Lenovo launch ThinkPad W500 and W700

August 25th, 2008

These puppies are not for the faint-hearted, so if you’re of a nervous disposition, especially financially, you’d best stop reading now. Lenovo have just unleashed a couple of top end notebooks, namely the W500 and W700 and they come with all the bells and whistles you’d expect from the top end. And so they should with their respective price tags starting at US$1630 and US$2980. Anyway here’s a list of a few of those bells and whistles for the W700

* Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T9400, Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T9600, Intel® Core™2 Extreme, Intel® Quad Core Extreme options
* Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate 32, Genuine Windows Vista® Business 32, Genuine Windows Vista® Business 64 options
* SATA HDD options of 250, 320GB at 5400rpm, 160, 200GB @ 7200rpm
* 64GB SSD option
* Up to 8GB PC3-8500 1066MHz memory
* ThinkVantage® Client Security and optional fingerprint reader
* 410 x 310 x 41 mm
* 3.76 kg
* 17 inch WUXGA display with 1920 X 1200 res
* Optical drive DVD-RPM, CD-RW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner, Blu-ray
* Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth® 2.0 connectivity
* 5 USB, IEEE1394,VGA, DisplayPort, Dual Link DVI, Microphone/Line In, Headphone/line-out ports
* Multimedia Card Reader (7-in-1) slot

Needless to say your $2980 will only get you the lesser choice of the optional specs but Lenovo have certainly managed to squeeze in a lot of features even if you go for the ‘cheap’ options. According to their marketing blurb

Our most powerful notebooks ever, the ThinkPad W series offers uncompromised performance and cutting-edge technology in the ultimate mobile workstation.

Which may well be true, but are you prepared to spend over three grand to have the ‘ultimate mobile workstation’? If you are then the W700 is probably a great option to go for.