Lenovo rumored to make thinner-than-MacBook Air TP ultrabook

[Ravin' Ray]

So after looking at the IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro's 3200×1800 display, it seems the ThinkPad line will have one as well. The Verge and Trusted Reviews both report Chinese website Yesky's article about a rumored superthin ThinkPad that uses the same carbon fiber chassis as the X1 Carbon, tentatively named the ThinkPad 9 Slim.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/25/47706 ... pad-9-slim
http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/leno ... ina-beater
http://notebook.yesky.com/148/35354148.shtml

[lead_org]

It probably would marginally thinner, the battle for thinness is more of a marketing ploy rather than anything that customers can really benefit from. Also being extremely thin means everything would be soldered to the motherboard, which makes upgrading these machines extremely difficult.

[Ibthink]

Also being extremely thin means everything would be soldered to the motherboard, which makes upgrading these machines extremely difficult.

I am curious how this will turn out in the end. The chassis itself seems to be thinner than the X1 Carbon chassis, but it seems to not get thinner at the front (unlike the X1 Carbon), which would mean more room for the battery. Lets see if this actualy will get to the market as the X1 Carbon´s succesor or if it is just a prototype...

[600X]

Interesting...

I might buy this, simply because it is different from your typical notebook. 9mm really is disturbingly thin. Hope this actually makes it into production.

[Ibthink]

Aurora, I am looking forward to your review. If this ever comes to market...

X1 Carbon 2 will on the market in January, so if this is the succesor to the X1 Carbon, you may get your first chance then...

[600X]

I will definitely check this one out once it becomes available. As a huge 13" fan, lenovo doesn't exactly offer much choice anyway, so I might even buy it when it gets cheaper.

[ThinkRob]

I can't say I understand what good this "race to the thinnest" really is. Lightness I get (to an extent) -- but is it really that crucial to shave every last millimeter from modern laptops, especially when it comes at the expense of maintainability and upgrade potential?

[ZaZ]

is it really that crucial to shave every last millimeter from modern laptops, especially when it comes at the expense of maintainability and upgrade potential?

I would say no. I would also add battery life to the list, though ULV CPU Haswell CPUs are fairly impressive in that regard.

[Summilux]

I can't say I understand what good this "race to the thinnest" really is. Lightness I get (to an extent) -- but is it really that crucial to shave every last millimeter from modern laptops, especially when it comes at the expense of maintainability and upgrade potential?

But Rob, that's exactly what Apple is doing! Gotta follow them! No time to ask silly questions such as these

[Ibthink]

It does not look like this will come to the marekt anytime soon, it is not the successor of the X1 Carbon (whcih is the ThinkPad X3).

[ThinkRob]

But Rob, that's exactly what Apple is doing! Gotta follow them! No time to ask silly questions such as these

Apple didn't start the trend.

[Summilux]

Apple didn't start the trend.

As long as Apple does it, Lenovo has to follow, heh.

[pianowizard]

Apple didn't start the trend.

Indeed. Apple usually just popularizes trends, not starting them. As far as I know, Sony was the first to make an ultrathin laptop, the X505, back in 2003. While the X505 got tech reviewers drooling, the general public didn't care at all about super thin laptops until Steve Jobs took a MacBook Air out of a manila envelope five years later.

[ThinkRob]

While the X505 got tech reviewers drooling, the general public didn't care at all about super thin laptops until Steve Jobs took a MacBook Air out of a manila envelope five years later.

Yep. And Lenovo the same envelope at about the same time.

I'm all for thinness if it can be done like the X300/X301. I'm just not a fan of the current trend of axing features in exchange for thinness.