We've always known that ThinkPads were surly bastards, but Lenovo submitted eight of its notebooksThinkPad X200, X301, X200s, X200 Tablet, T400, T500, R400 and SL300for the military's semi-rugged specification tests, which they passed. Meaning they're certified to give the finger to 95 percent humidity vibration, getting baked at 140 degrees or frozen at -4, vibrations and dust, as well as some other brutalities.

The T400's also getting an option for a 680-nit high brightness screen, so it's even more usable outdoors.

Lenovo Puts ThinkPad Laptops to the "Tough Test": Meets Military
Specifications for Semi-Rugged Computing

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – February 24, 2009: Lenovo today announced that it is designating eight ThinkPad laptops for use in field and vehicle semi-ruggedized computing environments such as in public safety, utilities, construction and the military. The ThinkPad X200, X301, X200s, X200 Tablet, T400, T500, R400 and SL300 laptops meet a barrage of military specifications tests and are enhanced with specially-designed durability features such as an air-bag like protection system and a roll cage in select models. Because field computing requires excellent screen viewability, Lenovo is also adding a new optional 680-nit high brightness panel to its most popular laptop, the ThinkPad T400 laptop.

"ThinkPad is well known for quality, reliability and innovative security technologies for business computing," said Tom Ribble, executive director, Worldwide ThinkPad Product Marketing, Lenovo. "The truth is we've always built tough laptops that can weather extreme conditions from hiking the rainforests of the Amazon to flying in space. You don't need a PC that looks like a tank to excel in harsh environments, and unlike many of our competitors, we don't put an extra charge on toughness."

Optimized for Outdoors
As the adoption of laptops increases and connectivity options continue to expand, users are spending more and more computing time outdoors. That makes screen visibility extremely important. For a crisp and easily readable experience, Lenovo is equipping the ThinkPad T400 laptop with an optional high brightness, wide angle screen, making it nearly four times brighter than previous ThinkPad laptop screens. The high contrast screen eliminates reflections with its anti-glare finish. And by using
energy-efficient LED technology, the laptop maintains long battery life.

Police Departments like the Conover Police Department in North Carolina are using ThinkPad laptops to turn their patrol cars into mobile offices. Reduced time spent at the station writing reports gives officers extra time on patrol to protect their community. Officers are using ThinkPad T Series laptops to write and print incident reports, issue tickets and conduct criminal background checks from their cars. For IT Director, Chris Niver, Lenovo's engineering made ThinkPad laptops the easy choice.

"Although not billed as a 'ruggedized' laptop at the time, the features offered far surpassed the other manufacturers. The fact that the ThinkPads came with a roll-cage design, shock resistant hard drive, built in security chip and the familiar red button as well as touchpad all as standard features really made my choice clear."

Military Spec Tested Against the Elements
Baked, battered, blistered and blown with sand, Lenovo put the lineup of eight ThinkPad laptops through the gauntlet to pass a significant number of specifications for military-grade computing.

The ThinkPad laptops met tests for:

Low Pressure – Tests operation at 15,000 feet
Humidity – Cycles 95 percent humidity through the environment
Vibration (operational and non-operational) – Jostles and jolts the laptops to make sure they can withstand shocks
High Temperature – Simulates high heat conditions by baking the laptop up to 140 degrees
Low Temperature – Tests operation at minus 4 degrees
Temperature Shock – Fluctuates between minus 4 and up to 140 degrees to test operation
Dust – Blows dust for an extended amount of time

The tests confirm the durability and reliability that many customers already rely on to battle the elements. Geophysicist, explorer and expedition leader Pasquale Scaturro travels to the far reaches of the planet with his ThinkPad laptop.

