Lenovo is celebrating the 25th anniversary of IBM’s ThinkPad launch with a retro edition. And the media around the world is reacting with a variety of reactions, from “drool-worthy” to “an expensive oddity.” it’s certainly not cheap.

$1,899.

Yep, that’s a retro price, too.

And with Lenovo having lost its world PC sales leadership to HP while recently reporting a surprise quarterly financial loss, just what impact the retro machine isn;t expected to be much other than triggering a lot of memories.

“The Anniversary Edition 25 alone won’t turn the company around. This is just a limited offering to appeal to its long-time fans,” IDC analyst Bryan Ma told Caixin Global in China . “In that sense, one can’t help but wonder if this could’ve been a bigger opportunity to bring out a more head-turning trophy product, similar to how Apple leveraged its 10-year anniversary of the iPhone. Instead, this was more of just a small party for its fans to bathe in nostalgia.”

But Lenovo execs feel good about the project.

“ThinkPad has helped revolutionize how we do things. Business, education, healthcare, supply chain, transportation and finance are just a few segments that have been transformed by mobile computing over the past 25 years,” said Gianfranco Lanci, president and COO of Lenovo, in announcing the 25th celebration. “The next twenty-five years are an opportunity for new generations to discover the wonders of ThinkPad. As long as there are customer pain points, there will be a ThinkPad to fix them.”

The ThinkPad was designed at IBM’s labs in Yamato Labs by Richard Sapper a decade ahead of IBM’s decision to sell its Raleigh-based PC division to Lenovo – then an upstart based in China, now a global $43 billion Fortune 500 company.

And ThinkPads have been a big part of the Lenovo saga.

More than 130 million ThinkPads have been sold, according to Lenovo.

The reviews are in

Here is a sampling of headlines about the retro ThinkPad:

  • Lenovo’s 25th Anniversary ThinkPad brings back the keyboard we love – Ars Technica
  • Lenovo celebrates ThinkPad’s 25th birthday with a drool-worthy retro throwback – TNW
  • The Lenovo Anniversary ThinkPad is official and it’s gorgeous – Trusted Reviews
  • Lenovo ThinkPad 25 First Look and Unboxing : Memories Reborn- SlashGear
  • Lenovo ThinkPad Anniversary Edition 25 Laptop With Retro ThinkPad Design Launched – NDTV
  • ThinkPad Anniversary Edition 25 finally brings the retro rumors to life -SlashGear
  • ThinkPad Anniversary Edition 25 looks like an expensive oddity- CNET
  • Lenovo’s 25th anniversary Thinkpad corrects years’ worth of wrong turns -Boing Boing
  • Lenovo’s anniversary ThinkPad marries retro design and modern tech – Engadget​

Learn more at:

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171005005640/en/Happy-25th-Birthday-ThinkPad%21