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With the full review of Lenovo’s ultraportable ThinkPad X201 coming soon, I thought our dedicated ThinkPad-erati would appreciate an early look at the biggest change the X201 brings: the touchpad.
New touchpad option on Lenovo ThinkPad X201: my verdictMonday, August 23rd, 2010 If you own a 2010 ThinkPad, be sure to update your BIOSTuesday, August 17th, 2010 T400 9-cell on top, T410 9-cell on bottom This latest PSA comes straight from Lenovo’s Connections blog. ThinkPad models introduced this year have an important BIOS and firmware update waiting that fixes a possible incorrect battery charge level.
So if you own one of the ThinkPad systems listed below, hit the source link to get the scoop on how you can get your requisite updates. IdeaPads are unaffected by this issue.
Source: [Lenovo Connections] Lenovo launches ThinkPad X201i with Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) supportTuesday, August 10th, 2010
Out east in Taiwan, Lenovo recently announced a new ThinkPad X201i model that features support for Intel’s Wireless Display (WiDi) technology. Just like it sounds, WiDi uses the Intel graphics adapter and wireless card to transmit the video signal to a TV. The TV must of course have a WiDi adapter, which receives the wireless signal and runs it through either component or HDMI inputs. Intel mentioned the adapter is currently priced at $99, but that the street price will eventually drop to the $50-60 range. According to Intel’s WiDi page, you can pick up supported laptops and the adapter through a retailer like Best Buy. Some other supported laptops include the Dell Studio 15z, Sony VAIO S Series and Toshiba Satellite E205. In reality, you can use any notebook that meets the requirements listed below. Of interesting note is that you must have a 64-bit operating system. This isn’t much of an issue, as most OEMs ship only 64-bit Win7 these days, but it really shows how 32-bit operating systems are a thing of the past.
Source: [DigiTimes] Now shipping: Lenovo ThinkPad X201i with Core i3Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
Beginning today, you can purchase Lenovo’s ThinkPad X201i, where the ‘i’ denotes the less costly Core i3 processor option. With two identical configurations, the X201i with Core i3-370M (2.4GHz) is $200 cheaper than the X201 with Core i5-520M (2.4-2.93GHz). While the Core i3 chips do lack the Turbo Boost feature that increases individual core speeds as possible, they are still based on the same processor architecture and are quite fast. That makes the ‘i’ model ThinkPads quite the bargain, as the only thing you’re losing out on is a relatively tiny bit of speed. This is an especially good deal right now with the 15% off ThinkPad X201 coupon that is running through August 4th. With the coupon, you can get a Core i3 X201i starting at $849 or a Core i5 version for $934. Click here to configure your X201 and apply coupon code: USPTHINKBTS The rule of thumb when building out a computer is to include everything else you need, particularly generous amounts of RAM, and then spend the rest of your budget on CPU. Since most modern CPU’s have the same features and capabilities, it is just a matter of how long it takes different chips to complete the same operation. How much is your time worth? We knew back in February that Lenovo was going to use the ‘i’ moniker to reference systems that specifically used the lower cost Core i3 CPU. To date, you can purchase only the T410i with Core i3, though a T410si and T510i are expected at some point as well. Source: [Lenovo] Lenovo ThinkPads to be sold as Thin ClientsFriday, July 16th, 2010
A couple of Lenovo’s ThinkPad laptops are being repackaged as thin client computers. The 11.6-inch ThinkPad X100e and 14.1-inch SL410 will be offered by VXL Instruments as the TL100 and TL412 thin clients, respectively. Thin clients are computers that run minimal or even no operating systems & software locally, rather operating as a terminal to resources provided over a network connection. One of the benefits to this are reduced system requirements, allowing vendors to utilize systems with lower end, cheaper specifications to reduce cost, complexity and even power consumption. Accordingly, the X100e/TL100 is outfitted with an AMD Athlon MV-40 chip, while the SL410/TL412 gets an Intel Celeron P4500 dual-core chip. Since load on the system itself will be relatively small, these laptops only come with 1GB RAM and 1GB local flash storage. Source: [WindowsforDevices.com] BREAKING: Lenovo ThinkPad X301 to be discontinued, supplanted by T410sTuesday, July 13th, 2010
