Unveiled: The latest kit
A first look at this month’s hottest hardware releases, including translation earbuds.
The ThinkPad has come a long way since its introduction in 1992, with more than 100 million laptops sold. Those nostalgic for the early days of IBM design might appreciate this retrospective tribute.
Although the internals of the 25th anniversary special edition bear little similarity to early machines, the ThinkPad 25 has several throwback elements of the black corporate classic, including the seven-row keyboard that some believe makes typing and input more efficient.
The keyboard also features older style mechanical keys as opposed to the chiclet, isolated keys more common in current ThinkPads. The keys are backlit, which may disappoint those hoping for a flashback to the ThinkLight, which illuminated old ThinkPads from an LED in the top of the screen.
The screen, too, may disappoint aficionados. Rather than a classic 4:3 format, this machine clearly makes use of existing fabrication facilities, with a modern 16:9 aspect ratio and 1,920 × 1,080 resolution.
Whether the hardware justifies the $1,899 price is debatable, but it’s a telling reflection of the way PCs have dropped in price that the original ThinkPad sold for $4,350, around $7,500 with inflation.
KEY DIGITS AND DETAILS Availability Now (in US) Price $1,899 Processor Intel Core i7-7500U Graphics 2GB Nvidia GeForce 940MX Memory 16GB DDR4 Storage 512GB PCIe SSD Weight 1.6kg