A list of laptops in the W series is given below. The list is arranged in chronological order.
W500
Released in 2008, W500 laptop was similar in design to the T61p it replaced. The all-black appearance was retained, as well as the TrackPoint in the middle of the keyboard.[1] The W500 was appreciated for being equivalent in craftsmanship and stability to previous ThinkPads.[1] Large metal hinges were used to hold the display in place, preventing a worn out or unsteady display.[1] Other features on the laptop were a DisplayPort video output, three USB ports, a docking station connector, a maximum display resolution of, Intel Core 2 Duo processors and an ATI Mobility FireGL V5700 GPU.[1]
W700
Released in October 2008, the W700 laptop was lauded for its performance and for a host of features that were industry-first at the time.[3] It was the first laptop with an integrated color calibrator. In addition, a biometric fingerprint scanner was available on the palmrest. With a quad-core Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 processor and Nvidia Quadro FX 3700M workstation GPU available, the laptop was among the most powerful at the time. One point not in the laptop's favor was the low battery life—approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes.
The laptop featured up to a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 CPU, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM (two slots), either an (MXM-mounted) Nvidia Quadro FX 2700M or FX 3700M with up to 1GB video RAM, and a 17 in 16:10 TN LCD with a resolution of or.
W700ds
The ThinkPad W700ds was nearly identical to the W700, with the addition of a 10.6 in secondary sliding screen with a resolution of .[4] The W700ds laptop also offered additional storage space, with up to two 260GB hard disk drives.
Reception
LaptopMag gave it 4/5 stars and noted its good 3D performance, built-in Wacom digitizer and good display with color calibration.[5] Christopher Null from Wired magazine gave it a 7/10.[6][7][8]
W700ds
The ThinkPad W700ds was nearly identical to the W700, with the addition of a 10.6 in secondary sliding screen with a resolution of .[4] The W700ds laptop also offered additional storage space, with up to two 260GB hard disk drives.
Reception
LaptopMag gave it 4/5 stars and noted its good 3D performance, built-in Wacom digitizer and good display with color calibration.[5] Christopher Null from Wired magazine gave it a 7/10.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
W510
The W510, the logical successor of the ThinkPad W500 in a nearly identical 15" laptop frame, was released in January 2010.
The laptop's specifications are as follows:[15]
The W510 laptop was summed up by Laptop Review as, "The W510 provides performance, reliability and mobility. It is Ultra responsive for graphics-intensive tasks so you can accomplish more on the go."[16]
- Processor: up to 2.0GHz Intel Core i7-920XM Extreme
- Memory: up to 32GB @ 1,333MT/s DDR3 (4 DIMM sockets)
- Graphics:
- Intel 5 series integrated graphics
- Nvidia Quadro
W701
The W701ds was released in February 2010, after specifications were leaked earlier that month.[18][19] The W701ds had an introduction price of 3799 USD.[20] At the time of the release, Lenovo stated that according to their market research, customers did not want devices with a slate form factor.[21] It was received positive reviews. Techradar.com has this to say about the W701: "the ThinkPad W700 – [the W701’s] predecessor – was once the most powerful laptop we had seen, but the W701 has successfully stolen that crown."[22]
Released in April 2010, the W701 and W701ds, offered the following specifications:[23]
W701ds
The Lenovo ThinkPad W701ds is the logical successor to the W700ds, and shares the same exterior physical design.
Gizmodo said, about the W701ds laptop, "Lenovo ThinkPad W701ds pairs beastly specs with an integrated secondary screen."[24] The laptop also received favorable reviews from PCWorld, which called the laptop a "portable goliath that could replace desktop workstations, letting pros stay productive from anywhere".[25] Gadgets Fan said about the W701ds, "Despite its massive size, Lenovo ThinkPad W701ds laptop is worth the purchase" and suggested that it was "almost comparable to a desktop workstation".[26]
W520
The W520, the logical successor to the W510, was released in March 2011[27] and offered the following specifications in the best configuration:[28]
According to LAPTOP Magazine, "the ThinkPad W520 offers blistering performance that should satisfy the most demanding users and businesses."[29] On PCMark Vantage, the ThinkPad W520 scored 9909 points, 30% higher than the average score of desktop replacements. It also scored higher than the Dell Latitude E6420, which received a score of 7796.[29]
- Processor: up to 2.7GHz Intel
W530
Released in June, 2012, the W530 has a very similar exterior appearance to the prior W models. Being the last W model prior to the W540 redesign, it is the last W to feature the lid lock, keyboard light and wireless and HDD LED indicators, and the first W model to feature the controversial chiclet keyboard,[33] which features 6 rows rather than 7 rows of keys and a more modern key shape. The W530 comes equipped with Ivy Bridge processors.
Notable changes/new features:
- 3rd generation Intel Core (Ivy Bridge) processors
- Intel HD 4000 (16 EUs) and Nvidia Kepler-based Quadro graphics
- K1000M (2 GB DDR3, 192 CUDA cores)
- K2000M (2 GB DDR3, 384 CUDA cores)
- Mini DisplayPort v1.2
- New-style 6-row keyboard with optional backlight
W540
Announced in 2013 and released in the US and Europe early 2014, the W540 featured a brand-new, slimmer design based on the new generations T540p. Slimmer than the prior W530, the new design received mixed reactions from traditional ThinkPad users. Critique was mainly aimed towards lower build quality and missing user interface indicators, together with a new style of touchpad where the traditional ThinkPad trackpoint functionality had been radically changed, and the controversial island style keyboard introduced in 2012 on other products, which many enthusiasts claimed abandoned the core tactile principles established by IBM over previous decades.
The new W series however featured newer hardware such as the option for a 3K 2880 x 1620 IPS display. Other new features included:
- 4th generation Core i7 processors
- Upgraded Quadro GPUs to K1100M and K2100M
- Full size keyboard with numeric keypad (though offset from center of screen, causing criticism from those who rarely use the keypad)
- New touchpad/trackpoint integration (though TrackPoint "thumb" buttons were removed causing criticism due to lost tactile feedback)
- Changed UltraBay design (the easy eject locking buttons were replaced by a hidden locking screw rendering "hot swap" functionality moot and earlier UltraBay modules incompatible)
- New rectangular connector for charger (rendering earlier accessories and docking stations obsolete)
- Thinner profile
W541
The W541 is a ThinkPad W540 featuring the new-style keyboard but with a re-introduction of the classic ThinkPad touchpad design. The prior ThinkPad touchpad design featured in the W540 and other 4th-gen ThinkPads was abandoned.
W550s
Rather than being a successor of any previous W-series model, the W550s is a thinner Ultrabook variant of the W series; Likewise a latest P5xs series ThinkPad, the W550s was based in a T-series chassis.[35] While a capable Ultrabook, when compared to the W541 and its predecessors, it offers less capability with only dual-core hyper-threaded Intel Broadwell processors vs. the true quad-core processors of other models and has only two RAM slots.
