Over the years I have been lucky enough to use an IBM ThinkPad laptop as my business laptop for work. I always found them to be an absolute pleasure to use, extremely robust and coming with a number of neat touches that generally made life easier for the business traveler. But unfortunately these days you are no longer able to buy yourself an IBM PC. This is because IBM no longer makes personal computers, either desktops or laptops, having sold its PC division to Lenovo in 2005. Interestingly however, Lenovo a Chinese company with a western CEO that is really only just beginning to flex its corporate muscles, also acquired along with the company the rights to all the IBM brands, at least until 2010.

What this means is that if you still like the idea of having a new ThinkPad laptop just like the old days, you can still do so. The company name is different but the brand and build quality is the same. My recommendations would be the something from the T series for a mobile workstation, something like the Lenovo ThinkPad T60. For someone who is on the move a lot, something lighter from the X series would be more appropriate, something like the Lenovo Thinkpad X61.

Lenovo like IBM have largely been focused on the business market, however the company has recently announced a new strategy, with an increased focus on the consumer market. This has resulted in a recently announced new line of consumer oriented desktops and laptops. I expect Dell and HP will have a much more aggressive competitor in future, which can only be good news for the consumer!