About two weeks ago, a website (hknotebook.com) mentioned the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet (or X200T). This got a lot of people talking, but lost in the hoopla was the same site listing a Lenovo ThinkPad X301 (along with the Lenovo ThinkPad X200s). A few of us wondered if this was an Asia-only version of the 13.3-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X300, if it was a misprint (didn’t seem like it given the specs), or if it was going to be something similar to the ThinkPad X61s setup.
It looks like it’s a stand-alone ultraportable, in the same vein as the X300. Yesterday, a few sites got wind of the X301 officially being announced this coming monday (August 18, 2008).
Lenovo’s press release claims that it’s nearly 20% better performance-wise, by moving to the fastest DDR3 memory available as well as a new Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. The HKBU website that orginally unveiled the X200 Tablet as well as the Lenovo ThinkPad X200s lists the CPU as the Intel SU9400, which is a 1.4GHz Ultra-Low Voltage (ULV) “Penryn-3M”, 45nm, with 3MB of L2 Cache and an 800MHz FSB and a really low TDP of 10W. A new SSD option has been added as well – 128GB, as well as a DisplayPort port.
Outside of new CPU, new external display options, and new storage options, the overall design remains basically the same.
The release date for the Intel SU9400 is September, 2008, but Lenovo is claiming that the X301 will be available on August 26, with a starting price of $2,599.
No word on release of the ThinkPad X200s – like the X301, it’s CPU (SL9300) is not slated to be released by Intel until September, 2008.
Read:
– InformationWeek
– SlashGear (contains official press release).