Lenovo ThinkPad W700: Intel Quad Extreme & Integrated Digitizer

Lenovo have unveiled their answer to HP's 8730w mobile workstation, the ThinkPad W700, and while the 17-inch monster may not have DreamColor what it does have is a built-in Wacom digitizer in the palm rest.  It's also the first mobile workstation to incorporate Intel's Quad Core Extreme Processor, the first to use NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M 1GB graphics and the first to have a built-in, automatic color calibrator.

On initial inspection, the W700 looks to have two trackpads; however on the left is the traditional trackpad and on the right is a 120 x 80cm Wacom digitizer that works with a special pen stored in a size-mounted silo. Intended for graphic artists, CAD/CAM workers and other people involved in digital content creation, it allows for image editing without having to plug in an external tablet.

Color calibration normally requires an external 'puck' that the user presses to the screen; it then adjusts the settings to a standardized level, meaning that everyone looking at the same image sees the same colors. On the W700, a calibration sensor has been added just above the digitizer: you run the included software, close the lid and in about a minute the screen has automatically been adjusted.  Resolution goes as high as UWUXGA with an optional 400-nit display that has a 72-percent color gamut.

The W700 has dual hard-drives that can be set in RAID 0 or 1 configuration, together with an optional Blu-ray drive. Alternatively, that can be replaced with a third HDD, giving almost 1TB of storage. System RAM can be configured with up to 8GB, 2GB of that supporting Intel Turbo Memory. Ports include DVI, Display Port and VGA, and there's a 7-in-1 multicard reader and five USB ports. Wireless connectivity includes WiFi, Bluetooth and UWB, with optional WWAN and WiMAX. There's also a full-sized keyboard with separate numeric pad.

We're expecting the ThinkPad W700 Mobile Workstation to land beginning in September, priced from $2,978. 

Xavier from Notebooks.com sent over the following demo videos of the W700 in action:W700 overview:W700 digitizer:W700 color calibration: Press Release:

Lenovo Unleashes Highest Performance Mobile Workstation with ThinkPad W700

Delivers Industry's First Built-in Digitizer and Color Calibration Along with Ultimate Power, Multimedia and Display Technologies

 

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – August 12, 2008: Lenovo today unleashed the ThinkPad W700, the PC industry's highest performance mobile workstation. Lenovo brings the first built-in digitizer and color calibrator to a mobile workstation and combines these innovations with technologies such as the latest NVIDIA Quadro graphics, Intel processor technology, dual hard drives with RAID configuration, up to 8 GB of memory, a range of wireless connectivity options including WiMax and excellent multimedia capabilities including an optional Blu-Ray DVD player for the ultimate power and performance PC tool. Lenovo designed the ThinkPad W700 mobile workstation to exceed the demands of the most data and graphics-intensive users, in fields such as digital content creation, computer-assisted design and manufacturing, photography and science fields like oil and gas.

 

"Lenovo has engineered a new breed of mobile workstations with the ThinkPad W700," said Peter Hortensius, senior vice president, Notebook Business Unit, Lenovo. "No other PC manufacturer delivers the sheer quality, power and performance and cutting-edge innovation packed into this mobile workstation. It will truly change the way digital content and other application-heavy users work by simplifying and streamlining tasks to make them even more productive."

 

As workers become increasingly mobile and demand desktop workstation performance in a notebook PC, the market for mobile workstations is growing. IDC reports that in the past five years, mobile workstations have grown to comprise almost 25 percent of the worldwide workstation market. By 2009, IDC forecasts mobile workstations to comprise 30 percent of the workstation market.

 

First-in-Industry Engineered Innovation

The ThinkPad W700 mobile workstation takes innovation to a new level with a built-in palm rest digitizer and color calibrator. Designed for digital content creators and users, the mobile workstation's digitizer helps them easily configure an image, either mapping it to the entire screen or to an area defined by the user. Workstation users, especially photographers will benefit from the built-in color calibrator as color continues to play an important role in their work. The calibrator automatically adjusts the display's color up to four times a month to help provide the most accurate, true-to-life images.

 

Super-Charged Performance Unleashed

Equipped with the latest Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology, the mobile workstation can be configured with up to 8 GB of memory with 2 GB of that supporting Intel Turbo Memory. Lenovo also offers models with Intel vPro technology for complete manageability. The mobile workstation can be equipped with dual hard drives, with one of them being solid state drive storage. The mobile workstation also offers users wireless connectivity any way they choose to connect to the Internet, whether it's WLAN or WWAN² or WiMax. Additionally, they can connect wirelessly to other devices using the mobile workstation's Bluetooth and ultra wideband technology.

 

New Heights in Display Technology and Multimedia Excellence

The ThinkPad W700 mobile workstation delivers an unparalleled viewing experience with a 17-inch widescreen, optional 400-nit UWUXGA display. The display's resolution provides more than twice the brightness of typical displays, and its 72 percent color gamut provides more than 50 percent greater color intensity than a typical display. These capabilities make it the ideal tool for 2D and 3D work. The mobile workstation offers excellent graphics with choices of NVIDIA graphics including the new Quadro FX 3700M PCI Express Graphics Solution with 1 GB of dedicated video memory. Users can easily watch high-definition video with the mobile workstation's support for DVI, Display Port and VGA. A 7-in-1 multicard reader and five USB ports give users lots of flexibility in transferring content. Additionally, the workstation comes with an optional Blu-Ray DVD player.

Pricing and Availability

The ThinkPad W700 mobile workstation will be available beginning in September with models starting at $2,978. It is available through Lenovo Business Partners and www.lenovo.com.