Got lucky, Z61m came today

I ordered my Z61m on May 25th and received a notice that the approximate ship date would be June 24th. The salesperson told me I would have to wait 4-6 weeks for it to be shipped and I was OK with it. It just arrived this morning and luckily my roomate signed for it. Just thought I'd let the forum know that these things are being built and being shipped.

I won't be able to get home unitl tomorrow so I will be unable to comment on initial build quality or dead pixels etc..

 

congrats on the new Z laptop.

 

Thank you! I used a dell inspiron for years. The Dell was great for a first notebook but it groaned when being transported daily and could never handle graphically intensive software I have to use for medical research (MRI analysis). I researched notebooks for months before making a move and I am very pleased with the ThinkPad. It is an absolute pleasure to use this machine and there have been no problems after a few weeks of use.

It's actually quite funny to have this computer as my first TP. Those who have used more traditionally designed models seem to be a bit taken aback by the consumer look and/or features of this machine. Mine has a black lid and, to me, it looks like a dinstinctive black box compared to other machines. I've been putting it in a sleeve, then into a messenger bag, for my daily train commute. It's power and screen size make it feel like a portable workstaton.

 

The intention of my initial post was to make the point that this Z61m was delivered 1.5 weeks early. Could it be that most people who post with shipping problems are those who are having a bad experience while those who are pleased have no reason to post?

 

I ordered the z61m today and my ship date is aug 1, so I hope mine might come a little early too. I also got the black top for weight savings and looks.
Have an more detailed intial impressions??

 

Out of the box, your computer will feel like a 6 lb. brick. In person, the plastic is appealing, fined grained and deep black in color. With the lid closed you first notice the classic IBM tricolor symbol, as it really stands out against it's dark background. You'll also notice the huge, stainless steel hinges gleaming against the dark color of the black lid. The hinges are shaped so that they are running parallel with the screen when it is opened but comform the box shape when the lid is closed. These hinges are ridiculously strong and stiff. After a few weeks of continuous opening and closing I am still prying the top open using two hands. This is a good thing for me after getting whiplash from chasing my old Dell screen as it wobbled about when ever not perfectly still. My girlfriend picked this thing up by the screen yesterday and as the base slowly opened away from the screen, I was thankful this was a ThinkPad.

The look of the system when opened is nicely consistent with the all-black look of the machine when it is closed. Just as when closed, the open notebook is all dark black with restrained accenting. The black color of they keys seem to match the black case perfectly while the blacks on my old Dell did not match. The feel of the keyboard is hard for me to describe if you haven't used a TP before. My first impressions and feel of the keys when pressed were that they were solid, well-planted, stiff and large. It also makes a dull clickity sound when typing. I have no idea whick keyboard I have and do not care. Copared to other notebook boards I've used, this one is particularly as pleasure. The board, along with the palmrests, is very solid. I can't make them flex with a good amount of force applied. The only flex I could find was the center of the right side speaker. I suspect this is due to the optical drive bay below (I think I'm filling this in with an extra battery; I don't want the 9cell hanging out the back end). The case material has been described as being a kind of strong plastic. The bottom half of the base, and as it wraps around to the back of the machine, is indeed thick plastic. The board and palm rest area, however, are coverd by thin flexible plastic. They remain solid by conforming closely to the magnesium allow rollcage underneath.

The computer is fast and has not slowed down with 3 browser screens open, itunes video playing, disk degrag running and installing new software. The installed software is fun to play with and very useful. One of my favorites is the real-time hard drive braking view. With this running you can tilt your computer to the left and an image of your computer will appear to tilt left within the program. Shake it aroujnd and the image will shake along with it while also letting you know if your shaking is strong enough to pause th e drive.

Ok, it's late. I hope I gave you something to look forward to. It felt nice to get the praise out of my system.

 

So, you ordered the matte-black model. I like it better than the titanium one. Very much a Thinkpad with widescreen. Wow!

 

No pictures?

 

Congrats, I'm glad you are happy with your new thinkpad. After a year, I still haven't had any problems with mine.