Thinkpads Forum

The good news is the T400s is but the tip of the iceberg. My prediction is this is the first model in a long line of new machines to be rolled out over the coming months. New models which will once again establish the ThinkPad brand as the clear leader in the notebook space.
Stay tuned...it's going to get even more exciting. Curious when to buy? I'm waiting till the combo of Intels Calpella platform ships with Windows 7. That's when I'll put my money down. Ah.....but alas, that's just my viewpoint.
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Cheers...

DisplayPort hasn't been around for very long. You're right about HDMI in the consumer space though. I think on high-end devices you'll see them both being adopted and it'll grown from there.

ssd_thinkpad wrote:According to a news I read today lenovo is thinking about a T500s, so the new Txxs line can be the replacement of the Txx series.

According to the official T400s lenovo video, the preloaded software and optical drive are compatible to the T400 / T500 notebooks.

I highly doubt lenovos roadmap presented on http://www.thinkpad.com is correct: It shows the customer that nothing new is planned so when you plan to buy a new thinkpad you should buy today and not wait for new models for a long time. Great idea of marketing.

While the roadmap may notor may not be accurate (I am not even sure that it was supposed to be released, I think it leaked), it still doesn't make any sense for the T400s/T500s (if that happens), to replace the T series. It lacks too many features:
* Large capacity batteries (granted, the battery life of the T400s is great, but T400/T500 have it better)
* Modular device bay where you can place optical drives, hard drives, extra batteries (it does not seem that the T400s allows for that, even if its own bay can be used inside Ultrabay slim).
* Discrete graphics (and I am not sure they can incorporate them in such a slim case). It would be a mistake from Lenovo to not offer any 14" discrete graphics option.

So unfortunately it looks we are stuck with a mainstream ugly T400/T500 series, and a cool, but expensive and misnamed T400s (and if your news source is right, T500s series).

dr_st wrote:* Discrete graphics (and I am not sure they can incorporate them in such a slim case). It would be a mistake from Lenovo to not offer any 14" discrete graphics option.

The new Mini Dock Plus has build in dedicated graphics for a price point of 30 $ more than the Mini Dock. Of course, this solution is obviously not mobile

Latest tabook June 09 now lists T400s. For those asking, the Accessories page lists a Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter III.

Cheers,
Rob.

I'd like to see a photo gallery of all 3 of these laptops to get a size comparizon....

x301, T400 & new T400s

just to see the size differences in thickness, screen quality, etc....

I have seen some of the t400s review mentioning a GPS device on the t400s. 2 questions about it:
- Does anybody knows if it comes with the base machine or you need to one of the wwan card (Verizon or ATT)
- And is it a real GPS (statellite) or LBS base that use cell tower like the Verizon phone ?

Thanks.

tranle wrote:I have seen some of the t400s review mentioning a GPS device on the t400s. 2 questions about it:
- Does anybody knows if it comes with the base machine or you need to one of the wwan card (Verizon or ATT)
- And is it a real GPS (statellite) or LBS base that use cell tower like the Verizon phone ?

Thanks.

It's my understanding it's true GPS, not Location Based, like the triangulation that cell phone companies use.

ThinkP wrote:I'd like to see a photo gallery of all 3 of these laptops to get a size comparizon....

x301, T400 & new T400s

just to see the size differences in thickness, screen quality, etc....

Engadget has some pictures of a t400 next to a t400s here:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/23/leno ... pressions/

Guys, I know you're excited, but keep the ordering/shipping messages in the shipping thread. I moved the ones that were posted here incorrectly over there.

I heard a rumor on another site (cannot remember exactly which page) that lenovo could be coming out with a dock for this machine that has a discrete GPU inside.

How cool would that be??? Taking switchable graphics to the next level.

Yeah that's the big mystery right now. The highest end next-gen dock has a "Video Controller" but no one has explained what that means yet.

I'm afraid to say it, but the only thing holding me back from getting this thing is the ability to play Starcraft II on it lol.

returnzer0 wrote:I'm afraid to say it, but the only thing holding me back from getting this thing is the ability to play Starcraft II on it lol.

Lol, I was thinking about SC2 the other day basically hoping it would work on my T400 that has already been ordered. (docked via the advanced mini)

I came across this video showing all the parts of a disassembled T400s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMhIJgwDFls&fmt=18

Question: If someone really wants a T400s, but also wants to do things like intense gaming/video editing (generally requiring a dedicated graphics card; not available on the T400s), what options does the person have? Could buying a faster processor and lots of RAM make up for it?

Not really, but maybe the docking solution with the embedded video controller will. It remains to be seen what that video controller will be.

P.S. Video editing does not require dedicated graphics card. Only 3D-intensive applications (3D games, 3D rendering, etc.) do.