From: Ken Fletcher (fletk_at_efn.org)
Date: Tue Dec 15 1998 - 18:41:56 EST
On Tue, 15 Dec 1998, Eric Giles wrote:
>I read another post on the laptop newsgroup later on that might explain what
>has happened. Someone else called IBM inquiring about this. They were told
>that the 1400 series production run had completely sold out since its
>introduction. So, IBM decided (this is what was posted) that instead of
>producing more of the same model they would start production of a newer 1400
>model with updated features to keep them competitive.
I posted that message. The rep said that there would be more i-Series
models; she didn't actually say there would be more 1400 models. It could
be a different number series. And she hinted that this move was due to
the popularity of the i-Series.
My own feeling is that IBM, after selling out of the initial run of 1410s
and 1450s, found them so popular that they decided to upgrade the
lower-end i-Series immediately to stay ahead of the curve in the cheap
active-matrix desktop replacement market. That's just my own hunch,
lacking any hard data or inside information. Still, though, it feels weird
to be using a two-week old computer that's already discontinued! It was
announced in October, started shipping in November, and now in
mid-December it's done! Sheesh!
Since this is my first post to the list, I should say that I own a
Thinkpad 1450, with 64 megs of RAM. (Previously I was laboring in the
dark ages with a Compaq 386 notebook w/grayscale VGA, 4meg RAM and 40meg
HD: surfing the net text-only with LYNX through my ISP's unix shell!)
I initially ordered a 1410 direct from IBM on the strength of a review by
Peter Lewis of the New York Times in his "Computers" column that ran in
the local paper on November 1st. I had been waiting for a good
active-matrix notebook to come down to the $1500 level, and the 1410
looked almost too good to be true. But IBM's target ship date for the unit
kept slipping farther and farther into the future. Finally out of
frustration I checked Circuit City (who hadn't had any i-Series models in
stock at the time I read the review). They had no 1410s, but they DID
have some 1450s. I decided to cough up the extra $$ and walked out with
my new computer! I cancelled the 1410 order, of course, but probably
needn't have, after hearing the recent news of its discontinuation.
Cheers,
Ken
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