New Thinkpads on the web! T70, 17", quad core, 2.66Ghz

[beeblebrox]

As usual, one of the premier web sites giving a hint about new unpromoted Thinkpads shows a variety of new models:

X-series
ThinkPad X200 (11")
ThinkPad X300 (13.3")

W-series
ThinkPad W400 (14")
ThinkPad W500 (15.4")
ThinkPad W700 (17")

T-series
Thinkpad T400
ThinkPad T500

R-series
ThinkPad R400
Thinkpad R500

Hint: This is a commercial ThinkPad center in Germany serving universities etc. Their web site has been highly reliable in the past (actually always reliable).
Check their website in HTML code and you will get many new model numbers and specs!

http://www.ip-web.de/

(at the bottom the new models, you need to select them with the mouse to see them, in the HTML source code are more details)

E.g. this one might look really nice:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700, 2.66GHz, ThinkPad T70, Small business,


It seems that Lenovo is going to Warp mode 5 with a tsunami of new models after they outsourced their production to Taiwanese companies this month.

[SHoTTa35]

whoa... guess they are leaving the familiar TXX numbering and going to their own. I'll probably get a newer machine later on if i like em too but as of right now this T60 is not going anywhere anytime soon

[jdhurst]

There should be a United Nations ban on any T or like-model ThinkPad having a width greater than 12 inches, a depth greater than 10 inches, a thickness greater than 1 inch, and a weight greater than 5 pounds.
... JDH

[pianowizard]

There should be a United Nations ban on any T or like-model ThinkPad having a width greater than 12 inches, a depth greater than 10 inches, a thickness greater than 1 inch, and a weight greater than 5 pounds.
... JDH

With the exception of a few T40 models, all T-series Thinkpads so far have been over 5 pounds!

whoa... guess they are leaving the familiar TXX numbering and going to their own.

Probably to unify the numbering systems for the Ideapads and the Thinkpads.

[andyP]

The website and shop belongs to Andy-Germany who also runs thinkpad-forum.de. I know him pretty good and always wonder where he get's his information from.

[beeblebrox]

The website and shop belongs to Andy-Germany who also runs thinkpad-forum.de. I know him pretty good and always wonder where he get's his information from.

So guys in Germany seem well connected within Lenovo I guess?
But so far this German website seems to show the same data as can be found on some Chinese websites.

There was a Chinese website with details on 17" Thinkpads last week, but it got pulled. Not cached by Google, unfortuntaly.

[Puppy]

Hm, a T400 IPS is still missing

[jdhurst]

<snip>
With the exception of a few T40 models, all T-series Thinkpads so far have been over 5 pounds!
<snip>

My T23 was less than 5 pounds, and my T30 (chunky as it was) was on or just a smidgen over 5 pounds. My T41 was measured at 4.9 pounds. I think if I had said 5.2 pounds, I might have caught most of them.

The significant point, however, is: Lenovo keeps making mountains out of molehills (tanks out of ferarris). With electronics shrinking everywhere, let's make T models smaller.
... JDH

[pianowizard]

My T23 was less than 5 pounds, and my T30 (chunky as it was) was on or just a smidgen over 5 pounds. My T41 was measured at 4.9 pounds.

Strange. I've weighed all of the >10 T-series Thinkpads I've owned and none of them weighed less than 5 lbs. One of our balances isn't calibrated properly.

[ulrich.von.lich]

Are those models designed by the same team that did T6/R6/X6 series or not? I guess there will no longer be any trace of IBM on those machines since it's already 2008. I hope the IBM spirit will remain forever on the ThinkPad line. (If Lenovo doesn't screw up this time, I guess we can say the future of ThinkPads is safe.)

On the other hand, I'm really excited to see some new models. A LOT of them this time.. which would be quite expansive for anyone who collects ThinkPads

[qviri]

It seems they took most of the info from the home page now. Are you sure they aren't just fishing for google search results and gizmodo hits? The X300 page (online at the time of writing at http://www.ip-web.de/ThinkPad/X300/ThinkPad_x300.html) says "schnellen 2,5" SATA Festplatten" and then "Festplatte: Solode State 64 GB (1,8" x 8 mm)" right underneath... doesn't inspire credibility.

[Trekk69]

Wow!
I wonder if the tablets are going to get an update included in the new X series....

[Truthfinder]

Looks like the T60 & 61 are the last of the best.

What will become of the ThinkPad as we have come to know it is anybodys guess ! We shall see

For the time being, I will hang onto my T60 which is still like brand spaanking new

Keep us posted on the new upcoming units, please !

[gator]

17" ... UGH. I really hope they dont make a 17" thinkpad. Laptops should be laptops, not overweight behemoths ...

[Truthfinder]

If they come out with a 17" suitcase, the days of the real ThinkPads are coming to a close as we once knew them to be.

The can just as well call them HP or Sony for that matter.

I have always used ThinkPads because they were built and had the look of a strong piece of equiptment, not a toy. We can buy toys anywhere....

Truthfinder

[mattbiernat]

whoa... guess they are leaving the familiar TXX numbering

what is up with that? just the same changes that don't make any sense as silver power buttons, cheap touchpad buttons and getting rid of the blue and red coloring. why not just make them look like dell machines altogether?
EDIT: if they make them as solid as T60, I will still buy one, but of course after i get one of those T4XP.

[carbon_unit]

Looks like the T60 & 61 are the last of the best.

