New Thinkpads of 2012

I'm debating waiting one of these 3

S430 - june
E430 - april
T430u - sometime Q3

links to these 3 respectively
Lenovo ThinkPad S430 Specs Announced
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430 Specs Announced
Lenovo's ThinkPad T430u Ultrabook hands-on -- Engadget

I'm not sure why in those link, it says the are 1.13 inches thick, bothe the T430u and S430 are about 22 mm, about .8 inches thin. The e430 could be slightly thicker, but i dont think over an inch.

not much specific on the t430u yet, just the 1 tb of storage and discrete graphics.

All will have discrete graphics, the T430u will be slightly thinner, no optical drive, and 768p resolution, also a longer wait coming in Q3 2012 . Not sure what the difference between the s430 and e430 are but they both look slick and 900p matte. I think the e430 is slightly thicker but not by much.

All look very solid and very sleek, the reason I need a thinkpad is i'm one of those ppl who "tries" to take care of his laptop but for some reason it still gets battered up a lot so i need a thinkpad for the durability.

no info on the specific gpus yet, but..speculating. IIIIFFF its something liek....
e430 - equiv to gt 555,
s430- equiv to 540m,
t430u - equiv to 525m,

what would u guys prefer?

 

I'm intrigued most by the S430, it will basically be a budget almost ultrabook, yet have an optical drive and reports are option for a 1600 x 900 high resolution screen. The E430 is more of an evolution of the E420, a budget oriented ThinkPad Edge, it's a solid notebook for the price but not terribly exciting either. I don't expect it to have dedicated graphics of any sort, but it will have the much improved Intel HD4000 graphics (reported 60% better than the HD3000).

The T430u is so far out, October or November I think, things can change with the design and specs so it's hard to recommend waiting for it. I don't know why Lenovo announced it so early on. Well, I do, it was to generate buzz but I find it kind of annoying actually.

 

S430 I'm considering one. 900p Anti Glare, optional 2nd hard drive (straight from Lenovo) & ThunderBolt for eGPU.

Btw, your link http://www.laptopreviews.com/lenovo-thinkpad-s430-specs-announced-2012-01
is so false
"Ports: USB 2.0 (1), USB 3.0 (3), ThunderBolt, Ethernet, Mini HDMI, Headphone"
It actually has 1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, Thunderbolt, Ethernet, HDMI (not mini)
And max ram is not 8GB

 

Is the t430u considered an ultrabook? I thought ubooks has to have SSD. Either way, thin, sexy, durable, and fingerprint reader, two usb 3.0, SD card, UNDER 900 usd, I think I've found my next laptop.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YID8RaYSggQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBpwUuchzJk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShG91ML3eOg

Huge bezel is very unattractive, but it won't be a deal breaker for me. Definitely my next laptop, I don't think it will be topped by any other ubooks.

 

yea but theyre all thin, sexy, durable, and fingerprint reader, two usb, under 900!!! so many similar laptops damn u lenovo

they totally switched up the screens options. currently, its the T series which has the 900p option while the edge series has the 768. if they just kept it like that i'd be willing to wait for the t430u. i guess the s430 is a good compromise.

 

I am glad the S430 have TB port, that should mean (T/W) Thinkpads have it, then I just need a cheap T530 instead of this and then a eGPU with TB

 

Wonder when they refresh the T and W series

 

My guess: Q3 CY2012

 

No, Q2 2012. The Edge Series will be refreshed in May and it will come with Ivy-Brigde too.

 

They didn't say any about T&W series :/

 

I am just a bit in doubt if I need a thinkpad anymore after TB release, its almost a docking station (without power) and it gives me eGPU through that instead of express slot

 

Im awaiting X series refresh, X1xx, X2xx, X1/X2?
X1xx will probably have the same hinge design the rest of Edge series have now and those you cant open 180 degrees which kinda sucks and is limiting factor, I dont like such glaring omission on ThinkPad!
Really waiting for ultrabook'ish ThinkPad for good price, but something smaller than 14" perhaps, as Ive already said in many other threads, Id like to see ThinkPads with LG's thin bezel display panels!

 

yea the current bezels especially vertically are huge and ugly

 

If they can do a thin bezel while still protecting the screen and offering decent wireless reception, I'm all for it. Otherwise, I'll take the "huge and ugly" bezel.

 

And you just thought this was a wild a$$ guess.

Intel to postpone mass shipments of Ivy Bridge processors

 

Hopefully that is just a rumour ... otherwise I need to calm my ThinkPad hunger

I want to upgrade to an Ivy Bridge ThinkPad this year.

 

Glad I broke down and picked up the current gen MBP instead of waiting.

 

I really think these new "Thinkpad" laptops have more of a consumer look to them. Sad, but true.

Also, it might suggest that the quality is somewhat sub-par compared to the older generation Thinkpads???

I will stick to my T400; don't see any reason to upgrade.

BTW I absolute dislike the 16:9 ratio; instead, I prefer the 16:10.

