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Lenovo's New ThinkPad Has 2 LCD Screens, Weighs 11 Pounds
Posted by
Soulskill
on Sat Dec 20, 2008 02:12 AM
from the portables-with-a-nontrivial-schwarzschild-radius dept.
from the portables-with-a-nontrivial-schwarzschild-radius dept.
ericatcw writes "With many users now used to having multiple monitors at home or work, you had to figure someone would try to offer a 'desktop replacement' laptop that offered the same. Lenovo is the first. Its new W700ds laptop will offer a 10.6 inch LCD screen in addition to the 17-inch primary display. The W700ds also sports a quad-core Intel Core 2 CPU, up to almost 1 TB of storage, and an Nvidia Quadro mobile chip with up to 128 cores. A Lenovo exec called this souped-up version of the normally buttoned-down-for-business ThinkPads the 'nitro-burning drag racer of ThinkPads.' There is even a Wacom digitizer pad and pen for graphic artists, who are expected to be the target market, along with photographers and other creative types who are willing to trade shoulder-aching bulk (11 pounds) and price (minimum of $3,600) for productivity enhancements."
At the other end of the laptop size spectrum, Dell recently announced plans to launch a rival to the MacBook Air. Called "Adamo," it is supposedly "thinner than the MacBook Air," though further details will have to wait for the Computer Electronics Show in early January.
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Not worth it... (Score:2, Insightful)
On a more serious note, I don't think I want to carry around an 11 pound laptop just to have an extra monitor.
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An alternative scenario that would work for her is one laptop, an external LCD for the home, one at the office, and one in the car, and pocket the other $2k.
Now, if she's that dependent on her Thunderbird data, she should be backing it up on a regular basis anyway. The loss of the data (drive failure, theft, etc) is more of a hassle than backing it up, right?
" Of course now I get to hear about the crappy Alps touchpad driver and the general suckitude of Dell products, so it doesn't help ME any. "
So
What's the point? (Score:5, Insightful)
I guess I'm missing the point of this. At work I plug my laptop into my docking stataion, with a 26" monitor attached (with the same setup at home - the two monitors cost far less than this silly laptop!). I *don't* want to lug the monitor around with me! If I have a desk where I work frequently, I can provide it a much bigger monitor. If I'm just walking around, I want my laptop to be as light as possible.
Really, the more I think about it, the more I'm really just carrying my disk drive around. Maybe in a year or two I can just switch to carrying a poket-sized SSD around, and have desktops at home and work that boot off that.
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Maybe in a year or two I can just switch to carrying a poket-sized SSD around, and have desktops at home and work that boot off that.
I do almost exactly that. I carry around a 32GB flash drive and I run Portable Apps off of it. Since my work, school, and home computer all use Windows, I basically have the Desktop wherever I go. The only difference is that my home computer actually has Firefox, Open Office, etc. installed, as opposed to using the portable version.
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Seeing as you (admittedly) use your laptop primarily as a way to move your hard drive between fixed locations, this obviously wouldn't be very practical for you. I'd guess this is for people who tend to actually use their laptop regularly in remote locations, and would like more screen real-estate as many of us enjoy at the desktop. I think the point is, you get some of the benefits of extra screen space while still remaining fairly portable.
Still, seems pretty gimmicky. Should be interesting to see how
They would be lots better off (Score:2)
I know of NO good reason that it should actually be built-in. That adds unnecessary weight and complication, and reduces flexibility.
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I guess I'm missing the point of this.
Me too, unless it's "selling replacement batteries".
Re:What's the point? (Score:4, Informative)
I also have a good number of co-workers who choose 17" laptops. They are relatively big, but when it gets right down to it, it doesn't take them any longer to put those in a laptop bag and go somewhere than it does anybody with a smaller computer.
Parent
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Why not carry a mp3 player with a separate work partition?
