Lenovo Rethinks I.B.M.'s ThinkPad (Starting at $599)

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By JOHN BIGGS
Published: March 9, 2006

When Lenovo, the upstart laptop maker, bought I.B.M.'s ThinkPad division last year, it promised to overhaul Big Blue's staid and expensive line of business computers. Its ThinkPad C100 is a first attempt to deliver on that promise.
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The C100, available now in retail stores and at www.lenovo.com, is a low-cost laptop with a built-in optical drive and a 15.4-inch screen. Designed as the workhorse of the new 3000 series, this laptop starts at $599 for a model with an Intel Celeron M processor.

Lenovo has taken its design cues from I.B.M.'s traditional black ThinkPad line, with a few variations. For example, there is no pointing stick, the tiny red dot that once graced the center of most I.B.M. keyboards. Instead, there is a two-button trackpad below the space bar.

The C100 has four U.S.B. 2.0 ports, one FireWire/IEEE 1394 port, and a 3-in-1 card reader. The laptop can last for about four hours on one charge and weighs 6.2 pounds.

The C100 is a budget entry for business computing, but a few of the features, including the large screen and card reader, can help take it out of the boardroom and into the family room. JOHN BIGGS