"For over 180 days a year I can be found on the road traveling with my with my ThinkPad laptop -sweltering in the hot jungle terrain and surviving frigid arctic and mountain blasts, said Pasquale Scaturro, Exploration Specialists, Inc. "From bugs and humidity, to sand and dust, heat and cold, my ThinkPad laptop has been exposed to them all. I've logged more miles on my ThinkPad in the roughest and most extreme environments in the world than perhaps any person alive. From the heights of Mount Everest to the full length of the Nile, the world's longest river, it's been with me. The Active Protection System is a must in the rough environments I've taken this laptop into. Besides using my ThinkPad to help me navigate in my airplane when I'm flying in the African bush (it's my real co-pilot) and send Internet dispatches to my website from Mt Everest, I depend on it to keep my geophysical business and my personal connections going. It's withstood every imaginable environment on Earth and is still performing
without missing a beat."
Lenovo durability features include the:

Active Protection System – Temporarily parks the hard drive when the laptop detects a fall or sudden movement via an air-bag like system
Roll Cage – Serves as a protective frame around the internal components where the data resides and processing takes place with an extra top cover
roll cage on the ThinkPad X301 laptop
Shock Mounted Hard Drive – Offers extra protection around the hard drive to
protect data
Spill Resistant Keyboard – Withstands spills of up to two fluid ounces on
select laptops allowing liquid to drain beneath the keyboard

In case of the unexpected, Lenovo offers Warranty and Accident Protection plans to help customers protect their PC investment. Lenovo also offers ThinkPlus Priority Support to give businesses around the clock technical telephone support, priority routing of calls and quick onsite repair. For an even faster response, ThinkPlus Priority 4 Support provides onsite repair within four hours after the original troubleshooting. Online Data Backup services are also available.

Built upon a strong foundation, Lenovo's laptops offer the latest technologies with models including solid state drive storage for reliability, switchable graphics for longer battery life and the latest Intel® Centrino 2 processor technology for fast processing. They also come with choices of large hard drives, multimedia like Blu-Ray DVD players and a host of wireless connectivity options including WiMAX, mobile broadband, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. Lenovo has also collaborated with AT&T and Ericsson for price reductions on ThinkPad laptop AT&T mobile broadband connectivity. Additionally, the ThinkPad X200 Tablet is the first Tablet to offer WiMAX connectivity.

Pricing and Availability1
The ThinkPad T400 laptop with the high brightness screen is available through Lenovo business partners beginning immediately. Pricing starts at approximately $1,350.

[Lenovo]

Lenovo's X301 and HP's 2530p already use the new chips. The SL9400 and SL9300 running at 1.8Ghz and 1.6GHz, respectively, both have a 1066MHz FSB and appear to be the Core 2 Duo Low Voltage (LV) chips with a TDP of 17W, while the SU9400 and SU9300 are the ULV variants, clocked at 1.4GHz and 1.2GHz with a 10W TDP.

While the clock speeds of the LV chips are the same as the MBA's, the switch to the 45nm process and faster front-side bus should yield both performance gains and power savings. More importantly, their ready availability for all-comers could make the ultra-thin market a lot more interesting, though we're kind of afraid at this point of what Asus will do with them. [Ars Technica]

Soon joined by the 12-inch X200, the 14.1-inch X400 and the 15.4-inch X500 (all armed with 45nm Penryn processors), customers will be able to pick the precise display size of their choice on one of the most lust-worthy laptops on the market. The X-Series will also feature HSDPA and EVDO, 25% improved battery life, beefy 6MB L2 cache and lots of fanboy drool.

Here's the rest on Lenovo's new ThinkPad line-up:

R-Series (refreshed)
This line will continue representing the entry level. We're light on specs, but we know it will include the R400 (5.1lbs) and R500 (6.4lbs). Expect these to be refreshed in July 2008.

T-Series (refreshed)
This line will continue to represent the mid-range, featuring 256 or 512MB ATI HD3650 discreet graphics that can be turned off to conserve battery life. We don't have sizes, but the T400 will weight 4.3lbs and the T500 will clock in at 5.8lbs. Shipping starts June 3rd, 2008.

