Lenovo unleashes the first ThinkPad without a TrackPoint

There are registry entries that can be edited to set the lower and higher battery thresholds, and this 3rd party application automates that method: Power-Manager | thinkutils

It may require fiddling with the power management drivers that are installed though, because the newest drivers seem to have disabled the ability (at least they had for me). So you may need to find older versions.

 

Thanks for the link

Sounds like Lenovo has officially removed threshold settings then. If so I am curious as to why they removed that option?

 

As far as I know, the Thresholds are no longer needed on newer battery cells. Also, there have been some problems with the Thresholds on some newer ThinkPads: With Thresholds active, some users in the German forum reported that their batteries lost their capacity pretty quickly. After the removal of the thresholds and one recalibration, the batteries regained their normal capactiy. Might be one reason for the removal of the Power Manager for Windows 8.

As far as I know, nearly ever feature of the power manager is provided under Windows 8 with Lenovos preload, apart from the thresholds and the recalibration of the batteries. The Lenovo Settings app provides some special settings for the batteries, the Lenovo Support app (which is preload only, unlike the Settings App) provides the information about the battery capacity and the wear of the batteries. Most other settings of the Power Manager are provided on the Windows Power Managment.

P.S: Windows 8 has a very useful feature, called "Battery Report": Generate Windows 8 Battery Report

 

If they are not needed what makes the new batteries any different from their predecessors? Also the battery will now charge to 100% whether you want it to or not?

 

As far as I know: Different charge-algorithm, different EC (Embedded Controller), new battery materials and also dual-batteries on some models.

 

Glad I caught this. I downloaded an old package that allowed me to keep my battery charged to 50% since it was no longer an option but if it could possibly degrade my battery I'd rather just let it charge to 100%. How sure can we be that this is the case?

 

This problem with the battery charge thresholds happend to several user over in the german TPF with models newer than T410. T420, T430 and all models of these generations, and propably also the newest generation.

 

Alright thanks for the heads up!

 

@ibmthink. So to be clear- it seems to be confined to the more recent ThinkPads correct?

Just asking because on my T61,T500, and X200tablet I can still decide when and what value I want the thresholds set to without 3rd party programs.

 

Yes, thats correct, as far as I know, only newer models.

 

I believe that this particular change kicked in with the new battery controller chip introduced on *30 series and later ThinkPads.

Then again, I don't own any of them so I may very well be wrong.

 

IIRC charging the battery to 100% each and every time you plug it in is not good for the overall health of the battery. Wonder if Lenovo will reintegrate a battery charging threshold back into their ThinkPads?

 

No, T420/T520/X220 should also be affected. The battery controller chips in the Tx30 models should have little to do with this issue, it only checks if the battery is original/valid or not.

 

The X220 has an issue where setting charge thresholds lower than 100% max causes the battery to eventually get to a point where you hit 30 or 40% left and it immediately drops to critical. AFAIK even on windows 7, using power manager to "Optimize for battery lifespan" does nothing like it would on older models, it just keeps the stock thresholds.

The wording of lenovo employees made it seem like this was a bug, but there clearly was something else considering the issue was incapable of being fixed.

 

If I'm correct the Late Core 2 Duo ThinkPads don't need thresholds either. I had been using my X301 battery with thresholds for quite some time and noticed a quick drop in capacity. After removing the thresholds the battery gained some capacity again and is now holding a pretty constant charge. However, the X301 might have a superior battery compared to other C2D ThinkPads, since what I just described does not apply to my T500 battery which quickly looses its charge, no matter what I do.

I only have Sanyo's btw, so I think that's pretty comparable.

 

I can confirm what you observed. Though it seemed to get better after resetting the battery.

 

Ahem, back on topic [seems like even the moderator can't do this ]

Let's stick to the positive side, away from the doom and gloom.

Q: Last question, and I deliver this one with a wink—are you getting rid of the TrackPoint?

A: No. We study how to keep improving TrackPoint, not how to remove it.

From: Change Is Hard: Why You Should Give In to the New ThinkPad Keyboard - Products - Lenovo Blogs

 

You mean the forum filled with rose-tinted folk who bash anything that came after the T43, and outright rage after anything post-T420... yeah... ill pass.

 

You seem to post alot in the ThinkPad forum despite you not liking them..

 

I have never posted on forums.thinkpad.com. And if there is a "jobine" on that site, i can assure you that it's not me.

 

I suggest reading this one as well, and especially looking at the pictures:

Design - Design - Lenovo Blogs

Yeah, I did call Mr. Hill on it, but he didn't bother responding. Fair enough - he IS who he is and I'm nobody.

I also suggest reading on the improved design on the 7-row keyboard which suddenly turned out not to be good enough a year and half later...

The new keyboard - A “Wow” Layout - - Design - Lenovo Blogs

Sorry, some of us have had our intelligence insulted by Lenovo for a bit too long...

Nope.

When people over there bash something - be it an old A22m or the new W540 - it's usually with a good reason.

Digging deeper into the TPF would show you how T43 was spat on - with many good reasons - when it first came out.

To make it perfectly clear to younger generation and/or those with selective memory:

ThinkPads were NEVER perfect and every generation had its flaws - small or huge - and most of us oldtimers haven't forgotten that.

