Lenovo's VAIO P Reserve Edition?

What you're looking at is a genuine Lenovo device taken by a trusted source from inside of a showroom within IBM's Beijing headquarters Lenovo's Beijing office. The details sent to Engadget Chinese are brief so we can't tell you if it's a working model or not. Nevertheless, it bears all the hallmarks of a ThinkPad Reserve Edition with just a tad of VAIO P thrown in for taste... so to speak. A few more hurried shots at the break.

Update: Tipster clarified that the pics are from a showroom inside a Lenovo office, not IBM's Beijing HQ.

[snife @ Mar 11th 2009 4:37AM]

Oh Lenovo, when will you learn brown leather gadgets aren't cool - you'd think the reserve edition selling about 3 models would have gave them the hint.

Also, its not a ThinkPad (no TrackPoint) so likely a China only Lenovo model if it ever comes out.

[nighthawk266 @ Mar 11th 2009 4:41AM]

Looks like a trackpoint in the upper right corner of the keyboard

[matt @ Mar 11th 2009 9:34AM]

nighthawk:
I think that's the power button. a trackpoint doesn't make any ergonomic sense up there.

[put4558350 @ Mar 11th 2009 10:08AM]

@ matt

it's really make ergonomic sense. if you going to using a hand to support the device and used thumb in the same hand rub the trackpoint and free another hand for keyboard

[mcsound @ Mar 12th 2009 2:22PM]

If this is trackpoint in the right top corner, so where in the hell are mouse buttons?? How to use trackpoint without buttons??

[Archelium @ Mar 11th 2009 4:36AM]

The body looks like some type of leather material... I wonder why they made it that way..

[stefan @ Mar 11th 2009 4:40AM]

Well... if it were black leather I'd buy it.... and a black catsuit for my gf to go with it.

[GB @ Mar 11th 2009 5:02AM]

But is it really leather? Cause I think it could also be something else...

[HumbleDestroyer @ Mar 11th 2009 5:14AM]

Um... to make it look like an accessory? That is my guess. It looks like my wife's clutch.

[LondonConsultant @ Mar 11th 2009 9:30AM]

Nice handbag...

[matt @ Mar 11th 2009 9:33AM]

it IS leather. just like the Lenovo Reserve Edition ThinkPad.

[OneLove @ Mar 11th 2009 11:08AM]

That's just plain stupid. Is that a 21:9 screen ratio? :|

[Sparta @ Mar 11th 2009 4:40AM]

is that a green Trackpoint in the upper right corner of the keyboard? Glad to see they keep with the Thinkpad tradition, but green is unusual.

I hope they sell something else like this at an affordable price range (i.e. NOT Reserve Edition) cuz I want one!

[egress63 @ Mar 11th 2009 1:55PM]

Its looks like a foot long.
Please dont tell me that the aspect ratio of this 21:9!!! >_

[JerseyBricklayer @ Mar 11th 2009 4:56AM]

awwww.... what a let down, that looks like shit! An this is coming from someone who is dieing for a viao p

[grillface @ Mar 11th 2009 4:59AM]

That screen is just... wow. I thought the Vaio P was stretching it (heh) in terms of wideness already. And this one looks even shorter!

[egress63 @ Mar 11th 2009 5:00AM]

It looks as if it a full foot long!

Dont tell me that the aspect ratio on this is 21:9!!!

[The Flying Pig @ Mar 11th 2009 5:10AM]

It'll go perfectly with that panasonic super wide-screen tv.. :D

[Mr. Ford @ Mar 11th 2009 12:32PM]

@Flying Pig
I think Philips makes the TV that you reference.

[qwert @ Mar 11th 2009 5:13AM]

Looks quite nice.
Maybe the ultrawide screens have found theirselfs a niche for such a type of device.
But i doubt it. With every new generation of computer screens, laptops and tvs being a tad wider, i guess this kind of screen aspect ratio will move on to bigger units.
I am wating for the next generation of macbooks and imacs. 20" 100:1 wiiiiiiiiiiiiideeeeeeescreen, with the keyboard simply being all letters and numbers in one row.

[egress63 @ Mar 11th 2009 5:35AM]

I agree. It is idiotic to see so much divergence in aspect ratios - why can't they stick to one particular standard?

[Zunavio @ Mar 11th 2009 8:06AM]

We are going back to the One-Line display.