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I guess I'm missing the point of this. At work I plug my laptop into my docking stataion, with a 26" monitor attached (with the same setup at home - the two monitors cost far less than this silly laptop!). I *don't* want to lug the monitor around with me! If I have a desk where I work frequently, I can provide it a much bigger monitor. If I'm just walking around, I want my laptop to be as light as possible.
Seconded. Particularly with the new Dell Latitudes having docking stations with dual-DVI connection
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Bookendz sells docks for Apple laptops. They may have released models for the new aluminum ones. I use one for my mid-2007 Macbook and it's not bad. It basically plugs into all your pre-existing ports and extends them out to ports on the dock. There's also a few extra powered USB ports.
Actually, it's pretty good considering the limitations it has to work with -- Apple doesn't design their laptops with docking stations in mind (unlike Dell Latitudes), so Bookendz says you have to power off your Macbook b
Re:The Point is... (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure, the OP doesn't have to buy it if he or she doesn't like it. But that doesn't mean the product has any value to anyone else either. If you decide to make ice cream that tastes like shit, and you can't answer the question of "what's the point?", then what will you have after you've spent $400,000 in research, design, production, packaging, and marketing just so you could sell your product to one *somebody*? Nothing but a big pile of (cold) shit. So the question remains, who needs a 4 grand laptop that weighs 11 pounds, and are there enough of these people for the product to turn a profit?
Parent
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Yes, the proper analogy is that shit flavored ice cream tastes like shit.
Needs More Symmetry (Score:4, Insightful)
Sorry, that laptop in the article just looks lop-sided and ugly with the sidecar-screen pulled out. Once somebody does a triptych version, let me know.
The perfect laptop (Score:5, Funny)
This has to be the perfect laptop for me!
Too many moving parts (Score:3, Interesting)
The secondary display pulled out at the side just looks so fragile to me. Especially when considering the cost of such a computer.
On the other story, does the Dell "Adamo" has anything to do with Battlestar Galactica?
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Slight difference.
NO! (Score:3, Interesting)
On the other story, does the Dell "Adamo" has anything to do with Battlestar Galactica?
Noooo!
Its named after the first man Our Lord God created. Not some imaginary character on some space-robots TV show.
You insensitive heathen clod.
A bit on the heavy side (Score:5, Funny)
"Lenovo's New ThinkPad Has 2 LCD Screens, Weighs 11 Pounds "
Maybe a car battery wasn't the best choice?
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Granted, it's one of the heavier notebooks on the market but if you would really see the benefit of dual screens when working in the field it doesn't sound all that bad -- just get a backpack case.
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You're talking about a bunch of guys who still remember lugging their Osbournes around. Of course their shoulders are sensitive.
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Wow that was an obscure reference. I remember hearing the word "Osbourne" but didn't recall what it was (24 pounds): http://oldcomputers.net/osborne.html [oldcomputers.net] - Now if you had said "Commodore 64 portable" then I could relate (23 pounds): http://oldcomputers.net/sx64.html [oldcomputers.net] ----- The heaviest portable ever made was the IBM PC at over 30 pounds!!! Ouch.
And finally the first laptop PC (12 pounds). It ran over 10 hours! Why don't today's laptops run ten hours? http://oldcomputers.net/ibm5140.html [oldcomputers.net] -----
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That's pretty much what I thought. Since when is 5kg "shoulder-aching bulk"? Well, assuming you haven't got some hideous degenerative bone disease or something.
I used to hitchhike from where I went to university to my parents and back with an Osborne 1 (latterly a Compaq portable) and my rucksack. I wouldn't even class that as "shoulder-aching bulk".
Interesting idea, poor implementation. (Score:5, Insightful)
1920x1200 main screen, and 720x1280 side screen... did it not occur to them to have 1200 vertically on both? Also, I'm kinda thinking that for this kind of money, I should be able to buy 2 laptops providing a total resolution in excess of 2640x1280, and whatever software I need to share the screen of one as a second display on the other... and have 'em weigh less, together, than this monstrosity. ;)
Re:Interesting idea, poor implementation. (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Since Lenovo took over, Thinkpads suck (Score:2, Informative)
I had great experiences with my previous two (IBM manufactured) Thinkpads.
