Spotted: Lenovos with Centrino Pro

(Credit: Lenovo)

NotebookReview pointed us to spec lists for the refreshed ThinkPad T61 and ThinkPad R61, both of which will be built on the platform formerly known as Santa Rosa. The announcement is limited to new configurations for the Asia Pacific region, but we don't think it much of a stretch to assume we'll see similar Centrino Pro ThinkPads in the States.

One of the most intriguing features listed on the Lenovo page is the "Intel Turbo Memory 1GB hard drive for faster performance." We assume this is the official name for the Robson caching technology Intel demonstrated in 2005. Essentially a quantity of NAND flash memory that's incorporated into the motherboard, Robson stores a cache of commonly accessed information, such as the operating system and software, so you can boot the computer or launch applications without spinning the hard drive. Some of the other specs on the list include:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T7100, T7300, T7500, and T7700 processors up to 2.4GHz, with 800MHz front-side bus and up to 4 MB L2 cache
• Intel GM/PM 965 chipset
• Intel GMA X3100 or Nvidia Quadro NVS 140M graphics
• 802.11n WLAN and WWAN options
• Choice of Windows Vista or Windows XP Professional
• Roll cage and hard drive encryption.

The release lists May 2007 as the availability date, which falls nicely in the middle of Intel's window for releasing its new platform.