17" Lenovo Thinkpad W Series

Does anyone have any information/rumors/theories on a 17" Thinkpad W?
Am I the only one that misses it? Why were the W700 and 701 discontinued?

I asked on the lenovo website's live chat around 6-8 weeks ago and was told that there would likely be one by the end of summer. I've asked again in the live chat and been told that they 700 and 701 are discontinued and there is no information regarding any future refresh.

Is anyone else holding off on purchasing a new laptop from a competitor to see if something comes out? Or have those who prefer a 17" notebook gone to Dell and HP?

 

No word yet on a new 17" series Thinkpad.

I don't think there will be another 17" Thinkpad, since they have discontinued the W701, there would have been another 17" to replace it by now

 

As it's been stated, the W7xx series has completely disappeared from the road map indicating Lenovo has left the market for 17" mobile workstations. You'll pretty much have to go to the Precision M6600 or the Elitebook 8760W..

 

Yep, like the song, it's dead and gone...

 

With the powerful options of cpu and (especially) gpu available, the top-end W520 configurations have pretty much taken the role of the 17" W. On the other hand, top-end T520's configurations are more like the W500's of two generations ago.

The equivalent Dell line, the Precision, has kept the 17 as well as the 15 - but reserve the amazing IPS screen for the 15 - the 17 is perhaps there too becoming not so central in their plans...?

 

That's an interesting point. So you're basically saying that since most of the same hardware can fit into a 15" model, other manufacturers may follow suit and discontinue 17" their notebooks as well. I suppose the larger screen and chassis make the 17" notebooks more expensive while adding little value in the minds of most consumers. It does seem to be true that many people prefer portability over screen real estate and compromise only for more power. Maybe lenovo went so crazy with that 701ds to try to develop a new niche for a 17" notebook with features that couldn't fit into a 15" notebook. I think features like a second screen and digitizer are too specific though and probably didn't appeal to a lot of potential buyers.

Maybe there are not enough people who would buy a 17" notebook that is configured exactly the same as the w520. The only 2 features I'd expect that are not in the W520 are quadro 3000, 4000, and maybe 5010 options and a numerical keypad.

Either way, I'm starting to accept that my hopes for a 17" thinkpad are likely to remain unfulfilled.

 

Any reason why you prefer Lenovo over Dell or HP? IMO in the past few generations, the latter two are at least equal to Lenovo in pretty much all ways (though looks are purely subjective).

 

It is probably based pure lenovo fanboyism. I like the way they look. I think they're more durable, but I really don't know anything about the durability of the HP and Dell notebooks.

I'm looking at the Dell and HP as well though. I'm also starting to consider a 15" notebook as well.

 

All things considered, the business lines from all three are roughly equivalent. The tie-break for me is the keyboard and trackpoint. Otherwise pretty much everything else is a wash.

 

the HP and Dell 17 inch workstation machines are all pretty amazing, especially with the Dell M6600 which supports 5 monitors when docked. Dell would continue to support large screen Workstation, as they have Alienware machines which gives them more standing in the large screen market.

Lenovo is all about 'lean' (that is my opinion) now, since they have become quite ruthless in cutting down any non profiting model lines or series, and only market those that can rake in profits on themselves.

I guess the 17 inch thinkpad was never a Thinkpad that sold well even though it had some amazing features that other competitors didn't have.

But having the nvidia 2000m gpu version of W520 laptop trying to fill the shoe of the superseded W7xx Thinkpad is a tall order, not just because it has a smaller screen format, but also that the single fan/heatsink combo has a hard time keeping the W520 cool when you really stress the machine's GPU and CPU.

 

The Dell Precision line has soundly beaten the W520 options in the area of graphics drivers and screens. The M4600 has both the W520 gpu options, as well as a FirePro M5950 Mobility Pro with 1GB GDDR5. The M6600 comes with one of the M8900 Mobility Pro with 2GB GDDR5, the NVIDIA Quadro 3000M with 2GB GDD5, or the NVIDIA Quadro 4000M with 2GB GDDR5. Then there is the vital option on the M4600 of an IPS 10bit screen (no optimus) or the FHD TN (with optimus) of the W/T520. Seems like perhaps some sales opportunities handed to Dell...

 

well i guess Lenovo has given up the 17 inch niche market, so they could better focus on the prosumer and business market. You can't have presence in all parts of the market and expect to profit from it with the business models that many traditional computer brand company run.