Chinese computer maker, Lenovo, released the ThinkPad notebook computer on Monday, which is quicker and appeals to customers who accustomed used to tablets and smartphones.
IBM Corp.'s personal computer unit, ThinkPad brand was taken over by Lenovo Group Limited in 2005. Lenovo surpassed Dell Inc. to become the second largest PC manufacturer after Hewlett-Packard Co, last year.
This latest ThinkPad notebook is a third generation with wireless connectivity, and has many features that are inspired by tablets and smartphones, said Dilip Bhatia, vice president of the ThinkPad business unit. This notebook was designed in response to demands made by customers who wanted the convenience of tablet and the range of functions of notebooks.
"They want faster. They want thinner," Bhatia said.
Lenovo reduced the 14-inch laptop's weight from 3.7 pounds to 3 pounds. This notebook's battery life lasts up to eight hours. With the start up time reduces to half, with a start up time of less than 20 seconds. Last year that the company (ThinkPad unit) launched its first tablet version of its computer. Lenovo said, ThinkPad X1 Carbon will hit markets later this month.
Though the popularity of tablets is growing, Bhatia believes that the demand for notebooks to perform stronger and having more complex features that will aid education, government, and business environments. There are forecasts that the notebook sales may reach 230 million this year compared to the 110 million of sales for tablets.
"The clamshell format is going to be around for a long time. We see a multi-device environment," he said.
It was an unusual step taken by Lenovo to launch the new ThinkPad in China. Bhatia said the reason for this was the fast growth of Chinese market and popularity of ThinkPads in China.
According to Arimasa Naitoh, ThinkPad's chief developer and vice president of ThinkPad research and development, he met a Chinese ThinkPad collector who owned 100 devices.
