ThinkPad product cycle timeline & estimated new launch dates

[Alejandro Audisio]

I know of a couple of websites where IT & Tech experts & journalists and others in-the-know give a detailed review of how long an Apple product has been out to market, and what their estimation on when the next update or upgrade or new product generation will come out.

Just wondering if folks here know of similar sites for Lenovo ThinkPads....?

Thanks,
Alex

[loyukfai]

With regard to the next ThinkPad generation, just take note when Intel is going to launch Ivy Bridge. Expect vendors to have systems ready at launch, or shortly after launch.

It's in my perception that traditional desktops and laptops' release schedules are mostly tied to Intel's, and to a (much) lesser extent, AMD's schedules.

Cheers.

[Alejandro Audisio]

With regard to the next ThinkPad generation, just take note when Intel is going to launch Ivy Bridge. Expect vendors to have systems ready at launch, or shortly after launch.

Great tip, thanks !!! Any links I should check for news on the upcoming release of the Ivy Bridge series...?

[Alejandro Audisio]

Chip related question..... does Lenovo now have Sandy Bridge CPU's in its T series machines..? From the specs you can configure, I see only Core i7 chips available... so I assume these are not Sandy Bridge or am I mistaken...?

Thanks.

[http302]

Yes, both T420 and T520 use Sandy Bridge CPUs and northbridge chipsets.

i3-xxx, i5-xxx, and i7-xxx are Nehalem/Westmere series CPUs
i3-2xxx, i5-2xxx, and i7-2xxx are all Sandy Bridge series CPUs.
i3-3xxx, i5-3xxx, and i7-3xxx are all Ivy Bridge series CPUs.

[Alejandro Audisio]

Yes, both T420 and T520 use Sandy Bridge CPUs and northbridge chipsets.

i3-xxx, i5-xxx, and i7-xxx are Nehalem/Westmere series CPUs
i3-2xxx, i5-2xxx, and i7-2xxx are all Sandy Bridge series CPUs.
i3-3xxx, i5-3xxx, and i7-3xxx are all Ivy Bridge series CPUs.

Thanks very much.... so to clarify, Ivy Bridge CPUs are already in T Series machines or are they still pending release...? Im hoping to get an i7 CPU from the Ivy Bridge series in a T520 configuration sometime soon.... any idea how far off this will be...?

[http302]

Thanks very much.... so to clarify, Ivy Bridge CPUs are already in T Series machines or are they still pending release...? Im hoping to get an i7 CPU from the Ivy Bridge series in a T520 configuration sometime soon.... any idea how far off this will be...?

According to the tabook (http://www.lenovo.com/psref/pdf/tabook.pdf), the T420, T420s, and T520 all utilize Sandy Bridge-class processors right now.

Ivy Bridge has not yet been released, with expected release of that chipset in Q3/Q4 2012. A fair expectation of full public availability of notebooks with Ivy Bridge chipsets would be within 3-4 months after Intel's release.

[Alejandro Audisio]

Thanks..... I guess this means that Ivy Bridge CPU's would not be on the market until Xmas 2012 (at the earlierst)...

[bill bolton]

Ivy Bridge has not yet been released, with expected release of that chipset in Q3/Q4 2012.

As of a few days ago, expected release of the Ivy Bridge chip sets for FSC by Intel is still ~April 2012.

Vendor laptop systems using Ivy Bridge chip sets should start appearing in volume during Q3 2012. This is consistent with the various grapevine hints about the timing for the next generation of Lenovo ThinkPad systems.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[Alejandro Audisio]

Vendor laptop systems using Ivy Bridge chip sets should start appearing in volume during Q3 2012. This is consistent with the various grapevine hints about the timing for the next generation of Lenovo ThinkPad systems.

Bill... not trying to pin you down here, but... in your experience, will these grapevine hints mean that Lenovo will have additions to their lineup by Xmas this year... your best educated guess is all Im looking for.

Thanks,
Alejandro

[http302]

As of a few days ago, expected release of the Ivy Bridge chip sets for FSC by Intel is still ~April 2012.

Thanks for the heads up, Bill.

[bapatterson]

Bill... not trying to pin you down here, but... in your experience, will these grapevine hints mean that Lenovo will have additions to their lineup by Xmas this year... your best educated guess is all Im looking for.

Thanks,
Alejandro

Long before Christmas.

[Alejandro Audisio]

Long before Christmas.

This is great news !!!

[loyukfai]

Nothing major, but still a little heads up - Intel has announced a delay for the launch of mobile Ivy Bridge from April to June, citing "manufacturing difficulties".

Cheers.

[Alejandro Audisio]

Nothing major, but still a little heads up - Intel has announced a delay for the launch of mobile Ivy Bridge from April to June, citing "manufacturing difficulties".

Cheers.

On a related note... I was playing around with configurations for different machines and noticed that there appears to be a new I3 option that is more expensive than some I7 CPU configurations.... is this because these I3's are Ivy Bridge or is there something that Im missing...? This I3 option added a hefty $750 to the price so there must be something.... or...?

[jdrou]

What model Thinkpad are you looking at? Just look at the CPU model numbers posted by http302; I'm sure you'll find there are no CPUs with Ivy Bridge model numbers in current model Thinkpads.

[Alejandro Audisio]

I was configuring a W series machine... maybe it was a temporary website glitch.... I will go back and try again and report back.

[Alejandro Audisio]

looks like it was a glitch..... gone back now and this I3 option is no longer showing.....

[http302]

I've been watching the tabook and it seems Lenovo is whittling down the number of W520s in the lineup and not adding any new models. Since December 2011 (against the Feb'12 tabook) at least half of the model lines (standard configurations) have been discontinued.

Food for thought, but new systems are coming sooner than later. But with Ivy Bridge apparently being delayed, there might be a period where systems might be in short supply as manufacturing for the legacy Sandy Bridge systems wind down in anticipation of receiving the Ivy Bridge component inventories.

IMHO, if you need a system now or in the next 2-3 months, get it now, or you could be waiting until Q3'12 for your system.

Hell, I need to order my W520 (4276-3NU) soon!

[ssd_thinkpad]

With the delayed Ivy Bridge for mainstream I think new thinkpads will be available starting from Q3 2012.

[Summilux]

I just want them to announce the new line up ASAP, they don't even need to offer pre-orders like Samsung just did with their IVB ultrabook.