Lenovo Press Release for ThinkPad Edge

[LondonConsultant]

Innovation by Design: Lenovo Re-Energizes ThinkPad Brand with Edge Series Laptops

Introduces First ThinkPad Laptops Featuring VISION Pro Technology from AMD, Expands Retail Business with Best Buy

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – January 4, 2010: Lenovo today announced a new ThinkPad laptop Series, simply called "ThinkPad Edge," with 13, 14 and 15 inch models designed specifically for the small to medium sized business (SMB). The 13 inch model represents the first ThinkPad laptop to offer AMD dual core processor technology and to be offered on AMD's VISION Pro Technology. In addition to performance, the new laptops are designed with style and affordability in mind for today's budget-conscious customers. For example, they include new rich and vibrant color choices and a new contemporary keyboard. Lenovo is also expanding its retail sales channel to offer select ThinkPad Edge models in Best Buy stores.

"Small to medium business customers tell us they want PCs with bold yet professional designs, uncompromising durability and reliability with the latest technologies that meets their budgets," said Fran O'Sullivan, senior vice president, Think Product Group, Lenovo. "Our answer is the new ThinkPad Edge family of laptops. They deliver stunning technology and powerful performance at an unprecedented value."

Sophisticated and Simple Design

The ThinkPad Edge Series laptops reflect a new progressive and strikingly clean appearance while retaining ThinkPad durability and reliability. For example, the laptops include spill-resistant keyboards and value-added ThinkVantage Technologies like the Active Protection System and Rescue and Recovery.

However, the new laptops blend expressive design and ease of use in several new ways:

Contemporary Keyboard – A new contemporary keyboard gives the laptop a clean and inviting look. Uniform black keys and removal of the embedded number pad also help create a modern design. The Function keys have even been re-designed so that users only need to use one finger to access multimedia functions and more. Other rarely used keys like System Request have been removed. Additionally, select models of the ThinkPad Edge 14 and 15 inch versions will come with illuminated keyboards for visibility in low light conditions while adding a touch of elegance to the keyboard.

Expanded Touchpad – A large multitouch touchpad provides an oversized landing pad for fingers to pinch, zoom and scroll.

Expressive, Colorful Palette – Midnight glossy or midnight soft black remain the traditional color for business, but for those who want to make a statement, ThinkPad Edge laptops come in heatwave red too. Additionally, a sleek silver band frames the exterior of the laptop.

SMB Performance Gets New Edge

SMBs "are a 24 x 7 business," and their PC technology reflects their personal brand. Lenovo designed the ThinkPad Edge Series specifically to give these customers stylish and eye-catching designs with high performance, reliability and the latest technologies including:

Great performance with choices of AMD Turion and Athlon Neo dual core processors or Intel Core 2 Duo ultra low voltage and standard dual core processors1

Optimized for Windows 7 under Lenovo's Enhanced Experience program

Long battery life of over eight hours2

Wireless connectivity technologies including WiFi and optional Bluetooth, 3G and WiMAX3

Crisp and clear voice over Internet protocol with Skype™ software, high definition speakers, high resolution, low light sensitivity cameras and microphone and camera mute keys

Commitment to green technology. The laptops carry a Gold rating from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool and meet Energy Star 5.0. The Edge laptops contain no foam and use many materials which are derived from 100 percent recycled content, such as thermoplastic, sugarcane or sorghum

"Expanding our relationship with Lenovo to include ThinkPad laptops represents a turning point for AMD's commercial client business and creates enormous opportunity for both companies," said Leslie Sobon, vice president, Product Marketing, AMD. "By basing these laptops on VISION Pro Technology, Lenovo is enabling customers to gain a competitive advantage with performance you can see on today's collaboration and visual productivity applications, unbeatable value at every price point and a means of eliminating IT headaches through open standards manageability and security features."

Total Service and Support

Lenovo also offers a full suite of flexible service and support solutions for the new ThinkPad Edge Series. Lenovo-branded services give customers and business partners a single source solution that helps minimize risks and increases protection and productivity.

These services include:

ThinkPad Protection to protect from unexpected repair costs in case of accidents or spills

Priority Support for 24/7 tech-to-tech support

Hard Disk Drive Retention that lets customer keep their failed or damaged hard drive to ensure data remains safely in their hands

Pricing and Availability4

The ThinkPad Edge 13 inch version will be available immediately with models starting at approximately $549 through Lenovo Business Partners and http://www.lenovo.com. The 14 and 15 inch versions will be available starting in 2Q 2010. Best Buy stores in the U.S. will offer the 14 inch version.

