Apparently that cheap Chinese labor ain't what it used to be:
Lenovo's putting all its laptop eggs in the Taiwan basket. Lenovo currently has Quanta, Compal, Wistron and Inventec building for it in Taiwan, and the company plans to drop one of those from its consumer line and add one manufacturer to its ThinkPad line. This apparently means that Lenovo's outsourcing its laptop manufacturing completely for the first time in its history, which might seem a bit odd for a Chinese company, but with Lenovo's market share slipping to the likes of Acer, it seems the time is right to make a move.
[Via
DigiTimes]
Update: According to Lenovo, this news of laptop production moving to Taiwan is 100% false.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
trick @ Jan 21st 2008 9:11AM
"but with Lenovo's market share slipping to the likes of Acer, it seems the time is right to make a move." - What? How does that logic work? If a company's products become less competitive, then it's reasonable to take steps to make sure they remain less competitive?
Flashpoint @ Jan 21st 2008 9:15AM
I am typing this on a Lenovo X60 tablet laptop. Problem with IBM in general is the product is too expensive - even though the build quality and features list is very good. This one has a Biometric scanner, bluetooth,wifi and penabled Wacom built in.
ACER laptops are so cheap IBM can't hope to compete with them. IBM competes with ultralight SONY's and iBooks.
Karan @ Jan 21st 2008 10:24AM
Since it's Lenovo and not IBM, your point?
silverblackvoid @ Jan 21st 2008 9:21AM
i loved IBM Thinkpads. i dont like Lenovo Thinkpads. seems kinda funny though.
TDG01 @ Jan 21st 2008 9:36AM
I felt that when IBM sold to Lenovo the quality and stability of their machines tanked....the keyboards got chinsy and it simply not as stable...
With it outsourcing production...it'll probably get worse....gotta look for an alternative.
Denver_80203 @ Jan 21st 2008 9:57AM
I have not noticed any such difference. Perception often is shaped by suggestion.
TDG01 @ Jan 21st 2008 10:05AM
It's not perception....it's documented. I buy over 200 T60p laptops a year....2007 saw a 13% failure rate...It's been increasingly getting worse for the past 3 years...And what's not even reflected in the the 13% is how crappy the ThinkVantage software has become....Just pick up a T42p from 3 years ago and type on the keyboard....then go back to a T60p...they're miles apart.
You may have a great experience....which is great. But suggesting it's perception is not accurate.
Matt @ Jan 21st 2008 12:36PM
You do know that the T40 series was made by Lenovo, right? Lenovo has been manufacturing the Thinkpad line for IBM since like 2001, and before them it was Lexmark.
Personally I think my T60 is sturdier than my T42 in terms of build, it runs cooler, and is quieter.
TDG01 @ Jan 21st 2008 12:55PM
Yes I know that Lenovo has been making them long before they started putting their name on them. However when IBM owned them they were responsible for quality standards and assurance....not any longer. To me...cooler, quieter, faster, better screens, better hinges, are all true....but that has more to do with the evolution of technology.....
To me...the IBM machines were a better integrated, tested, and executed product....My opinion...
paragraph @ Jan 21st 2008 9:38AM
So, let me get this straight...
IBM Outsorces/Licsenses it's Think* line of Consumer grade comptuers to a crappy Chineese company no consumer has ever heard of.
Crappy Chineese company no consumer has ever heard of oursources production of outsourced/licensed IBM Think* Computers to even crappier Taiwanese company that no consumer has ever heard of, but is putting money on low quality so that crappy chineese comapny that no consumer has ever heard of can compete with another crappy (isn't Acer Taiwanese?) company that makes the bulk of it's money selling cheap computers that wern't even state of the art two years ago in Wal*Mart to rednecks.
Here is an idea... why not just outsource to Acer? Not only would you then be cutting thier ability to directly compete with you (allthough, if they are doing all of the work... what do they care?) but you're saving money, and making money... and you don't have to pay all those people to build crap...
Passing the buck... it's a good thing.
Richard Lai @ Jan 21st 2008 9:51AM
Taiwanese OEM is the future for laptop brands. Acer has been catching up in recent years, and even the newcomer Asus is doing very well.
