Lenovo on Sunday rolled out its latest ThinkPad, the T431s, billed as the thinnest ever in the T series family, which is an enterprise workhorse laptop.
The latest T series addition is sleeker than previous battle tanks I've lugged a few T-series ThinkPads around---and takes some visual cues from the Carbon X1. The most notable changes were:
The T431, available in April starting at $949, is the product of nine months of research from ThinkPad users as well as people who don't use Lenovo's laptops. Researchers shadowed users and observed their behavior.
Alysia Baker, product marketing manager for Lenovo's Thinkpad unit, said the goal of the research was to find better ways to accommodate business customers in a bring your own device world. Perhaps the biggest challenge for Lenovo would be creating a ThinkPad consumers would buy on their own and bring into the enterprise.
One catch with the T431 is that the screen isn't touch enabled. If using Windows 8, a touchscreen laptop has been a popular choice. Lenovo opted for an enhanced trackpad. It's also worth noting that the T431 also comes with Windows 7, which is an enterprise staple since Windows 8 is being evaluated at best.
In a blog post, Lenovo noted that "change in ThinkPad design typically evolves rather than making radical moves." The company isn't kidding because at a quick glance the T431 doesn't look that different from its predecessors.
Among the notable points from Lenovo's research: