer in features and warranty to a T42.  The price is not that much difference.  In fact, I felt the IBM offered more than the M60 for about the same money, so I went with the Thinkpad.

Now if you compare an Inspiron to a Thinkpad, you're obviously going to see some price difference, but you're also going to see some significant quality, component, and support differences as well. If you're looking for a consumer level laptop, then Inspiron or HP may be your best choices.  If you're looking for a business laptop, everything changes. 

I needed support for a port replicator which means I had to look at the Lattitude line or Precision M60. 

If you look at the D600 as an example, $ 400 for a T42 with a standard 3 year warranty with a Thinkpad, ATI 9600 64 MB graphics cards, 80 gig 5400 RPM drive, and IBM's service and support doesn't seem like a big difference to me.  The D600 still uses an old 32 MB ATI 9000, 1 year warranty unless you pay more, and they don't even offer an 80 gig 5400 RPM drive.  Please don't compare prices on the IBM website to what you see on Dell's website.  There are many other more reasonable sources than IBM's website.  It's like paying MSRP for a new car compared to wheeling and dealing.  Checkout www.thinkpaddepot.com