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Continuing our coverage of Lenovo’s product launches, we have the refreshes of Lenovo’s bread & butter T and W Series ThinkPads. Lenovo is incrementing to the 10’s with the product number, so we present to you the T410, T410s, T510 and W510.
As I was writing this post, Lenovo’s Matt Kohut put up an excellent summary of all these refreshed models, highlighting the major changes, including a few that I’d have missed. I highly suggest you give it a read.
Let’s take a look at what is new:
All models
- New Arrandale-based Intel Core i5 & i7 processors, including quad-core in W510
- T510 & W510 are now 15.6-inch 16:9 ratio, 14-inch models stay 16:10
- Keyboard design (larger Esc/Del keys, larger keycaps, etc) from T400s
- Dual noise cancelling mics, low light webcams & dedicated mic mute (as seen on T400s)
- Mini Dock Series 3 docking support (as seen on T400s, details here)
- Full Windows 7 Enhanced Experience support
- Larger, flush-mounted touchpads (appears to be same type & texture as on T400s)
- Fn & CTRL key mapping in BIOS
- T410, T510, W510 support new “bump” battery that attaches to bottom-rear of notebook (see pic below, T410s excluded)
- Existing Ultrabay batteries no longer compatible with T410, T510, W510; is compatible with T410s
- All LED backlit screens with symmetrical LCD (no more off-centered LCD, cosmetic change only)
- Powered USB port that is active when machine is in standby/hibernate, denoted by yellow tab
- USB/eSATA combo port
- ExpressCard 34mm & 5-in-1 card reader (no more choosing between the two)
ThinkPad W510
- Available 95% color gamut display with optional color calibrator
- Four SO-DIMM slots for 16GB max DDR3 1333 RAM
- RAID 0, 1 via Bay Adapter
- Single USB 3.0 port, in addition to three USB 2.0 ports
- NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M 1GB switchable graphics
- 128GB, 160GB & 256GB SSD options
- Core 2 Quad i7-720QM (1.6GHz), i7-820Q (1.73GHz), Extreme i7-920XM (2GHz)
ThinkPad T410
- Entirely new mechanical design
- Adds 4th USB 2.0 port
- 6-cell battery now sits flush (unclear if new batteries are used)
- NVIDIA NVS 3100M 512MB switchable graphics standard (same on T510)
- Core i5-520M (2.4GHz), i5-540M (2.53GHz) & i7-620M (2.66GHz) processors (same on T510)
ThinkPad T410s
- NVIDIA NVS 3100M 512MB switchable graphics standard
- Core i5-520M (2.4GHz), i5-540M (2.53GHz) processors
Phew, that turned out to be a lot more changes than I figured when just glancing at the documents. Now let’s talk a bit about what all this means – hit the jump for more analysis and photos.
As you can see, the 410/510 refresh is more than just a processor bump. There are a very healthy number of little tweaks, or in the case of the T410 an entirely new chassis. The T410s is by far the least refreshed machine, which makes sense given it was the basis for many of the changes made to the T410/T510/W510.
Lots of changes under the W500’s sheet metal
Perhaps the most to be excited about is the W510, as it gains a high color range display and has a whopping four memory slots. This is great not only for maximum RAM expansion, now up to 16GB, but also because you can now get 8GB total RAM without resorting to the pricey 4GB sticks. I really have to hand it to Lenovo with the W510, they made relatively small changes that add up to a huge amount of value in this refreshed machine.
Reviewing the photos, you’ll notice that Lenovo uses the extra width from the 16:9 displays for larger speakers, or at least larger speaker grills. Hopefully they used that extra real estate for better speakers, a traditionally under-whelming feature of ThinkPads.
Keyboard
It looks like the people won this battle: you now have the option to switch the Fn & CTRL keys in the BIOS. Of course for every person who owns a current ThinkPad and hates the layout, you’re out of luck. At least for now, there is a possibility Lenovo could offer this change in an updated BIOS for previous generation models, but I wouldn’t hope for it on systems older than the 400/500/200’s.
All models also get the T400s’ well improved keyboard design, with larger keycaps and enlarged Esc/Del keys. I gushed over the T400s keyboard in my review, with the main complaint of the F-keys being squished. I have gotten over that complaint thanks to a helpful tip from a reader; now I use Ctrl-W to close my browser tabs and don’t miss Ctrl-F4 in the least.
Everything else
I love the battery change on the T410 and the bump battery is a smart option. It still remains to be seen if the battery change means the 410/510’s use all new batteries; frankly, I will be sorely disappointed if ANOTHER set of batteries are needed for this generation. At least the power adapters stayed the same.
The docking solutions have thankfully been consolidated and they are quite excellent solutions at that. While the move to standard 34mm and 5-in-1 card readers may seem small, it is a smart move that has been needed for a while. Previously on some models you had to choose between an ExpressCard slot and card reader, which was a bit like choosing which of your feet to shoot.
I have to say that this “refresh” is more like watching teenagers mature. Each of these products had to go a bit astray for a while, with seemingly odd or misplaced development choices, but now they have all come together in refreshing union. With all their displays centered, proper card slots, batteries that don’t stick out, common docks and damn near perfect keyboards, the ThinkPad T and W Series are coming (back) into their own. Brings a bit of a tear to your eye, doesn’t it?
ThinkPad T410 gallery
ThinkPad T410s gallery
ThinkPad T510 gallery
ThinkPad W510 gallery
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[...] models, including the latest ThinkPad T410s. You can read all about the changes in the T410s here, which will tell you that it’s just new processors and NVIDIA [...]
