Slashdot Mirror
Lenovo's New ThinkPad Has 2 LCD Screens, Weighs 11 Pounds
ericatcw writes "With many users now used to having multiple monitors at home or work, you had to figure someone would try to offer a 'desktop replacement' laptop that offered the same. Lenovo is the first. Its new W700ds laptop will offer a 10.6 inch LCD screen in addition to the 17-inch primary display. The W700ds also sports a quad-core Intel Core 2 CPU, up to almost 1 TB of storage, and an Nvidia Quadro mobile chip with up to 128 cores. A Lenovo exec called this souped-up version of the normally buttoned-down-for-business ThinkPads the 'nitro-burning drag racer of ThinkPads.' There is even a Wacom digitizer pad and pen for graphic artists, who are expected to be the target market, along with photographers and other creative types who are willing to trade shoulder-aching bulk (11 pounds) and price (minimum of $3,600) for productivity enhancements."
At the other end of the laptop size spectrum, Dell recently announced plans to launch a rival to the MacBook Air. Called "Adamo," it is supposedly "thinner than the MacBook Air," though further details will have to wait for the Computer Electronics Show in early January.
On a more serious note, I don't think I want to carry around an 11 pound laptop just to have an extra monitor.
I guess I'm missing the point of this. At work I plug my laptop into my docking stataion, with a 26" monitor attached (with the same setup at home - the two monitors cost far less than this silly laptop!). I *don't* want to lug the monitor around with me! If I have a desk where I work frequently, I can provide it a much bigger monitor. If I'm just walking around, I want my laptop to be as light as possible.
Really, the more I think about it, the more I'm really just carrying my disk drive around. Maybe in a year or two I can just switch to carrying a poket-sized SSD around, and have desktops at home and work that boot off that.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Sorry, that laptop in the article just looks lop-sided and ugly with the sidecar-screen pulled out. Once somebody does a triptych version, let me know.
"I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
I'm a huge fan of dead laptop batteries, burning hot pants, and scoliosis.
This has to be the perfect laptop for me!
Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
did they just tape two laptops together?
The secondary display pulled out at the side just looks so fragile to me. Especially when considering the cost of such a computer.
On the other story, does the Dell "Adamo" has anything to do with Battlestar Galactica?
Colorless green Cthulhu waits dreaming furiously.
"Lenovo's New ThinkPad Has 2 LCD Screens, Weighs 11 Pounds "
Maybe a car battery wasn't the best choice?
Any company that makes manufacturing a laptop thinner than the Air a priority needs to be shot. Oh wait that's right, your average consumer is actually impressed by such retarded novelty, even when the resulting product is useless.
Not mentioned in the article, but surely it must run Linux, right?
I do find it interesting that dell has ditched the overly conservitive look... but maybe they are just figuring out that looks do sell. Then again this might be what you get when you Put a designer from Nike and a 25 year veteran from wireless industry in the room to build a computer (Ed Boyd and John Thode).
If you don't like it, don't buy it. Its like no one is forcing you to buy it, or lug it around. I am sure *somebody* will like it, and buy it. Man, its like saying that Chocolate Icecream tastes like shit. I suggest, then, you buy vanilla or strawberry.
1920x1200 main screen, and 720x1280 side screen... did it not occur to them to have 1200 vertically on both? Also, I'm kinda thinking that for this kind of money, I should be able to buy 2 laptops providing a total resolution in excess of 2640x1280, and whatever software I need to share the screen of one as a second display on the other... and have 'em weigh less, together, than this monstrosity. ;)
Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.
Am I the only one that has found this? I purchased a new Thinkpad ~6 months ago and it's terrible for a variety of reasons...
I had great experiences with my previous two (IBM manufactured) Thinkpads.
If you can read this... 01110101 01110010 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100111 01100101 01100101 01101011
Why? I see this word a lot in laptop threads. It's in the luggable monster threads like this one and its often in the netbook one too. I would have thought the answer was obvious, really. What I have trouble understanding is how people can fail to understand that not everyone has the same computing needs.
If you still don't understand, use the following guide:
Need as much power as you can get in a portable bos? Get one of these.
Need great portability but not much CPU? Get an eee or whatever.
Need something in between? Get a laptop.
Need a laptop which can be run over bay a tank while under water? Get a toughbook, etc...
And so on. If you're on /. and still can't see how other people still have different computing needs, then hand in your geek card on your way out.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
Okay, a dual-head laptop is just an insane idea. But then again, the Thinkpad has a long history of crazy features in the product line. Good to see Lenovo is keeping up the tradition.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go do some hacking on my T60.
128 cores! Fuck yeah!
The metallic-black "Adamo" laptop will reportedly be thinner than the MacBook Air, although it's unclear whether it will be as light.
Sure, it depends on whether or not they loaded Vista onto it.
(kidding)
Now can they make it not look like a pile of shit from 1996? Thanks, the management.
even given your scenario, to put the same amount of effort into a more-portable external monitor! If it's reasonably thin and light (the whole point), then it can go in the bag with your laptop.
I know of NO good reason that it should actually be built-in. That adds unnecessary weight and complication, and reduces flexibility.
I'd be real nervous about someone bumping into that extra display.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
It's funny and amazingly bone-headed Dell should mention the MacBook Air. *All it does is shift the focus to Apple's offerings!* It's not hard to build a thinner laptop than the MBA, several manufacturers have already done that (Sharp, Sony, LG). The challenge is to build something *better* than the MBA, with an operating system and application software package that equals it. Dell can probably build a super-thin Alamo, but if it ships with Windows Vista, it's still useless.
Beauty is in the beholder of the eye.
