Lenovo adds slim T400s to ThinkPad line

Dan Ackerman | Jun 23, 2009

The new Lenovo ThinkPad T400s
(Credit: Lenovo)

ThinkPad laptops from Lenovo (formerly made by IBM) are among the most ubiquitous PCs found in offices around the world. Of course, most of those systems are boxy 14- and 15-inch models, which aren't usually the sharpest-looking machines in the coffee shop.

Editors' note:

Today's announcement for the T400s is for the US. This ThinkPad will be available in Asia Pacific starting July from S$3,199.

To keep up with the increasingly design-conscious consumer, Lenovo is taking some cues from its own popular X300 laptop--a slim, upscale 13-inch--and incorporating them into the new ThinkPad T400s, a reasonably svelte 14-inch mainstream business laptop that's 0.83 inches (21.1mm) thick and starts at less than 4 pounds (about 1.77kg).

Helping keep the size and weight down are an LED display, solid-state hard drive, and carbon-reinforced fiber frame. Making it a viable choice for a wide range of business environments are configuration options that seem more flexible than what we're used to seeing in ultraslim systems (which are often limited to low-voltage CPUs and no optical drives). According to Lenovo, the new T400s will offer:

Choices of Intel 2.4GHz and 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processors (standard voltage)
Choices of solid-state drive storage up to 128GB, or 250GB hard drive storage
9.5mm slim DVD burner or Blu-ray player
Ethernet, Wi-Fi and optional WiMAX3, WWAN, Bluetooth and ultrawideband connectivity
34mm Express Card slot or 5-in-1 multimedia card reader
Support for Lenovo's ConstantConnect and Protect technology that allows users to maximize integration of their BlackBerry smartphone and ThinkPad laptop
Nearly 6 hours of battery life
Support for up to two monitors via a display port and VGA connector
Meets the Energy Star 5.0 criteria for energy efficiency
Built-in USB/eSATA port

A few other promising-sounding tweaks went into the T400s' design. Lenovo claims internal studies have shown that the Esc and Del keys are the most used, at 700 hits each per week, so the company simply made those keys a little larger. Spaces between keys were minimized to keep food and debris out, and the touchpad is now flush with the wrist rest, delineated by a textured surface. For Webcasting and VoIP use, the onboard speakers are louder than the previous (nonslim) T400, and there's a physical mute button above the keyboard that can mute just the built-in mic.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T400s is available now, starting at US$1,599. Look for a full review later this week.

Via CNET Crave

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