Lenovo's ThinkPad T61 laptop gets official

Just in case the leaked specs weren't solid enough for you, Lenovo has finally opened up and revealed the 14.1-inch T61 to the world. In what's being dubbed the "strongest, coolest, and quietest ThinkPad ever," the T61 comes sheathed in a magnesium alloy frame (Top Cover Roll Cage in Lenovo lingo), and touts an "improved cooling system, enhanced wireless connectivity with Ultra Connect II, and up to 15-percent longer battery life through its Battery Stretch control option." Furthermore, you'll find a WXGA+ display, a wide range of Intel's Core 2 Duos, up to 160GB of 5400RPM HDD space (or 100GB at 7200RPM), NVIDIA's 128MB Quadro NVS 140M graphics set, an optional Blu-ray drive, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth, 802.11a/b/g/n, and even an option for WWAN connectivity via EV-DO or HSDPA; additionally, there's a four-in-one media card reader and your choice of Windows XP / Vista. It looks like the May timeframe we had heard about earlier will actually stay true in this case, and while you can price this bad boy as high as you can dream, the base machine will run you $1,399.

[Via LaptopLogic]

[Oracle @ May 9th 2007 11:02AM]

What's your point?

[Iscariote @ May 9th 2007 11:17AM]

Is this a battery joke, a Nazi joke, or some sort of other joke?

[Oracle @ May 9th 2007 2:43PM]

I sense some bitter feeling. I hope you aren't one of them.

[John @ May 9th 2007 11:05AM]

The 90's called. They want their designs back.

[Russ @ May 9th 2007 11:07AM]

Still the best business laptop you can buy even if Lenovo has brought a little cheapness into them.

[Rex @ May 9th 2007 11:23AM]

WTF? no 256MB Video Card or SSD option? PFFFT!

[delsvr @ May 9th 2007 11:56AM]

http://it.slashdot.org/it/07/05/07/2116251.shtml

[gnahc79 @ May 9th 2007 12:03PM]

What does the T61 have anything to do with Cringely's absurd rumor of 100k+ person layoff? Do the math idiot, IBM only has 350k employees in the world. Chucking 100k+ in the U.S. would wipe out EVERYONE including HQ....sheesh. There may be some reorg and some layoffs occurring, but nothing massive like Cringely's crap.

[MNA @ May 9th 2007 12:10PM]

John agree with you 100%, I just entered here to comment on the same thing.
The IBM concrete look hasn't changed a bit since the 90's. Seeing the new HP 12" tabletPC (published today) which has got to be one of the sexiest lappies ever made, makes me wonder about the budget for design in these companies..

[James Rainey @ May 9th 2007 12:17PM]

Holy cow, you can order them with 1GIG of ReadyBoost memory for Vista. I saw this in Raleigh at a demo and am totally impressed. I love the fact they have stuck to the tried and true design. I've had five ThinkPads in eight years. They just continue to get better and better, how is that possible?

While my coworkers have had DELL and HP laptops, they have all had hardware failures... sometimes the same hardware failed over and over.. Hardrive shock protection.. a frame that will not flex.

While my thinkpad display doesn't wiggle & shake when I type, those other brands shake like crazy. Their keyboards aren't as nice or comfortable. I could go on, but why? There is a good reason why Thinkpads continue to sell well. Even if many percieve them as boring. Alot of those people think my Honda Accord is boring too. :)

[JonC @ May 9th 2007 12:26PM]

The boxy design still looks awesome. Even today people would come up to me and ask me about at my 3 year old X31. The design is tough. My friend's 3 year old Latitude D400 had hairline cracks on it while mine doesn't.

ThinkPads are still designed in the US by former members of IBM ThinkPad division.

[aa @ May 9th 2007 12:38PM]

Where is the 15.4 screen? Hope that model is following soon.

[gnahc79 @ May 9th 2007 12:51PM]

Thinkpads work, period. I've seen Dell screens die, HP screens die, and who knows what else. Thinkpads are reliable dangit! They do look really boring, although I don't think you'd want to draw too much attention to your laptop when you're out in public. My 7 year old a21p (600 MHz Celeron) still works, I don't use it but it still works :P. I have a T41 from work...yes I work at IBM.

[Erle @ May 9th 2007 1:55PM]

Does anyone know if a more robust T61p will be available, and what the specs will be?

[neurodisc @ May 9th 2007 2:19PM]

I believe the statement they are trying to make with the design is "no BS." It's very hardcore, reminiscent of an older BMW where you can practically see the frame below the skin...not like the bubbly, over designed, form over function crap of today. Sure Mac has nice design if you like sleek and shiny, which is cool. But, these guys are built like tanks, totally stealth, and totally badass. No BS.

