Lenovo launches quad-core laptop

Lenovo has launched a new model in its ThinkPad laptop line with a quad-core processor.

The ThinkPad W700, designed as a workstation alternative, also offers close to 1TB of storage and could be Lenovo's highest-performing laptop to date.

Targeted at users such as digital content creators who need solid graphics and data crunching capabilities, the laptop was under development for 18 months, said Wes Williams, worldwide product marketing manager at Lenovo. It is an addition to the W-line of ThinkPad laptops that includes the ThinkPad W500, introduced earlier this year.

Three optional hard drives, boasting capacities of 320GB apiece, plug into different slots to bring the storage capacity close to 1TB. Also on offer is a 64GB solid-state drive, and though its current capacity dwarfs hard drive storage, it will increase over time, Williams said.

The W700 is powered by an Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core mobile processor that runs at a frequency of 2.53GHz and includes 12MB of L2 cache. It supports up to 8GB of RAM.

The laptop comes with a 17in screen that displays video at a 1920-by-1200 pixel resolution, a notch higher than a high-definition display of 1920 by 1080 pixels. It comes with an Nvidia Quadro FX graphics card, and a Blu-ray player and burner is available as an option.

Interesting multimedia features in the laptop include an optional digitiser and colour calibrator. The digitiser, which is next to the touchpad, allows the input of data using a stylus, and the colour calibrator adjusts the display's colour to accurately reflect image depth.

Priced starting at $2,980 (£1,500) in the US, the W700 will be available starting in September through the company's retail partners. The company didn't say if it would be available worldwide, and no details of the UK are available as yet.

Lenovo has been pushing itself into different market areas by expanding its laptop offerings. Last week the company announced its first subnotebooks, the IdeaPad S9 and S10.