Thinkpad W700

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MadCap · #31 Post by **MadCap** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:50 am

I can confirm the integrated tablet

btw it`s not an issue with palm resting - you can put it right on the tablet, it`s only activated by special pen.
There is one little special thingy - do you guys like to work on two displays? If yes, W700 is your thing

cannot tell more.
Btw - new HP 8730w is going to have an option for DreamColor display with RGB LED backlight and 8-bit colors!

pianowizard · #32 Post by **pianowizard** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:42 am

Crunch wrote:The W700 might be of great interest to me. A 17" widescreen Thinkpad.

Same here. I had a Dell 6000 with 15.4" WUXGA for a while and things looked a tad too small (147.0 DPI). But a few days ago, I finally saw a 17" WUXGA laptop in person. Specifically, it was a Dell XPS. That display looked perfect because pixel density is 133.2 DPI, almost exactly the same as 15.0" UXGA (133.3 DPI), so one can sit back and view text and images comfortably. When viewing a 15.4" WUXGA or 15.0" QXGA screen, I need to keep my eyes within ~12 inches from the screen.

arlab · #33 Post by **arlab** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 3:59 pm

MadCap wrote:There is one little special thingy - do you guys like to work on two displays? If yes, W700 is your thing cannot tell more.

The W700 really has two monitors?? :drool:

BTW, that makes it a non-portable laptop, I guess...

bunta · #34 Post by **bunta** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:09 pm

MadCap wrote:I can confirm the integrated tablet btw it`s not an issue with palm resting - you can put it right on the tablet, it`s only activated by special pen.
There is one little special thingy - do you guys like to work on two displays? If yes, W700 is your thing cannot tell more.
Btw - new HP 8730w is going to have an option for DreamColor display with RGB LED backlight and 8-bit colors!

What do you mean by "two monitors" ?? I dont understand how this concept works? I know about the pen-tablet option... but dual monitors????

Also, is there a configuration that does not include the tablet-pen option??? i dont need or want it....

Troels · #35 Post by **Troels** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 6:50 pm

Ugh... either the photographer has turned on some psychedelic setting, or the "DreamColor" lives up to all people want these days: vibrant (but incorrect) colors - looks very off:
http://www.slashgear.com/hp-8730w-8530w ... 113691.php

However, it is great to see other manufacturers take up what Lenovo left. Shame it is HP though, from a quality point of view. Try buying a decent HP printer these days for example.
EDIT: Anyone knows the manufacturer of these 17" dreamcolor WS?

Pocket Aces · #36 Post by **Pocket Aces** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 7:21 pm

bunta wrote:
MadCap wrote:I can confirm the integrated tablet btw it`s not an issue with palm resting - you can put it right on the tablet, it`s only activated by special pen.
There is one little special thingy - do you guys like to work on two displays? If yes, W700 is your thing cannot tell more.
Btw - new HP 8730w is going to have an option for DreamColor display with RGB LED backlight and 8-bit colors!
What do you mean by "two monitors" ?? I dont understand how this concept works? I know about the pen-tablet option... but dual monitors????

Also, is there a configuration that does not include the tablet-pen option??? i dont need or want it....

He wrote two "displays", not "monitors". Not necessarily the same thing. It could mean that the tablet thingy could be a touchscreen.

#37 Post by **JaneL** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:12 pm

Photos are up on flickr...

bunta · #38 Post by **bunta** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:19 pm

nonny wrote:Photos are up on flickr...

Link??

qviri · #39 Post by **qviri** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:27 pm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenovophotolibrary/

Obligatory comment: loving the bezels.

bunta · #40 Post by **bunta** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:44 pm

qviri wrote:http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenovophotolibrary/

Obligatory comment: loving the bezels.

just one picture ?? lol...im glad i actually got to see a semi real one. ..thanks again..

Do you know anything else about this unit? Can we configure the laptop without second touchpad thingy..?

