ThinkPad W700 surfaces with secondary 10.6-inch LCD

Not that we haven't seen laptops with multiple screens before, but this is a ThinkPad, people. You know, an all-business, totally not flashy ThinkPad. Hidden deep within a Lenovo Asia-Pacific hardware announcement is something we'd swear was a prank if it were hosted anywhere other than IBM.com, but it looks like the dual-screen W700 is for real. Reportedly, the machine will feature a 17-inch WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) primary display along with a 10.6-inch WXGA (1,280 x 768) secondary panel. Think SideShow, just jacked up on whatever Clemens and McGwire were using. The rest of the specifications are swell but expected, but the tidbits we're really reaching for (price and availability, naturally) are nowhere to be found. Can you say "want."?

[Via NotebookReview]

[Evan @ Dec 18th 2008 4:15PM]

awesome.

[Jason @ Dec 18th 2008 7:00PM]

Andy Samberg covered this moment well:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/47604/saturday-night-live-snl-digital-short-j-in-my-pants#x-4,cSNL%20Shorts,1

[Kenjis9965 @ Dec 18th 2008 4:16PM]

Actually that seems pretty useful, but id ponder how much it will drain the battery...

I'd probubly pull up say, my messangers and itunes on the small monitor, leaving the larger one for photo editing...

[Chad @ Dec 18th 2008 5:44PM]

I wish someone made an LCD the thickness of a laptop LCD, with a flipdown sheet of metal that is the stand/screen cover. It could have the power supply/controller as part of the stand (or below the bezel threshold of the LCD), and maybe I'd need to slide the stand under one corner of my laptop for weight. Then I could have a fullsize secondary LCD to take with me. I know a lot of people who would expense something like that in a heartbeat.

[brandon @ Dec 18th 2008 4:17PM]

WANT!!!!

[anonymousaversa @ Dec 18th 2008 4:25PM]

That's the WACOM digitizer. You know, one of those digital-pen input devices.

Pretty nifty machine, but really, is it practical?

There's no way you can use that thing on battery for very long, especially with the extra screen!

[Darren @ Dec 18th 2008 4:18PM]

nice, but heavy (10.9 lbs) and a little ugly

[Rob @ Dec 18th 2008 5:47PM]

yea but its not ugly when you whip out that second monitor...turns into the sexiest thing ever

[Freeman @ Dec 18th 2008 4:19PM]

is it just me, or the screen is on the right side of the trackpad?

[Oli D @ Dec 18th 2008 4:23PM]

looks like it...

I think we should take this slow, going from one to three is a big step, needs commitment.

[Jarek @ Dec 18th 2008 4:26PM]

That's the built in tablet (digitiser), old news

[mkeadle @ Dec 18th 2008 4:27PM]

Yeah, the image in this post is terribly misleading. The actual picture in the press release shows a good angle.

The secondary display is 10.6" (holy crap) and integrated to the right of the trackpad. Also, full number keypad FTW.

[mkeadle @ Dec 18th 2008 4:29PM]

OK, so on second look that is a digitiser. ZOMG.

[Mike C @ Dec 18th 2008 4:22PM]

I can't tell if the wet spot I'm feeling around my inner thigh is drool, other bodily fluids, or a combo platter...

[wom @ Dec 18th 2008 4:31PM]

I officially want... give me 3 hours of battery life on this with the second screen off; and i'm all over it... (if price is reasonable.. I am not sure what I would pay yet...)

[gfar @ Dec 18th 2008 4:45PM]

Even with an extended battery, ThinkPads with a single monitor barely hit 3 hours of life from my experience.

[bigcow05 @ Dec 18th 2008 5:13PM]

@gfar

Huh? My old T42 got 7.5 hours with the 9 cell...and the new T400 gets 10 hours with the 9 cell.

[lodleader @ Dec 18th 2008 4:25PM]

The thing on the right side is a wacom tablet

[Oli D @ Dec 18th 2008 4:27PM]

Have you read the specs on that site?

There meaty, 1.5Gb dedicated GPU memory, 2 screens, RAID or SSDs, Core 2 Extreme the list continues.

I have a feeling these may sit above my budget by a factor of 10 or so...

[wantonenow @ Dec 18th 2008 4:27PM]

intense.

[Freeman @ Dec 18th 2008 4:28PM]

nvm, i just thought that they would go for a tablet setup on the palm rest, so that you can see directly what you are writing, that would a dream

[telepheedian @ Dec 18th 2008 4:32PM]

Honestly, that's a massive secondary display, I use my 10" Eee as my primary machine, and it does the job well enough for me, there's a very limited market for this...

[gfar @ Dec 18th 2008 4:42PM]

I think the limited market is people using a 10" as primary!!

Seriously though, this is a damn good alternative to docking with dual monitors. I know there will be plenty of people at work who will want these for various reasons; especially home office employees that want the functionality of dual screens, but the convenience of not having a set desk/workstation to accomplish it.

[tiuk @ Dec 18th 2008 8:06PM]

Just because you have no use for a lot of screen real estate doesn't mean nobody else does. As a CS student I use dual monitors all the time for programming, virtual machines, etc.

