Cool Tech Reviews

Lenovo which bought IBM’s personal computer business, announced today that they would be offering Novell’s SUSE Linux distribution on selected models including the T Series (directed at business users) of the famous ThinkPad laptop product line starting in 4Q2007. Does this finally herald the arrival of the Linux PC for everyday users?

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Dave Rosenberg at InfoWorld:

It seems like the never-ending Linux desktop quest is finally getting a bit closer as SVN reports that Lenovo will preload Suse on the Thinkpad T60 (a nice machine. Technically I think HP was the first OEM to ship a Linux laptop a year or so ago but it was a clunker, both in terms of form factor and usability. Thinkpads have great keyboards and are virtually indestructible.

From the embedded link to Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols:

Finally. For years, the holy grail of the Linux desktop has been to get a major computer vendor to commit to preloading a Linux desktop. It finally happened.

On August 4th, we found out that Lenovo Group, the company that has taken over IBM’s Personal Computing Division, had made a deal with Novell Inc. to preload SLED 10 (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) on its ThinkPad T60p mobile workstation.

For the first time, a major OEM (original equipment manufacturer) has committed to preloading a Linux desktop.
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The T60p isn’t just any laptop. It boasts a high-end, 2GHz Intel Core Duo processor T2500, with a minimum of 512MB of RAM, which can be pushed up to 2GB of memory. For graphics, it uses an ATI FireGL V5200 with 256MB of RAM.

The system is also expected to come with what Lenovo is calling a “ThinkPad Experience” under Linux, which includes: Access Connections, Configuration Utility, Power Manager, warm and cold docking support for USB and video, and Help Center support.

The Linux option hasn’t made the Lenovo ThinkPad T-Series page yet, but presumably it is coming. It’ll be interesting to see if it is any cheaper than the Windows versions of the T60p which seem a bit pricey.

Update 8/15: InfoWorld:

The suggested retail price for the 14-inch model is $3,099 and $3,199 for the 15-inch.

Both products are now available for purchase on the Lenovo Web site and through retailers.

I still can’t find it yet on the Lenovo Web site, but these seem rather expensive especially since a regular T60p starts at $1,919.

Over at his PC Magazine blog, Michael J. Miller has a preliminary review of the Toshiba Portege M400 convertible tablet PC. Frankly, it doesn’t seem all that different from other convertible tablets except for the compact 12 inch screen size which is the main point:

I’m a big fan of both small notebooks and tablet computers. I like my laptops light, because I’m a train commuter, and carry my laptop a lot. And I like tablet computers mostly because I like reading on them (with the screen in a vertical position), and for occasionally annotating notes and documents with the pen.

Ultimately, Miller remarks that he prefers the Lenovo Thinkpad X41 12 inch convertible tablet which is even lighter at 3.7 pounds than the M400 at 4.5 pounds. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Eric Mack who teases his readers with news of an “ultra-wide screen” tablet PC that he is expecting shortly from an unnamed manufacturer:

I just got off the phone with an excited representative from a well known computer manufacturer who called to let me know that, because of my blog, I’ve been selected to evaluate one of their new ultra-wide screen Tablet PCs. She promised me that it was perfect for Tablet PC mind-mapping and that I would be very happy with the display resolution and size.

Since Mack also says he’d “be happy with a 2.5″ thick Tablet the size of a Tecra M4 with a fold-out screen twice the size of an M4″ which is 14.1 inches, it’s clear he’s not worried about portability.

I can see the merits of both points of view, but the real problem is that the amount of time I really want a tablet PC of either size is vanishingly small. Battery life inhibits true portability and I am not comfortable enough with tablet technology to have some monster version parked permanently on my desk taking up space. I’m hopeful though, that one of these days there will be a tablet that convinces me.

I’ve previously mentioned a good review of the Lenovo Z60t Thinkpad and now Tim Supples at Laptop Logic provides a more detailed one and it’s positive as well:

With the launch of the Lenovo Thinkpad Z-Series, a lot of fears have been revealed as well. Many die hard Thinkpad-fanatics, current Thinkpad customers, and potential Thinkpad owners have all expressed concern about how Lenovo would handle the first launch of a new Thinkpad. And we are here to say, put your concerns away. This Thinkpad is definitely different, but still maintains a lot of the core principles that make up the traditional Thinkpad. There will be naysayers that think this is a completely Lenovo-designed notebook and thus inferior, but they are wrong on both counts. The Z-series has been in the works at IBM for a while before Lenovo entered the picture. While it is unclear what changes the Lenovo buyout may have had on the Z-series, none of them were a step in the wrong direction.

The Lenovo Thinkpad Z60t is a stark departure from the standard Thinkpad hierarchy, shaking things up with rounded corners, optional display covers, and a Start key. Our model came with the optional titanium display cover, and it is stylish looking. A long-time criticization of Thinkpads was their plain black stylish, with only a splash of color from logo’s. The titanium cover adds a sexy coat to the machine, making it look more like a hip accessory than a powerful business tool. Despite being a very portable 14″ widescreen under 5lbs, the Z60t is not lacking in performance. A selection of Celeron M and Pentium M chips are available, with a speedy Pentium M 780 (2.0GHz) in our test model. Hard drives are available up to 100GB 5400RPM and DVDRW drives are optional, both of which are on our Z60t. The only lacking part performance-wise is the graphics, Intel’s GMA900 integrated GPU is the only option here.

Much more by following the link. And as in the previous review, the integrated EV-DO is viewed as a big advantage.

Michael Gartenberg says it’s a delight for road warriors. Aside from the usual goodies,

While there’s a lot to love in this unit, including a/b/g WiFi (so I can stream content off my MediaCenter PC), Bluetooth, three US ports, a 1394 port and an SD reader, what really sets this machine apart is integrated EV-DO. No more looking for a Starbucks, just click and connect. Unlike other WAN integration efforts from Sony using EDGE and Cingular, which is nice, EDGE capability just doesn’t compare in terms of performance to EV-DO.

If you aren’t familiar with EV-DO, Wikipedia has the details. The key is:

Compared to 1xRTT networks currently being used by operators, or the GPRS and EDGE networks employed by their GSM competitors, 1xEV-DO is significantly faster, providing access terminals with download speeds of up to 2.4 Mbit/s. Only terminals with 1xEV-DO chipsets can take advantage of the higher speeds.

And of course “the dual announcement of Verizon and Sprint’s deployment of 1xEV-DO in 2004, and similar announcements by smaller operators in 2005″ doesn’t hurt the technology story.

Back to the Thinkpad, it’s nice to see that Lenovo’s takeover of the old IBM PC Company hasn’t caused a cheapening of features, but there are some differences:

Even more shocking, my unit isn’t standard ThinkPad black but actually a shiny Titanium (in fact, the lid is actually made of Titanium).

All in all, a thumbs up review.