Lenovo may be readying new retro ThinkPad

David Hill is the current VP of Lenovo corporate identity and design. Since 1995, Hill had been involved with the original ThinkPads from IBM and continues his work with Lenovo to this day. For example, his work includes the ThinkPad X300. Now, Hill has made interesting posts and reflections on the Lenovo blog about past ThinkPad designs.

Hill writes in his blog post that he has been experimenting with the idea for a new retro ThinkPad, which would combine the latest hardware with the original design elements and features of the older ThinkPads. He even explicitly asks for user feedback on the viability of the concept. Hill further notes that such a ThinkPad would finally convert old users to the newer models.

What changes can users expect? First, Hill suggests that the Blue Enter key could make a return, along with the 7-line keyboard, multicolored ThinkPad logo, dedicated volume keys, status LEDs, rubberized coating, and a 16:10 aspect ratio for the display. This would all fit in an 18 mm thick body and could carry a similar 16:10 display as the MacBook Pro Retina 13.

The retro design reminds us very much of the ThinkPad X300. The old model carries excellent workmanship in our 2008 review. Perhaps we will see the return of the old ThinkLights as well.

We thank our reader Felix B. for this news tip.

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