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Lenovo axes the 4:3 ThinkPad T61 -- are widescreens better?
Lenovo's the latest laptop vendor to go to a mostly-widescreen lineup today, as it retires the 4:3 14.1-inch ThinkPad T61. All that's left in the standard ratio are the 12.1-inch X-series laptops, and even those are something of a novelty in today's 13.3-inch dominated market. It's not a formal move and there's no announcement, but it's clearly a growing trend -- Apple, Sony, and HP don't offer any 4:3 laptops either -- and it's got us wondering what people prefer. Just amongst Engadget editors there's no clear agreement: some of us prize vertical real estate, while others say tiling windows horizontally provides maximum multitasking power, and one ed rocks both 16:9 and 4:3 displays side-by-side -- but that's probably crazy. What's your aspect ratio of choice? Hit us up in comments!
Lenovo X300 review roundup
Just in case you feared that Walt Mossberg was out on some sort of limb when he proclaimed that the X300 would satisfy road warriors everywhere, we've sourced some other reviews from across the intarwebz to ease your mind. Lenovo's über-stealthy ultraportable, which officially went on sale today, managed to impress one critic after another, with the biggest complaints coming from the high starting price tag, omission of a DVI port and somewhat sluggish performance -- which are pretty much expected given the form factor. Outside of that, everyone was practically in love, with praises addressing the delightful keyboard, integrated WWAN and overall usability of such a minuscule machine. But hey, don't take our word for it -- check out the reviews below in full before you cough up your $2,500 (or more), cool?Read - PCPro (5 out of 6 shiny stars)Read - CNET (8.5 out of 10 golden trinkets)Read - Notebook Review ("big thumbs up")
Lenovo X300 gets benchmarked, shown off on video
We've already heard Walt's take on the Lenovo's slim new X300, and even seen it splayed wide open, but if you still haven't made up your mind you can now check out some benchmarks and plenty of video courtesy of NoteBook review. As you might expect, there's not a lot of surprises on that former front, with the X300 trailing both the MacBook Air and Sony Vaio TZ in processor tests, but edging them both out quite handily in overall system performance (thanks in no small part to the X300's SSD drive, which the Air in question wasn't equipped with). Likely of more interest is the ample supply of videos, which show off the X300 from every angle and compare it to the Thinkpad T61 and X61. Hit up the read link below to check out those.
Mossberg: "I can recommend the X300 for road warriors without hesitation"
Walt's full review of the Lenovo Thinkpad X300 is now available. As usual for the man, you also get the bonus (or burden) of a detailed comparison with Apple's competing product which in this case is the MacBook Air. For those of you who remember Walt's MacBook Air review, that quote -- "I can recommend the X300 for road warriors without hesitation" -- stands in stark contrast to Mr. Mossberg's take on Apple's beautiful but compromised ultra-portable. As Walt points out, the biggest differences between the two are the selection of ports, built-in DVD or second battery, and a removable main battery afforded by the X300's relatively thick chassis. Of course, the choice of OS is also a consideration since the X300 can't run OS X while the MBA can run Vista. Walt does lament the fact that the X300 is only offered with an SSD. As such, it's limited to a maximum of 64GB of storage and contributes to the X300's relatively high price tag. It starts at $2,500 with a stripped-down, half-sized battery and no DVD -- $3,000 gets you the more popular full-sized battery and DVD config. Walt's aggressive, full-size battery tests resulted in "weaker battery life" at 3 hours and 5 minutes compared to the MBA's 3 hours and 29 minutes. That said, the Lenovo easily trumps the MBA with 5 hours and 15 minutes of juice when configured with both a full-sized and half-sized battery. The choice seems pretty clear at this point: form or function, which will it be sir? [Thanks, Jacob L.]
Lenovo X300 vs. Apple MacBook Air... Fight!
As long as Lenovo is drawing a direct comparison between their own X300 and the MacBook Air, we thought we'd go ahead and put them side-by-side for you. So dear reader, how do you define perfection?
Lenovo's X300 gets photographed in the wild
Just in case Walt's teaser shot and pages upon pages of specifications weren't enough to satisfy your curiosity about the forthcoming X300, we've got a pretty good idea the photos waiting in the link below just might. Sure enough, we've come across a number of crystal clear (gasp!) shots of the yet-to-be-released ultraportable, and while it's totally devoid of aluminum, we still maintain that it's undoubtedly sexy in its own way. Go on, you're just one click away.