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook. Follow Lenovo's activities at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas online.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo's business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group's acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see http://www.lenovo.com.

1Available on 13 inch ThinkPad Edge models.

2Select models including the ThinkPad Edge 13 inch with Intel SU7300 and 6-cell battery and ThinkPad Edge 14 and 15 inch with 9-cell battery.

3WWAN/WiMAX Service Providers: Requires separate agreement with select third party service provider, and is subject to credit approval and applicable service agreement/terms, rate plan and coverage maps of the provider. Service is available in select metropolitan markets, not available in all areas. Service provider, not Lenovo, is solely responsible for service. Lenovo customers may be contacted after purchase to activate service. Special credit and tenure restrictions and additional charges may apply to international roaming. A network connection, third-party software, additional hardware, and/or subscription to a third-party service may be required for certain solutions/applications. Additional restrictions apply.

4Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

[JaneL]

Good grief. They took the SL series and made it worse. I didn't think that was possible.

[GomJabbar]

I see there is a mini-overview on Thinkpads.com. Click on the image for a larger view.

http://www.thinkpads.com/2009/11/19/len ... ge-lineup/

Contemporary Keyboard – A new contemporary keyboard gives the laptop a clean and inviting look. Uniform black keys and removal of the embedded number pad also help create a modern design. The Function keys have even been re-designed so that users only need to use one finger to access multimedia functions and more. Other rarely used keys like System Request have been removed. Additionally, select models of the ThinkPad Edge 14 and 15 inch versions will come with illuminated keyboards for visibility in low light conditions while adding a touch of elegance to the keyboard.

This is what gives me pause. They took out SysRq and what other 'rarely used keys'? Just when I found a use for SysRq in Linux, some ne'er-do-well removes it! I guess those designers never used the "magic keys" in Linux to shut down a hung system.
What is accomplished by removing the embedded number pad - really?!

[jdhurst]

Jane - I did not see what is worse about it. I don't care for this series given my 4:3 T61p, but I know I am in the minority here. ... JDH

[Puppy]

Good grief. They took the SL series and made it worse. I didn't think that was possible.

The worst thing is such product (mis)uses the ThinkPad brand name

[JaneL]

Jane - I did not see what is worse about it.

I read this as back-lit else why not just say it has a ThinkLight?

Additionally, select models of the ThinkPad Edge 14 and 15 inch versions will come with illuminated keyboards for visibility in low light conditions while adding a touch of elegance to the keyboard.

[jdhurst]

Thanks for the answer. It is not a model I would buy, so I had not studied up greatly about it.

My T61p workstation seems to be the last of a breed. Small, standard screen, reaonsable weight, strong, and flexible. Now that it is running Windows 7 Pro, I hope it lasts a while for me. ... JDH

[sparta.rising]

Here's a review:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/03/leno ... 13-review/

[ajkula66]

What on Earth is that keyboard all about?

ThinkPad? Not in my book, but who cares...

[sparta.rising]

I'm kind of interested in trying the keyboard out. Change isn't always bad. Have you seen the crap that accumulates under some people's keyboards?

[tilneford]

Here's another review:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5450

At least it has a track point.

[khtse]

I think Gizmodo's review concludes it pretty well:

So what has Lenovo introduced to the world? A lot of not quite. It's a thin-and-light that's not quite either. It's a notebook that's not quite powerful enough for heavy lifting and not quite affordable enough for casual use. It has a contemporary design that's not quite, well, smudge-proof. And for all it does right, this new ThinkPad still strikes me as a computer with a target audience that's not quite identifiable.

At its introductory price point, the Edge sounds like a competitive machine, but remember that you're also losing most of the things that distinguish it in the first place-the ULV Intel processor and the 6-cell battery, in particular. Honestly, if you're in the market for a new notebook, there's a good chance Lenovo already has something that fits exactly what you're looking for. And that it's called either IdeaPad or ThinkPad.

It's not quite a netbook at this price point and size. Not powerful enough to be your main computer. Branded as a Thinkpad but not quite up to Thinkpad standard (and missing many features).

[ThinkRob]

Sigh.

To those folks who kept saying "No, no... I don't think Lenovo's cheapening the brand name!":

Well... believe me now?

