Lenovo Santa Rosa

Lenovo this morning contributed its own share to the series of Santa Rosa-based notebooks unveiled today. Two 14-inch notebooks see the performance upgrade and also mark firsts for the company's ThinkPad line: the T61 is the first-ever widescreen T-series at the size, while the mid-range R61 is the first widescreen R-series of any kind. Either system also has a series of improvements to the battery and safety performance, Lenovo says. A new honeycombed shell, dubbed the Top Roll Cage, reduces impact stress by as much as 25 percent to prevent the LCD from shattering in a drop; owners can also count on a more efficient and quieter cooling system as well as Battery Stretch software that draws running time out by an extra 15 percent. Wireless reception has also seen a step upwards.

Performance is similar at the base level, according to the company. Both models start with a 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo, 1GB of RAM, Intel's X3100 video, a 60GB hard drive, and a read-only DVD. Upgrades exist to bring the PCs to the full 2.4GHz of Intel's latest CPUs or DVD rewriters, and a second model of each offers NVIDIA's Quadro NVS140M for workstation-level 3D. Pricing for the titanium-shelled T61 starts at $1,399 while the simpler R61 starts at $1,249. Both should ship within the next several days.

As a final offering tailored for budget users, Lenovo has also refreshed the 15.4-inch N200. Built more for the home, the system sheds the toughened body for added features: the base $1,099 system adds to the ThinkPads' details with a larger 160GB hard drive and a stock DVD burner. A boosted version with 256MB GeForce Go 7300 video and integrated Bluetooth is selling for $1,299 and will ship along with its entry model by the end of May.

By Electronista Staff