Lenovo debuts new SL, R, T and W series ThinkPads




Calm down, would you? It's not like there's a brand new chipset on the scene or anything, Lenovo, what's the hurry? Lenovo just busted out four new or refreshed lines of ThinkPads, in addition to that new X200 we saw earlier, and those four new IdeaPads. It's pure and utter mayhem. First up is the brand new SL series, which is Lenovo's new grab for the small business set, with prices ranging from $699 to $1199, an HDMI port and Blu-ray option for dual purpose friendliness. There's also going to be a super cheap 3G add-on from AT&T and Ericsson for around $30, and WiMax is in the cards as well. SL will be showing up in SL300 (13-inch), SL400 (14-inch) and SL500 (15-inch) flavors. Also new is the W series (pictured), a workstation line being split off from the T series with ATI Mobility FireGL graphics and Display Port. The T series keeps its chops with Switchable Graphics, which lets you switch from discreet to integrated graphics without rebooting the computer, along with Display Port, while the R series holds of the budget end of things. Many models include options for SSD and GPS, and of course they're all Centrino 2 powered. Interestingly, the introduction of the X200 marks the death of standard ratio LCDs -- Lenovo is officially an all widescreen outfit now. The SL400 and SL500 laptops start at $799 and are available now, while the SL300 and all the others hit in August and range from $899 all the way up to the $1,999 W500.