First ThinkPad tablet PC set to be launched

The first-ever ThinkPad that converts to a tablet PC will make its debut today, CNET News.com has learned.

China's Lenovo Group is expected to announce its new X41 Tablet Series (X41T) in co-ordination with IBM, which developed the convertible laptop. This is the first computer released by China's Lenovo Group following its purchase of IBM's legendary PC business earlier this year.

With its signature black casing, eraser-sized trackball and red and blue click buttons, the X41 Tablet Series looks like any other model of IBM's ThinkPad laptop line.

However, the 12-inch screen of the X41T can be rotated 180 degrees and pressed flat against the computer's keyboard, turning the notebook into a tablet computer. This was made evident in photos and internal documents supplied by IBM's Japanese laboratories that mysteriously began appearing on the US Federal Communications Commission website late last month.

A spokesman for Lenovo said the company would be making a major announcement today but declined to elaborate. The spokesman also declined to comment on the IBM papers circulating on the FCC website.

Internal specifications on the X41T were not immediately available but pictures submitted to the FCC show that the X41T, like its ultra-portable X41 cousin, will have a Mini PCI card slot. The tablet PC is also expected to use an Intel Pentium M processor and run on Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

The new tablet PC is expected to compete with similar laptop convertible designs sold by Fujitsu, HP and Tatung instead of the clipboard or slate-like tablets made by Itronix or Motion Computing.

The FCC began testing the X41T back in March because the PC has a dual antenna embedded in its LCD screen for Wi-Fi connections, as well as one for connecting via Bluetooth wireless. The first batch of X41T computers were manufactured in China; Lenovo is expected to expand production as demand ramps up.

Prices for Lenovo's X41T were not available. But the base price for IBM's X41 starts at $1,499 with top-end models available for $1,999.

Michael Singer writes for CNET News.com