The launch of the ThinkPad T60p mobile workstation is a step in a more Linux-centric direction for Lenovo, the China-based company that became the world’s third-largest PC maker after acquiring IBM’s former PC business.
Until now, Lenovo’s Linux strategy had been one of mere certification of its notebooks. But with the T60p, Lenovo is offering is its full support services and drivers for the Linux-run machine.
Lenovo T Series ThinkPad segment manager Bill Lori said the success of the T60p during the next six months or so will determine whether the company will launch further Linux-supported machines in the future.
The T60 promises to handle all but the most demanding computational-intensive applications available on a desktop workstation, as well regular desktop features such as email and Office applications.
The machine supports warm and cold docking while running SUSE Linux Desktop 10, and has up to 4GB of memory. Novell and Lenovo worked with Intel for the past or so, to make the most of the recently released Core Duo microprocessor that drives the T60.
Being based on Linux, the machine lacks a few features that its comparable Windows-based counterpart has. For example, its fingerprint reader for security and active protective system that handles motion are not currently functional on the Linux machine. Also, while the T60p works with wireless LAN, it does not work with wireless WAN.
Partly because of these limitations, Lori said the T60p was aimed at enterprise rather than field usage.
Users can buy the machines with a blank hard drive, for $3,099 with a 14-inch screen or $3,199 for a 15-inch screen, from Lenovo and then purchase the Linux software from Novell, and load and configure it how they choose.
Or, they can provide a customized SUSE Linux Desktop 10 image to Lenovo, which will work with Novell and load it on the system. The user is then shipped a machine already loaded with its custom configurations. Alternatively, Novell can design the image for the customer, and then have Lenovo load and ship it.
The hardware works out to be roughly $100 less than its comparable Lenovo Windows-based mobile workstation, Lori said. And SUSE Linux Desktop 10 has a yearly subscription cost of $50, which is about one-tenth that of the $499 price tag of Open Office, noted Novell’s director of Linux and open platform marketing Justin Steinman.
Novell and Lenovo had already begun making joint sales calls to enterprise customers and had some proof-of-concept projects lined up, Steinman said. We have dozens of interested customers ahead of this launch, he said.
Lenovo offers a three-year support warranty for the T60p, which can be extended if necessary, while Novell’s SUSE Desktop 10 support run through 2013.