W-Series (brand new)
The W-Series is a completely new line. Where the "W" used to stand for "Widescreen," now it stands for "workstation replacement." Described to us as less bulky than similar machines from Dell, the 15-inch W900 will feature the same discreet graphics as the T-Series. A 17-inch version is in the works for the future.

And here's the good stuff:

Many or All Models Will Have:
" 6MB of L2 cache
" Turbo Memory option (think Ready Boost, up to 2GB)
" Blu-ray drive option
" Two PCI Express Slots
" 1.6GHz DDR3 RAM
" LED Backlighting (excludes R Series)
" HSDPA and EVDO (Lenovo claims to have no deals with Sprint)
" 9 cell batteries (same form factor as former 6-cell, 25% more life)
" GPS, WiMAX, and wireless USB are scattered through models
" The x300's solid state hard drive option (excludes W)

Lenovo is starting new ThinkPad manufacturing in May so that there are plenty of units to fuel demand. And from the sound of it, some of the X300's most appealing features are making their way to the entire ThinkPad line. We're just wondering what the pricing will look like between the X200 and X300. Will we be paying a premium for size or for screen space?

Thanks Odd Job!

And at $2,680.00 (2GB configuration), it may seem a bit expensive...but compared to the Macbook Air's $3,098.00 (solid state configuration), it seems like a steal. So what did the reviewers think? Here are five takes on the ultraportable:

PCMag
Like the MacBook Air, the X300's wider dimensions allow not only for a bigger screen but also for a full-size keyboard, and who better to take advantage of this than the makers of the ThinkPad keyboard. It's arguably the best typing experience on a laptop keyboard, better than the Air's oversize phone-pad keys.

CNET
The matte-finish display itself features a 1,440x900 native resolution that's sharper than that of the MacBook Air and other similarly sized screens, resulting in text and icons that are a bit smaller than you'd expect...The trade-off: more screen real estate for multitasking and, when it's time for a break, beautiful video.

CMP Channel
It's cool. Not stylistically, but thermodynamically. Two hours into testing, running a movie, the keyboard's temperature never got above 86 degrees and the fan vents never climbed above 92 degrees. The only way this could run cooler was if it were dead.

Notebook Review
How about this, the X300 actually has good sound and speakers that are well positioned! For an ultra thin notebook, that's astounding...ThinkPad X300 equipped executives will never have to tote their external speakers to watch DVDs by night in their hotel rooms again.

Walt Mossberg
I can recommend the X300 for road warriors without hesitation, provided they can live with its two biggest downsides: a relatively paltry file-storage capacity and a hefty price tag.

- It's too bad that the X300 didn't hit the market with something other than the solid state drive option. Shave several hundred off the price and you'd have a total Air killer on your hands. But if you have the money and like the OS (XP comes stock, by the way), it seems like the Lenovo X300 is a no-brainer.

ThinkPad X300 13 inch widescreen with integrated graphics and DVDRW Price: $2,488.80

System processor[1]
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo SL7100 (1.2GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB)

Display type
13.3 WXGA+ TFT (LED backlight) 3x3 UltraConnect II

System graphics
Intel® Graphics Media Adapter X3100

Total memory[8]
1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)

Hard Drive[4]
64 GB Solid State Drive

Fixed Bay Device[5]
Ultrathin DVD Burner

Wireless Card[10]
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AG (supporting Centrino Pro)

Battery[60]
ThinkPad X300 Series 3 Cell LiPolymer Battery

ThinkPad X300 13 inch widescreen with integrated graphics and 3 cell bay battery
Price: $2,404.80

System processor[1]
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo SL7100 (1.2GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB)

Display type
13.3 WXGA+ TFT (LED backlight) 3x3 UltraConnect II

System graphics
Intel® Graphics Media Adapter X3100

Total memory[8]
1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)

Hard Drive[4]
64 GB Solid State Drive

Fixed Bay Device[5]
ThinkPad X300 Series 3 Cell LiPolymer Bay Battery

Wireless Card[10]
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AG (supporting Centrino Pro)

Battery[60]
ThinkPad X300 Series 3 Cell LiPolymer Battery

[Lenovo]

