ThinkPad T431s / X230s Leaked

Hi IBMThink,

thanks a lot for the quick reply!

I am surprised. This is really soon and there is not much info on the web. But I'll be happy if they are that fast.

Ouch. I was hoping for higher resolutions. Actually the main reason for the Helix. But concerning pixel count I was disappointed too often to keep up the hope here.

cheers
Hecke

 

Where did u get this info from?

 

From very secret sources.

http://www.partnerinfo.lenovo.com/p...olkit/New-Lenovo-Part-Number-Nomenclature.pdf

X.DAYS / Produktpräsentation

(these X-days will be on March 13/14).

 

At last Wednesday, Lenovo held their monthly Webinar presentation. In this presentation, there was also the newest topseller-model guide, from 1st April to 30th June. The T431s is listed there as the "T-Series UltraBook". See the picture here:

The link to the entire webinar: http://www.partnerinfo.lenovo.com/partners/us/resources/downloads/live/US_Channel_Update_021313.pdf

Conclusions from this webinar:
- T431s will replace T430u, not T430s or X1 Carbon, as the T430u is not longer in the topseller list, but T430s and X1 Carbon are still in
- T431s will be announced in March (next webinar is on March 13, so maybe the T431s will be discussed there)
- The entire new lineup won´t launch before June, maybe the new Tx40 models will be announced at Accelerate 2013
- All T431s will come standard with HD+ screens

Oddly, no word about X230s. Don´t know whether it is a China only model, as lead_org stated, or if it won´t be in the topseller program.

 

T430u is already being replaced? Geez. It hasn't been on the North American market for more than 4months. The only flaw with the T430u would be its poor screen resolution.

 

Wait until we see the T431s. Then we can continue our chorus about screen quality.

Plus ça change...

 

There are a few problems with the T430u
1. Poor screen resolution
2. Awful battery life... despite not even being thin and with a low voltage processor
3. the SAME weight as the T430s... I have no clue how they managed this.

In conclusion. Everyone who considered a T430u bought a T430s
But it's unfortunate Lenovo had to screw up the naming pattern once again to rid of the bad T430u name.

I really think that the T431s will suceed. Now I hope that Lenovo can trim some of the bulkiness off the T430 and T430s (more carbon fiber to replace some thick plastic?) And fix the battery life of the T430s. (with both a 6-cell battery, the T430 gets 10 hours while the T430s get 6...)

 

Maybe because of the Aluminum, which is used in the lid and on the bottom cover. The T430s uses the same carbon as X1 Carbon, which weights a lot less compared to the aluminum.

The T431s will be not only a lot lighter than the T430s/T430u, but also a lot smaller. Indeed, it will be the smallest 14" 16:9 ThinkPad, even a bit smaller than the X1 Carbon (and only some mm thicker than the X1 Carbon), which also means a very, very thin display-bezel. Just compare the size:
X1 Carbon: 337 x 231 x 8 – 18.8 (mm)
T431s: 331 x 226 x 20.65 (mm)
T430s: 343 x 230 x 21.2 – 26.0 (mm)
T430u: 340 x 236 x 21 (mm)

 

Thin bezels are the only thing lenovo can still cling on. Not even Apple has those. Perhaps there is still a glimpse of hope. Nah I'm just kidding.

 

Acording to the specs the T431s has a keyboard with backlight. However, the battery seems only to have 3 cells.... so battery life should not be very good

T431s:

Core i5 3337U
4GB, 500/7200
14.” HD+
Cam, BT, FPR
Bk Lit Key
3 Cell, W7P64
3 Yr Depot

 

Well, it is not so important how many cells are used, but how big the cells are. For example:

The ThinkPad Twist uses a 8-cell battery, but the cells are very small, so the battery only offers 42Wh capacity. In contrast, the X1 Carbon uses a 4-cell battery, but the capacity of the battery is still bigger than on the ThinkPad Twists 8-cell battery (45Wh on the X1 Carbon). The one thing really matters is the Wh capacity, not if its 3, 4 or 6 cell.

Another example is the ThinkPad Tablet 2: It uses a 2 cell battery, with a capacity of 30Wh. That means that one of the cells used there has a capacity of 15Wh, which is really good. In contrast the Twist uses cells with a capacity of ~5-6Wh. You can see, the capacity of the cells makes the difference.