[TheLostSwede @ Mar 11th 2009 5:21AM]

Ok, this isn't a netbook, look at the size compared to the slim desktop PC it's sitting on. I'd bet good money on this being being an MID.
It looks like there's a web cam on the left and some control buttons on the right hand side of the screen and maybe a couple of USB ports on the lower right side of the device.
It's not going to be much wider than maybe 20-25cm, although it still seems to have a very odd resolution display whatever it ends up being. I'd expect this to be a next gen Atom for MID based device and we might get to see some more details from IDF Beijing which is happening early next month.

[superhobo @ Mar 11th 2009 6:38AM]

Ridiculously wide.

[pete @ Mar 11th 2009 10:39AM]

ridiculously *short*

[superhobo @ Mar 11th 2009 10:44AM]

I guess that works too.

[Neg @ Mar 11th 2009 7:01AM]

Oh for fuck's sake, SCREENS ARE BLOODY WIDE ENOUGH!

16:10 is fine.

16:9 is bearable.

I'm almost willing to put up with the VAIO P's screen.

But this is just fucking excessive. DO NOT WANT.

--neg

[Jon @ Mar 11th 2009 3:09PM]

lets be redundant

-Jon

p.s. -Jon

[Richard Lai @ Mar 11th 2009 8:52AM]

The wideness isn't new: Nokia's Communicator series had always used similar screen aspect ratio. For Windows the only benefit is probably the extra space for "gadgets".

It doesn't look like it's designed for male users either.

[Flyingaero @ Mar 11th 2009 9:14AM]

Still looks better than the Vaios screen and love the in-descrete webcam.....even though its on the left. Looks more like a D4 competitor since the trackpad/power is on the upper right

[Cosmo @ Mar 11th 2009 9:15AM]

I can only imagine the amount of vertical scrolling I'd have to do just for webpage viewing.

[sam @ Mar 11th 2009 9:47AM]

no problem, just hold it sideways...

[mhuhn @ Mar 11th 2009 9:33AM]

If you look at the usb ports on the side you can measure a width of 6 to 7 usb ports, so 80 - 90 mm. The length should be about 3 times the width, so about 250 mm.

[JohnVillar @ Mar 11th 2009 9:49AM]

Looks to me like a check holster :D Very stylish if you ask me

[put4558350 @ Mar 11th 2009 10:07AM]

@ matt

it's really make ergonomic sense. if you going to using a hand to support the device and used thumb in the same hand rub the trackpoint and free another hand for keyboard

[pete @ Mar 11th 2009 10:38AM]

this is stupid, i hate having my documents show up in 200 percent on a normal computer and having to scroll up and down constantly, but this just takes it to an extreme. what a bad idea

[Josh @ Mar 11th 2009 11:11AM]

is it just me or does it look like if you close it, the top wouldn't completely cover the keyboard?

[Mr. Ford @ Mar 11th 2009 12:35PM]

Its just you, seeing as there is a pic of it with the lid closed.

[John Sullivan @ Mar 11th 2009 2:11PM]

That's what I thought after seeing the first picture, but it's clearly just a trick of forced perspective. Look at the shots after the break and you'll see the difference.

And as far as the mid/netbook/WhateverTheHellThisIs... meh. There is no way that it will be cheap enough to offer any sort of netbook value, and the leather skin suggests that it may snag a premium OVER the Sony. No thanks.

[Chris @ Mar 11th 2009 1:13PM]

Replace the brown leather with copper orange, then we'll talk.

[dishbreak @ Mar 11th 2009 4:03PM]

Uhhh. No thanks. I suppose I'm glad they're selling this thing "by invitation only"

[Dan Fruzzetti @ Mar 11th 2009 4:51PM]

The hinge looks like it folds all the way over for tabletop use. I wonder if that "smartly" disables the keyboard when it's flipped around the back.

[Darius Zaerin @ Mar 11th 2009 9:13PM]

thats an idea! it´d be pretty cool if it did that. good thinking dan

[bigcow05 @ Mar 12th 2009 3:26AM]

It doesn't look very practical... Perhaps its just a concept model? Would be nice if Lenovo really made a Thinkpad netbook though, I would get one for the keyboard and trackpoint.

On the other hand, this is the first device I've seen that will actually go well with Ubuntu's default color scheme.

[laptop batteries @ Mar 14th 2009 2:39PM]

Its looks like a foot long.
Please dont tell me that the aspect ratio
http://www.laptop-batteries.org.uk

[iNTT @ Mar 16th 2009 8:48PM]

Dual Screen option?

[Martin Greenberg @ Mar 17th 2009 9:07AM]

I still haven't decided if it's pretty or just creepy and deceptive.