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First image leaks of Retro ThinkPad show off its old-school style

Mark Coppock
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Retro ThinkPad
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Lenovo’s ThinkPad line has been a notebook icon for quite some time, going all the way back to the IBM days when the name represented one of the best and more recognizable lines of business notebooks around. The black chassis, trademark red TrackPoint, and superior keyboard will forever be associated with the ThinkPad no matter who manufacturers it. Lenovo is going back to the future with its upcoming Retro ThinkPad machine, and its first image has apparently been leaked.

The photo made its appearance on Reddit, posted by a user who found it somewhere on the Lenovo website. There’s no proof that the image indeed depicts the upcoming machine, but according to the source Lenovo quickly pulled the image suggesting that it’s not something the company was quite yet ready to make public.

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If valid, then the image confirms some of what’s already suspected about the Retro ThinkPad. First, it will definitely sport some old-school elements, such as:

  • 7-row keyboard.
  • Anachronistic blue Enter key.
  • 16:10 display aspect ratio.
  • Traditional ThinkPad key design.
  • Display latch.
  • ThinkLights to illuminate the keyboard.

At the same time, the machine will incorporate some newer elements. The display bezels will be thinner as is the tendency with today’s premium notebooks, and the machine will apparently be only 15mm thick. And of course, it will enjoy today’s much faster processors, RAM, and solid-state drives that will make it perform in ways that ThinkPad users of yesteryear could hardly have imagined.

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Lenovo is releasing the Retro ThinkPad in a nod to enthusiasts and “superfans” of the brand, and it has been developed with their input. Lenovo’s David Hill spoke in excited terms about the new machine, saying, “I’ve held early development hardware in my hand, powered it on, looked at the screen and even typed on it. Those who have seen it can’t help but smile. Please be patient, there’s more to come. It’s alive.”

There’s still no word on when the machine will be released, but it’s intended to correspond with the brand’s 25th anniversary which occurs later this year. One rumor has definitely been squashed, however — the Retro ThinkPad will not cost $5,000 as initial reports indicated.

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Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock
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