The Lenovo W700ds has got to be the stupidest concept ever. Who would buy a lumbering beast like that, with a styling that might have been moderately cool back in 1993? I don't get it. This is proof the PC industry is dying. *Even uglier* than the 17" HP Pavilions.
Beauty is in the beholder of the eye.
I'm sure they will be as successful as multi-turreted tanks.
...That thing is just gross...
I thought it was against slashdot's policy to make porn posts.
My EEE 901 totally 0wns your Lenovo whatever-its-called.
As other commenters have mentioned, it's about the trade off.
I guess I'd fit into the target market, as I'm a graphic designer and video editor, so more screen and more power are always nice. But I can't see me ever going larger than the 15.4" screen laptop I have now.
Why? Because, as nice as a bigger screen/more screens would be, it would guarantee that I couldn't do anything until I reached my destination unless I carried a smaller laptop as well. The laptop I have (Dell D820) is awkward on planes unless travelling business class or above, as it's slightly too big to fit on a tray table comfortably. Ditto for train travel (in the UK) -- even at a "table" seat (2 pairs of seats facing, separated by a small table) it's necessary to have the laptop uncomfortably close to the edge of the table so as not to use all of the table space belonging to the person opposite.
It seems to me that the extending display tech would be more suited to a smaller laptop -- if it can be made to work -- so you can have portability but still have a sizable working desktop when you have the space.
=== Ask yourself if it's really necessary...
The more I think about it the more it looks like A Microsoft version of the virtual desktop.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Desktops-and-Notebooks/First-Look-Lenovo-ThinkPad-W700ds-Mobile-Workstation-Laptop/ I want one. I admit it. That thing is sick, as the kids say.
I used to own an older Inspiron from Dell which was huge. You will hate it the first time you have to take it thru an airport screening.
It was an ok machine, but way too large to really be considered a "lap"-top.
I'll save everyone else having to look it up.
On the other story, does the Dell "Adamo" has anything to do with Battlestar Galactica?
Noooo!
Its named after the first man Our Lord God created. Not some imaginary character on some space-robots TV show.
You insensitive heathen clod.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
In another story, a new company designed a notebook call the "airgo". They claim that the $67,000US "airgo" is as thin as 2 pieces of notebook paper and weighs even less than 2 sheets of tissue paper. Unfortunately, their only demonstration model blew away during the unveiling when unfolded in 40MPH winds. It was never recovered. Even worse, company officials say that their design plans were stored on the device.
-- Wondering how long until the internet becomes fully corporatist, like television.
u-s-e-l-e-s-s
slashwhat?
"Excuse me while I whip this out."
... I heard you like screens, so we put a screen in yo screen so you can work while you work.
--Xzibit
So they make soup for you too? I think you meant "suped up", as in, supered.
"shoulder-aching bulk (11 pounds)"
Ha! You pussies should talk to a photographer or two about shoulders.
There's a Sysinternals utility called Desktops that is quite an excellent tool for that.
Even on Linux or OS X, I don't use the multiple desktops features much at all, so take my recommendation with a grain of salt if you like.
Boot Windows, Linux, and ESX over the network for free.
Fuck everything, we are doing FIVE screens!
From the FA: "Dell is refusing to confirm official details of the laptop, which will reportedly be unveiled at next month's Consumer Electronics Show."
dan@sober: ~ /proc/cpuinfo|grep '^cpu MHz'|awk '{print $4"/30 +";}';free|grep '^Mem'|awk '{print $3"/1024/3+"}'; df -P -k | grep -v '(1k|1024)-blocks' | awk '{if ($1 ~ "/dev/(scsi|sd)"){ s+= $2} s+= $2;} END {print s/1024/50"/15+70";}'`|bc|sed 's/\(.$\)/.\1cm/'
$ cat bin/vpenis.sh
#!/bin/sh
export LC_ALL=C
echo `uptime|grep days|sed 's/.*up \([0-9]*\) day.*/\1\/10+/'; cat
I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off...
Today people don't buy multi-screen setups because they are multi-screen. They buy them in order to get more pixels. There used to be times when you had a high resolution monochrome display and a low resolution colour one, but those times are over.
So if you want to make something usefull, make the rims as thin as possible. And _please_ make it symmetrical. At that price I would expect a little piece of mechanics which automatically extends the sidescreens when you open the laptop.
I have a really sweet desktop machine with 2x24" monitors, and my desk has wheels, making it roughly as portable as an 11lb laptop.
... does it run OpenSolaris?
What I *would* like to see is a dual monitor handheld. Something like the Nokia N810, but with a second monitor (and much better specs, at least in the RAM department). Then I can carry around a very usable "laptop" in my pocket :)
Luke-Jr
than the Compaq Evo
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Integrated WACOM palm rest digitizer and pen
* 128 cm x 80 cm palm rest digitizer
If a I buy one, and I don't get the 1.28 x 0.8 meters WACOM, should I sue them??
http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=an&subtype=ca&appname=gpateam&supplier=872&letternum=ENUSAG08-0919
Instead of getting a panel manufacturer to make AFFS/S-IPS displays, we get this?
$3600 might actually be worth it here, but there is nothing one can do to TN to make it any better.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Put it down where the keyboard is, make it touch-sensitive (replacing the keyboard at need by displaying a customized keyboard image which matches the current task / application set) and w/ an option to rotate the whole thing 90 degrees and use it as a full-colour ebook reader and I'm interested (so long as the whole thing is as small, thin and light as the X61T).
Optionally provide a way to slip a keyboard on / off and engineer the hinge to so that it can be closed w/ the keyboard in place --- but even though I purchased a wireless keyboard for my Fujitsu Stylistic, I never use it.
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.