Anyways, it might not be all bad news. While the build quality does seem to be a step down, at least it seems like the keyboard might actually be solid (at least according to NBR -- emphasis mine:)

The keyboard takes the Chiclet/Island-style we have all seen on notebooks ranging from the latest netbooks to the newest Apple MacBook and merges it with the normal ThinkPad design. The part that makes this keyboard special is it is the first type of Chiclet keyboard I have found to be very comfortable and easy to type on. Most Chiclet-style keyboards have flat top keys, different spacing, and a shallower throw than a normal keyboard. The ThinkPad Edge doesn't have any of these problems, creating the perfect hybrid keyboard which I can easily say is one of the best implementations I have used to date.

Typing pressure and feedback is similar to the normal ThinkPad keyboard... so close that if you type with your eyes closed you might not even realize the key shape changed. The throw distance seems to be identical to my T60 with the same type of click sound made when fully pressed. Removing the key-tops reveals a very similar scissor-action found in normal ThinkPad keyboards. My best guess would be Lenovo stuck with the original frame and action assembly, only updating the key-tops and adding the internal bezel structure. It makes no compromises in terms of strength; showing no flex under strong typing pressure.

[A31]

When we pulled the Edge from its box the glossy black lid actually prompted us to check and make sure it hadn't come from HP or ASUS. Nope, this isn't your father's ThinkPad: gone are the classic scratch-proof, matte lid, dark metal hinges and right angled edges. And though die-hard ThinkPad fans may scoff at some of the more modern design elements, like like the optional ruby red color and the red LED in the ThinkPad logo (like that on the ThinkPad SL series), overall we're impressed with the aesthetics and the solid build quality of the budget system.

(from the review under the "look and feel" section)

Looks very much like an ASUS or an HP, not a ThinkPad!!
Why does it look so mainstream? Having a "glossy" lid DOESN'T make your laptop better in realibility, performance and nor does it make it any more enjoyable to own... At least my ThinkPad looks like a ThinkPad and not a HP!!

Also in one of the reviews on the Edge

The only part of the Edge that I would like to see some improvement in is the screen cover. With moderate pressure you can see ripples form on the screen ... a first for a ThinkPad model.

Clearly looking "glossy" is more important than the above?? The built quality is which is what Thinkpads are all about.

[gator]

Th EDGE seems like a copy of the macbook pro in terms of looks. Why in the world would Lenovo slap the "thinkpad" name on these laptops? And why do they keep messing with the keyboard !?

I think I should better start looking for a T60p.

[Harryc]

I think I should better start looking for a T60p.

...I predict that the 4:3 aspect ratio IPS LCD T60Ps will increase in value over time. Get one now Sri.

[ThinkRob]

Th EDGE seems like a copy of the macbook pro in terms of looks. Why in the world would Lenovo slap the "thinkpad" name on these laptops? And why do they keep messing with the keyboard !?.

Warning: cynicism ahead!

Because to Lenovo, the most valuable part of the IBM PC acquisition was the branding that it got them. I've suspected as much after seeing the writing on the wall with the T400 keyboard debacle, the re-badging of IdeaPads as "ThinkPad SL" models, etc., but this pretty much confirms my fears.

I suspect that the marketing dept. thought process went something like this:

1) "ThinkPad" a big name in the PC industry. People buy ThinkPads. People pay lots of money for ThinkPads.

2) People outside of China have no idea what Lenovo is. They will not buy Lenovo machines any more than HP, ASUS, etc.

3) We want people to buy our machines. We want people to pay as much for our machines as we can. We want to pay as little to make our machines as we can.

4) We can get people to buy our machines by competing on cost. But that means that we will make very little profit. That's not good. We need a way to get people to buy cheap machines for more money.

5) We have the ThinkPad name! We can put that on our cheaper models. First-time and non-enthusiast buyers will see the name and value the product more. This will allow us to charge more.

6) These people know "ThinkPad == good", but not why. They won't care about build quality, screen quality, keyboard design too much. If it's "good enough", it's "good" for them. This means we can save money. That means we make more money.

7) We can appeal to more of these consumers if we add "consumer-level" features. People like movies, so we can use a "HD widescreen" panel. We can use a cheap, common panel for this, since our new market won't know what to look for in a screen. Glossy sells, and that's cheap to add.

8) Dell's Mini notebooks and Apple's MacBook line seem to sell really well. The former has colorful lids. We can do that! Let's add some of those. We don't need to worry about carbon fiber or magnesium alloy or anything. It's a ThinkPad, so to our market it's good! The latter has a chiclet keyboard. People seem to like those. Let's add one! We won't have to worry about making a stiff backplate for the keyboard assembly either, so we can cut some costs here.

