Misleading Lenovo ad?

[NormM]

Has anybody seen the Lenovo add for the Thinkpad were first the notebook is dropped but the 'airbag protection' saves it.

Some doofus then comes and spills a glass of water onto it but the 'spill resistant keyboard' again saves the notebook.

This all looks well and good unless you notice the small print that comes up at the end telling you that dropping or spilling liquid on your Thinkpad will void the warranty.

Is it just me or is this add slightly misleading to people who may not know better (as in not drop your notebook or spill liquid in it).

Maybe I'm wrong and there are some indestructible Thinkpad models out there

[HUMMER]

anyone who believes in the drop or spill liquid in an equipment and it will be fine deserves anything that is coming to them.

Its all a gimmick.

the guy at EB was telling me his boss was showing off a camera that is drop proof and long story short it broke when the said boss dropped it.

[tensop]

the thinkpads do have drain channels in the keyboard which reroute the water through the casing and out the bottom instead of through the PCB

[Damn_Good]

Originally Posted by HUMMER

anyone who believes in the drop or spill liquid in an equipment and it will be fine deserves anything that is coming to them.

Its all a gimmick.

the guy at EB was telling me his boss was showing off a camera that is drop proof and long story short it broke when the said boss dropped it.

No, anyone who says something that is not so is a liar and the add is indeed misleading.

A gimmick is like a camera on a phone, it is some extra little toy they throw in that no one ever really uses but people see as the greatest inclusion to a communication device since the microphone. Saying and showing that a laptop is water resistant when it isnt is really more of a lie than a gimmick.

Also no camera is going to call itself "drop proof". It will be "shock resistant" to a certain height, but never drop proof.

The misleading advertising serious discussion has been done already, this was probably not worth a new thread.

[HUMMER]

Originally Posted by Damn_Good

No, anyone who says something that is not so is a liar and the add is indeed misleading.

A gimmick is like a camera on a phone, it is some extra little toy they throw in that no one ever really uses but people see as the greatest inclusion to a communication device since the microphone. Saying and showing that a laptop is water resistant when it isnt is really more of a lie than a gimmick.

Also no camera is going to call itself "drop proof". It will be "shock resistant" to a certain height, but never drop proof.

The misleading advertising serious discussion has been done already, this was probably not worth a new thread.

I dont know. 1.5 metres sounds like a drop to me. shock sounds like me shaking the camera vigorously. thats the idea i get.

http://www.current.com.au/2008/05/30...KBTGJGHJV.html

BRISBANE: Ricoh displayed its new G600 10 megapixel digital camera at PMA — it is shockproof against falls up to 1.5 m, waterproof to 1 metre for 30 minutes of underwater shooting and it is dustproof.

[SLATYE]

Originally Posted by NormM

This all looks well and good unless you notice the small print that comes up at the end telling you that dropping or spilling liquid on your Thinkpad will void the warranty.

I see nothing wrong with it. Lenovo are advertising a feature. It's better than nothing, but still not guaranteed to save the laptop. Some car manufacturers advertise how safe their cars are; does that mean that the warranty should cover any injuries if you crash?

To put it another way, should Lenovo not be allowed to advertise these features? If so, then Lenovo obviously won't bother to include them at all (if you can't advertise them, they won't get additional customers). Then we just end up with worse laptops! Seems a bit pointless, really.

[Pyros]

Originally Posted by HUMMER

I dont know. 1.5 metres sounds like a drop to me. shock sounds like me shaking the camera vigorously. thats the idea i get.

letting it fly from a plane a few hundred metres in the sky will constitute a drop as well .

[aerofan88]

if you want to drop laptops then you have to go with the panasonic toughbook. A friend of mine who has one... cant remember the model but mentioned that the laptop was tough as hell and hence dropped it from about 1.5m and it seemed to work fine but its funny to see how a laptop bounces... but then only to discover how much the laptop cost him.

[Crystallin]

Originally Posted by HUMMER

anyone who believes in the drop or spill liquid in an equipment and it will be fine deserves anything that is coming to them.

Its all a gimmick.

Really? We had someone from Panasonic come to work to demonstrate the Toughbook laptops. He let us pour water all over it while it was running and it didn't affect it one bit. It's not hard to waterproof something you know.

[nooobs]

My shuttle SS51G full system dropped 1.5m off a desk and it survived

[MR CHILLED]

As with most electrical devices you should aim never to get it wet. I don't think the ad would be advocating dunking it or hosing it down, but just perhaps has an added measure of protection against incidental spills.

Ad's will tend to exaggerate at times...heh

[HUMMER]

Originally Posted by MR CHILLED

As with most electrical devices you should aim never to get it wet. I don't think the ad would be advocating dunking it or hosing it down, but just perhaps has an added measure of protection against incidental spills.

Ad's will tend to exaggerate at times...heh

thats the general idea. if you accidentally spill some water on it. its ok. not advocating going swimming with your laptop simply because its waterproof.

that goes with shock/drop proof. i dont advocate you really dropping something from your desk to the floor despite what the gimmick shows in the ads. sure if its accidental it gives you that little bit of protection but im not going to put my life on a computer specially if it has a hard drive with moving parts being dropped be it deliberately/purposely or accidentally. sure you cant help the "ooopps, my bad moments."

[crag_v]

i'm agreed with HUMMER ^^ -> they've gotta show off its features somehow. i think a disclaimer is fitting, as a warranty is for fault of manufacture, not misuse or abuse.

i find it acceptable to show the laptop taking a hit in the worst possible scenario but then not cover warranty for it - its kind of like saying the machine will stand up to unintentional abuse better than the competition... but still respect it or the risk is on your own head.

to put it another way, how else would you clearly advertise those snazzy features without actually demonstrating it?


--
related story: back in my PC retail days i had a customer bring her laptop in for a service. we discussed the problems she was having, she signed the worksheet that booked it in for a service, then i wished her a good day as i picked up her laptop in its bag from the counter. the laptop bag was open however, and the laptop fell about 1 meter down to the thinly carpeted concrete ground and cheerfully bounced/cartwheeled to her feet.

[power]

Originally Posted by Crystallin

Really? We had someone from Panasonic come to work to demonstrate the Toughbook laptops. He let us pour water all over it while it was running and it didn't affect it one bit. It's not hard to waterproof something you know.

yes it is, that's why the rep showed it off in a sales push....

the Lenovo is misleading if you can't actually do what they do in the ad.

[DiGiTaL MoNkEY]

Originally Posted by NormM

Has anybody seen the Lenovo add for the Thinkpad were first the notebook is dropped but the 'airbag protection' saves it.

Some doofus then comes and spills a glass of water onto it but the 'spill resistant keyboard' again saves the notebook.

This all looks well and good unless you notice the small print that comes up at the end telling you that dropping or spilling liquid on your Thinkpad will void the warranty.

Is it just me or is this add slightly misleading to people who may not know better (as in not drop your notebook or spill liquid in it).

Maybe I'm wrong and there are some indestructible Thinkpad models out there

I suggest you read disclaimer next time you watch the ad (at the end, on the bottom).