 

Personally I'm going to try to reserve judgment until the laptops are released. My first reaction to the T420 was not good, but I got one when they went on sale and I'll be damned if it isn't one of my favorite T series.

 

Everyone in the industry has adopted the 16:9 aspect ratio screen except for Apple. I would assume that they will also moving that direction for their next major release. I guess you will be working on ancient machine in the future.

 

I don't like the 16:9 ratio either, but the 1600x900 screen makes it bearable. Just adds a bit more width, that's all.

My monitor is 16:9, my TV 16:9... unfortunately, unless you want to pay a ton of money for a 16:10 monitor, 16:9 is the future.

 

Me too. If anyone has some info about X2xx please share!
Should be nice machines with new intel cpu's..

 

I am personally very interested in the Thinkpad T430u. It seems to be about exactly what I am looking for. I want something as powerful as my T510 now but a little smaller and better battery life. I also looked at the X220 but I would be losing my GPU and a lot of size.

 

Well, I am eagerly awaiting the T430s. Unfortunately, Intel has decided to shift volume production of Ivy Bridge to Q3... A true shame.

 

Apple's already moved to 16:9 for some of their laptops, and I'd bet that (as you said) the rest ain't far behind.

Apple's probably avoided it thus far due to their volume: their small product line and strong sales allow them to order massive volume from suppliers, so I'm betting that they simply haven't run out of 16:10 panels yet. Stocks aren't infinite though, and I doubt that they'll avoid 16:9 for much longer.

 

On the other hand, strong product pipelines and huge cash reserve make it totally possible for Apple to order parts according to its specifications.

 

Only the 11" MBA is 16:9 right now. As for what's next, I guess we'll see. I'm sure it will boil down to manufacturing. If it cost less to manufacture a 16:10 15" Retina display for a MBA, I'm sure they'd do that. If it cost less at 16:9, the gravitational pull will be hard to escape.

 

True, but outside of casings and planar layouts Apple has historically tended to use off-the-shelf components for their laptops (keeping quite close to Intel reference board designs, using common LCD panels, standard Intel CPUs, etc.) Their phones and other devices, yeah, those are highly-custom, but the off-the-shelf nature of their laptops is part of what makes them as profitable as they are.

That might change, but AFAIK it would be the first time in recent memory that they've used a custom screen.

 

Yeah. But somehow I always feel, screen-wise, off-the-shelf à la Apple tends to be superior to off-the-shelf à la Lenovo.

 

Well, someone has to be top shelf. Speaking of which, is it Happy Hour yet?

 

Only since 2010 or so. The first couple of generations of MacBook could (and did) come with some pretty crummy Chi Mei panels. (I know -- I had one!) We're talking blatant gradient banding, plenty of inversion, the works.

But yeah, nowadays Apple tends to do pretty well display-wise.

 

What specifications do Ultrabooks have?

 

Two requirements:

1) Thin-ish.

2) Labeled as "ultrabook" by marketing.

 

LOL ha ha ha

Good one

Although it does appear to be working because the OEM are finally making some more interesting designs. Reminds me of the US automakers. They didn't get off their duffs until near extinction.

 

It's true though!

Seriously what defines an ultrabook? A thin notebook with decent performance? No, that can't be it... we had those back a decade ago when we called them subnotebooks.

Ok, well what about a light notebook with decent performance that doesn't cost as much as a high-end subnotebook? Well... isn't that just a fast netbook?

Ok, how about a thin, notebook made from exotic materials and sporting fast processors? Well, sure, but then all of the X series ThinkPads have been ultrabooks, as have many Vaios and Porteges...

Well what if we're talking about a thin, light notebook with exotic materials and a very limited selection of ports and minimal upgrade potential? We had those too. We called them poor choices.

So what is an Ultrabook? Little more than a marketing campaign in my book.

 

I know. But you gotta give Intel credit for using some of their own money to trademark Ultrabook™ then provide funds for OEMs that want to build a machine and join in the fun.

Look at all of the MacBook Air wannabees since.

Now if we could just get Synaptics to create an Ultrapad™ program so we could get a decent glass touchpad surface. That's the biggest failing of most of the machines.

And while we are at it, we need Samsung to create an Ultrascreen™ program so we can get rid of all the lame LCD panels.

 

Of the one's I've used, it's been the bloody inclusion of a trackpad at all! Why waste all that space? Add a bloody TrackPoint and use the space for something else.

[rant]

Like a better keyboard. Seriously, it's not like scissor switches are some exotic tech. We've only been using them for, what, twenty years? How do so many vendors screw that up? Go to NMB and Chicony and get them to build *stabilized* dome and scissor switches for you. Take a T60 NMB board with you as an example, pop the cap off a key, point at the switch mechanism and say "That. Do that."

