Those who have heard of ThinkPad way before Lenovo acquired IBM back in 2005 are in for a treat. David Hill, the Vice President of Design at Lenovo, is teasing a “retro” ThinkPad laptop that will feature the “original design details” of early ThinkPad laptops without the added bulk. “Think of it like stepping into a time machine and landing in 1992 (when the ThinkPad line was first introduced), but armed with today’s technology,” Hill said.
In order to show just what he means, Hill has come up with a few renders of what a retro ThinkPad laptop will look like. The renders show that the laptop will feature a retro multi-coloured ThinkPad logo, a 16:10 aspect ratio display, a classic seven-row keyboard, a blue enter key, “lots of status LEDs”, and more. All of this in a chassis that is approximately 18mm thin.
Of course, this is merely a concept at this point, and Hill cannot promise if a retro ThinkPad will ever be launched. Hill said that in order to bring a retro-inspired ThinkPad to the market, significant sales volumes are needed to “justify the development effort and tooling expense.” Basically, if enough people are interested, it’s very possible that Lenovo will go through with this idea.
If you have something to say about a retro ThinkPad, you can let Lenovo know by posting a comment here. After all, that’s what Hill is encouraging ThinkPad fans to do. “Help me understand the retro ThinkPad opportunity, or help me shape the future of all our ThinkPads. If you think Lenovo should make the retro inspired ThinkPad, or have suggestions on how to make it better, please post your comments,” he said.
With more than 2,400 comments already posted on the blog post, a retro-styled ThinkPad laptop might just be rolling down the assembly line soon.
