Lenovo unveils T61p ThinkPad

Lenovo unveils T61p ThinkPad Lenovo released the latest addition to its ThinkPad line of notebooks, the T61p. Also announced were two less-expensive notebooks, the ThinkPad R61 and R61e. Lets take a gander at what the T61p, Lenovos newest high-end notebook, has under the hood. The T61p mobile workstation packs an Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 (2.4GHz, 4MB, 800MHz) and a Santa Rosa chipset with support for 4GB of PC2-5300/667MHz Intel Turbo Memory, which of course, is limited to 3GB on 32-bit operating systems. Hard drive options include 80, 100, 120 or 160GB drives at 5400rpm, or faster 60GB, 100GB 7200rpm drivers. Lenovo is also offering a 160GB 5400rpm drive with Full Disk Encryption, which makes Lenovo one of the first to release a trusted storage option. Integrated communications devices range from simple Gigabit Ethernet and ThinkPad 11a/b/g/ II wireless to an Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965A/G/N updated to 802.11 Draft 1.0 standards. The T61p mobile workstation packs an NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M (256MB) graphics processor on board, part of NVIDIAs performance line of mobile graphics processing. The screen will be available in two flavors, either a 15.5" WUXGA (1920x1200) screen or a 15.4" WSXGA (1680x1050) screen. The WSXGA is currently under "late availability" status. One of the freshest features in the T61p is its built-in Ultra wideband support (UWB). Tom Ribble, worldwide product marketing manager for ThinkPad R series, says he "expects Ultra wideband to help future-proof the laptop for people familiar with Bluetooth, by offering wireless support for Ultra-wideband peripherals like printers, hard drives, and cell-phones." He added, its like "investment protection." UWB is based on the WiMedia standard and can transfer data at distances of up to thirty feet. According to Intel, some uses for the T61ps UWB features could include using the ThinkPad to "wirelessly connect to a digital projector in a conference room to deliver a presentation." According to Ribble, Lenovo has included an Ultrabay battery inside the T61p which has advanced power-management software that lets users pick and choose which power-using options they want to continue using or deactivate. Ribble says that users can achieve "at least 15 percent more computing time over the life of the battery, which essentially turns five hours of battery life into 5+" by using the software. No word, however, on who manufactured the batteries this time around. When asked about cooling for the laptop, Ribble also noted that the T61p has redesigned fans that cool the laptop up to 10 percent more in all areas, including the palm rests, bottom, and top—while keeping fan volume 3 decibels quieter than in previous models. Oddly, Ribble says this is because the "solution was redesigned on inspirations from nature, namely, the owl." Fans and feathers didnt really make sense to me, so Ribble had to clear things up a bit, "Our engineers took the technology and design of an owls wings and put them into fan blades used to cool the system. The frequency of the fans gives different acoustics than a normal fan, like an owls wing flapping." He said that the fans blades were also designed in relation to an owls wings, paying attention to "curvature and lips" of the fan blades, which "translate into a more effective, and quieter fan." Engineers might also find the T61ps roll-cage features favorable while out in the field. According to Ribble, the magnesium-framed roll cage found in earlier ThinkPads now covers the entire unit instead of just the lower half.The T61p also offers a new antenna configuration that Lenovo says will result in improved WiFi performance. So whos Lenovo targeting the T61p at? Technically, everyone, although the T61p is certified for commonly used engineering applications and has graphical support and enough memory to run demanding applications like AutoCAD out of the box. The T61p is also certified to run SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, Red Hat, and Turbo Linux.The T61p mobile workstation will start at approximately $1,814 and will be available sometime this month. The two new R-series notebooks, the R61 and R61e will be priced at $1,119 and $1,069, respectively. Keep your eyes peeled for the release on the Lenovo ThinkPad. On materials of www.arstechnica.com