What will become of the ThinkPad as we have come to know it is anybodys guess ! We shall see

For the time being, I will hang onto my T60 which is still like brand spaanking new

Keep us posted on the new upcoming units, please !

This is the same thing people said when the T4x and T6x series came out. Save the rhetoric until you actually have facts.

[pianowizard]

17" ... UGH. I really hope they dont make a 17" thinkpad.

I remember we had a thread last year where many people said they wanted a 17" Thinkpad. 17" is a perfect size for 1920x1200 resolution. In terms of volume, it may not take up any more space than the A- or G-series, and it may weigh less.

[whizkid]

So Gator,

You're not going to get one of the Dell 20" "portable" machines?
- Wireless keyboard with numeric keypad and touchpad
- EIGHT speakers and subwoofer for 7.1 surround sound
- 20.1" 1680x1050

I didn't catch the battery life.

[Trekk69]

Or if the new Dells don't work, always try an HP HDX 'portable model'!!

[Truthfinder]

Check out the cheesey Touch Pads they are using on the ThinkPads. REALLY !

We can all use a mouse when using the ThinkPad and if the Touch Pad is used, after a short time it becomes very shinny.

It's as if they are using contact paper for the Touch pad covering.

Piece by piece, the ThinkPad is fading away...


MY 2 cents

[Truthfinder]

This is the same thing people said when the T4x and T6x series came out. Save the rhetoric until you actually have facts.

The T61 look to be a failure on the part of Lenovo.... Just look at the volume of complaints.

No matter how you cut it, the quality of the ThinkPad is NOT what it once was.

[pianowizard]

The T61 look to be a failure on the part of Lenovo.... Just look at the volume of complaints.

You should also look at the even larger volume of complaints about the mobo problem of the T4*. I do think that the best Thinkpads were made in the 1990s, but the decline in quality didn't start with Lenovo. It started when IBM was still in charge. Most people, including me, find the T60 superior to the T4* in terms of build quality, so Lenovo might actually have made things better.

[mattbiernat]

I remember we had a thread last year where many people said they wanted a 17" Thinkpad.

i want one. as long as they are build well.
- no heat/noise issue
- no ugly design

[Truthfinder]

The T61 look to be a failure on the part of Lenovo.... Just look at the volume of complaints.

You should also look at the even larger volume of complaints about the mobo problem of the T4*. I do think that the best Thinkpads were made in the 1990s, but the decline in quality didn't start with Lenovo. It started when IBM was still in charge. Most people, including me, find the T60 superior to the T4* in terms of build quality, so Lenovo might actually have made things better.

I use a T60 and really love this unit, however, I did not have a chance to use or test the T4* units.

[JaneL]

You should also look at the even larger volume of complaints about the mobo problem of the T4*. I do think that the best Thinkpads were made in the 1990s, but the decline in quality didn't start with Lenovo. It started when IBM was still in charge.

If you browse through the mailing list archives which go back to 1993, you'll find people complaining loudly about something on nearly every model made - even the cherished 600, 770 and A series.

The graphics problems reported on the T61s are nothing compared to the whining that went on about the Mwave modems in the 75x series.

http://zurich.ai.mit.edu/hypermail/thinkpad/

[iamdmc]

FYI - Lenovo issued a statement saying it will not be moving any production to Taiwan. It stays in China (for obvious reasons).

IMHO - Lenovo X6x Thinkpads are the best of the recent (X30 onward) X series notebooks. I hope that Lenovo will keep the build/DESIGN quality up for the next X series, but with the leaked pictures already on the net it doesn't look like that's going to be the case. They were making good strides in REDUCING the bezel thickness, then they decided to just double it again - Why?

Looks like I'm sticking with my X61s - at least for another year or so.

[milstein]

... but with the leaked pictures already on the net it doesn't look like that's going to be the case. They were making good strides in REDUCING the bezel thickness, then they decided to just double it again - Why?...

Maybe because they want a webcam on the top and than the rest of the bezel thickness to be equal to the thickness of the top portion to "balance"?
Yes, looks thickness than the bezel on X60/X61...

[iamdmc]

Webcam option is nice, but with some simple circuitry rearrangement/redesign, the lens can be positioned higher on the circuit board and the board can be widened (thus you still have the same hardware, but it doesn't need so much plastic retail above the screen).

Not only that, but it is (apparently: see Macbook air) not so hard to minimize the bezel to bare minimum, and perhaps not sacrifice the protection. Make it LED backlit, add minimal protection like in X61s, and you have yourself a very thin LCD screen. Design the screen thickness to be very malleable (ie. for when 12" OLED screens become more widely used and cheaper) and you can pretty much eventually minimize the screen to a few sheets of paper. Anyone dreaming about it yet? Imagine an X61-style design with a widescreen OLED screen - 10+ hours of battery life, and around half an inch thin.

If I can do it (especially with something as simple as the webcam), Lenovo should be able to!!!

I hate to say it, but WTF?

[lightweight]

While I don't care for an ultrathin malleable screen, OLED 10hour x61s would have been the pimp. Still, LED and the options stated for x300 -- assuming there is also a +8 hour battery option, ideally 10+ hours -- is a legitimate step forward.

As stated elsewhere, if x300 lives up to the hype, it's hard to not see it as a welcome evolution of the X series. Hell, "Ultimate Thinkpad" indeed.

If this place had karma points I would have given you a bagillion btw, iamdmc