Lenovo Thinks Different With New ThinkPads

Lenovo at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is introducing a new line of ThinkPads. The ThinkPad Edge effort includes a hardware redesign that leaves boxy appearances behind. In some ways, Lenovo might be channeling their inner Apple a little bit with a few of the design efforts. Here are the details.

No doubt, the ThinkPad team has a long history of design innovations. (Skeptical? Check out Steve Hamm’s The Race for Perfect: Inside the quest to design the ultimate portable computer.) The latest ThinkPads appear to continue that tradition — but also appear to offer a tip of the hat to Apple.

The ThinkPad Edge has 13 inch (pictured), 14 inch and 15 inch versions (coming Q2 2010) and is packing  a new “industrial design.” The ThinkPads, and all of Lenovo’s new introductions, feature a new keyboard layout that’s suspiciously similar to the MacBook design (along with softer rounder chassis edges). Also, the 14 inch and 15 inch models will feature backlit keyboards, another potential nod to Apple’s MacBook line.

The ThinkPad Edge is aimed at the SMB market or  home users and now comes in colors. You can get the classic matte black, but there’s a glossy black and a glossy red now available too. Lenovo is pretty proud of the fact that this is the first the ThinkPad comes with the ability to pick a color. Lenovo’s new line is sporting AMD’s Turion and Athlon processors along with the full suite of Lenovo’s ThinkVantage Technologies.

Thinking Different — Again

Ah, and therein is a big differentiator. Lenovo’s ThinkVantage strategy allows solutions providers and their end-customers to more easily deploy, connect, protect, support and dispose (yes, dispose) of systems, according to Lenovo.

Also on tap from the company:

As CES 2010 kicks into high gear, we’ll be sure to keep tabs on additional system announcements from a range of vendors.