Secrets of the ThinkPad X300 -- what Walt didn't tell you
That X300 preview from yesterday leave you wanting for more? Well since Lenovo doesn't seem to keen about busting this laptop out and giving us the true skinny, we've got some detailed spec sheets to show you in the interim. Just in case you were on the hunt for an ultraportable, Lenovo has gone ahead and compared its new ThinkPad to just about every other tiny laptop under the sun -- with one notable exception. Hit up the read link if the few we collected in the gallery below aren't cutting it for you.[Thanks, Rabeeh A]%Gallery-16076%
Walt checks out ThinkPad X300, also fits in manila folder
Well, would you look at that. The image we're certain your eyes are fixated on above is indeed the first look at Lenovo's forthcoming X300 ultraportable, and it's being provided courtesy of Walt Mossberg. 'Course, if we were betting souls, we'd guess that nifty office envelope won't be bundled in, but hey, crazier things have happened. As if a photo wasn't enough, Walt also clued us in on a few more specs, namely the inclusion of a removable battery, three USB ports, WiFi, an integrated Ethernet jack and optional GPS / WWAN to boot. Heck, users will even be able to order this 3.12-pound critter with Windows XP if they so choose. You getting all this, Apple?
Lenovo's upcoming X300 ultraportable leaked by Best Buy
Nothing much "official" at the moment, but Lenovo is prepping a laptop based on a low-voltage processor similar to that of the MacBook Air, which can only mean one thing: skinny laptop celebrity deathmatch. Lenovo's X300 will run on a SL7100 chip, which is apparently a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo that fits into the same form factor of the 1.6GHz / 1.8GHz chip options for the MacBook Air. However, Lenovo saw it fit to squeeze a DVD-RW drive inside this 13.3-inch laptop, along with 64GB of SSD, all for a "reasonable" price of $2,744 -- at least, if Best Buy's leaked spec sheet is to be believed. The screen is also WXGA+, which we're assuming means 1440 x 900 instead of the 1280 x 800 MacBook Air. No word on a release date, but we hope it's soon -- that kid in Starbucks with the MacBook Air is giving us dirty looks. [Via Electronista]Update: Looks like CDW is listing it "around" Tuesday, February 26th, if you want to take that into account. Thanks, Brendan.
Lenovo's tiny new laptop adapter brick plays nice with others
Lenovo seems to think this whole "brick" terminology for laptop power adapters is some sort of slight on the good name of AC/DC adaptation, and is releasing a slim new combo adapter to fight that negative stereotype perpetrated by a biased media. The new $119 90W brick measures a half-inch thick and is about the size of a deck of playing cards. It can power your ThinkPad, IdeaPad or Lenovo 3000, but is also built to charge most phones and PDAs, and some music players if you buy the optional connector tips. The adapter can charge two devices at once, is 25 percent lighter than Lenovo's previous model, and is bricking up Lenovo's online store as we speak.
Lenovo to outsource all laptop production to Taiwanese suppliers
Apparently that cheap Chinese labor ain't what it used to be: Lenovo's putting all its laptop eggs in the Taiwan basket. Lenovo currently has Quanta, Compal, Wistron and Inventec building for it in Taiwan, and the company plans to drop one of those from its consumer line and add one manufacturer to its ThinkPad line. This apparently means that Lenovo's outsourcing its laptop manufacturing completely for the first time in its history, which might seem a bit odd for a Chinese company, but with Lenovo's market share slipping to the likes of Acer, it seems the time is right to make a move. [Via DigiTimes]Update: According to Lenovo, this news of laptop production moving to Taiwan is 100% false.
Exploding ThinkPad attacks man, burns through bed
We're fairly certain this BoringTrash fellow's statement that his IBM ThinkPad R50e "tried to kill" him is a bit unfair -- it appears to us that the R50e was merely attempting to get him out of the way so that it could completely devour his bed. The best part of it all is that the three-year-old exploding laptop still works when plugged into an external monitor, but BoringTrash is keeping this one away from mattresses for the time being.
Intel experiencing worldwide Penryn delays?
According a message purportedly sent from a Lenovo rep to resellers today, Intel's T9500, T9300, T8300 and T8100 Penryn chips are going to be delayed, affecting the laptop industry worldwide -- and obviously Lenovo's latest in particular. The word is that a thermal sensor issue is to blame, and supply on the chips will be tight through February. Nothing official from Intel yet on the matter, so we're going to keep this in the rumor category for the moment -- but don't be surprised when that shiny new Penryn laptop of yours ends up taking a few extra weeks. Be strong, we can make it through this together.