Edit: The pics name was W700_04 .... is there an 01, 02 or and 03 ??? I cant find them...

alee · #41 Post by **alee** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:13 pm

http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/12/leno ... our-hands/

andrw · #42 Post by **andrw** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:34 pm

very similiar to the engadget article:

http://gizmodo.com/5035828/lenovo-think ... ade-screen

qviri · #43 Post by **qviri** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:36 pm

Ah, so there was an NDA expiring today... Both articles posted at 12:01 Eastern...

#44 Post by **JaneL** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:00 am

It's on Lenovo's website now, as well.

And at NBR -> http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=284922

agarza · #45 Post by **agarza** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:11 am

OMG!! A monster Thinkpad has been born.
I could expect a price of at least 2,700USD depending on the options you select. Interesting laptop.

Oops, didn't read completely the article, almost 3K for this beast. I will try to convince my employer to buy me one of these laptops. With the excuse that we draw a lot of AutoCad drawings.

arlab · #46 Post by **arlab** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 2:29 am

The only thing that is lacking here is a WQXGA display. WUXGA is a little disappointing...

TimWang · #47 Post by **TimWang** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 2:48 am

MadCap wrote:There is one little special thingy - do you guys like to work on two displays? If yes, W700 is your thing cannot tell more.

What is this special thingy? Can you tell us? Please?

NaT · #48 Post by **NaT** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:24 am

Just noticed that W700 is now orderable from the Lenovo website, with the powerful GPU, RAID, and other options. However the prices are quite expensive.

Troels · #49 Post by **Troels** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:41 am

Not sure if it's an error or not:

17" WUXGA 400NIT TFT [add $225.00] [New]

400 nits... wow... a transportable sun.

Other than that, i like the high gamut claim. Especially if its higher than 6 bits, so we won't get extra transition banding.
I'm really looking forward to hear real-life impressions of this.. even though, i would never dream of having a 17" notebook.

The digitizer is a very nice feature.

morgandog · #50 Post by **morgandog** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:44 am

Has anyone heard about battery life on this monster? I imagine that there will be space for a huge battery, but I only see the 9 cell listed on the US website. This might be a good solution for me (but would mean I need to also get a small second notebook to carry around!), though I don't want to return to the days of 2-3 hour battery life.

By the way, I assume that the dual display thing is simply the fact that this thing can drive dual DVI monitors, no?

Puppy · #51 Post by **Puppy** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:36 am

The most interesting part of NBR article http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4552 is

"Digital photographers will benefit from models with the built-in color calibrator for the WUXGA (1920x1200) 17-inch display with 400NIT brightness and a 72% color gamut (typical LCDs only offer a 45% gamut). "

Does it mean Lenovo has invested in better display technology than TN panels ? If so, why we can't have them in other models ?

Troels · #52 Post by **Troels** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:43 am

No - at least not necessarily - you can have higher gamut with any LCD technology, but due to 6 bit limitations the results should not be very good with higher gamuts.
The interesting part is if higher than 6 bit is chosen at the same time.

#53 Post by **JaneL** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 7:09 am

http://lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=153

#54 Post by **KristianJ** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 7:28 am

pianowizard wrote: Same here. I had a Dell 6000 with 15.4" WUXGA for a while and things looked a tad too small (147.0 DPI). But a few days ago, I finally saw a 17" WUXGA laptop in person. Specifically, it was a Dell XPS. That display looked perfect because pixel density is 133.2 DPI, almost exactly the same as 15.0" UXGA (133.3 DPI), so one can sit back and view text and images comfortably. When viewing a 15.4" WUXGA or 15.0" QXGA screen, I need to keep my eyes within ~12 inches from the screen.

I'm finding the 15.4" WUXGA on my HP nw8240 surprisingly pleasing to view from a regular viewing distance of ~24 inches. I was expecting a WSXGA+, which I was used to from the Z60m I had earlier in the year, but was pleasantly surprised with the higher resolution panel and the very acceptable size of text and images. My eyes don't feel as if they're straining at all.

