Don't you just love it when the web offers you bits and pieces of information about a product that hasn't yet been officially released? That information might just make you reconsider a future acquisition. And that happens because the yet-to-be-released product might look more promising than what you initially intended to acquire. This time, we are talking about three of IBM's products, which are part of the company's ThinkPad series of portable computers.

As most of you know, IBM's portable computers are known for offering computing support to business users. They can provide the necessary portability and power into a single notebook design. Apparently, details about IBM’s upcoming X200, SL, T and R series of laptops have recently surfaced on the thinkpads forum. Although talking about these notebooks' potential would give me great pleasure, I think it is better if I just let every one of you read the technical specs for yourself.

ThinkPad X200 Series:
CPU: Core 2 Duo up to 2.4GHz
Display: 12-inch WXGA panel
Memory: DDR3 RAM
Storage: Up to 64GB SSDs
Covers: Top and bottom made of magnesium alloy
Battery: 9.6 hours on 9-cell pack
Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, WiMAX, UWB, 3 USB ports, DisplayPort connector
Camera: 1.3MP
Weight: 2.93 pounds/1.32kg

ThinkPad SL Series:
Models: SL300, SL400, SL500
Displays: 13.3-inch, 14.1-inch, 15.4-inch WXGA panels (SL500 has WSXGA+ option)
CPU: Core 2 Duo processors
GPU: Integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD or discrete NVIDIA GeForce 9300 graphics
Connectivity: 3+ USB ports, FireWire, ExpressCard, WiFi, WiMax, BlueTooth, GPS, WWAN
Drives: Blu-ray drive optional

ThinkPad T Series:
Models: T400, T500
Display: 14-inch, 15-inch panels
CPU: Intel Centrino 2 with vPro up to 2.8GHz
GPU: 512MB ATI Mobility FireGL V5700 graphics
Storage: Optional 64GB SSD, 320GB HDD
Memory: DDR3 RAM
Connectivity: WiFi, WiMax, Bluetooth, WWAN

ThinkPad R Series:
Models: R400, R500
Displays: 14.1-inch, 15.4-inch panels
CPU: Montevina Penryn Core 2 Duo processors
GPU: Integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD or discrete ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 graphics
Storage: Up to 320GB HDD
Memory: Up to 4GB DDR3 RAM
Connectivity: 3 x USB ports, FireWire, VGA, ExpressCard

The list of specifications was displayed on PDF files uploaded on the forum.thinkpads.com website. From what we could see in the pictures, the new ThinkPads might be even considered competition for Apple's MacBook Air, although you should expect them to look more like a normal notebook than the Air. Users on the above mentioned forum have a generally good impression of these new ThinkPads.

What IBM is trying to do with their new ThinkPad lineup is to provide its users with the latest hardware components in a design higher on portability features. But, until the information becomes official, we can't really say what is the starting price of any of these models. However, considering their overall specifications, we might see some new pricey ThinkPads soon enough.