Lenovo's ThinkPad L Business Series Laptops Debut

Now that all the newest graphics cards and CPUs are official, and memory products are eagerly serving high-end systems, PC suppliers can go back to their usual routine of periodically updating their product lineups that are meant for other markets than just that of enthusiasts and gamers. Lenovo, for instance, has added a number of models to its ThinkPad Laptop Series, which seek to bring the benefit of a long battery life and a performance set just as impressive to government, business and educational applications.

The ThinkPad L line is composed of the 14-inch L412 and 15-inch L512 notebooks, which don't take computing lightly, being powered by a choice of Intel Core i3 or Core i5 CPUs. Their configurations include up to 8GB of memory, various storage options (HDDs), Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, multi-gesture touchpads and wireless connectivity via 3G or 4G. Not only that, but both notebooks can feature an ATI Mobility Radeon graphics card (besides the integrated graphics), which will make sure to fully exploit the capabilities of the 16:9 antiglare display. Finally, both models are Energy Star 5.0-compliant, have an EPEAT Gold rating and use up to 30% recycled materials in their casings.

"Today more than ever before, customers are looking to get more out of their PC technology," said Dilip Bhatia, executive director, ThinkPad Product Marketing, Lenovo. "We designed the new L Series to give users the most important features for being productive like cutting-edge processing performance, long battery life and a VoIP-optimized design without sacrificing the reliability and durability ThinkPad is known for."

Speaking of battery life, thanks to the high-power efficiency and high-quality batteries used by the L412 and L512, a single charge can last for up to an impressive 8 hours. This is significant, especially considering that these models genuinely pack a high performance, unlike netbooks which live for about just as long, while offering little besides web browsing and document viewing. With prices starting at $649, the 14-inch and 15-inch Windows 7 laptops should start shipping in the middle of May.