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Engadget has gotten hold of another Lenovo roadmap, which confirms the existence of a few models still un-announced. They also dug up a photo from CES that hints at a change for the iconic X Series.
As you can see in the image above, there will indeed be a refresh to the X200 series coming soon. To be named the X201, we can expect the new Intel Arrandale processors and some minor form factor changes, but I’m not expecting much in the way of brand new tech.
However, Engadget did find an errant photo in their cache from CES 2010 that shows a notebook labeled as an X200 with *gasp* a touchpad. It is safe to believe this will appear on the X201, but fear not: I fully believe Lenovo will offer the X201 with and without a touchpad. Purists need not worry! (Hit the source link below to see the pic)
You’ll also see the W701 on this roadmap, which will likely get infused with a beastly Core i7 Extreme quad-core chip and refreshed graphics. But what don’t you see here? A new version of the X301.
Intel hasn’t announced any new ULV parts yet to my knowledge, so Lenovo is really just waiting around for new tech that will make updating worthwhile. Although I’m sure the masses wouldn’t complain about a model with a better screen and lower price (due to SSD price drops), even if the processor were the same.
What IS new on this roadmap
You can’t help but notice the “corporate mainstream” additions to the roadmap, the L400 and L500. ThinkPad L Series? For corporate mainstream? Don’t let my cynicism drip onto your keyboard.
I guess this is replacing the rather defunct R Series, but why? The T Series are already priced quite low and you can choose from both the SL and now Edge models. Sure, the SL and Edge might not be labelled as “corporate mainstream” and I guess they wouldn’t have the AMT BIOS management features, but does that necessitate a whole new product line? Maybe the L Series will be de-contented T Series? Time will tell.
Source: [Engadget]
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I’m pretty disappointed with what Lenovo did with the X201. They just basically added a touchpad and new CPUs. The X201 will use the ‘old’ keyboard layout and docks (good for backwards compatibilities).
The X210 is rumored to come out next year with the improvements that the T400s introduced months ago. Hopefully the chassis on the X210 won’t be as thick as the X200/X201 as I don’t understand why the T400s WITH a optical drive can be thinner than a X200 without one.
X210 that long huh? It’s the first rumor I heard. Personally, I am hoping they will bump the memory in the X series to 8GB as well.
Keep in mind fellas, this is all conjecture at this point. Maybe Lenovo will do more with the X201, maybe not.
You’ve also got to keep in mind when products were refreshed. The X200 series are a newer design than the T400 was; T400 for all intents and purposes was a T61 with some minor changes. Thus Lenovo needs to get their money out of the X200 design before dumping it for a new one.
As for why the T400s is thinner than an X200, it comes down to two things: money and size. First of all, a complicated super-thin design on a 12-inch notebook costs more money to properly R&D. Do you long for the days of $2K+ X Series?
Second, full-power processors in such a small chassis produce a lot of heat. If you make the chassis super thin, that heat is even more difficult to control. A thicker chassis allows for better thermal management.
Personally I really like the X200 design. Sure it’s not as sexy as an X301, but the form factor is great, as is the performance. And battery life? Wow.
That is a good point. I am personally not looking for a complete refresh, but more memory and an updated processor. When Dell can offer 8GB of memory in their Latitude E4200, I feel Lenovo can do the same.
Lenovo may not offer it, but it can be done. Link Of course it requires 4GB modules, which are pricey. I definitely wouldn’t expect four memory slots like the W510 got.
All good points, but keep in mind that the T400 series got two model refreshes before the X200 series even got one (T400s and T410/T410s). I just don’t understand why Lenovo didn’t make current updates (keyboard/next gen docks) on the X201 while the rest of the lines (T and even W) got the updates. Seems like the X-series department focused all of their innovation behind the X100e.
I just want a thinner laptop as well. Everyone knows that the X200 runs extremely well (thermally speaking) and it doesn’t have an optical drive which leaves a lot of potential for thinning the chassis without harm. IMHO, heating issues are not a problem in thinning down the X200. Whatever is done on the T400s should be easily possible on the X200 series. It will just take a little R&D (a LOT less than what it took to make the X100e and the Edge). I have had a X200t, X300, and X301 and I loved the thinness when trying to cram as much things as I could in my bag.
Everyone has their opinion, and I’m in the minority here, but I would happily sacrifice a few hours of battery life for a less than a 1″ thin X200. My point is that Lenovo decided to create an entirely thinner chassis for the T400s (when compared to the T400). The X200s and even X201 do not have ANY improvements.
What really disappointed me most was the continuation of CRAPPY screens on Thinkpads. Sure, multimedia isn’t a priority, but it kinda sucks when another collegue can’t see your data sheets without turning the notebook directly in front of him and with him sitting down after finding an extra chair. Everyone complains about this, but nothing gets done. This is why I turned to the tablet version and why I am already in the $2000+ X-series category.
/rant
I call the type of screen with less viewing angles a feature because I don’t want people being able to see what I am doing on my laptop.
The Arrandale cpu is interesting for security since it has a fast AES encryption instruction. It should be able to handle hard drive encryption with less cpu overhead than implementing the encryption completely in software.
What did the X400s bring that the X201s won’t have? The eSATA port sounds useful, I guess, and maybe Display Port. Do either of them have 6Gb/s interal SATA? That will be worth having for next-generation SSD’s. I think the combined audio ports into one socket is a step backwards.
My T61 has a touchpad and I shut it off so it doesn’t bother me. As long as it’s not displacing something on the X201 or making the machine bigger, who cares if they add it?
Dude… That’s “Tablet”, which is pretty obvious a refresh of the X200 Tablet… Come on! This is Thinkpads.com, I expect better from you guys! : )
Engadget has a little bit more information.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/05/lenovo-thinkpad-x201t-convertible-tablet-hits-the-fcc-australia/
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