Alright! Our target consumer is now prepared to pay a lot more for this machine -- after all, it's a ThinkPad -- and we don't have to spend as much to make it as we did for the other ThinkPads. Good deal. That means more profit!

---

And you know... over-emphasis and snarkiness aside, I'm not entirely convinced that's not how it played out.

[mogget_storm]

Guys, I'm not quite sure what the objection is to this laptop. I see that there's dispute over the perceived 'cheapening' of the thinkpad brand, but there is, as yet, absolutely no evidence of this laptop having any real problems or lessened quality (if so I'd like to know!).

As to the company trading on the thinkpad name, surely they're entitled - its their name!

Also the 'not quite' tone seems quite unjustified. The laptop is, yes, in between a netbook and ultraportable and it seems there is a market for that, several other manufacturers have brought out similar products. The processors in the netbook concern me, and I really wanted a bit more grunt without too much more weight and I seem to have found it.

The company made it clear that the design is to appeal to people who use the laptop for both work and leisure, people who might like it to be a little pretty. There is no reason it can't be a little stylish and a good computer, is there?

And as far as increasing the price by using the thinkpad name, its simply untrue. Having looked around thoroughly for a comp with exactly these type of specs (I'm a medical student, need a laptop to work on that I could also use at home for some minor gaming, it's perfect. The AMD processor has a nice graphics capability built in, the battery life will last me through any lecture, the RAM is upgradeable to 4GB - a feature rarely seen in laptops of this spec. And the price is comparable to similar models by HP and Msi.

Please let me know if there is a real legitimate reason to shun this laptop, I'm interested to know. All I seem to have heard so far are unfounded complaints and criticisms, because they've made it in colours! Oh the horror!

[moronoxyd]

The only part of the Edge that I would like to see some improvement in is the screen cover. With moderate pressure you can see ripples form on the screen ... a first for a ThinkPad model.

Actually not true.
When I press the back of the display of my 570E, I see ripples on the screen.

[ThinkRob]

Guys, I'm not quite sure what the objection is to this laptop. I see that there's dispute over the perceived 'cheapening' of the thinkpad brand, but there is, as yet, absolutely no evidence of this laptop having any real problems or lessened quality (if so I'd like to know!).

As to the company trading on the thinkpad name, surely they're entitled - its their name!

They're entitled to, certainly. I'm just not sure it's the best idea (at least in the long run).

Also the 'not quite' tone seems quite unjustified. The laptop is, yes, in between a netbook and ultraportable and it seems there is a market for that, several other manufacturers have brought out similar products. The processors in the netbook concern me, and I really wanted a bit more grunt without too much more weight and I seem to have found it.

The company made it clear that the design is to appeal to people who use the laptop for both work and leisure, people who might like it to be a little pretty. There is no reason it can't be a little stylish and a good computer, is there?

I don't have any objections to Lenovo competing in the bottom-of-the-barrel consumer ring. That's where they got their start, and it's an area they seem competent in.

I *do* have an objection to them moving the ThinkPad line into that ring, and not just because of the name. I use ThinkPads because they're well-built, fantastically well-engineered machines. If Lenovo starts taking the rest of the line down the same road as the Edge, then I'm afraid that I'll be out of options when it comes time to find my next durable, semi-rugged portable.

I'm afraid that if people start associating the ThinkPad name with low cost, low quality netbooks (and yes, every single netbook on the market is low quality compared to real ThinkPads) that Lenovo will slowly transition the ThinkPad line away from being a serious machine aimed at businesses and power users to "just another" consumer line without creating a replacement to fill the niche that ThinkPads currently do. *That's* what I'm worried about. Use of the name isn't really the issue as much as what it represents: a shift from making the best possible notebooks to making whatever's the latest fad in budget notebook design.

[mogget_storm]

Ok, that I completely understand, thanks for the clarification. To be honest it looks to me like they put the edge series in with the Thinkpads because it was halfway between the think and idea range and they wanted the advantage of the name. But it still is tucked away in its own series, I'm not sure that you need to worry about the degradation of the thinkpad line. In all the stuff I've watched about the edge, Lenovo has been pretty clear that their other stuff will remain the same, this is just another option.

I'll post on here again once I've bought my edge, and give you a run down on the quality of it, if anyone is interested.