Lenovo ThinkPad Laptops, Tablet Get Windows 7, Intel Makeover

by Scott Ferguson

The ThinkPad X201 tablet starts at $1,599 and offers a choice of two different Intel Core i7 processors. The tablet also comes equipped with Microsofts Windows 7 and has a 12.1-inch multitouch screen.

The “Retro” IBM ThinkPad SlateTo show the difference between the current crop of slate and convertible tablets and what had been previously developed, Lenovo showed off this IBM ThinkPad tablet that Big Blue had developed in the 1990s. This “retro” slate tablet had been developed for an insurance company.

A look at the Lenovo ThinkPad X201 tablet and the 1990s IBM tablet.

While slate-style tablets and e-readers dominated the 2010 CES expo, Lenovo decided to stick with a more traditional, convertible tablet for businesses users.

The ThinkPad X201 notebook is one of two laptops Lenovo released on Feb. 23. The laptop includes a choice of different Intel Core i7 and i5 chips along with Windows 7.

While the ThinkPad line has been geared toward large enterprises, these newer ThinkPad laptops target the small business market. The ThinkPad X201 starts at $1,199.

The original dual-screen ThinkPad W700 debut at the 2009 CES expo. Here, the latest version of the mobile workstation comes with newer Intel Core chips and Windows 7.

While the ThinkPad W701ds is not as portable as the X201 series, it packs a lot of technology into a mobile workstation form factor. In addition to a main 17-inch display, the W701ds offers a secondary screen that measures 10.6-inches, Nvidia Quadro graphics and up to 16GB of DDR3 memory.

This server is Lenovos latest effort to break into the worldwide systems market. The TS200v starts at $400 and offers a number of Intel chips, Intel AMT management support and DDR3 memory.