What about the fabrics for T410? Does it include the same materials like the T410s which again is based on the X310 or does it stick to “scrap n’ plastic”?
Oh, I guess everyone here agrees that a 16:9 ratio for the T510 and W510 makes those models even less attractive by now.
Once again from the horse’s mouth:
Any news on available screen resolutions, rather than just ratios and sizes?
Same as before really.
T410: WXGA & WXGA+
T510: Lenovo is now calling these HD (1366×768, 220 nit), HD+ (1600×900, 220 nit) and FHD (Full HD, 1920×1080, 280 nit, 95% color gamut)
W510: Should be same as T510, but I don’t have the latest data on that
T410s: same 1440×900 16:10
I guess gone are the days of the 1200 pixels for the vertical resolution!
Is it me or lenovo just took a second step backwards with 16:9 ?
Not just Lenovo, pretty much the entire industry is going 16:9, especially in 15-inch or larger screens
Ha!
Discrete Graphics on the T410s! My Wish has come true, I will update as soon as possible.
This is indeed a happy new year.
Kind regards, mtness.
With Western Digital announcing their first series of USB 3.0 mass storages, how big are chances that the motherboard can get updated for USB 3.0-compatibility – or even light peak – within this year?
Straight from the horse’s mouth:
I own a T400s and I’m sad to see that the 3 status LEDs are now standard on all the Thinkpads. Gone are the num lock and scroll lock indicators. The battery indicator LED is also only visible from the outside… not very useful for determining the remaining battery usage when using the laptop. I use Linux as my primary OS, so it may be that I’m missing some neat features that reuse some of the other LEDs for different purposes (ie. does the power LED light ever change when the computer is in use?)
I meant to make mention of that. All the new models do feature the T400s’ redesigned LED layout. Not a fan
They probably wanted to keep the design clean and decided that the battery LED isn’t needed as you have the PowerManager’s gauge on the Windows taskbar when you’re using it. If you’re using Linux, you have similar gauges in GNOME/KDE. If you’re not using X, you’re out of luck :\
Any idea if the W510 has a DisplayPort? T510 tech specs on US site has it, but W-series page doesn’t have tech specs right now.
Thanks!
It *looks* like it does, and if the T510 has it, then the W510 should. And it *looks* like there is a DisplayPort on the rear in this picture. But the really old specs doc I have does not list it – likely an oversight.
There’s this picture http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenovophotolibrary/4255205578/sizes/o/in/set-72157623120731322/ but I’m not sure which is the DisplayPort. In some pictures, it looks like the T510 and the W510 chassis are different. I wasn’t going to get the W, but seeing the quad-core makes me re-consider; that and the 16GB RAM capability. I wonder what the battery life will be like on the W (not super critical though; I’ll be plugged in most of the time, I reckon).
The four dimm slots in the w510 are a welcome upgrade that I’ve wanted for years, though real workstations use ECC ram. The nvidia graphics (including on the 410s) are a big turn-off because of heat generation and linux compatibility issues. 16:9 is a total stinker. I wonder if they can make some kind of tablet-like setup where the screen can actually rotate, so you can use it in vertical mode (9:16 instead of 16:9 as it were). That would be heaven for those of us who fetishize vertical resolution rather than horizontal.
I’m short of cash right now but the closeout deals on the W700DS are kind of intriguing. I wonder if they will keep producing that dual screen setup. I guess in other regards the w700/700ds is already a kludgy tank though.
I have a puzzle for you. The post says all models have a 5in1 card reader. Where is it on a T410?
I’ll reply myself. It seems it could be on the front to the right of the lid latch as seen on the third photo.
Good question. I think it is right below the smart card reader, as seen here, but that image is out of date and didn’t show it. Unfortunately none of the press pics are helpful there.
John, you must have missed my reply. I’m pretty sure it’s next to the latch, look here:
http://www.thinkpads.com/wp-content/gallery/lenovo-thinkpad-t410/lenovo_thinkpad_t410_front-open.jpg
Your picture shows the right side. There’s a ExpressCard/34mm slot there and eSATA connector below it. The SmartCard Reader is on the left side of the machine.
Man I want to have this beast badly
Another puzzle is the fingerprint reader on the T/W510. On most photos it looks almost as if someone added it later to the picture. It doesn’t have the plastic depression around it. Only one photo (shot from behind) definitely has this depression.
[...] there aren’t nearly as many discounts on it. You can see what the changes in the T410 are in this post, but they aren’t enough to outweigh this awesome [...]
Ordered T410S Jan 12 from Lenovo website. Est ship date Feb 17.
Where can one order a W510, and what might be the approx.price? Lenovo said they are not selling T510 and W510 on their website.
They have been pulled from sale for now. No ETA just yet.
Actually this information about EC/Card Readers selections seems to be wrong. I can only see one slot for EC on the pictures, and moreover on Lenovo’s web laptop configurator one still has to choose between the two. Shame, Lenovo. Moreover, no SmartCard Reader for T410s. If they couldn’t manage to find a space for a slot then they should use a contactless one like on Dell’s paper-thin Latitude Z600. These flaws are a bit annoying as otherwise with external graphics, internal broadband, optional WiMax and first of all the groundbreaking Core i5-540m this would’ve been a killer. Whether it is anyhow, we’ll find out after some in-depth reviews are made as the first items ship to their lucky owners.