Lenovo’s ThinkPad Stack is a series of modular computer accessories that can be stacked on top of one another and connected to a PC with a single cable.
The ThinkPad Stack system was unveiled at CES in January, and Lenovo said you’d be able to buy the some of the first components in April. The company missed that deadline, but at least one ThinkPad Stack module passed through the FCC this week, suggesting the system could be ready to go on sale soon.
At launch, Lenovo plans to offer four modules: a 10,000 mAh battery, a portable 1TB hard drive, a wireless access point, and a Bluetooth 4.0 speaker. The speaker just showed up at the FCC website.
Update: Say hello to the wireless router module.
All four accessories combine to create a single stack that measures weighs about 1.9 pounds. Not only can you connect each device to your PC through a single cable, but some devices can be used together.
For example the Bluetooth speaker has a 1,500 mAh battery and offers up to 8 hours of battery life when used on its own. Connect the 10,000 mAh battery pack and you should get up to 48 hours of use.
Lenovo has also released ThinkPad Assistant apps for Windows, iOS, and Android for managing your ThinkPad Stack system.
I feel bad to say this…but I don’t understand the purpose of this *at all*.
Good. I was afraid it was just me.
It’s a more mobile evolution of their docking station / USB dock tech they’ve selling along with their Thinkpad line for years. I just bought a second hand docking station for my Thinkpad laptop, and I’ve gone from having to plug and unplug a display, a mouse, a keyboard, and speaker cable every time I wanted to take my laptop somewhere to attaching it to the docking station.
We’re going to see a lot more of these things once USB C becomes standard.
I could see part of that, but the whole Bluetooth speaker, charger, and mobile access point just didn’t make any sense to me as a docking station item. At best I could see these as items that a hardcore road warrior having to do extended remote officing could use, but it’d be a crazy niche market.
Would be cool if they added like a video card module.
i’d like something like that as an vendor-agnostic standard
so i’d be able to stack i.e. my cubietruck-mediacenter, usb-hdds and my wlan-ap/router together
it’s unrealistic to assume i’d buy that all from lenovo
Good point & a great idea!
I doubt it’s worth it for manufacturers to come up with a standard. The component parts are cheap enough for them all to come up with competing systems, especially once USB C is a thing.
connection isn’t so much my problem as i’d like that whole stacking/less-cables/matching-cases aspect