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Lenovo serves up ThinkPad-inspired phone for China
We hear nary a peep out of Lenovo's handset division in these parts -- but in China, they do a fairly brisk business, offering the full range from commodity candybars all the way up through Windows Mobile-based powerhouses. You'd think, then, that if the company chose to grace a phone with its treasured ThinkPad branding, it would be one of those higher end pieces, yeah? Apparently not. This here P768 is the first Lenovo we've seen to evoke the storied laptop marque, lacking any sort of smartphone operating system (as far as we can tell) but offering up a metallic shell, 2 megapixel cam, 64MB of storage with microSD expansion, and an FM radio with a thumbstick that looks vaguely like a real ThinkPad's track stick. Grab it in Lenovo's domestic market for 999 yuan, or about $132 -- a far cry from even the cheapest Lenovo lappie, we reckon.
IBM ThinkPad celebrates 15th birthday
If you were looking for any reason whatsoever to hop into a celebratory mood, why not join IBM (or would it be Lenovo these days?) in celebrating the 15th birthday of the ThinkPad. Of course, tech historians are likely to bicker over the ThinkPad's true day of emergence, but reportedly, the IBM 2521 (later renamed the 700T) ThinkPad holds the honors of being the first of its kind to ship in July of 1992. Interestingly enough, one could argue that this very machine was actually more akin to a tablet PC than a bonafide laptop, but it proudly donned the ThinkPad logo nevertheless. So, ThinkPad owners, today's your day to gift that oh-so-industrious machine of yours with a few extra moments of rest, but before you do, why not let us know what model you're partying with if you're in the club?[Via jkOnThRun]
Lenovo's T61p packs UWB and roll cage for the ham-fisted road warrior
Lenovo is prepped to loose their ThinkPad T61p laptop on July 17th with a little surprise: UWB. Hells yes, we're talking 'bout that high-speed, short-throw ultra-wideband data transfer perfect for untethered port replication a la the Portege R400. The 15.4-inch lappie comes slathered in the Santa Rosa chipset and Nvidia Quadro FX 570M graphics all protected by an internal roll cage meant to steady even the drunkest of execs. Prices start at $1,814.[Via WNN]
ThinkPad Reserve Edition gallery
Vegans, avert your eyes. Care for some large shots of the ThinkPad Reserve? Yeah, we all know it's just a ThinkPad swaddled in leather, but it's still got a certain something -- especially in high res.[Thanks, Dave]%Gallery-4449%
ThinkPad Reserve Edition unveiled
Those hoping for more than an X61s in cow's clothing will be disappointed to learn that there isn't much more to this ThinkPad Reserve Edition mystery. Lenovo unveiled the laptop today, with the expected Executive Support services and of course that leather case distracting from the fact that the laptop is nothing new hardware-wise. The support staff apparently will go the extra mile for you, with guaranteed on-site support in major cities within four hours, and even preventative tune-ups to make sure nothing does go wrong. Lenovo used some fancy Japanese saddle stitching techniques for the leatherwork, and left plenty of room for that extended 7 hour battery to do its thing. Specs include a Centrino Pro Core 2 Duo L7500 processor, WWAN, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD and of course that 12.1-inch not-a-touch-screen. Lenovo even tosses in an external multi-burner and an 80GB USB drive for good measure, but despite all the freebies, we're having a hard time swallowing that $5,000 pricetag. Which is just as well, since the laptop is currently being sold "by invitation only," and we're not sitting on any invitations. Let us know if you have better luck.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Irate would-be Lenovo customers seeing delays on ThinkPad T61
Your idea of the Lenovo buying experience has probably been all but tainted if its latest ThinkPad T61 was, er, would have been your first machine from the company. According to an incredibly long thread over at Notebook Review, more than a few would-be customers are getting progressively angrier as each passing day goes by without any sign of their new laptop. Apparently, a number of manufacturing hiccups are delaying the process, and some users are even reporting ship dates into the first week of September. Moreover, it seems that some loyal users even received consolation emails that tried to explain the delays and apologized by offering up a free accessory and a chance to easily cancel the order. So if you've had a T61 on order since day one and weren't already aware of all this behind the scenes turmoil, do yourself a favor and take a very deep breath before hitting the read link.[Thanks, Craig]
Fake Steve Jobs' real ThinkPad Reserve
It's only 2 days from launch and already the mighty El Jobso himself is toting a ThinkPad Reserve Edition laptop. That'd be Fake Steve Jobs supposedly carrying the "Chinese uber laptop" delivered (and engraved) personally by Fake Larry Ellison. Too funny. Oddly enough, the TRE (minus the engraving) looks to be the real deal in that photo which makes the true identity of FSJ all the more intriguing. [Thanks, Emil P.]
Lenovo's ThinkPad Reserve Edition?
There it is, Lenovo's ThinkPad Reserve Edition. According to our trusted insider, it's just the staid, ThinkPad design wrapped in cowhide. YeeHaw! Still maybe there's more than meets the eye, eh?%Gallery-3792%
A rare sip of the Thinkpad Reserve Edition?
