Intel or ARM NoteBook? Lenovo Says Both

Lenovo has announced the ThinkPad X1 Hybrid notebook which features an Intel Core processor (i3, i5, or i7 depending on the model) AND a Qualcomm Dual core ARM processor, allegedly a Qualcomm APQ8060 and runs both Windows 7 and a custom version of Linux. My first reaction when I read the news was: “What a stupid idea!” :~/

The ThinkPad X1 Hybrid has 13.3″ HD display with 1366×768 resolution and built with Gorilla Glass. The laptop also features an HD webcam, a fingerprint reader, an encrypted hard disk drive, an HDMI port, USB ports, and Intel’s Wireless Display (WiDi) technology. RapidCharge technology charges to 80% capacity in 30 minutes, i.e. approximately the time it takes to take a shower and cook an egg… (Not my idea, see promo video below). The only thing that can possibly justify having two different processors on the machine is the Instant Media Mode (IMM) that enables instant on/resume and doubles your battery life. IMM is also used to watch videos, view photos, listen to music and browse the web giving up to 10 hours’ operation. I suppose it switches the machine to run Linux with the Qualcomm processor when the user plays media files or browse the web to achieve this feat.

The ThinkPad X1 Hybrid is just 0.6″ thick and weigh less than 4 pounds. Lenovo announced the X1 Hybrid notebook would be available in June 2012 for 1,600 USD.

So finally, is it a stupid idea? If battery life is everything for you and money is no object, then no, for the rest of us, it’s simple too expensive to make any sense. I also have the feeling that Linux is only used in IMM mode, so that means you would not be able to run the Linux desktop at anytime. After seeing Charbax video at ces 2012, the desktop is actually the one you see in the picture at the top of this blog post. It appears you can also get 20 hours battery life in IMM mode.

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