Will there really be no follow up to the W701?

[itpastorn]

I just got payed after a big job and the time has come to finally replace my z61p. I have been a happy Thinkpad customer for 15 years, but I really want a 17 inch workstation.

All info I can find on the interwebs is the sad news that the w520 will not get a big brother... And it makes me sad indeed.

I have written about it in more detail at my English speaking blog. (My normal friends do not participate on Thinkpad forums.)

Right now I am chosing between 2 evils: An HP EliteBook 8760w, but I distrust HP to make as good a Trackpoint and keyboard as Lenovo does, or an w520 - which still is not 17 inch.

If there was a reliable rumour that there will be a new 17 inch workstation Thinkpad released this fall, I would save my money for a few months and get it. So any rumors, anyone?

Or an authoritative "no", confirming 100 % that all hope is lost...

(BTW, I will run Linux, not Windows on my next laptop, just as i do on my z61p).

[Harryc]

Why not just buy a W701 if that machine fulfills your computing needs?

[itpastorn]

Why not just buy a W701 if that machine fulfills your computing needs?

Because it's sold out, and I want one with a Swedish keyboard, making Ebay a useless option.

And when buying a really expensive machine in the summer of 2011, I would expect it to have Sandy Bridge.

[Harryc]

I've never seen Lenovo announce a new model in the middle of a production cycle (it would have been announced with the W520's etc) ... so aloha HP EliteBook 8760w . IIRC there were a couple of exceptions to the production cycle rule (.e.g. X201 and X301), but it is rare. Check back in a year.