[Oracle @ May 9th 2007 2:41PM]

Agreed.

[Phil @ May 9th 2007 4:31PM]

What some of you fail to remember is that the Thinkpad is a "business" laptop. It's not made for showing off fancy paintjobs and such. IBM still makes THEE best business laptops on the market, hands down. We decided to take out the Dell's and HP's out of our laptop user infrastructure and low and behold, all of the dead motherboard, dead hard drive, bad LCD, broken key(s) issues mysteriously disappeared. Hmmmmmmmm...

[Christian @ May 9th 2007 4:50PM]

Ive supported Dell, HP, Toshiba and Thinkpad laptops in various companies for years now and the ones that consistently fail less are Thinkpads. They may not be the the most aesthetically pleasing designs but are the perfect business laptop. I think this will be my next model....

[Jim @ May 11th 2007 8:11AM]

I own a laptop for one reason: To take my computer with me.
My first laptop was a Toshiba Tecra 800. It was black, boxy, and worked great. My second was a Toshiba Satellite. It was shiny, blue and sexy. It worked for crap.
My first IBM was a T42 which has been with me for 3+ years now. It has survived trips to 4 continents, to include 2 tours in Iraq. I am presently in the market for a new thinkpad, since mine is just getting too dated to run the latest stuff. Still works great, though. It hasn't worn out, it's just aged gracefully.

[shubhayu @ May 18th 2007 12:31PM]

Could someone please comment on --

(1) The batter life (6/7 cell) in T61 models.
(2) Brightness of the screen...how bad is it?

Thanks a lot.

[Bloodwyn @ May 21st 2007 7:19AM]

.. The best portable business computer out there .. There are notebooks.. and there are ThinkPads.. For you that doubt Lenovo has brought improvements to the ThinkPad line, I have only one answer - try it, then judge. The combined strengths of Lenovo`s constant innovations, along with the long-term outstanding quality of ThinkPads will bring some serious wrinkles on the face of competition. But I am smiling.. Guess what is the machine used to type this comment? ;) Nice day to all! ..

[Zenki @ May 25th 2007 1:02AM]

The hardware designers seem to have been sleeping on the job for this one. The T61's 14.1" screen is offcentered. The display is shifted to the right of the machine, so the left border is thicker than the right. (Which is why the promo shot above is tilted so the left side is further away.)

I bet they spent so much time figuring out how to put a magnesium frame into the computer that cut corners on where to put the display.

[Mi @ May 25th 2007 2:30AM]

Seriously guys? Well news flash. THe T61 is kinda lame but I just got a T60p and I love it! Just wait for the T61p and then buy it. The screen is kinda sucky. 1200 x 800. And the information is wrong anyway. At least some of it...but IBM is still making great thinkpads w/ lenovo

[Rick James Bitch @ Jun 4th 2007 3:38PM]

I currently have a DEll E1505 laptop. MY total cost was 1,659.35. After 2 weeks my right shif key broke, 6 cell battery sucks(2 hours of battery life), yet because my 1.66 Core 2 Dual T5500 is not top of the line. I recently purchased a IBM T61 this June 07 so wait for my comments

[veevek @ Jul 26th 2007 10:52PM]

rick,
what is your experience with lenovo so far? do u recommend it?
i am contemplating between t61 and a dell.

[KC @ Jun 17th 2007 8:16PM]

Can't make any comments as I don't have my T61. I ordered 5/10 and after lies, no communication, delays-still don't have it. Latest being told by 6/26. Orders from 5/9-5/24 have been affected-no resolution or end in sight. Lenovo's customer service has been terrible-first and last time going with Lenovo!

[Vegim @ Jun 30th 2007 6:26AM]

I just got my T61. I referred three of my friends to buy them, and they did. We all got ours today. I got the T7500, 2GB RAM, Vista Business, NVS Quadro, Intel Turbo Cache, and all of the other good stuff (7200RPM 100GB). The laptop is amazing. It's a thinkpad. It was well worth the wait for the delay. If anyone has any questions let me know I'll post :)

[Rick James Bitch @ Jul 27th 2007 3:37PM]

I return my T61 thinkpad. hard drive too noise beacause of the 7200 machine speed, fans to load, customer serivice sucks, about 40 minutes waiting on the phone, the screen off center. So Now Im selling my dell laptop because I just bought a Mac Pro 2.4GHs.

Its half the thickness of the dell.
5.4 pounds and dell is about over 7 pounds.
faster laptop
and much more

[veevek @ Jul 29th 2007 6:11PM]

damn.. i was leaning towards T61 (vs Dell 1520) just because T61 supports XP.

I don't care about noise...other than that - would you still recommend it (in terms of performance/reliability) ?

Do you know if the X3100 integrated card is good enough for dvd viewing/copying?