A preliminary report states that Lenovo will not be furthering development of the ThinkPad X300/X301 ultrathin laptops, instead favoring the T400s/T410s models that were developed based on X300 technology. This move is not unexpected, although perhaps disappointing for those who favored a thin & light 13.3-inch ThinkPad. Intel has come out with ULV versions of their 2010 Core processors that would be suitable for an X301 update, but the cost of updating, certifying and upgrading anything needed for the refresh likely made the choice a difficult one. Then considering the limited market for an upscale, SSD-only premium laptop (with an arguably sub-standard display), the economics made this decision. The X300 series led the way in ThinkPad technology in a way that had not been seen for quite some time. The processes and technologies used to make it so thin, so light and so feature packed were carried over to the ThinkPad T400s, a thinner & lighter version of the T400 that was more like a 14-inch X300 than anything else. In fact, our comparison review found it superior to the X301 in many ways. The ThinkPad X301 is still for sale on Lenovo’s U.S. website at the time of publishing, with a 15% off coupon that brings the price down to $2141. Too bad you missed when they were blowing them out for $1299. Stay tuned for our X300 eulogy Source: [Trading Markets] Lenovo spills cola, not coffee, on their keyboardsThursday, July 1st, 2010A recent blog post by the ThinkPad engineers over at Yamato Thinking tells the tale of Lenovo’s rigorous spill testing. Did you know they once used coffee with cream and sugar, but have since switched to straight cola? That’s right, those goofy engineers spill soda on ThinkPads to test the liquid drainage system. We have changed the liquid that we use to spill test the keyboard from coffee to a cola product. The primary reason for this is “coffee with creamer makes the lab stink…” No, I’m just kidding (lOl). The reasons for using cola products include: Their composition is relatively stable, while the amount of milk and sugar in coffee may vary. They have a high viscosity because of their high sugar content. Finally, they are one of the most commonly consumed beverages. They also have some interesting insight into the draining system and their testing, as well as the slick video seen embedded above. Hit the source link for some more cool details Source: [Yamato Thinking] Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 now shipping with AMD processorsFriday, June 25th, 2010
Lenovo has expanded their AMD-powered products and you can now pick up one of the new ThinkPad Edge 15 models with AMD’s Phenom triple-core processors inside. The new model uses AMD’s Phenom IIX3 triple-core P280 processor, running at 1.8GHz. ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 graphics power the 15.6-inch display, offering better performance than Intel HD graphics but foregoing the higher performance & higher power draw of high end discrete graphics. For $749 you get the Phenom chip, Win7 Pro 64, 4GB RAM, 320GB 7200rpm and Bluetooth. The comparable Intel-based system runs $729 with a Core i3-330M chip, Win7 Home 64, and 3GB RAM. If I’m on top of the chip benchmarks, the Core i3 might have an edge in day to day performance, but the Phenom chip should shine in heavy multi-tasking situations. And of course you start out with an all around better config with the AMD system. You can browse the new ThinkPad Edge models here. Edge 14 and other AMD chipsWhile the Edge 15 with Phenom is all we’re seeing on Lenovo.com right now, the PSREF docs indicate there will be two other AMD chips available and the Edge 14 will have the same AMD offerings. The other AMD chips consist of the Turion II dual-core P520 and the Athlon II dual-core P320, running at 2.3GHz and 2.1GHz respectively. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14 gets supercharged with Core i7Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
If you need an extra heaping of horsepower in a mid-range small business focused notebook, Lenovo is answering that call. You can now purchase a ThinkPad Edge 14 with a $350 upgrade to a blazing Core i7 processor. We have a “regular” Edge 14 in the labs now and it is plenty speedy for day to day work. But now if you find yourself running uber-intensive programs and could benefit from an extra kick in the pants, spending nearly 50% of the price of the base model will get you a Core i7-620QM that will run its dual cores from 2.66GHz all the way up to 3.33GHz. Source: [Lenovo] Enterprising ThinkPad T60 owner transplants a 2048 x 1536 QXGA LCDMonday, May 24th, 2010
A man fed up with the lack of decent laptops that have quality screens took matters into his own hands, grafting a 15-inch 2048 x 1536 QXGA LCD into his “vintage” ThinkPad T60. Yes, it’s even 4:3 standard aspect ratio. The new panel cost him only 800 RMB (~$117 USD) and a rather arduous process to swap the panel. He notes that while some machines would need a modified LCD cable and BIOS, this particular combination of parts did not. There’s not much more to tell about the story, so just bask in its sheer awesomeness. I didn’t even realize you could find a 15-inch LCD in that resolution, although I have heard of a similar swap before. Lenovo’s Connections blog features a similar story from a reader who, fed up with the ludicrous 1024×768 resolution on his ThinkPad X61, swapped in the SXGA+ IPS panel from an X60 Tablet. Check it out here. Source: [ComputerSolutions.cn] | ThinkPad and IdeaPad News Blog, Reviews, Deals & Coupons Exclusive Lenovo Offers
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