We're not in any position to tell whether this really is or isn't Lenovo's new Thinkpad Reserve Edition (cask aged for 12 years!), but whatever it is looks like it's got some leather going on up in there. Notebook Italia thinks this might have a little something to do with Lenovo's "Yoga" concept laptop, but for usability's sake let's all hope that hinge isn't some leather and plastic strapped together -- it's hard enough to keep our laptops' properly engineered metal hinges working well for extended periods of use.
Lenovo's ThinkPad Reserve Edition gets a teaser site
Nearly a month after Lenovo teased us with its Olympic-inspired laptop, and just days after loosing a bevy of Santa Rosa machines on the world, Lenovo is catching our eyes once more with an admittedly lacking teaser site for a Reserve Edition ThinkPad. The very non-interactive website sports an annoying background track, a cheesy selection of closeup leathermaking shots, and absolutely zero information about an actual computer. Of course, one could theorize that the firm has a leather-clad lappie in the pipeline for the affluent set, but it's not like you can't get that already. Nevertheless, this certainly isn't the first nor the last time we'll see such tease acts in order to hype up a currently unreleased product, but hopefully the deets on this one will end up surfacing as quickly as those on the Beijing machine did.[Via LenovoBlogs, thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Lenovo leaks ThinkPad X61 convertible tablet
Tablet PC Review has discovered a tantalizing spec sheet buried on an IBM website, one which details an upcoming convertible tablet that is presumably the successor to the popular X60: say hello to the Thinkpad X61. Although pics aren't available, word is that the new model will retain the same form factor as its predecessor (pictured), but offer beefed up options such as a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo L7500 ULV CPU, up to 1,400 x 1,050 pixels on the 12.1-inch screen, as much as 160GB / 2GB of storage / RAM, and all the ports and wireless options you could ask for (well, except for maybe 802.11n and WiMax). Since the posted document is dated today, and it is the season for laptop releases after all, we'd expect an official announcement on this one to come any day now. [Via Tablet PC Review]
Lenovo ThinkPad T61 reviewed
Like many of the other Santa Rosa-based laptops released this week, Lenovo's ThinkPad T61 has wasted no time getting itself reviewed, with the folks at PC Magazine doing the honors this time 'round. They sure seem to have found a lot to like in this one, giving it their Editors' Choice award and calling it the "best business laptop for those who love widescreens." In particular, they found it to out perform all but HP's massive Pavilion HDX in their tests, aided by its top-end T7700 Core 2 Duo processor and NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M graphics, which should even be enough for business-types to get in a bit of gaming. About the only fault they could find with it was the included 56-Wh battery, which could only eek out an hour and 57 minutes during their DVD rundown test (higher capacity batteries are available). The T61's battery also isn't compatible with those from earlier T60s, so anyone 's that's stocked up on those won't be able to carry 'em over to their new laptop.[Thanks, Jacob]
Lenovo's ThinkPad R61 / 3000 N200 laptops make debut
While Lenovo's ThinkPad T61 already showed off most of the the firm's newest laptop features, the R61 and 3000 N200 bring a little flavor of their own to the ever-expanding Santa Rosa funfest. These two tag along as some of Lenovo's "coolest, quietest, and longest running" lappies ever, and each sport the Top Cover Roll Cage (pictured after the break) that reportedly provides LCD support that's 20-percent stronger than previous models. The 14.1-inch R61 will sport an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, support for 802.11n and Bluetooth, Ultra Connect II, your choice of Intel or NVIDIA integrated graphics, a four-in-one media card reader, and an optional integrated webcam to boot. The budget-minded 3000 N200 opts for a 15.4-inch widescreen display, 802.11n, Ethernet, Bluetooth, an integrated fingerprint reader, five-in-one multicard reader, built-in camera / microphone, and Intel or NVIDIA chipsets running the graphical show. As with the T61, the R61 will land in mid-May for $1,249, while the N200 should hit shelves a few weeks later for around $1,099.
