Lenovo is launching its first ThinkPad ultrabook to sport a 15.6 inch display. The Lenovo Thinkpad S531 is a large, business-class ultrabook that weighs about 5 pounds and which has a display that you can fold back 180 degrees.
The large display means the laptop’s bigger than most ultrabooks, and Lenovo’s using the extra space to place a number pad next to the backlit, spill-resistant QWERTY keyboard.
The notebook also has a TrackPoint pointing stick near the center of the keyboard, as well as a trackpad below the space bar.
Around the sides you’ll find 2 USB 3.0 ports, an Ethernet jack, a flash card reader, HDMI port, and a headset jack. The Lenovo ThinkPad S531 has JBL stereo speakers, dual digital array microphones, and a 62.8 Whr cell battery which Lenovo says should offer up to 9 hours of run time. with a full-sized number pad next to the backlit keyboard, Lenovo’s TrackPoint pointing stick,
Lenovo will offer an optional fingerprint reader and support for a ThinkPad OneLink dock which lets you charge the laptop while connecting additional USB, Ethernet, audio, USB, and HDMI ports.
via Engadget
I lost interest when I saw the number pad and the off axis touchpad.
Next!
what? “clickpad” instead of dedicated buttons (and the touchpad is even placed in the worst possible way), only 2 USB 3.0-ports (it’s a 15.6″ notebook! why the hell…?) and not even a real dock but something attached to a wire? What the hell is wrong with lenovo these days?
The rounded edges and faux MacBook design are appalling.
Good lord, what is up with the atrociously rounded edges? This kills any interest I could ever have in this product, and if this is how all ThinkPad’s will look in the future, I’m afraid I’m going to have to move on to another brand… Absolutely heartbreaking. Someone within the Lenovo design department needs to be canned for this.
Are there any existing ThinkPads with this kind of clickpad where even the trackpoint buttons are integrated now?
Anyone with experience with them? I have an X230 and the clickpad is bad solely because it’s a clickpad instead of having physically isolated trackpad and buttons. I’m thankful that the trackpoint buttons are still separate on it.
There’s the T431s Ultrabook Thinkpad…
Haven’t tried it myself but reviews don’t seem all that favorable from what I’ve read… though, those were mostly from people who preferred the original design and didn’t like adapting to using gestures…
The clickpad blows and the one Lenovo uses has crappy inconsistent gesture support.
The trackpoint and gestures don’t go together either. I wonder how easy it is to press the trackpoint button area with this new clickpad. Hopefully, it’s a physical click and not a tap/touch to activate. The X230 clickpad needs too much force unlike the trackpoint buttons.