CES 2015: Lenovo unveils 8 ThinkPads and unique ThinkPad Stack system

PC maker Lenovo has shared its plans for the ThinkPad line at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The entire ThinkPad laptop line is getting refreshed, and a new accessory system, ThinkPad Stack, is aimed to let the enterprise mix and match units to augment the mobile solution.

ThinkPad laptops

The ThinkPad line has two flagship Ultrabooks in Lenovo's offerings, and both are getting updated for 2015. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is one of the most portable 14-inch laptops, and couples a high-resolution touch screen (optional) with a thin and light rugged case (0.73 inches, 2.9 pounds). The ThinkPad X1 Carbon starts at $1,249 and will be available in January 2015.

The ThinkPad X250 is Lenovo's 12.5-inch laptop that works with the company's Power Bridge technology for flexibility while traveling. The X250 is only 0.8 inches thick and 2.88 pounds. Power Bridge is a dual battery system that allows the user to configure it on the fly for maximum battery life or lowest weight. The ThinkPad X250 starts at $1,149 and will be available in February 2015.

There are four ThinkPads in the 450 series, the T450s, T450, E450, and the L450. The T450s is a 14-inch laptop that is larger than the two flagship models noted above (0.83 inches, 3.5 pounds). It is also a Power Bridge compatible notebook for extending the battery life when needed. The T450 is another 14-inch laptop that is larger than the T450s (0.88 inches, 4.0 pounds). The L450 is a 14-inch laptop that does not have a touch screen option (the others do have touch available). It is a thick notebook and heavier than the others (0.96 inches, 4.25 pounds). All of these ThinkPads will be available in February 2015. Pricing for the T450s and T450 starts at $1,099 and $849, respectively. The L450 pricing starts at $699.

Lenovo addresses those who prefer a large screen with the T550. This is configurable with either a 15.6-inch display or a 15.5-inch high-resolution display (2880 x 1620). It comes with up to 16GB of memory, up to a TB of HDD (or 512GB SSD). It has a lot of ports and jacks to turn it into a true desktop replacement. The powerful laptop takes a hit on mobility at 0.88 inches thick and around 5 pounds. Pricing for the T550 is $999, and it will be available in February 2015.

The E ThinkPad line has two laptops, the E550 and the E450. The E550 packs a 15.6-inch display while the E450 is another 14-inch model. Neither laptop is available with a touch screen but both are available with optional optical drives. Both models can be configured with up to 1 TB of HDD or 128GB of SSD. The E550 and E450 are 5.2 pounds and 4 pounds, and 0.94 inches and 0.87 inches thick respectively. Both of these laptops will be available in February 2015 and are priced starting at $599 for the E450 and $599 for the E450.

ThinkPad Stack

This modular system is designed to allow owners of mobile systems to augment them in a stackable format. The ThinkPad Stack has four modules, and they can be purchased and used interchangeably. The modules sit on top of each other and share power and data when stacked.

The four ThinkPad Stack modules that will be available in April 2015 are:

• Bluetooth speaker: for audio and conference call handling, 3.5 mm, microUSB ($89.99)
• Power Bank: 10,000 mAH, dual USB, microUSB ($49.99)
• Access Point: Shares 4G phone connection ($199.99 with the HDD below)
• HDD: 1 TB, USB 3.0, password security

Big lineup

The new ThinkPad line is designed to appeal to the enterprise, and is diverse enough to cover almost every situation. From highly mobile thin and light devices to large and powerful, the ThinkPad line looks able to handle the needs of most companies.

The unique ThinkPad Stack seems a good fit for those needing to set up a high-powered work environment anywhere. It can keep mobile devices charged, connected, and adds 1 TB of secure storage.