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]
Lenovo's ThinkPad T61 and R61 Santa Rosa-tops leaked, due in May
While the classic IBM ThinkPad stylings might play well in the ultraportable range, we've never been quite impressed with Lenovo's widescreen attempts at business friendly minimalism. That said, there's a lot to love in the specs department of Lenovo's upcoming T61 (pictured) and R61 Santa Rosa 14-inchers, which IBM leaked info on today -- which is odd, considering the fact that the IBM logo has left these things completely -- and while the looks might be a tad frumpy, the actual sizes aren't so terribly chubsy. Of course, the big news here is the Santa Rosa processor action, with chips like the T7100, T7300, T7500 and T7700 bringing up to 2.4GHz of 64-bit Core 2 Duo lovin' to the two models. Other notables include Intel's latest PM965 integrated graphics chipset, Intel Turbo Card "Robson" flash memory cache tech in select models, and a LCD "roll cage" in the T61. You can also toss in discrete NVIDIA graphics, or pretty much whatever else you're up for: wireless, connectivity and storage options abound. No word on price, but we should be seeing the first of these around May, with NVIDIA, 160GB encrypted drives and Blu-ray versions following in July.[Via NotebookReview]Read - Lenovo ThinkPad T61Read - Lenovo ThinkPad R61
The 2006 Engadget Awards: Vote for Laptop of the Year
Now's your chance to cast your ballot for the 2006 Laptop of the Year! Our Engadget Awards nominees are listed below, and you've got until 11.59PM EST on Sunday, April 15th to file your vote. You can only vote once, so make it count, and may the best tech win! The nominees: Apple MacBook Pro, Apple MacBook, Asus G1, Dell XPS M1710, HP Pavilion DV6000, Lenovo ThinkPad X60, and Sony VAIO SZ. %Poll-284%
Lenovo recalling 200,000 Sanyo Thinkpad batteries
Somewhere at Sony headquarters, someone is breathing a big sigh of relief right now; because when there's a big battery recall going on, and the packs weren't made by Sony, it's a red-letter day indeed. This time around the culprit happens to be Sanyo, and the batteries in question are extended life cells sold with certain R, Z, and T Series Lenovo / IBM Thinkpads between November of 2005 and February of this year. Unlike the 500,000+ Sony batteries affected by the last recall, however, these 200,000-odd packs (100,000 in the US, about 105,000 abroad) don't suffer from any internal problems, but instead are prone to "overheating" if "struck forcefully on the corner" (like when you slip and drop your lappy on the ice). Concerned owners should check to see if their extended battery sports part number FRU P/N 92P1131, and then head here to start the replacement process if necessary. Meanwhile, we're gonna ring up Sony and suggest that they send a nice sympathy bouquet / thank you note over to their colleagues at Sanyo. [Via ZDnet, thanks Greg]
ColorWare adds Thinkpad T60p to laptop rainbow
Those digging the specs on Lenovo's Thinkpad T60p laptop but not so down with the basic black look now have another option besides the DIY route at their disposal, with ColorWare announcing that its added the laptop to its multi-colored lineup. The laptop itself remains the same as before, of course, and configurable to some extent, with a 15.4-inch widescreen display and 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor standard, along with up to 2GB of RAM and 160GB of hard drive space. Things depart from the Thinkpad mold when you hit the color selection screen, however, with no less than 28 colors to choose from, including such stylish options as Caution Yellow (seen above) and Cotton Candy Pink. Going for the base model in your choice of color will set you back $2,950 with units shipping in 2-3 weeks, although those that have already sprung for a T60 aren't entirely out of luck, with ColorWare saying they'll soon also be offering an option for you to send in your laptop for a bit of sprucing up.
Lenovo's X60 Tablet PC reviewed
Lenovo's ultraportable X60 has gotten plenty of love, so there are some naturally high expectations for this "X60t" tablet incarnation, and it looks like they were pretty well founded. Tablet PC Review has already been putting the brand new tablet through its paces, and it seems to definitely come out on top. In fact, most of the biggest gripes about the laptop are directly related to the Tablet PC OS: slow startup, inconsistent input options, etc.. Performance gets a big bump from that of the X41, though the size of the laptop has increased a bit to accommodate a faster HDD and the extra USB and Firewire ports available on the X60t. As for actual functionality, Lenovo really lent its polish to the proceedings: the pen input feels just right, the XGA MultiTouch (finger-based input allowed) display is bright and quite usable, the SXGA+ (non-MultiTouch) option is great as well, and the keyboard feels ThinkPad-great. Of course, road warriors need not apply. The price of entry is steep, and "features" like a mono speaker slapped underneath the computer make it obvious where Lenovo's priorities lie. Battery life just OK for the ultraportable set, the 8-cell battery hits around 5 hours at average use (quite a bit under the 7.5 hour rating), but pushes the weight over 4 pounds, while the 4-cell battery manages 2.5 to 3 hours, but maintains ultraportable status. Other little gripes like an EV-DO hump at the top of the screen and no optical drive (you'll need to spring for the $200 base station) should make you weigh your options carefully, but after the dust settles it's pretty clear that the X60t is one of the best made tablets on the market, and should please the ThinkPad and/or Tablet PC faithful quite well.
Thinkpad MagSafe Hack
I've long been of the opinion that Thinkpads are the PowerBooks of the PC world, and if not for the fact that they don't run OS X, I'd be very tempted to consider one when it came time to buy my next computer. Make points us to an enterprising Thinkpad owner who was having some trouble with a flaky DC-in port on his notebook, and decided to take matters into his own hands when it came to fixing the problem. Instead of simply replacing the connector (which is a total pain to do, I know this from personal experience) he decided to one-up every other PC notebook owner out there by constructing his very own magnetic power connector. While this may not, in the strictest sense of the term, be "Mac news," it shows once again that the innovations Apple introduces into its products are not only handy to those of us who actually use Macs, but stimulate the greater computer market to further innovate and build on the ideas of Apple's design team. Check out the instructable to learn how to make a ThinkSafe adapter of your own.
