On sale from Lenovo, the ThinkPad W700ds rich featured laptop computer

I covered scarcely only niche laptop computers. Now the Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds caugh my eye with it's feature and the price cut. On Lenovo shop website we can find the above mentioned Thinklad Lenovo laptop computer on sale with a $2,869 price tag down from $3,583. This laptop comes with a 17-inch primary screen (1920-by-1200-pixel WUXGA 400NIT TFT) and a second 10.6-inch WXGA+ TFT retractable screen that can tilt up to 30 degrees. The primary screen features an optional 400-nit WUXGA display which provides up to twice the brightness of earlier ThinkPad mobile workstations. The primary screen’s 72 percent wide color gamut enables more than 50 percent greater color intensity for better color accuracy.
The laptop is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9400 (2.53GHz 1066MHz 6MBL2) with 2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM). Upgradable tu 8 GB.
System graphics is powered by a dedicated NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M 48-core CUDA parallel computing processor 512MB.
The laptop’s options include an integrated color calibrator that adjusts the screen’s color, a built-in Wacom digitizer tablet, dual integrated hard drives, up to 960 gigabytes of total storage, a Blu-ray player, a seven-in-one multimedia reader and five U.S.B. ports. The 700ds also features Wi-Fi as well as optional WiMax, dual fans for the central processing unit and the graphics processor, and an optional fingerprint reader.The ThinkPad W700DS laptop computer / mobile workstation also comes with an optional DVD burner/player. The batery is 9 cell Li-Ion type.
Security features include an optional fingerprint reader, a smartcard reader and hard drives with full-disk encryption.
The company says it is aimed at oil and gas explorers, photographers, designers and other laptop computer users who require high performance.
"In a landscape where thin, light, and compact notebooks are becoming the norm, Lenovo's ThinkPad w700ds is a behemoth --but with good reason. This is quite possibly the ultimate notebook for graphics professionals and photographers." - PC World, January 2009 at CES show in Vegas.
"Unfortunately, the W700ds also dwarfs the competition in size, measuring a beefy 2.2 inches thick and weighing 11.1 pounds. But performance follows suit, with a choice of Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core processors, up to 8GB of RAM, and even the option for dual hard drives in a RAID array, providing up to 960GB of total storage." - Digital Trends, January 2009


'For a laptop this big, the touchpad area is a bit small. Dedicated left/scroll/right buttons flank the top of the touchpad area, with the standard left and right click only residing beneath. Both button arrays have a soft click feel that's ideal for all-day use (try using a computer with hard, clicky buttons for more than ten minutes and you'll understand what we're talking about). With lots space south of the keyboard that typically goes unused on larger notebooks to work with, Lenovo's designers opted to integrate a small digitizer into the W700 as well. The 3x5 inch tablet area provides a nicely sized work area: users coming from larger tablet spaces will find it cramped, but resolution is decent and moreover, having a digitizer that you don't have to pack along separate from your workstation will be a welcomed addition for many users. After a little more time with the tablet, I've adapted to its size quite well. The idea of integrating a digitizer into a graphics-focused machine is an excellent one that I'm betting will find acceptance among photographers, graphic designers, CAD techs, and architects – all key markets for this niche focused machine. With a screen this size, we weren't expecting much in terms of battery longevity – though the question of how often you'll be taking this notebook away from a desk, and thus away from a power outlet, is a fair one. Some light web browsing, word processing, and photo editing with the screen at a still relatively bright half power yielded 2 hours, 23 minutes of use time before the first battery warning advised that it was time to reconnect to the grid. For a business notebook, we'd admittedly be disappointed by this performance, but for a behemoth like the W700, two-plus hours of unconnected computing isn't bad at all. For a machine with this much power, getting hot is almost a given. And that's where the W700 surprises: even under the heaviest graphics loads we could throw at it, chances are you'll find the weight of the Lenovo on your lap unbearable long before you'll be offended by how much heat it's giving off." - Excerpts from a thorough and very useful review from notebookreview dot com

Today's niche laptop computer: Panasonic Toughbook 30

From time to time I bring to your attention some niche laptop computers that I believe it might be interesting for some of you to read about. Today's flavor is ruggedness. Panasonic is the main manufacturer that covered successfully this niche market section with it's ToughBook laptop series. We will take a short look at Toughbook 30. This laptop computer is MIL-STD-810F tested for ruggedness.(A series of testing procedures created by the U.S. government, that cover a variety of extreme conditions, including drop shock, vibration, dust and water resistant.). It is encased in a magnesium alloy with durability all weather design into every seal, hinge and connector and 3-foot drop approved. Plus, as the industry's fastest fully-rugged mobile PC, it's built for lightening-quick processing and wireless connectivity. Laptops specifications:

•		Genuine Windows Vista® Business (with XP downgrade option)
•		Intel® Centrino® 2 with vPro™ Technology with Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor
•		13.3" 1,000 nit sunlight-viewable LCD with optional touchscreen
•		8.4 lbs., including battery and handle
•		Full magnesium alloy case with handle
•		MIL-STD-810F- and IP54-compliant
•		3-foot drop approved
•		Sealed all-weather design
•		Shock-mounted, quick-release hard drive
•		Mobile broadband ready for Alltel, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless networks
•		Optional integrated Gobi™ 3G global mobile internet

