Updated Lenovo Z Series Info

I posted an article and some pictures here:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2534

We talked to Lenovo today and if you have any questions outside of what's posted I should be able to answer them. Overall I think this series looks very sweet. The build is better than ever, keyboard has improved, stereo speakers on top of the laptop, bundled 3G (EVDO) antenna with the ability to sign up through Verizon, 300 NIT MAXBright screen option, Titanium lid option, Magnesium Formula One Chassis standard, multi-card reader, firewire, widescreen, touchpad + pointing stick, great docking station, modular slimbay of course, and they've added even better ThinkVantage software features too.

I should be getting a unit the end of next week. Fingers crossed.

:buyIBM:

 

aww, only the 15.4" will have a video card
also i'm guessing M22 = x300, and m24 = x600?

 

Yup, that's right. I'm glad to hear they didn't cheap out on the Z60, and are still trying to improve durability, even if it makes the thing a little bit heavier. A magnesium chasis and a titanium scratch resistant lid, and a more water resistant keyboard sounds really good to me. New better speakers on top of that too! I'm pretty sure I'm buying a Z series when they get a 64 bit processor.

I ended up buying an Inspiron 9300 because the T43 was equally expensive, but came with much fewer features that I wanted. The Z series is my dream come true, fairly portable, ThinkPad quality with a widescreen and a mid-range video card. I'm giving the Inspiron to my sister next year when she goes to university, so hopefully a Merom Z series with much improved battery life will be available.

 

I was really hoping the Z60T (the 14" model) would have the x600. i would've bought it in a heart beat

 

It is a bit disappointing on the 14" not having a dedicated graphics card, i wish i had remembered to ask them why not push the envelope on graphics there too, but will try to talk to the product designers again next week and ask that -- we did ask if they'd be coming out with a widescreen ultraportable (a la the X series) and putting some consumer oriented features in that and the designers said, "yes, if Intel does something about cooling it's processors down." They said that as they scale down the size of a laptop and still have to put 4 fans in to keep heat down they lose room for other features...it might be the same thing with the graphics card here, or at least a factor. IBM/Lenovo won't manufacturer a laptop that goes outside certain specs on heat generation.

 

Any idea of the case thickness and battery life? Kinda curious if Lenovo is going to tame the fan noise a little (or at least change the settings where the fan will turn off). This looks like a nice series. I just spent nearly two months waiting for the the X41T...I really don't want to do it with a Z series.

 

Glad to finally have some real information on this series, though the lack of dedicated graphics card on the 14" seems to have some people dissapointed.

 

I would love to know the weight of the 15.4 model...

 

ya dimensions and weight of the 15.4 would be nice to know

 

Didn't some source somewhere mention that the 14" is around 4 lbs and the 15.4" around 6 lbs? I don't have proof though; just thought I saw it somewhere.

EDIT: OK, according to the front page on this forum, it's 4.4 lbs and 6.6 lbs, respectively.

 

Another thing that would be nice to know (as I also stated in the thread in Reviews) is what type of LCD panel is going to be used for the screen (TN/IPS/VA)?

 

How much will the Z60m cost again? Can I buy the unit in Canada in-store instead of online? Don't have a credit card.

From the article:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2534

" If you're willing to get a high-end configuration, you can get a Titanium lid for extra protection, ThinkPad Z configurations with a Titanium lid will start at $1,999 USD."

I assume this is the referring to the Z60m? Wow.. it'll possibly be more expensive than Sony's BX series.

 

Any info. on the real weight and dimensions of the 14" model? Is the 4.4 pounds quoted with the better battery option (assuming there is an option) and the optical drive, or do those add another pound or so (usually weights are quoted with "weight savers" and the smallest, lightest battery).
Update: Figured others might want the answer to this too. According to the specs on the website, the unit is 4.5 pounds with the standard 4 cell battery and with the weight saver module, so the real weight will be 5 pounds with the optical drive and a few ounces additional if you opt for the 7 cell battery.