When using the PCMark05 bench, the X300 took the lead once again at 3,467 points, beating the Air, which had 2,478 points. Part of the reason why the Air did worse in the PCMark05 test, which scores based on all the system's components such as the "processor, hard drive, memory and OS." Their Lenovo contained a solid state drive, but their MacBook Air did not, which makes us wonder if the gap would be closer if they re-did the test with a SSD-enabled version. [Notebook Review]

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Here are the main points of the Lenovo X300, compared to the MacBook Air, according to Señor Don Walt Mossberg:

" Is thicker than MacBook Air. Winner: MacBook Air.
" Is heavier than MacBook Air. Winner: MacBook Air.
" Has less battery life in both tests and normal use (so much for SSD.) Winner: MacBook Air.
" Has way more ports. Winner: Lenovo X300.
" Has built-in DVD possibility. Winner: Lenovo X300.
" Has SSD drive built-in. Winner: Lenovo X300.
" Has WiMax connectivity. Winner: Lenovo X300.
" Has USB Wireless. Winner: Lenovo X300.
" Has GPS location-finding. Winner: Lenovo X300.
" Has higher screen resolution. Winner: Lenovo X300.
" Has a screen that stands up higher, leaving less viewing angle while travelling on plane. Winner: MacBook Air.
" Has slower processor. Winner: MacBook Air.
" Doesn't use Mac OS X Leopard. Winner: MacBook Air.
" Is more expensive at $2,476 with half battery and without DVD. It has SSD, but it doesn't add any advantage. More popular configuration is $3,000 with full battery and DVD drive. MacBook Air base model is $1,799. Winner: MacBook Air.

That's seven wins each. Does this mean there's no winner? It may look like technical tie, but my feeling is that he prefers the MacBook Air. At the end, it's all about the software and Walter Mossberg preference for Leopard (which could be debatable, even while I agree with him) plus the price, physical specs and battery life, makes the MacBook Air come ahead.

Still, it seems that both computers are right and wrong. At the end, it all depends on your personal taste, priorities and pet peeves. Or as Caesar Mossberg politely puts it: if you have the money and "you're happy with Windows," the Lenovo X300 is a "notable engineering accomplishment." [All Things D]

Businessweek's headline confuses me, a bit: Building the Perfect Laptop. David Hill, father of the x300 and chief Lenovo designer says, "I'm a bit tired of looking at silver computers. I'd never wear a silver business suit." The comparison is lost on me. Many of the people the Air was designed for simply wouldn't wear a business suit; why is wearing a suit a given for computer user? Sounds like the same kind of thinking that kept IBM trailing in the personal computer race before Windows. The piece is worth reading, especially for the opening section where the Lenovo people, tuned into Macworld Keynote coverage, scrambled to see if the x300 also fit into a manila envelope. It did. [BusinessWeek via BBG, more X300 on Giz]

Butterfly Keyboard:

This particular Air competitor is unique because unlike most ultralights, it will also have a full keyboard and 13-inch screen. We're looking forward to Mossberg's opinion, on the machine with optical drive, ~3lb weight, faster processor, plentiful collection of ports and 3G. The fact he's gone to lengths to preview this machine says enough about it. But likely he'll say it comes down to OS preference, as it does for us. [AllThingsD]

If the relative scale between the laptops still has you baffled to how small everything is, check the Coke can on the far right. Not only does it look like the Dell is a hard-ass, as it appears to have brought a Cola with it during its incarceration period, it also gives you more of an idea of how small these devices really are. The Macbook Air is unquestionably the thinnest, but the sexiest in picture? That's your call. Personally, I like my gadgets to match, and the last time there was black keys on a white Macbook, I almost threw-up, but hey, never say never, right?

Looks aside, we're wondering; is the Macbook Air the Kyser Soze of the bunch? After all, the biggest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he never existed, and he didn't succeed in his inconspicuous ways by being an obese portable computer. [Gizmodo's Macbook Air Coverage]