Lenovo upgrades enterprise ThinkPad laptops

Lenovo will launch six new ThinkPad models in March, promising improvements in power and performance.

The ThinkPad T420s, T420, T520, L420, L520 and W520 laptops will include features such as video and voice calling, and what the company describes as all-day battery life.

Lenovo said that the updates are based on customer feedback, and should appeal to a wide range of business users with varying demands.

"Inspired by our customers, the 2011 ThinkPad laptops deliver the best technologies the industry has to offer, enabling users to do more with their computing experience," said Dilip Bhatia, vice president for ThinkPad marketing at Lenovo.

"We've even made the ThinkPad laptops smarter by engineering self-aware technologies for unprecedented performance and power management capabilities."

Bhatia added that Lenovo has made improvements in key areas such as battery life, video and conferencing communication, and performance.

The T420s, for example, has a faster boot-up time, while the T420 offers a claimed 30-hour battery life (with extended battery). The W520 mobile workstation includes several performance improvements, and the L series should appeal to customers on a budget, the firm said.

Lenovo has added a range of software to the laptops covering power management and processor speeds. Lenovo Turbo Boost+, for example, will keep a processor running at high speeds, but at low temperatures, by reducing power to non-essential hardware.

The T and W laptops feature the Nvidia Optimus automatic graphic switching technology, which Lenovo said offers a one-third improvement in battery performance compared to discrete graphics models.

Lenovo also touted new voice and video communications features, including Private Chat and Conference Call modes. The former focuses on a single voice and the latter on a room full of people.

Another feature is keyboard noise suppression tools that reduce the noise made by typing during a PC voice call.

The laptops share a common docking station, making them suitable for hot-deskers, and use the same batteries, which should simplify maintenance and management.

Lenovo said that the laptops have features including encrypted hard drives and fingerprint readers.