[/rant]

See if there was a bigger market for that maybe Lenovo could pump some money into the carcass and revive IDTech... Sadly I think we're a ways off from serious consumer demand for better panels. :/

My bet is that once resolution stops being the trendy spec, *then* we'll have a shot at getting higher-end panel tech into mainstream devices. But not before; viewing angle is a lot harder of a stat. to sell than plain old resolution.

 

Intel gives lot of money to the major computer manufacturers. Lot of the cashback offer that these companies offer throughout the year are funded by Intel.

So Intel moving into the Ultrabook market is not a surprise, but there is quite a few shortcoming in how Intel does its strategic partnership with some of the laptop manufacturers in its Ultrabook campaign.

 

YES! YES! YES!

 

Yeah, if anything this seems to be a pre-emptive strike against ARM. Which is weird, since Intel *could* have continued to develop its non-x86 offerings (it owned XScale, after all), but instead chose not too. Guess hindsight is 20/20 after all.

I guess the thinking is to boost demand for low-power x86 chips and to avoid the loss of that market to ARM? It wasn't a threat before, but with Windows 8 getting an ARM port I can see how Intel's worried...

 

I don't think ultrabooks are about competing with ARM. Atom is already faster than even quad core ARM CPU's. I think ultrabooks are about selling semi-premium computers instead of netbooks at sub $500 15 inch craptops.

 

ultrabook is about Intel carving out a market for the ULV CPU, Intel SSD and a brand... much like Centrino = Intel Pentium M + Intel wireless card + Intel North/Southbridge.

So if Intel can establish the ultrabook brand within the market, then essentially it will control the whole supply chain and reap the reward.

 

Well it's not exactly direct competition. lead_org's got the right idea: I think Intel is trying to boost the market for laptops that need low power / low heat chips, and are trying to create a category ("full power subnotebooks" with an emphasis on "full power") in which they can beat ARM. They know they're going to lose the < $500 market to ARM either way as soon as Windows 8 is available for ARM since their only offering in that space (Atom) isn't a clear winner performance-wise. With Windows on ARM, the only reason to choose Atom will be to run legacy code; if you're not tied to x86 binaries you'll go ARM. (Of course the obvious follow-up to that is "Well if you're not tied to W32/x86, why go with Windows at all?", but that's another matter...)

By souping up demand for an area where they *are* in a strong position they're getting ready to provide a "front to back" solution to OEMs: they've got everything from reference boards to CPUs to various chipsets to SSDs, so they very much want there to be demand for the sort of higher-end machines that would require a mostly-Intel stack.

 

In my mind, the ARMs race isn't about a screen with a keyboard. We'll see the SoC designs before too long but Ultrabook isn't about competing with slates though it's clear the iPad is cannibalizing all markets including MacBooks.

As for Intel controlling things, they seem to be doing pretty well. Their SSDs are highly regarded though they have competition. I wish the mSATA space would heat up more but the damn ultrabooks may keep the supply for higher capacity drives constrained. Samsung should like that since they are a prime supplier.

It would be interesting to learn more about the genesis of the Ultrabook trademark, current promotion, and long term roadmap.

Maybe Intel was worried Apple would start using their own processors exclusively and they figured they'd better build a strong competitive brand.

 

well Apple doesn't play the Intel game and isn't really controlled by Intel like other computer manufacturers are.

Apple never have an Intel sticker on their machine, nor do any Intel logo marketing on their commercials, etc, so basically for Apple the intel corporation is just another supplier of parts and not controller of fate.

Also, Apple with its development of iOS for future system operating system can easily move away from Intel CPU.

For intel where their whole fate relies on sale of CPU, any slight change in market condition or increase of market competition can spell disaster for them.

Also, Intel will move into the tablet market very soon to directly compete with ARM and the announcement of Intel based smartphone is another strike at ARM. But while all the hardware is there for competition, but to win the war against ARM will really depend on the software and the proper marketing support given by Intel.

 

Ultrabooks do have some requirements: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ultrabook&mobileaction=view_normal_site#Requirements

Mainly have to do with battery life, physical size, resume time, and soon storage.

 

Not so fast. Apple still needs to provide the ability to run Windows and some Windows apps on those devices. VMWare Workstation, Fusion and VirtualBox haven't been ported and there are a lot of people either dual booting or running VMs. That isn't going to change soon.

As for Intel competing with ARM, lets see them come up with a low heat, powerful, and power miser CPU for the slate form factor devices. They haven't proven they can do that yet.

 

From the looks of it, even Microsoft has serious doubts that Intel will effectively compete with ARM on tablets, at least in the short run. Thus, Windows 8 for Arm.

 

Well arm vs intel aside, I hope something comes down the pipe sooner rather then later for ivy bridge. I need to buy a workstation asap (waiting on funds currently) and Id love to get an ivy refresh w530 but if we are talking q3 and on I cannot limp this laptop that long...

 

Looks like Ivy Bridge will be on time. Ivy Bridge not delayed I would guess you'll start to hear in a month or so and new models should ship in May-June time frame. Get out the duct tape for now.