[Mr. Ford @ Dec 18th 2008 10:36PM]

Uhh... web design. You could have markup on one screen and browser on the other. This is brilliant. I would love to have this. Even at 11 lbs. it is lighter than carrying an extra monitor/brick.

[invot @ Dec 18th 2008 4:34PM]

would this incorporate SideShow?

[Ryan Meray @ Dec 18th 2008 4:34PM]

Epic. I'm gonna go get my mop to clean up my drool puddle, now.

[Mr. B @ Dec 18th 2008 4:39PM]

How long before we have one with extra screen real estate extending from both sides?

[Jared @ Dec 18th 2008 4:53PM]

Give me another screen on the left, and a fuel cell for power, and I'll be one happy puppy!

[Patriks7 @ Dec 18th 2008 4:54PM]

What a great idea! Porn on the main screen, work on the secondary screen!

[Dez @ Dec 18th 2008 5:26PM]

a man with his priorities straight

[peter @ Dec 18th 2008 5:03PM]

remember in 2005 computer power magazine photoshopped a simiar image, the ultimate gaming notebook ?
that thing had 2 side monitors and running ati 9800, simply awsome !

[Unknown @ Dec 18th 2008 5:03PM]

Seems lop-sided. Give me 1920x1200 screens on both sides for Panoramavision!

[peshue @ Dec 18th 2008 5:13PM]

This thing is a beast for designers. Dual screen, integrated Wacom, built in color calibration, up to 4 gigs of rams, and some fairly beefy cpu/gpu specs.
Apple has basically ignored creative professionals with their new line, and this is a wet dream for them.

[Chad @ Dec 18th 2008 5:47PM]

Don't forget about developers, we want at least 2 monitors. I'm typing this on my third monitor but with my current laptop, I'm down to 1 monitor on the road. DO WANT!

[James Rainey @ Dec 18th 2008 5:22PM]

It is nice to see the designers of ThinkPads (the same team before sold to Lenovo) back "in the game"... Keep it up!

I'm sitting behind a T61p and the L220x ThinkVision.. the 700 is truly an inspiration!

[Jeff @ Dec 18th 2008 6:10PM]

So these are not the designers of the awful new SL series that I stupidly bought one of a couple of months ago?

[KazO @ Dec 18th 2008 6:15PM]

I don't know how the SL got labeled a ThinkPad. Lenovo seems to be at odds re: whether it's a real TP or not, though, since the SL is in its own Personal System Reference Guide the way Lenovo's non-TPs are, and not published with the rest of the lineup.

The SL reminds me of the old Acer-built iSeries not-quite-ThinkPads.

[TechnoFreaker @ Dec 18th 2008 5:32PM]

DROOOLLLL.....

[KazO @ Dec 18th 2008 6:11PM]

Earlier this year when the current 3-digit line was being rolled out, I met Lenovo to go over the (at the time) upcoming models. At the end, I was told to expect a W700 with a 2nd display. When asked if it was one of those SideShow things, I was told, "no, it's bigger and comes out the side of the normal 17" :O

This must be it.

Keeping the TP innovation going, though I could never use a monster like a W700.

T60 15w
X60t sxga+

[MarbleMind @ Dec 18th 2008 6:14PM]

And this (official announcement, kids!) has less comments than this stupid Dell adamo rumor thing? You trippin'?

Jokes aside, I think this is very nice and usable in arbitrary ways, without ifs and buts. Though a part of me somewhat longs for a version with two slightly smaller, equally sized screens on both sides that can be nicely folded in like window blinds (yes, the ones with hinges). Because, and don't deny it, nothing can beat symmetry and a bit of a futuristic-display-that-covers-your-entire-field-of-view-in-a-totally-cyberspacish-way feel!

[KazO @ Dec 18th 2008 6:22PM]

Here's the US announce letter:

http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/rep_ca/2/897/ENUS108-922/index.html

List prices for preconfig SKUs: $6712, $5632.

Whoa...

[Geqxon @ Dec 18th 2008 6:33PM]

And I JIZZED IN MY PANTS.

[ran @ Dec 18th 2008 8:05PM]

Now about additional screens on both sides for double sided action!

[Oting @ Dec 18th 2008 10:04PM]

I can say this is every photographers dream laptop..... i like photgraphy.... hope i can afford one :)

[Wisher @ Dec 19th 2008 12:21AM]

"Actually that seems pretty useful, but id ponder how much it will drain the battery..."
Or perhaps turn off the big display and save some power.

On re-inventing the laptop... I saw somewhere that most people use laptops with a separate keyboard. Why not instead make it detachable?

[yelohbird @ Dec 19th 2008 2:26AM]

Because part of the reason we like using an external keybaord is the bigger, fatter keys and more "clicky" feel that you can't fit onto a thin, narrow laptop keyboard.

[Water Closet @ Dec 19th 2008 2:58AM]

Man, Lenovo is pimp'n this laptop. Why can't they add this to the mix http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgXXCSlt7uI .

[Marz @ Dec 19th 2008 1:05PM]

Wow I didnt realize that nobody new about this... Lenovo has been telling us @ CDW for 4 months this machine. 2 bad the w500's blow now compared to the T61P.

[madcat @ Dec 20th 2008 5:08AM]

Yep, ThinkPads are made by Chinese dudes now. They'll start adding gold ornaments to the premium models soon.