 

IBM includes those in the weight they're quoting yes. I'm getting the Z next week and will confirm at that time.

 

The Z will likely not be available in stores for sometime, online is really the best and often only way to buy a ThinkPad. The price of the Z60m will start at $799 USD (but is not available until Oct. 11). The Z60t will start at $1099 and is available in about a week. Here's an idea of the price you'll pay for various configs based on what SKUs and prices I've received (Z60t 14-inch pricing):

<COLGROUP><COL style='WIDTH: 68pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 3328' width=91><COL style='WIDTH: 71pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 3474' width=95><COL style='WIDTH: 86pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 4205' width=115><COL style='WIDTH: 78pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 3803' width=104><COL style='WIDTH: 82pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 3986' width=109>

MTM	2511-E7U	2511-3BU	2511-E5U	2511-EGU
CPU	PM 760 (2.0)	PM 760 (2.0)	PM 740 (1.73)	PM 750 (1.86)
Memory	1024MB	512MB	512MB	512MB
HDD	100GB/5400	80GB/5400	60GB/5400	60GB/5400
Graphics	915GM	915GM	915GM	915GM
TFT	14" WXGA	14" WXGA	14" WXGA	14" WXGA
Optical	Rambo	Rambo	Combo	Combo
Wireless	IBM a/b/g	IBM a/b/g	IBM a/b/g	IBM a/b/g
Modem/BT	Bluetooth	Bluetooth	Bluetooth	Modem
IEEE 1394	Y	Y	Y	Y
Battery	7 cell	7 cell	7 cell	7 cell
FPR	Y	Y	Y	Y
WWAN	Verizon	N	N	Verizon
Cover	Titanium	Titanium	Black	Black
O/S	XP Pro	XP Pro	XP Pro	XP Pro
	$2,299	$1,979	$1,749	$1,879

 

hmm... WXGA seems nice to work or watch movies, but what about movies with 4:3 aspect ration? They must look kinda strange...

 

Well, that's just how it is. Either you use traditional aspect ratio and then you're stuck with horizontal stripes / stretching when watching widescreen or you use widescreen aspect ratio and are stuck with vertical stripes / stretching when watching traditional stuff.

Can't eat the cake and leave it whole is how we say.

 

1) What's a Rambo drive?
2) Are the screens Flexview or not?
3) Should I be concerned with the lack of a dedicated GPU if (a) I jack the RAM up to 2 GB and (b) I don't plan to do any gaming and only minor photo editing (major photo editing and video editing will be done on my desktop--in other words, the laptop is going to be for work, not play)?
4) Will the integrated WWAN work only on Verizon's EVDO network (AKA Broadband Access), or will it also work (albeit at lower speeds) on their 1x network (AKA National Access)?
5) Is it true that the 14" model will lack an express card slot?

My other choice is a T43, as I don't really need the widescreen aspect ratio, firewire, or memory card reader, but I like the idea of integrated WWAN--I might be able to avoid a Blackberry if I have unlimited, integrated data on my laptop!

 

2) Would like to find out too.
3) Definitely not and you shouldn't even get 2GB of RAM. 1GB will be a plenty. Besides, there are dedicated GPU models, as we know.

 

True, there are dedicated GPU models, but not in the 14" model, which is where I'm leaning.

 

1 GB of ram is probably enough for your needs. More than that won't help with the graphics, anyway (isn't the maximum memory alloted to graphics 256 MB?) Also, you can probably get away with the integrated graphics, if you're just doing office work. The GMA 900 should be somewhat equivalent to the outdated MR 7500 (what I have), which does just fine with schoolwork.

 

cant wait to see some detailed pics of the 14"

 

Is it going to be easy to upgrade the memory yourself? I hate paying the premium from manufacturers when I can get a gigabyte for $120 off Newegg.

 

Offcourse it is easy.

 

The GMA900 is underated for graphics. Besides, for 1099, 879 EPP the Z60T is a steal.