Compared to its competitors, Lenovo's ThinkPads have always been a little bit retro, but it looks like the company is now toying with the idea of fully embracing the nostalgia many have for the iconic laptop line.
In a blog post published today, Lenovo's Vice President of Corporate Identity & Design, David Hill, revealed a concept for a "historically inspired ThinkPad," one that he says "embodies all the latest technology advances," but, "embraces the original design details in the strongest way possible."
It's not something Lenovo has any immediate plans to make, he says, but the company is apparently at least open to the idea, and it's using the post to gauge interest in it.
Hill's concept is definitely more retro-inspired than full retro, with a sleek design just 18mm thin, but it does have many of the hallmarks of classic ThinkPads. That includes the trademark blue enter key and multi-colored ThinkPad logo, a 7-row keyboard, rubberized exterior, exposed screws, two "ThinkLights" and, of course, lots of status LEDs.
As Hill notes, there would need to be "significant sales volumes to justify the development effort and tooling expense" to bring the device to market, but ThinkPad fans are still a particularly loyal bunch. And, judging from the initial batch of comments, they seem to like what they see.
