Lenovo announces ThinkPad S431; ThinkPad Edge E431 and E531 available in retail now
Thinkpad S431 is a midrange business class laptop from Lenovo that comes with a base price tag of $699. One look at S431 and you will not believe that it is a Thinkpad. Gone is that boxy and manly design and in comes a smoother design with beveled edges on the front and side, a completely new design for the base that gives an illusion that the front half of the laptop base is floating without any support, power button is moved further right. The legendary keyboard is the same as what we saw on T430. In short, S431 is a Thinkpad at heart but with curvy and new age design. Another notable design change is the touchpad. Gone are those five buttons (3 above touch pad and two below), replaced by a single bigger touchpad with glass surface allowing multitouch gestures and input.
The 14” display has multitouch panel, providing maximum support for Windows 8 and thanks to the tiny bezel, the display takes up almost all the space giving the laptop a clean look and this minimal bezel meant that this 14” Thinkpad is actually the same size as that of a 13” Thinkpad. Under the hood, S431 offers 15% faster processor speed (Intel Core processors) than predecessor and is the first ThinkPad to feature Lenovo’s innovative OneLink technology (connect to OneLink Dock with a single cable for dedicated video, extra USB 3.0 ports and Ethernet connection). Other specs include 8GB of memory, 500GB hard drive, 2x USB 3.0 ports, aluminum LCD cover, up to 9 hours of battery life. Thinkpad S431 will be available in June 2013 while OneLink Dock will start selling from 21st of May.
“The progressive design of our ThinkPad S431 will help small businesses impress their customers. We pack a punch behind that style, however, as we are committed to delivering genuine substance,” said Jerry Paradise, executive director, Think Business Group. “The ThinkPad S431 offers an intuitive Windows 8 experience with the power needed to accelerate productivity.”
Lenovo has also made available, two previously announced models ThinkPad Edge E431 and E531. Both the models are available at a base price of $599 from end of April.
