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.
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?
Re:A bit on the heavy side (Score:2, Interesting)
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.
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:What's the point? (Score:3, Interesting)
I guess I'm missing the point of this.
Me too, unless it's "selling replacement batteries".
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 ?
Would it work on a smaller chassis? (Score:2, Interesting)
As other commenters have mentioned, it's about the trade off.
I guess I'd fit into the target market, as I'm a graphic designer and video editor, so more screen and more power are always nice. But I can't see me ever going larger than the 15.4" screen laptop I have now.
Why? Because, as nice as a bigger screen/more screens would be, it would guarantee that I couldn't do anything until I reached my destination unless I carried a smaller laptop as well. The laptop I have (Dell D820) is awkward on planes unless travelling business class or above, as it's slightly too big to fit on a tray table comfortably. Ditto for train travel (in the UK) -- even at a "table" seat (2 pairs of seats facing, separated by a small table) it's necessary to have the laptop uncomfortably close to the edge of the table so as not to use all of the table space belonging to the person opposite.
It seems to me that the extending display tech would be more suited to a smaller laptop -- if it can be made to work -- so you can have portability but still have a sizable working desktop when you have the space.
Re:What's the point? (Score:3, Interesting)
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 connections, I can have a couple of 27" LCDs' worth of screen real estate at home and at work, but still only have to carry around a couple of kilos worth of hardware.
I really wish Apple had built docking stations for the new MB range. The lack of them was the single biggest reason I didn't buy one.
Re:Since Lenovo took over, Thinkpads suck (Score:3, Interesting)
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 easy to reach enter, backspace and cursor keys and two large shift keys. It seems that this 700 thing has got the same keyboard, and a numpad as well, which my 13.3" wide screen laptop obviously misses.
I haven't got too much experience with stinkeypads, but it surely feels and stinks like one :). This message was typed on the wonderful keyboard.
Re:A bit on the heavy side (Score:2, Interesting)
It ran over 10 hours! Why don't today's laptops run ten hours?
My guess would be, judging from your links, is that the laptops of the olden days didn't have a disk driving constantly spinning, a processor that ran at about 4 mumble Mhz, and with a 640x200 display, it probably didn't require as much juice as the laptops nowadays.
I miss my last laptop which could adjust the clock speed. I had it set up that the less juice there was, the lower the clock speed. I could regularly get 3 hours out of it--of course, that was running linux and not the disk thrashing Windows.
<Aside>Seriously, what's going on? When I boot my laptop in Linux, I rarely see the hdd light flicker, but when I boot Windows, it's constantly lit up for the first five minutes, or so.
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.
Re:The Point is... (Score:3, Interesting)
Yes, the proper analogy is that shit flavored ice cream tastes like shit.
Re:What's the point? (Score:3, Interesting)
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 before docking & undocking.
That said, sometimes the ports apparently don't match up perfectly and I have to shut down and re-seat the dock to get the Ethernet jack to work.