However, the vast majority of long-time ThinkPad users feel that the line was crossed by removing the 7th row.

Some have adapted and many have not, but the sentiment is there.

Now, after "improving" the TrackPoint on *40 series...I expect even more people to start jumping ship. We'll see.

 

Good to know I'm not the only one who's encountered this. I set my x120e to charge to 80%, start charging at 65%, and every 6 months or so (I log battery info periodically in a spreadsheet) it would drop from ~40% to 6%. (even though the voltage would seem to indicate 40%) Note that I had the 6 cell battery (voltage is ~3 cells, so that x2 in parallel?). I finally gave up on it altogether.

Note: sanyo battery, 56wh.

 

Well, apparently they see the degradation to the layout on *30 as an "improvement", so that is absolutely not positive. And now with the *40 series we see what that "improvement" it: they got rid of the Trackpoint buttons.

In short, we just get less and less keys and a crappier layout with each new version for the last two years:
W520:


W530:


W540:


Now we just wait untill they start making the arrow keys baby-sized like HP does....

 

The W540 has more keys than W530 or W520, since it has a Numpad.

I also don´t know how you define "crappier". The W540 has returned the F-key seperation, which was missing on the W530, and since it has a Numpad, it also has a Navigation-block, if the Numpad function is disabled.

 

By that logic, The X230T also has more keys than a W530, on account of having buttons next to the display. But what if I hook up an external keyboard? I get over twice as many keys!

It's not about the raw number, it's about where those keys are and which function they're supposed to serve.

 

I don't see anything wrong with the newer keyboards. I'm willing to pay extra to get discrete touchpad and trackpoint buttons though - you'd think few people would care about the little bit of space gained, and more about how it doesn't work as well. Take the touchpad from my x120e (which has a matte surface, no pattern, and discrete buttons), make it bigger, and I'll be happy.

 

Yes, the numpad is a nice addition, but note that there was a numlock on the W520 (missing on W530). Also: the alternate menu key, pause/break, forward, back, scroll lock, mute, volume up, volume down, microphone mute are all still missing from the W540. That they returned F-key separation is nothing good: the W520 had that. Everyone and his dog knew it was stupid to get rid of it in the first place. It's just going back to something that was better.

When I bought my W520 I never bothered to really look at a Dell or HP alternative, mainly because they had a crappy keyboard layout (like the W530) (and no Optimus for the HP). If I had to buy now, I seriously doubt I would get a W540. Lenovo already made it easy by not making the docks or PSU's compatible, so for my next purchase it won't matter for accessories anyway.

And from this:
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/X240-End-Insert-Fn-key-woes/td-p/1330763

I take that going forward you have either F-keys and Insert... or some crappy function and 'End'. I mean... you really have to be an idiot to design something that way...

 

just give me the traditional trackpoint buttons and i will be happy.

 

Hence why i liked the X1 carbon (first gen), it had the chiclet keyboard, multi touch clickpad, but dedicated trackpoint buttons.

 

Check your PM's! Haha.

 

TBH the one thing I really dislike about almost any laptop is the trackpad.. I always carry a wireless mouse with me so if there's any available surface to use it, I will.

 

To be honest, on the x131e's I've dealt with (clickpad but dedicated trackpoint buttons), I find myself using the trackpoint buttons a lot with the touchpad, or using solely the trackpoint. I usually can't be bothered to use an external mouse with my x120e - I'll use one if it's available and convenient, but it's not that big of a deal to me.

 

Is there any more info on this model?

 

Student-Focused Lenovo ThinkPad 11e Series

Page is up but picture doesn't show keyboard.

EDIT: found a flyer - https://kapost-files-prod.s3.amazon...Product-Spotlight-Flyer-Edu-February-2014.pdf

Doesn't say if there's an option for a TrackPoint though.

 

It looks to lack digitizer support, which is a shame, because this could have been the perfect device.

 

TrackPoint option must be exercised at BIOS level, so the answer to that question is "no".

Device...maybe. ThinkPad...heck no.

 

Hands on from Engadget: Lenovo's new kid's laptop has a folding, Yoga-like screen (and there's a Chrome OS version too)

 

Actually if you look closely at the Engadget pictures, looks like the machine was geared to be built WITH a Trackpoint. Notice how there's the red line on the top edge of the touchpad?

There's hope... will have to wait and see when they publish the HMM and look for an FRU.

 

There will no option for a Trackpoint on this machine. Keep it mind it is meant to be an Educational sector laptop so it will be pretty low end running a Celeron processor.

So rest assure if you awaiting a model with a trackpoint you're wasting your time. :thumbsup:

 

I don't even think Lenovo cares at this point about the thinkpad legacy. They are now just selling laptops under this name, and the consumers will have to either deal with it or buy elsewhere.

This being said, i tried a Thinkpad Yoga today while at a local store. While the screen was nice (13 inch FHD touch with digitizer!), i hated the clickpad (the nearby Ideapad S440 had a better one). The keyboard, layout aside, was almost identical in overall feel to my Y410p.

While the overall unit felt somewhat sturdy, it was not as well built as the x30 or x20 series. Then again, I don't think this is a fair comparison since the Yoga is not a proper thinkpad per se. I have yet to actually use an x40 Thinkpad.