I'd like to see how you justify the mentioned OEM companies as crappy. I do wonder what laptop you use, if any?
paragraph @ Jan 21st 2008 10:39AM
All laptops are inheritly crap, since most of them are made of cheap plastic and inferior components.
I have had my fair share of laptops, dells, compaqs, a toshiba, right now i have an HP. It's not great, but it works, still, it's made from cheap parts.
I don't like plastic that cracks once an ounce of stress is put on it... just isn't right, i expect some sort of quality in build materials.
Either way, my general basis for saying that these OEMs are Crap, is because there are few good quality laptops these days. Hence most OEMs are Crap.
Additionally, i'm one of those "If it's a small company i've never heard of, it must suck" kinda folks... not really, but if you want to just label me like that like everyone else, go ahead, i still maintain that most OEM stuff sucks.
Nothing more or less @ Jan 21st 2008 11:01AM
But wasn't Acer also known as winstron ?
Richard Lai @ Jan 21st 2008 4:44PM
paragraph: to be fair, out of those you have used or now using, two of them are crap anyway: Compaq and HP. Well, both are HP anyway.
If you want strong build, just get a Lenovo ThinkPad (which is what the topic's about) or a Panasonic Toughbook.
Jan @ Jan 21st 2008 9:39AM
This is just not natural. Designed in Beijing. Made in Taiwan.
someone please slap me, i think i'm dreaming
Andrew @ Jan 21st 2008 10:10AM
I am pretty sure someone just wants to rub it in Chen Shui-bien's face.
Kev @ Jan 21st 2008 2:30PM
It's more like a Chinese company outsourcing to Taiwanese owned/managed Chinese factories.
So it's still made in China.
Andrs @ Jan 21st 2008 9:53AM
Really?
Lenovo outsourcing production to Taiwan of all places?
Doesn't the chinese government have some stake in Lenovo?
OneLove @ Jan 21st 2008 9:56AM
Thats because they are overpriced and they don't offer nicer hardware choices.
z @ Jan 21st 2008 9:57AM
Wait a sec, wasn't Lenovo the manufacturer for IBM Thinkpads before, which is why IBM sold the division to them. Now they don't manufacture anything themselves? My mind is spinning!
That said, I don't really expect quality to drop. Generally speaking, Taiwan is better at manufacturing than the China counterparts.
Nothing more or less @ Jan 21st 2008 10:42AM
Ye I heard that too, quanta the company that is responsible for manufacturing the $100 laptops, they actually manufacture most of their stuff in China.
Bumpermeat @ Jan 21st 2008 10:13AM
Hate to tell all of you this, but very little notebook manufacturing occurs in Taiwan anymore. Most of the major OEMs/ODMs moved their manufacturing to China a few years ago. Yes, Quanta, Compal, Asus-Alpha, Wistron, etc. are all Taiwanese companies, in that their headquarters are located there, but all of them have assembly plants in mainland China. Very few PC brands do their own in-house assembly, and for those that do, it's a very small percentage of their total output.
Nothing more or less @ Jan 21st 2008 10:13AM
Anyone here heard about the rumour of Lenovo X300 ?
Btw, I haven't got any problems with Lenovo thinkpad so far, still working fine, oops I also spilled coffee on it quite a few times.
Maxsquared @ Jan 21st 2008 11:00AM
I think Lenovo's fine, as I remembered T43 was designed by IBM, but manufactored by Lenovo, also, the Lenovo design team is still the same as IBM design team which is based in Japan.
I bought a new washing machine couple days ago from Comet, coz I was on a budget, bought the cheapest one, and it's Haier, another Chinese company, the washing machine was rock solid, the toughest I've had, much better than my previous Hotpoint. So I think it's not Thinkpad got crappier, is your prejudice that's crap!!!
tutut @ Jan 21st 2008 11:13AM
oh my dear, hotpoint, the nightmare.
I was going to buy that budget green american style fridge of Haier from Comet, but they all were sold out TWICE ! So I bought a medium sized whirlpool instead.
GregTsai @ Jan 21st 2008 11:52AM
If I remembered correctly, all ThinkPads (IBM and Lenovo) are designed by Yamato Lab in Japan. IBM sold the lab along with ThinkPad brand to Lenovo, who used to manufacture notebooks for IBM. But since Lenovo is trying to sell its brand rather than build stuff for other company, they have to outsource laptop productions to Taiwanese company just like every other big companies do.