 

still no specs on weights?

 

Any idea about possible T531s with 15" full HD panel? I'm afraid that T431s will have the same screen door effect issue.

 

I don't think my AUO T430 HD+ has screen door effect. Maybe I am getting old, but my two young sons also did not see any screen door effects.

 

There are no rumors about a T531s, but a T540s with a 15" (not 15,6") screen. But if this is going to happen, it will be in the sevond half of the year.

I would estimate that T431s will use the same LG screen as X1 Carbon.

 

Well that's good news, I was afraid about a T431s sustitute of T430s.


And about a T540s I think the "s" is from small form factor, so I will expect a T440s, in 14" and not 15"

 

Wasn't there something a while back about a rumor of Lenovo changing the vanilla T series chassis to something more Txxxs like in the next generation? This fits in quite well with that.

u variant → s variant
s variant → vanilla
vanilla → dead (or possibly merged into the W series)

 

Are there any rumors about a thunderport port?

 

T431s:

Link to file

 

Very nice, thanks! :thumbsup:

 

Hmm, exhaust vent on the right side.

I wonder where the speakers are. Hopefully Lenovo upgraded them, they really need to catch up with other manufacturers.

 

Please tell me that the mini display port can serve as thunderbolt too and i'm already sold

 

Will the T431s include a touch screen?

 

I believe T431s won't come with touch screen, because touch screen requires glossy finish which won't be acceptable by most of business users. Also there was no any information about touch screen in T431s leaked documentation.

 

Touch screens can also be matte.

 

One day, very soon, this line of brainwashed reasoning (business users, corporate users, whatever) will disappear.

Look at the the "serious" BlackBerry and the "trendy, glossy, flashy, no-business-users-will-buy-it" iPhone and iPad.

Sorry. You guys will run out of canned phrases to defend for aged products and bad designs.

 

What was wrong with the older Thinkpad design? I feel pretty productive on both my W520 and X61t, neither of which has any of the flashy stuff found in the new Thinkpads. And aged isn't all that bad, just look at classic car collectors and try telling them that they need to all buy {latest car model here}.

 

How funny. So you think that all companies will disappear or that all companies will abandon any kind of business-notebook for cheaper consumer products?

What kind of flashy-stuff do you mean?

 

The T431s is probably a low-end thinkpad that is more consumer friendly. As such, they are probably below the many enthusiasts here.

 

Stuff like island keyboards, these touchpads, buttonless Trackpoint (like these laptops), etc.

 

They already have a lineup for more consumer friendly products.
It's called "ideapad".
"Thinkpad" is not originally for the "Consumer friendly products"
Hell.... Even HP does not make their Elitebooks to more consumer friendly.

 

They will never remove the 7-row keyboard, the new Esc and Del buttons guarantee that. The 7-row keyboard is far to important for the whole brand and marketing.
They will never remove the replaceable battery, the new firmware-protected batteries guarantee that. The replaceable battery is far to important for the whole brand and marketing.

Should I continue?

 

He's got a point. Many of us never saw the keyboard change coming. And never say never .

Anyway, with the way Thinkpads are going now, I might switch over to a Latitude or Elitebook for when I need a new laptop in a few years or so. Though I plan on taking care of both of my non-"stupid"-keyboard'ed Thinkpads as long as I can. Maybe I should stock up on spare parts? Still have my original W520 keyboard (minus left arrow key ).

 

Yet it makes a perfect sense.
There were some significant advantages of ThinkPad over the Macbook once (7-row keyboard, great build quality, trackpoint etc). However one may hate the corresponding disadvantages, the world is changing, and these disadvantages are brought to the ThinkPad world to, so now there is no choice between 7-row and 6-row, and then there are other differences between Thinkpad and Macbook, most of which are in the Macbook favor.
One's hateness against Lenovo dropping all the outstanding features of Thinkpads does not contradict their ability to compare new thinkpads vs. macbooks and to find that now, when thinkpads lost the features in questions, macbooks are better.

 

You forget that the MBP isn't as durable as a Thinkpad (new or old), by any means. They look nice enough, but drop it even a short distance and you are pretty much going to dent the hell out of it. body is nice and all, but it doesn't match up to a combination of materials that respond in different ways to protect the notebook (ABS plastic for shock absorption and to minimize cosmetic damage, internal mag alloy roll cage to protect hardware inside).