Penryn beginning to pop up in Lenovo's X61 ThinkPads
While we're short on formal announcements, various retailers are displaying Lenovo ThinkPad X61 wares with Intel's latest chips inside. A Penryn T8100-powered X61 is on MacMall with 1GB of RAM and a 120GB HDD for $1,550, while a T8300 version goes for $1,610. Specs are otherwise the same as existing ThinkPads, and no tablet version is offered. It's starting to feel like laptop manufacturers are stringing us along here, instead of offering next-gen laptops to match Intel's next-gen chips, but it's still early in the game, and maybe we're just paranoid. In other news, Lenovo has begun delivering SUSE Linux-based ThinkPad R61 and T61 laptops, with prices starting at $949 -- quite the improvement on 2006's "efforts."[Via Laptoping]Read - Penryn ThinkPadsRead - Linux ThinkPads
Mystery ThinkPad surfaces, purportedly on track for 2008 release
There's not a whole lot to go on here, unfortunately, but according to the folks at 51nb.com, the slim-looking ThinkPad you see above is real, and set to go into production sometime this year. Nothing too unusual there, except that the full versions of the slides (which unfortunately seem to be unavailable as of this writing) are clearly marked "(C) 2006," which sure is a little longer than most laptops take to make it from the prototype to production stage. Still, 2006 or not, the form factor is certainly nice, as is the supposed LED-backlit 13-inch screen, but we're inclined to wait for something a little more concrete before getting our hopes up too much.[Thanks, Alpha]
More Penryn laptops surface from Toshiba, Lenovo and HP Compaq
If you've just now finished shuffling through yesterday's barrage of mobile Penryn-based laptops, here's yet another helping for you to try and digest. Up first is a pair from Toshiba (13-inch Satellite U300 / 17-inch Satellite X200), followed by a refreshed ThinkPad T61 and R61 from Lenovo and a trio of HP Compaqs (6820, 6720 and 6520). Just as before, there's entirely too many specs to dish out here, but if any of the above caught your eye, head on over to the read links below to find out more.Read - Toshiba SatellitesRead - Lenovo ThinkPadsRead - HP Compaqs
Lenovo's holiday sale musters 25%-off ThinkPads
We're not sure why Lenovo is feeling so particularly jolly this holiday season, but we're certainly not complaining. The company just slashed prices on its ThinkPad R, T and X series laptops, and its ThinkCentre A desktops. All models have received a 25% price cut, except for the R series with a still-lovable 22%. Yeah, you know the person on your list with everything? We bet they don't have seven ThinkPads courtesy of their new favorite nephew.[Thanks, Joe K.]
IBM sues Shentech for selling volatile counterfeit batteries
It's not like ThinkPads have been immune to the notorious overheating battery issue, but a fiery incident in Ohio may not be IBM's fault. In a somewhat bizarre tale, it's reported that an Ohioan purchased a replacement battery from Shentech for his ThinkPad, only to later have it overheat, catch on fire and damage his machine. After discovering that the faulty cell was actually a counterfeit, IBM took the liberty of ordering a dozen batteries from the Flushing, New York-based company, and it soon discovered that all twelve received were indeed fakes. As you can probably guess, IBM has filed suit against the outfit and has asked the court to require Shentech to hand over all of its batteries for destruction, profits it made from selling the fakes and a million dollars "per counterfeit mark per type of item sold." That'll teach 'em to mess with Big Blue.[Via TGDaily]
Lenovo polls users for Linux preferences
Lenovo's current forays into Linux-based laptops haven't exactly generated the excitement that the company may have hoped, but it doesn't look like it's giving up on the idea just yet, and it's now turning to its user base for advice. In a post on the official Inside the Box blog, Lenovo's Matt Kohut admits that the company has been "spending way too much time on the enterprise market and not enough on the enthusiast market," adding that "like other vendors we're trying to figure out what our strategy should be." To that end, Kohut asked readers of the blog which Linux distribution they'd most like to see supported on ThinkPads, providing an ample number of options to choose from. As you might have guessed, as of this writing, Ubuntu is the runaway leader, with well over 12,000 votes, compared to just over 3,000 for Debian (the next highest vote-getter). From the looks of it, however, the poll is open-ended, so all those Slackware fans out there still have time to get themselves organized.[Via Digg]
Lenovo celebrates 15 years of Thinkpad, "uncorks" Reserve Edition
When Lenovo throws a party for the ThinkPad, does IBM get invited? We'd certainly hope so, considering it was the venerable US computing giant which first released the 700C back in 1992, and only gave up its claim to the name a mere two years ago with the completion of its PC division sale -- but don't worry Big Blue, even if the new guys forgot, we still sent you a card. For its part, Lenovo once again trotted out the limited-run Reserve Editions laptops -- those 5,000 French leather-clad X61s's -- and reiterated its commitment to post-sale doting over the select few folks willing to throw down five grand for the privilege. Well you won't find us standing in line to pick up such a luxury item, but we do have to give Lenovo credit for avoiding the obvious temptation to go with a traditional 15th anniversary theme, and unleashing a crystal-studded monstrosity that would make IBM execs cringe with horror and regret every time they saw one being flaunted by a colleague. Got any fond memories of your ThinkPads? Feel free to share 'em in the comments...[Thanks Sourabh, headline wordplay courtesy of Lenovo PR]
