My first laptop was a Thinkpad (DOS + Win 3.1 ) and it *still* works great. Can't remember what processor it has (286?) but it only had 4mb and, this will reveal my age and geekiness, I had to use Quarterdeck memory manager (QEMM).
I just purchased an ASUS... I wanted something with powerful graphics that I can run our CAD programs (so I can finally work on mechanical drawings while listening to music in my family room -- as opposed to my music-less home office) and I figured I would see what the hype is with the new Core i7. A similarly priced machine from Dell was $600 more and a slower graphics card -- didn't see anything from Lenovo that could compete.
Decent reviews for Asus so I figured I would try something new. I have owned Thinkpads, Toshibas and Dells -- of the (3) Toshiba was my favorite.