Thinkpads tip up

CHINESE NOTEBOOK MAKER Lenovo unveiled a clutch of Thinkpads today, including the Thinkpad X201 with security encryption as standard.

The fresh models on offer from Lenovo include the thin and light Thinkpad X201s laptop, a tablet version of the X201 and two high-end W701 and W701ds mobile workstations.

Lenovo boasts that the ThinkPad X201 laptop is "the industry's fastest ultraportable laptop" so we'll be all over that claim when we benchtest a review sample from the company. Both X201s are aimed at business users while the mobile workstations are for the CAD/CAM market.

The Thinkpad X201s are decked out with Intel's low voltage Core i7s or Core i5s so there's less power drain on the batteries. Lenovo believes they are better optimised for both performance and mobility, with the cheapest version weighing in at 1.2Kg. The tablet X201 supports security tools including a fingerprint reader, anti-theft technologies and a self-encrypting hard drive.

"We're continuing to push the envelope on innovation to give our mobile customers faster, more powerful and smarter ThinkPad laptops," said Dhilip Bhatia, vice president of ThinkPad product marketing at Lenovo. "These PCs incorporate the latest computing technologies and extra Lenovo features to make the PC experience more simple and productive."

The ThinkPad X201, X201s, X201 tablet are available from March, whilst the W701 and W701ds are available from April. Pricing for the X201, X201s and X201 tablet start at approximately £849, £1,099 and £1,149, respectively. The W701 and W701ds models start at approximately £2,040 and £2,770, respectively. µ