Lenovo's New ThinkPad Has 2 LCD Screens, Weighs 11 Pounds 194
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.
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.
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.
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.
Re:What's the point? (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
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. ;)
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.
Re:Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:What's the point? (Score:3, Insightful)
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 it does, though.
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?
Re:Since Lenovo took over, Thinkpads suck (Score:5, Insightful)
How funny and stupid of Dell (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Why? (Score:1, Insightful)
Most laptops do use a lot less power than a desktop though...
Re:Not worth it... (Score:3, Insightful)
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 buy her an external usb mouse, external keyboard, and external LCD, and you not only won't hear any complaints, but she'll really enjoy using two screens.