Re. the W700, it looks like one heck of a beastly machine that would potentially make even a G4x look compact. I can't wait to see photographic size comparisons between all the different machines, and find out how much it'll end up weighing.

Puppy · #55 Post by **Puppy** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:20 am

Troels wrote:The interesting part is if higher than 6 bit is chosen at the same time.

Which would indicate other technology than TN. But I smell a marketing trick here rather than real improvement. Unfortunately there are no technical details about the panel.

As for the magic "color auto-calibration". The article here http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks ... ad-W700/p1 states "17in, 1,920 x 1,200 screen (with auto-calibration based on ambient lighting)". It does not seem to be a color calibration, just automatic brightness setting/correction based on ambient light. My LCD NEC 2090UXi has such function called AmbiBright.

Edit: But the Lenovo blog says it is Pantone’s X-Rite calibrator. These information are a bit misleading.

Oaklodge · #56 Post by **Oaklodge** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:09 am

Too bad the digitizer location can not be configured.
Like most creative people I'm left handed and having it over on the right side will just not work

Troels · #57 Post by **Troels** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:49 am

Puppy wrote:Which would indicate other technology than TN. But I smell a marketing trick here rather than real improvement. Unfortunately there are no technical details about the panel.

Well, you can have as large a look-up table as you like, also for TN, but it's often just limited to 6 bit to limit the needed memory and processing power needed.
TN is often just 6 bit lut since the costs must be kept down to a minimum, and TN was already the cheapest way to produce LCDs.

There's also a quality aspect - with TN small changes in transistor gate voltage might not result in a great enough difference in luminance output, so 6 bit might be just right and dithering does the rest to make color transitions more smooth looking.

That's the trick i fear HP is doing with their "Dreamcolor" displays - perhaps this is the same display Lenovo uses?
I asked on the blog what bit depth the lut was, but since they are implying in the blog post that it is not IPS but TN, i fear they might have opted for a 6 bit range, which does pose a problem, especially with larger gamuts. At 45% it is a problem already.

About the color calibrator - i read it as a feature, where you close the lid, it can recalibrate the display up to four times a month.
I.e., to account for CCFL spectrum changes throughout it's life time.

Puppy · #58 Post by **Puppy** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 11:08 am

Troels wrote:TN is often just 6 bit lut since the costs must be kept down to a minimum, and TN was already the cheapest way to produce LCDs.

Yep, so called "8 bit TN" displays are just 6 bit ones with dithering technology. There are no true 8 bit TN panels. Don't mention it would not make sense because colors are getting very distorted with even small change of viewing angle anyway.

Troels wrote:That's the trick i fear HP is doing with their "Dreamcolor" displays - perhaps this is the same display Lenovo uses?

I guess so. We are being cheated.

There is still one thing I don't get it. Other lcd panel technologies are not that more expensive than horribe TN ones. Currently I think that consumer S-PVA or S-IPS panel might be two or three times more expensive than TN one. Have you notice how much effort has been put into cheating people with bombastic technology names or unrealistic technical parameters just to continue to sell such crap ? There must be a "Secret club of TN panel technology fans" because it does not make sense. You could get 1000 times better display for two times higher price.

Puppy · #59 Post by **Puppy** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 11:23 am

And just another news related to W700: More Defective NVIDIA Graphics Chipset http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4554

"This means machines that offer the 8800M graphics chipset (HP HDX, Alienware M15x, and most every high-end gaming notebook) as well as that new Lenovo W700 are possibly running soon-to-be defective hardware"

And W700 videos http://www.notebooks.com/2008/08/11/thi ... et-videos/

arlab · #60 Post by **arlab** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:10 pm

morgandog wrote:...though I don't want to return to the days of 2-3 hour battery life.

W700's battery life is listed as 1.8 hours, so I'd expect around 1 hour of battery life. Definitely not the laptop to move around...

Oaklodge wrote:Like most creative people I'm left handed and having it over on the right side will just not work

But, yes, they could have thought of left-handed people.

Thinkpad W700

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