Lenovo’s ThinkBook Plus Laptop Has a Second Screen on the Lid

Andrew E. Freedman, reporting for Tom’s Hardware from CES:

Lenovo’s latest take on the small business laptop has an interesting surprise: a 10.8-inch E ink display on the lid.

The ThinkBook Plus was announced here at CES 2020, and it comes with a secondary display meant to foster collaboration. While the main, 13.3-inch FHD display is closed, the E Ink screen can show email and calendar notifications from Microsoft Outlook. You can also use it to take notes with Lenovo’s included stylus. The idea is you’ll only do what you’ll need to on the screen during meetings, rather than being engrossed entirely in your laptop. It will start at $1,199 when it goes on sale in March.

This is a dumb idea. It’s a feature, not a bug, that when your laptop is closed it doesn’t reveal anything at all. Who wants their closed laptop to show email notifications? This is what smartphones (and watches) are for. When is the last time you had your laptop with you but not your phone?

★ Monday, 6 January 2020