Lithium Ion battery pack (10.65V, 8550mAh)

Battery operation: 9 hours (Vista), 10 hours (XP) -- 12.5 hours (Vista), 14 hours (XP) including optional 2nd battery

Battery charging time: 5hrs. off/ 8.5hrs. on

Security features:

Password Security: Supervisor, User, Hard-Disk Lock Cable Lock Slot Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security chip V.1.2 Computrace® theft protection agent in BIOS Fingerprint reader (optional) SmartCard reader (optional)

Other integrated options:

32GB SSD GPS Backlit keyboard SmartCard reader Fingerprint reader HDD and battery lock UL1604 certified model

This laptop computer model was launched few years back and in January 2009 enjoyed a new set of upgrades fron the manufacturer. Notebook incorporate 1,000 nit LCD, circular polarization technology and anti-glare (AG) plus anti-reflective (AR) screen treatments to enhance screen viewability, further improving in-field usability for mobile workers. Additional upgrades to the Toughbook 30 include improved security and remote management thanks to Intel® Centrino® 2 with vPro™ technology, expanded memory capabilities, 40% longer battery lives, larger capacity hard drives, and optional SSDs.

Not a best selling laptop, but a powerful niche laptop for gamers or professionals, the Alienware Area-51 m9750

Today I will not write about any best selling laptop on Amazon or another online store. Instead I will say something about a niche laptop, about Alienware Area-51 m9750. When you first lay your eyes over its technical specifications you will be impressed by its capabilities and promises for future performance. When ordering customers will enjoy a large array of options to customize this portable machine. You can make a powerful gamming rig or a reliable professional editing tool out of it. You can even opt for a SLI dual graphics cards solution for better performance in games, or for the NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M GDDR3 graphic card for advanced 3D creative professionals. Other interesting option is the 7200 rpm hard drive or the solid state drive. Below I will present you the entire array of options for this powerful laptop. In a latter post I will be back with conclusions from user comments and reviews screening.
Operating Systems
Windows® XP Media Center
Windows® XP Professional
Windows Vista® Home Premium
Windows Vista® Ultimate
Processors, Chipset & Memory
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processors (4MB Cache, 667MHz FSB)
Intel 945PM + ICH7M-DH Chipset
Up to 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
2 dedicated SO-DIMM slots for Dual Channel DDR2 Memory
Graphics & Video
NVIDIA GeForce SeriesHigh performance for the game and entertainment enthusiast
Single Graphics Cards
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT GDDR3 – DirectX 10 Enabled
Dual Graphics Cards
Dual 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT GDDR3 - DirectX 10 enabled with NVIDIA® SLI™ technology
NVIDIA Quadro FX SeriesPowerful mobile solution for the advanced 3D creative professional
Single Graphics Card
512MB NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M GDDR3 – Higher level of performance and ultra-realistic effects for OpenGL
Storage
Easily-removable Slot Loading Hard Drives
Single Hard Drive
5400 RPM - Up to 320GB SATA with NCQ
7200 RPM - Up to 200GB SATA with NCQ
Solid State - Up to 64GB SATA
Dual Hard Drives in RAID 0
5400 RPM - Up to 640GB (2 x 320GB)
7200 RPM - Up to 400GB (2 x 200GB)
Solid State - Up to 128GB (2 x 64GB)
Optical Drives
8x Dual Layer CD-RW/DVD±RW
8x Dual Layer CD-RW/DVD±RW w/ LightScribe Technology
Dual Layer Blu-Ray/DVD±R/W/CD-RW Burner
Networking
Wireless Connectivity
Internal Intel PRO Wireless 3945 a/b/g Mini-Card
Internal Intel PRO Wireless 4965 b/g/n Mini-Card
Integrated Bluetooth 2.0
Wired Connectivity
Integrated Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45
Integrated 56K V.92 modem RJ-11
Audio
7.1 Digital High-Definition Audio
Two Speakers with SubWoofer
Connectivity
1 headphone jack
1 microphone jack
1 Front Speakers jack
1 Surround Speakers jack
1 Center Speaker jack
1 TOSlink Optical Audio
Peripheral Connections
4 Hi-speed USB 2.0 ports
Express Card Slot /54mm
IEEE 1394a (4-pin) port
4-in-1 Memory Card Reader (SD / MS / MSPRO / MMC)
LCD Panel
17” Wide Screen WUXGA 1920 x 1200 with Clearview
17” Wide Screen WXGA+ 1440 x 900
Keyboard & Touchpad
Full Size Keyboard with Separate Numeric Keypad
Full Size Touchpad with Scroll Functionality
Instant Access Buttons include:
Internet
E-mail
Windows Media Player
Power DVD 7
Windows Media Center*
Play/Pause
Skip Forward
Skip Backward

Considering the amount of performance the Area-51 m9750 pumps out, a light chassis that can manage thermals efficiently and has plenty of strength to protect everything inside is essential. Steel or plastic simply won’t cut it. That’s why the Area-51 m9750 features magnesium alloy, which is 75% lighter than steel and provides better rigidity than plastic to deliver the optimum solution. Alienware’s innovative material, Stealth Black, proves to be scratch and fingerprint resistant, scratches that occur from day to day use and, even though the style leaves quite an impression, your fingerprints never will. And if you do manage to get fingerprints on the material, they easily wipe off.