Hasta La Gadget!

Do you love Lenovo laptops, but at a distance? We thought so. That’s why we’re happy to report that a variation of the company’s SL400 and SL500 laptops have been announced for non-US markets. The devices, creatively dubbed the SL410 and SL510, will be offered with a choice of a Core 2 Duo T5870, T6670, P7570 or Celeron 900, T3000, or T3100 CPUs, a 16:9, 14- or 15.6-inch LED display, GMA 4500MH, 4500MHD or AMD M92-S2 XT GPUs, a range of hard drives up to 500GB, 1GB to 4GB of RAM, and both contain multitouch trackpads. The laptops are said to be retailing starting at 5600 Yuan (or around $820) for the SL410 — we haven’t heard a price on the SL510 yet. No word on when these models will be headed stateside, but we’re certainly going to do our best to find out.

[Via Cloned In China]

Filed under: Laptops

Lenovo intros SL410 and SL510 ThinkPads overseas originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo’s getting a little jump on the wave of Windows 7 machines due to hit next month with a multitouch update to the X200 convertible and a new multitouch version of the T400s. The new X200 Tablet is pretty much what you’d expect, bringing some newer, faster Core 2 Duo processors into the mix along with a two-finger capacitive multitouch screen, but we’re a little more intrigued by the multitouch T400s update, since the screen is actually a little nicer and can register up to four fingers. To take advantage of all this new functionality, Lenovo’s bundling in a new app called SimpleTap, which brings up an icon-based control panel for settings like volume, screen brightness, and other system functions, as well as quick app and web bookmark launchers. It’s pretty cool stuff, but it’ll cost you: the multitouch T400s will start at $1,999, while the multitouch X200 will open at $1,729. (There’s also a new X200 outdoor screen option for $1,779.) Check a video of SimpleTap after the break, as well as the full press release.

Continue reading Lenovo introduces multitouch ThinkPad X200 Tablet and T400s laptop

Filed under: Laptops

Lenovo introduces multitouch ThinkPad X200 Tablet and T400s laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo’s issued a recall for the batteries on six of its ThinkPad models. The batteries are apparently causing a range of problems, including bringing up the error messages “irreparable damage” and “battery cannot be charged,” and causing overall short capacity batteries, or those than cannot be charged or experience massive drops on the fuel gauge quickly. The recalled models are the R60, R61, T60, T61, X60, and the X61, and Lenovo’s got a free diagnostic tool on its website that you can use to check and see if your model is one of those affected. While there’s no word on how many users have been affected, If you are one of the unlucky, the company is offering free replacements.

Update: A representative for Lenovo has contacted us and let us know that the company has not, in fact, issued a recall for the batteries associated with the models listed. “This is a service extension program to provide (bonus 12-month) coverage above and beyond the normal warranty to ensure complete customer satisfaction. Recalls tend to imply a safety issue, which is not the case here, as you noted in your article.”

[Via SlashGear]

Filed under: Laptops

Lenovo issues battery “service and warranty extension” for six ThinkPad models originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While some consumer notebooks attempt to attract the eye, Lenovo’s business-oriented ThinkPads take a more austere, simple approach.

But in all notebooks, there’s some serious design decisions made under the radar, that consumers and other customers don’t necessarily see. In a blog post, David Hill, Lenovo’s vice president of corporate identity and design, explained the evolution of one decision: a revision of the keyboard layout in the new T400s.

Hill and Lenovo installed keyboard loggers (with permission) in a dozen or so keyboards within Lenovo, to gain a better understanding of what users hit what keys, and with what frequency. (Hill notes that one unscientific way to understand this is to simply look at your keyboard at an angle — the most frequently-used keys will be polished, whereas others, such as the ‘~’, or tilde key, appear rougher.)

We know a lot of people out there who take any changes to the ThinkPad line very seriously, so it’s easy to see why Lenovo didn’t make any huge revisions to the T400 formula when designing the new T400s. Sure, it’s slimmer, lighter, and all around sleeker than big brother, but it’s still a ThinkPad, and it’s still tough as nails. You might think of it as the internals of the T400 stuffed into a slightly thicker version of the X300’s case — it might not quite fit into a manila envelope, but it’s still pretty easy to forget you’ve got it in your bag. Of course, it’s hard to cut down on size without sacrificing performance, and the T400s is no exception — although our tester’s 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo was more than capable of handling our day-to-day workload, the only graphics option is Intel’s integrated 4500MHD chip, and that means hardcore image processing and most intense gaming are out. Good thing ThinkPad owners are all business, right?

Continue reading Lenovo ThinkPad T400s hands-on and impressions

Filed under: Laptops

Lenovo ThinkPad T400s hands-on and impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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