any ideas on launch dates for T520s or above model(s)...?

[Alejandro Audisio]

I wonder if anybody here has the scoop on when a T520s or perhaps a T30 will be launched...???

[Colonel O'Neill]

It'd be structurally difficult to make a durable 15.6" laptop at a reduced thickness.

I think the X1 is the answer to the 13.3" segment.

[pianowizard]

It'd be structurally difficult to make a durable 15.6" laptop at a reduced thickness.

Dell's 15.6" XPS 15z is 0.97" at its thickest point, thinner than the T420s which is up to 1.02". The 15.4" MacBook Pro is even thinner, up to 0.95".

[sanjuro]

I wonder if anybody here has the scoop on when a T520s or perhaps a T30 will be launched...???

A roadmap of thinkpad models for 2011 (http://www.51nb.com/batch.download.php?aid=24012) shows release of T420, T420s, and T520 for the T-series. So for now, no indication of T520s or T3xx.

It will be an uneventfully boring year for those waiting for model releases and updates.

[Colonel O'Neill]

Dell's 15.6" XPS 15z is 0.97" at its thickest point, thinner than the T420s which is up to 1.02". The 15.4" MacBook Pro is even thinner, up to 0.95".

I meant as drop-resistant as expected of ThinkPads.

[Alejandro Audisio]

A roadmap of thinkpad models for 2011 (http://www.51nb.com/batch.download.php?aid=24012) shows release of T420, T420s, and T520 for the T-series. So for now, no indication of T520s or T3xx.

It will be an uneventfully boring year for those waiting for model releases and updates.

Thanks.... I guess 2012 is too far away to wait for a new laptop....

[Alejandro Audisio]

Follow up question... should we still expect Lenovo to continue to offer newer builds of the T520 as the months go by and have those newer build machines have updated (faster clock rate, etc.) processors, bigger/faster graphics cards and/or other improvements...?

[sanjuro]

Follow up question... should we still expect Lenovo to continue to offer newer builds of the T520 as the months go by and have those newer build machines have updated (faster clock rate, etc.) processors, bigger/faster graphics cards and/or other improvements...?

Yes, the list of T520 builds are likely to get updated as Intel fine tunes Sandy Bridge CPU line and some new CPUs are incorporated. There may be other improvements as manufacturing and design weakness are corrected. Not sure about graphic updates but that may depend on perceived demands.

[Alejandro Audisio]

What about RAM speeds...? Ive been comparing the easy to read specs on other machines like the Alienware and aside from faster processors, there seem to be faster RAM chips out there that are not much more expensive... not to mention faster graphics cards...

Thanks.

[jdrou]

I wouldn't expect any major increases in CPU/memory/graphics capabilities that would blur the line between the T520 and W520.

[sanjuro]

I wouldn't expect any major increases in CPU/memory/graphics capabilities that would blur the line between the T520 and W520.

W series isn't my cup of tea but recently had a chance to check out the factory configs available at lenovo.com. Both T520 and W520 overlap in the dual core and quad core CPUs with i7 2920XM quad core available only for W520.

W520 beats T520 with Nvidia quadro 1000m and 2000m graphics. Intel HD3000 and NVIDIA optimus graphics are available for T520.

Interesting W520 and T520 have an option for FHD 1920x1080 display but no option for blue ray DVD drive. So it's not possible to watch high definition blue ray movies on FHD displays with 1080 vertical pixels. What's the point of 16:9 at 1080 vertical pixels on notebooks?