Lenovo's Air rival to expand to full line?

Lenovo's ThinkPad X300 is just the first wave of a new line of ultra-thin notebooks at the company, says an apparent leak from Gizmodo. Timed to coincide with the launch of Intel's low-power Centrino 2 platform and processors in September, the line will scale down to a 12-inch X200 but will also move upwards to a 14-inch X400 and even a 15.4-inch X500, supplying a similar case thickness but at the user's choice of screen size.

The newer Core 2 Duo processors will also provide incidental benefits along with the improved dimensions, the tip suggests. A larger Level 2 cache will help performance, while the smaller 45 nanometer process should extend battery life by about 25 percent versus the 65 nanometer chip used in the X300. No clock speed is discussed, though a leaked Intel roadmap has already revealed 1.6GHz and 1.83GHz low-voltage Core 2 Duos that could replace the 1.2GHz chip used in the X300.

Other additions to the X series would include support for 3G cellular Internet over EVDO or HSDPA as well as LED backlights for multiple (if not all) models.

The expansion is likely to raise the stakes in the competition between thin, full-size systems, with Lenovo so far being the only company now expected to introduce multiple new screen sizes. Apple as well as traditional ultraportable builders have to date kept to only one screen size for a given lineup.

Besides these models, Lenovo also plans a new W series of pro-level mobile workstations; only a 15-inch model known as the W900 is mentioned, but should run on full-power Core 2 processors and use a Mobility Radeon HD 3650 to accelerate 3D modeling and other high-end tasks. The flagship T series will ship in 14-inch T400 and 15.4-inch T500 versions with the same graphics chipset but also a power-saving mode that switches off dedicated graphics when not in use.

Some systems across the ThinkPad range are slated to receive a slew of new expansion options, including a 9-cell battery, GPS, and WiMAX. Others, such as Blu-ray and dual ExpressCard slots, are likely to be reserved for larger systems.

Filed under: computers
Other story tags: Intel, MacBook Air, Core 2, Lenovo, Centrino, ThinkPad