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Re:Since Lenovo took over, Thinkpads suck (Score:4, Informative)
Lenovo has always made Thinkpads, or at least has for a decade or more. IBM just decided to sell the rest of the business to them but let them use the IBM name for a few years.
dom
Parent
Re:Since Lenovo took over, Thinkpads suck (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Since Lenovo took over, Thinkpads suck (Score:4, Interesting)
I am the proud owner of a 570e, T41p, T61p and X61s. And indeed, the T61p is the most Lenovo of the four, and it sucks (huge and hot). The X61s is wonderful (netbook sized and amazing keyboard, CPU, HD, screen and linux compatibility) but it seems that it was IBM designed.
One of my relatives just bought a T400 and his comment was "pretty cool, but the keyboard sucks a bit" ... Knowing that one of the main reason to buy a Thinkpad was the quality of the keyboard, this is bad.
Now, maybe the expensive ones are better ? People do not seem to complain about the X[23]00, do they ?
Parent
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I just bought an SL300 and it's great, if not for the screen and the touch-pad (which is a bit of a drag, because they are very important parts of a laptop I suppose). It also has some problems with the WiFi software and Vista (maybe I'll install the XP software that came with it, or Linux).
The keyboard however is fine by me. The only complaint I have about it is that it is slightly too loud, and the Fn key is completely to the left, where I expect to find the key. Otherwise it is a brilliant thing, with e
Why? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why? I see this word a lot in laptop threads. It's in the luggable monster threads like this one and its often in the netbook one too. I would have thought the answer was obvious, really. What I have trouble understanding is how people can fail to understand that not everyone has the same computing needs.
If you still don't understand, use the following guide:
Need as much power as you can get in a portable bos? Get one of these.
Need great portability but not much CPU? Get an eee or whatever.
Need something in between? Get a laptop.
Need a laptop which can be run over bay a tank while under water? Get a toughbook, etc...
And so on. If you're on /. and still can't see how other people still have different computing needs, then hand in your geek card on your way out.
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Please can you come and explain that logic to my boss.. Ans can you also include the following.
Need large amount of computing power than you never need to move, BUY A DESKTOP.
All our work desktops are slowly being replaced with laptops. No one ever moves them. They stay setup, open, on people desks, over the weekend.. I'm surprised that the cleaners haven't stolen a few buy now.
nutty (Score:2)
Okay, a dual-head laptop is just an insane idea. But then again, the Thinkpad has a long history of crazy features in the product line. Good to see Lenovo is keeping up the tradition.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go do some hacking on my T60.
From the PC Pro article: (Score:2)
The metallic-black "Adamo" laptop will reportedly be thinner than the MacBook Air, although it's unclear whether it will be as light.
Sure, it depends on whether or not they loaded Vista onto it.
(kidding)
Looks a tad flimsy. (Score:2)
I'd be real nervous about someone bumping into that extra display.
-jcr
How funny and stupid of Dell (Score:2, Insightful)
Numeric Keypads (Score:2)
Why is this being posted? (Score:2)
I thought it was against slashdot's policy to make porn posts.
I have something very similar (Score:3, Funny)
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Wheels? Awesome! Strap an outboard motor to the back of it and then it's even more portable. The other solution requires a car. :)
Re:128 cores (Score:4, Funny)
I think we should make a system of rating computing power that's applicable to a CPU or GPU and is measured in Internet Penis Inches. Then you can settle graphics card debates by saying "This one is rated at 6.3Epeens and this one is 7.2Epeens" and be done with it.
Parent
Re:128 cores (Score:4, Informative)
I thought they were normally called 3dmarks, but I guess Epeens would work.
Parent
11 pounds is 5kg (Score:5, Informative)
I'll save everyone else having to look it up.
Parent