Lenovo unveils the retro-inspired 25th Anniversary Edition ThinkPad

[midian182]

We saw the first leaked images of Lenovo’s 25^th Anniversary ThinkPad a couple of weeks ago, thanks to German blog WinFuture.de. Now, during an event at the Yamato Labs in Yokohama, Japan, the company officially unveiled the ThinkPad 25.

The limited edition retro laptop is based on the current T470 model, but its design is inspired by the ThinkPad 700C, which was released on October 5, 1992. The hardware is the same as the current ThinkPad, thankfully, while nostalgia fans will no doubt appreciate its rubberized coating, red TrackPoint, classic seven-row ThinkPad keyboard with ThinkVantage blue enter button, dedicated volume button, colorful logo, and numerous status LEDs.

That’s where the retro elements end. The laptop features a 14-inch Full HD touchscreen, an Intel Core i7-7500U, GeForce 940MX GPU, 16GB of DDR4, a 512GB NVMe SSD, multiple ports (including Thunderbolt 3 Type-C), a 720p webcam, a fingerprint scanner for Windows Hello, and a claimed 18-hour battery life.

The machine’s internals are a long way from the old 700C, which featured an Intel 486 CPU running at 25MHz, 4MB to 8MB of RAM, around 120MB of HDD space, and a 640 x 480 10.4-inch LCD screen. It also came with a 3.5-inch disk drive.

Long-time ThinkPad fans will have to dig deep and move fast if they want one of these Anniversary machines. They’re only available in limited quantities in select countries, and prices start at $1,899. That may be expensive, but it's still better than the $2,375 it cost to buy a 700C in 1992.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/71291-lenovo-unveils-retro-inspired-25th-anniversary-edition-thinkpad.html

 

[MoeJoe]

Don't need nor do I want a trophy or collector item puter.

And that's what you get ? ... for that price ?

 

[Kenrick]

That geforce 940mx looks retro to me. Thats a real shame.

 

[oldikes]

The general consensus amongst thinkpad fanboys is that a t470 with a "retro" keyboard for $2000 is laughable and not at all what they asked for. The 940mx makes it even worse because of nvidia driver issues with linux, and thats completely ignoring the fact that the 940mx is old as hell and crappy.

 

[Uncle Al]

Oh I don't know; my old Thinkpad does a great job holding the bedroom door open and the cat doesn't even bother trying to mess with it ......

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Nah, it looks horrible. I used a ThinkPad laptop that resembled something like but mine was even older, about an '88 model, and made by IBM themselves. Although at the time it was state of the art and had cutting edge tech, these days it just looks... old. Retro simply tech leaves me cold. I see absolutely nothing in it. If you're still a kid and have never seen this old tech before then I guess there might be some fascination with it.

 

[MoeJoe]

Nah, it looks horrible. I used a ThinkPad laptop that resembled something like but mine was even older, about an '88 model, and made by IBM themselves. Although at the time it was state of the art and had cutting edge tech, these days it just looks... old. Retro simply tech leaves me cold. I see absolutely nothing in it. If you're still a kid and have never seen this old tech before then I guess there might be some fascination with it.

Millennial types couldn't give a crap about this 'throwback' offering.

No, Lenovo is going after the aged - sentimental - crowd.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Millennial types couldn't give a crap about this 'throwback' offering.

No, Lenovo is going after the aged - sentimental - crowd.

You flatter me. Although I'm retired now and a lot of people have told me that I don't look my age despite my white hair, I've never, ever been mistaken for a millennial. I guess there's a first time for everything. Thanks man.

 

[MoeJoe]

Millennial types couldn't give a crap about this 'throwback' offering.

No, Lenovo is going after the aged - sentimental - crowd.

You flatter me. Although I'm retired now and a lot of people have told me that I don't look my age despite my white hair, I've never, ever been mistaken for a millennial. I guess there's a first time for everything. Thanks man.

I was referring to your ... "if you're still a kid ...".

But yeah, you're old too. No hiding that fact.
How you deduced that I was mistaking you for a Millennial is LOL.

 

[madboyv1]

Am I the only one here that likes the throwback look and honestly like that style of keyboard more?.

That price though? Not "no thanks" but "oh hell no".

 

[mizkitty]

The ThinkVantage button and the "Enter" key are two separate keys.
Are you sure you've actually seen an older ThinkPad?

And No...there is apparently no ThinkVantage key on this one...

 

[Deevo324]

One thing I really do like about this design is having the trackpad buttons at the top. I admit I may be peculiar but I find that much more ergonomic.

 

[psycros]

LOL, so this is a "retro" Thinkpad...with an astronomical price and no numpad? Hell, its not even a full traditional keyboard layout..what do they expect power users to do with those keys stuck in the upper right corner?

 

[oldikes]

LOL, so this is a "retro" Thinkpad...with an astronomical price and no numpad? Hell, its not even a full traditional keyboard layout..what do they expect power users to do with those keys stuck in the upper right corner?

The keyboard layout is the #1 thing thinkpad fans asked for from this. its exactly what they wanted.

 

[Nero7]

Gotta love the trackpoint and having actual mouse keys for left and right click.

 

[Nero7]

That geforce 940mx looks retro to me. Thats a real shame.

Could be worse as in being stuck with a HD 620. Srsly why people buy a laptop for far over 1000$ and then not have a GTX or Radeon of any kind in there is beyond me.

 

[petert]

Not a fan of the thinkpad design in general, but I like the (claimed) 18 hours battery life, presumably they crammed a large battery in there due to bulkier design.