And although these are Taiwanese companies, they have to move their production line to China because of the cheaper labour, which makes the whole lenovo outsourcing decision a bit irony.This may just proved that these Taiwanese companies really do their jobs well.
Btw, Acer and Wistron used to be the same company, but they have to seperate because brand and maniufacturing businesses conflicts.
Eric YJ Chiu @ Jan 21st 2008 12:20PM
1. United Nation and the U.S. both agreed that Taiwan is part of the PRC.
2. All Taiwaness OEM suppliers have their plants in mainland china.
GregTsai @ Jan 21st 2008 12:51PM
No.1 is only a political issue.
The truth is these two places are governed by two completely different government, and people take different passport.
Distinguishing Taiwanese companies from Chinese companies makes perfect sense.
Eric YJ Chiu @ Jan 21st 2008 12:56PM
yet the main point is that these 'Taiwanese' tech firms build everything in 'Mainland' China.
so I don't see a point to distinguish Mainland China firms with Mainland China factories and Taiwan firms with Mainland China factories.
by the end of the day, everything is physically made in mainland China, as always
GregTsai @ Jan 21st 2008 1:16PM
When two people use the same kind of pen to draw, I wouldn't consider their work being the same.
tekdemon @ Jan 21st 2008 6:09PM
Eh, this political stuff is all pretty silly actually. Heck, some of the political parties in Taiwan even agree that they're the same country, or at least want to rejoin with the PRC.
It's pretty pointless overall though, since there's so much cross-investment that they're already linked beyond separation.
Danny @ Jan 21st 2008 12:23PM
Lenovo build quality:
on my x61t the screws on the bezel corners are tightened so much the plastic just crumbled apart recently. Checked online and there are quite a few with that problem. How can that be?! Then there's the well known bezel issue (2mm gap between bezel and screen) and a few flimsy parts (the plastic cover on the right of the keyboard and the think vantage button frame on the top) - i've given up on lenovo. I used a 4 year old thinkpad recently at a friends and it's condition and build quality were way better than that of my 4 month old one.
I have to say though, especially in the tablett market the pricing is amazingly competitive and the machines are quite powerful... but the built? In no way.
chris @ Jan 21st 2008 1:30PM
I currently have a IBM t40, IBM t42 and Lenovo t61. The quality of the t40 and t42 are far superior to the t61. Even the initial quality of the t61 was poor. When it arrived there was a huge bulge in the center top between the keyboard and dispay bezel. Onsite service came to fix it and found there was large piece of tape left in there by accident. Another item that has gone down are the keyboards, the t61's keyboard feel is very poor, compared to the t40 & t42. If you ever had a 'old' IBM thinkpad, you know how good those keyboards are.
TDG01 @ Jan 21st 2008 1:44PM
exactly...couldn't agree with you more...the old keyboards were amazing...the touch feel was the best...bar none...now it all chincy...
tutut @ Jan 21st 2008 1:53PM
And yet despite these complaints, Lenovo was still voted as one of the most reliable laptop maker along with Apple.
qwert @ Jan 21st 2008 2:05PM
so let me repeat this:
american company IBM has sold their previously outsourced computer line to their manufucturer lenovo.
fine, i already knew that, and thats how globalization works.
the lenovo think* are still designed by the also sold japanese branch. Lenovo outsources their production to taiwanse OEMs who have outsourced their production to china.
USA -> China -> Japan -> China -> Taiwan -> China
Well, we will see how that works.
i hope it does, since the pictured subnote really looks very nice. maybe this will replace my ibook (wasnt that also made by quanta, or was it asus?).
qwert
tutut @ Jan 21st 2008 2:16PM
This is the review of Lenovo thinkpad T60
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2767
"In other words, there's no shortcuts being used in build quality from past ThinkPad notebooks since the Lenovo takeover of IBM -- only enhancements."
And as someone here already said Lenovo already manufactured Thinkpads for IBM even before they acquired the Thinkpad lines, so how can the "before" Thinkpads differ from the "after" Thinkpads ?