ThinkPad Anniversary Edition 25: Limited Edition ThinkPad Goes Retro
by Brett Howse on October 5, 2017 8:30 AM EST
As part of its celebration of the 25th anniversary of the ThinkPad lineup, Lenovo is launching a limited-edition ThinkPad Anniversary Edition 25. It feels like Lenovo might have an issue with this though, because ThinkPad loyalists are all going to want one of these exclusive devices. It features a retro look, along with some of the retro capabilities that ThinkPad has always been known for, but all built on a modern version of the device.
The original ThinkPad 700C was announced on October 5, 1992. It’s kind of hard to believe it’s already been that long. The ThinkPad name is still going strong, 25 years later, and it was only back at CES in 2015 that Lenovo had on display the 100 millionth ThinkPad ever produced.
The Retro ThinkPad offers a backlit 7-row ThinkPad classic keyboard, which the more traditional blue enter key, and of course a TrackPoint. There are dedicated volume keys, and status LEDs that tend to be missing on newer devices. The Thinkpad logo is also the more traditional multicolored version.
Under the covers, the Anniversary Edition 25 is based on the T470 laptop, and features a Core i7-7500U, paired with a GeForce 940MX GPU, in this 14-inch laptop. It features all of the modern IO and capabilities you’d expect in a laptop in 2017, despite the retro styling, and I would guess Lenovo isn’t going to have any issues selling the entire allotment.
For anyone wanting to purchase the device, they’ll have to act quickly. The ThinkPad Anniversary Edition will be available in limited quantities in select countries, starting at $1899 USD.
Source: Lenovo
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Spunjji - Thursday, October 5, 2017 - link
The specs really sink the whole premise. Quad-Core with decent graphics would have been perfect for me and many like me, even without 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. This... not so much.CedarWind - Thursday, October 5, 2017 - link
Not a retro ThinkPad with a 16:9 display!prime2515103 - Thursday, October 5, 2017 - link
No Think Light? While I prefer a back-lit keyboard, they're not very retro. My T520 seems more retro than this.lefenzy - Thursday, October 5, 2017 - link
Yes. Where is the CCFL-backlit TN panel display? Not retro enough for me.tipoo - Thursday, October 5, 2017 - link
GeForce 940MXHonestly, is there a warehouse full of these they're giving away for free? Why that when the MX150, its direct replacement, exists in the same power draw at twice the perf/watt?
If the 28nm fab still shaves off a few bucks, ok, but this is 1900 dollars. There are 800 dollar thin and lights (mi 13) that manage the MX150. They shouldn't have cheaped out on that.
peterfares - Friday, October 6, 2017 - link
This product must have been designed a while ago or missed some deadlines or something. Last gen everything.tipoo - Friday, October 6, 2017 - link
One could have assumed they would have had ample warning for the 25th anniversary product, lolkwand - Thursday, October 5, 2017 - link
Sweet keyboard. I think the T420/T520 was the last one without chiclets.I have a T440 and I appreciate the lighter weight, lower heat and greater battery life, but I miss my T420's keyboard.
microerdna - Thursday, October 5, 2017 - link
Love the keyboard on my t520, especially the dedicated and easy to reach pageup/down keys (no fn combo needed). One question is will this have a quick swap removable battery, like the 420s and 520s. For those you can easily find a replacement battery for under $40 that lasts for over 7 hours (with a Sandy Bridge i7). I'm guessing it won't be that "retro" but one can hope?microerdna - Thursday, October 5, 2017 - link
According to Lenovo's website, 3 cell Li-Ion (Fixed) + 3 cell Li-Ion (Removable). Not quite the same but something.https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thi...