Lenovo ThinkPad T431s: Thinner, coming in April

ThinkPad is as conservative a laptop design as there is, but that doesn't mean ThinkPads don't evolve.

Announced at Engadget Expand in San Francisco, the ThinkPad T431s is a slimmed-down version of the ThinkPad T series, a line of 14-inch laptops that, previous to the ThinkPad X1, were the thinnest in Lenovo's stable. The T431s may not be as sexy, but it's clearly absorbed some style points from the X1 Carbon: it weighs 3.6 pounds, is 0.82 inch thick, has a carbon-fiber top and magnesium undercarriage, and sports that same redesigned backlit island/chiclet keyboard as the X1, as well as its large, five-clickpoint glass multitouch touch pad. That touch pad should be a lot easier to use with Windows 8 gestures just based on its size alone.

The ThinkPad T431s has otherwise predictable but no less impressive features: two USB 3.0 ports, Intel third-gen Core i-series processors, up to 12GB of RAM, a 1,600x900-pixel 14-inch display, and a screen hinge that can bend back 180 degrees. 4G LTE and 3G broadband connectivity is supported, as well as vPro. SSD and hard-drive storage are supported: up to a 256GB SSD, or a 5,400rpm 1TB hard drive.

There's no optical drive. That makes the T431s a close brother indeed to the X1 Carbon. But some things stay the same: as always, there's a red rubber trackpoint in the middle of the keyboard. There's also no touch-screen option, unlike with the X1 Carbon Touch.

The ThinkPad T431s is available in April, starting at $949.

Updated on April 12, 2013 with hands-on video.