LAS VEGAS — Lenovo on Sunday announced updates to its ThinkPad line of laptops prior to the start of the CES trade show here. The Chinese company added support for the fifth generation of Intel’s Core i3/i5/i7 processors, also known by the codename “Broadwell.” These new CPUs promise, as always, to deliver improved overall performance and battery life.
ThinkPad Carbon X1
In addition to the update to a Broadwell CPU, the fourth version of Lenovo’s ultralight 14-inch ThinkPad Carbon X1 is equipped with a new three button touchpad and improved precision keyboard. The Ultrabook will be available later this January and include customization options for a 2,560×1,440 display and 4G LTE. The ThinkPad Carbon X1 will start at $1,250 in the US. Pricing elsewhere hasn’t been announced, but the US price converts to about £815 or AU$1,550.
ThinkPad T450s
The ThinkPad T450s replaces last year’s T440s model. The business-oriented laptop features a carbon-fiber top cover, improved battery life and an array connection ports, including mini-DisplayPort, VGA, USB and an SD card reader. The ThinkPad T450s will be available later this January with a starting price of $1,000, which coverts to around £650 or AU$1,240.
ThinkPad T450/T550
Both the 14-inch ThinkPad T450 and 15-inch T550 are 15 percent lighter than last year’s T440 and T540 models. These laptops are highly customizable, with options for a 3K resolution display on the T550, integrated or discrete graphics and optional docking. The T450 and T550 will be available later this month with a starting price of $800. The US price converts to about £520 for the UK and AU$990 for Australia.
ThinkPad L450
The budget-minded ThinkPad L450 offers an improved design — both thinner and lighter than last year’s L440 model. For the first time, the notebook can also be had with an optional full HD IPS display. The ThinkPad L450 will be available later this month, but we don’t yet have price information.
ThinkPad E450/550
The 14-inch ThinkPad E450 and 15.6-inch E550 can now be configured to include an AMD Radeon discrete graphics card. The E550’s optional 3D RealSense camera (an Intel technology) has also been updated. The ThinkPad E450 and E550 will be available later this month starting at $450, which converts to roughly £295 or AU$555.
Lenovo is just one of a handful of companies announcing new products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas — follow CNET’s ongoing coverage of CES 2015 here.