There's also several other advantages to getting one of these newer Thinkpads (or other business laptop) over a MBP. For one, AppleCare is pretty crapy for what you pay for (it's just a 3yr factory warranty), whereas you can get accidental, on-site, and/or international warranty with this type of laptop. Also note that these business laptops are more user-serviceable and user-upgradeable due to standard computer parts used (as opposed to soldered-in parts, new screw designs, and whatnot to prevent most home repair).

 

And what happens once you drop one of these IdeaPads like T430u, Edge and such?

 

Same thing that happens with any consumer-class laptop (not so well). Not sure about the T430u though, since it probably still has the same Thinkpad construction (I have to check...).

I thought we were just talking about the "true" Thinkpad business laptops (X, T, W).

 

And those of us who did see it coming couldn't do a thing to prevent it, so it really doesn't matter to what extent one was psychic regarding this particular debacle...

I do hope that you've got 4 RAM slots in that W520 of yours. X61T, with sufficient amount of RAM and a SSD will be tough to beat as "on the go" machine for many years to come, and there's an abundance of spares for them...

I'm already taking the aforementioned route myself, however, there's one more thing to consider in the ThinkPad/Precision/EliteBook vs. Mac equation...and it's called W8.

Not about to start an OS war here BUT...for those of us who:

a) Detest the direction that the ThinkPads have taken

b) Dislike the W8 (I belong to both groups)

Macs have honestly never looked better, with all of their noted imperfections...

My $0.02 only...

 

What is it that you don't like about Windows 8? You can always use Windows 7 or Linux.

 

I'm already taking the aforementioned route myself, however, there's one more thing to consider in the ThinkPad/Precision/EliteBook vs. Mac equation...and it's called W8.

Not about to start an OS war here BUT...for those of us who:

a) Detest the direction that the ThinkPads have taken

b) Dislike the W8 (I belong to both groups)

Macs have honestly never looked better, with all of their noted imperfections...

My $0.02 only...[/QUOTE]


This is something I agree with completely. I've used Macs on school and for work. Never ever did I like the OS. Thought they were expensive. You name it. But when I needed a new desktop replacement and couldn't find a good pc, I bought a MBP 17. Upgraded it myself because Apple didn't sell it anymore. I still don't like the OS. I still think they are expensive. But the software I've used on a Windows PC (mostly Adobe CS) just runs better on the MBP. I know this is something personal.

When I wanted to buy a new 13/14 inch, the first thing I looked at was PC. Thinkpads. I wanted the T430s (had a good resolution, was well built and under 2 kg). But Windows 8, the aforementioned direction Lenovo are taking and all the trouble others have had with Thinkpads and were so nice to put on this forum, I turned to Apple yet again. Now I'm even thinking about buying a rMBP 13. Like said: I've never had any problems with MBP 17. Why should this be any different?

 

Apparently, there's a good portion of newer hardware that will not allow the end user to wipe W8 and install the OS of their choice. I could see that trend worsening as the time goes by...and W7 won't be supported forever.

While there's a lot of stuff around Macs that I find annoying, there is some consistency present...

Enough of OT for now...

 

HP has low-end probooks as well, a few of my co-workers have got them. They are not even as good as my E420.

 

Yes, HP has a low-end line that is called "Probook", and they don't call them Elitebook.
A single difference between Lenovo and HP is that Lenovo puts Thinkpad name on everything, but HP does not.

 

Touché!

(Translation: Brand dilution. Another translation: Smoking the market.)

 

so HP does not put thinkpad name on everything? that must be adorable!

 

Trying very hard to be funny.

(HP does not put "EliteBook" on every notebook model. Adorable, eh?)

 

Please. back to the topic, this thread is about T431s/X230s, not some Lenovo naming. This discussion is maybe interesting, but you have always the possibility to start a new thread.

 

Solution to the issue of Thinkpad's going down the drain is to keep your xx20 or xx30 model (depending on your tolerance) for the long haul. These processors are much more powerful than most of us need, the architecture supports huge amounts of ram, SSD's give great usable speed. I can't see them being not handle all software for a long long time.

 

OR embrace change lovingly and willingly.

 

Never! I still hate island keyboards, for example.