Lenovo has launched its thinnest ever T series notebook; the ThinkPad T431s. The new business Ultrabook is the fruit of an 18 month redesign and research project aiming to bring the best experience to ThinkPad buyers. Aspects of the computer’s exterior design including important human interface elements such as the keyboard and trackpad were carefully tweaked, according to Lenovo’s extensive research. In addition new technology was applied to bring the best balance of thinness, durability and reliability to the new ThinkPad T431s Ultrabook.
Perusing the Lenovo press release, describing the new T431s, it seems like the company is especially proud of its refinements to this latest in the ThinkPad T series. Those important notebook areas of keyboard, trackpad and physical aspects such as dimensions and weight are given special mention.
“We obsess over the pursuit of perfection – as evidenced by more than 20 years of Lenovo ThinkPad design and engineering accolades. However, perfection cannot be achieved without a key ingredient: customer insight,” said Dilip Bhatia, vice president and general manager, ThinkPad Business Unit. “The ThinkPad T431s is the first device featuring Lenovo’s new design, which represents a comprehensive examination of user experience and input.”
The research project consisted of both questions and observations. ThinkPad enthusiasts and non-ThinkPad users were all questioned and observed for six months in several countries around the world. Engadget has an interesting behind the scenes story about the research from Corinna Proctor, the senior research manager at Lenovo's User Research Centre.
Proctor said that there is sometimes a big difference about what users say they want/need and what they require/use. For instance users will talk about the huge number of USB devices they have and want lots of USB ports for and in practice they will never use the extra ports. From research to end product in this case has taken about 18 months of work. It’s been difficult work because the company wanted to make meaningful improvements based upon the research but at the same time not kill the ThinkPad cash cow by changing it beyond recognition.
That’s enough about the redesign, you can see a lot of it in the pictures within this article. What about the hardware spec? All ThinkPad T431s Ultrabooks will use third generation Intel Core processors with Turbo Boost. The laptops rely upon integrated Intel HD graphics, can have up to 12GB of RAM and have a choice of HDD and SSD storage options. The ThinkPad T431s has a 14-inch HD+ (1600 x 900) anti-glare display with a “super thin bezel”. Construction using a carbon fibre top and magnesium chassis make this ThinkPad rugged and durable yet it weighs only 1.63Kg and is 20.6mm thick. The T431s includes two USB 3.0 ports for fast data transfer.
Moving on to the much heralded keyboard and trackpad improvements, the “award-winning ThinkPad precision keyboard” has an improved key placement. The trackpad is larger than ever before and has a Windows 8 multi-touch and gestures compatible responsive, smooth glass surface. This large touchpad partly makes up for the fact that this ThinkPad hasn’t got a touchscreen option for taking full advantage of Windows 8’s Modern UI. The new ThinkPad retains a TrackPoint device.
Engadget has some more specs for the T431s listed including; a 720p front-facing webcam, 47WHr battery, Bluetooth 4, optional backlit keyboard, Ethernet port, VGA socket, 4-in-1 SD card reader. It also reports in terms of toughness the ThinkPad has earned certification to the Mil-SPEC 8 standard.
Lenovo’s UK press release informs us that pricing in the UK will start at £1119 ex VAT and the ThinkPad T431s will be available to buy in April. However the US version of the press release says “The ThinkPad T431s will be available in April starting at approximately $949.” I hope the UK version’s base spec is significantly better than the US one to justify this price difference, though the press release has no such details.
