Danny Gorog18 February 2009, 5:30 PM
Three letters: WTF. Absolutely nobody needs this bizarre new product from Lenovo, one of the weirdest things we've seen for years.
Members of the tech press received what seemed like an innocuous, standard joint press release from Lenovo and BlackBerry proclaiming a 'breakthrough' new product.
My normal reaction to these releases is to skim through the first couple of paragraphs, try to make sense of the news, and either write it up or delete it.
But this particular press release, entitled 'Lenovo Constant Connect brings BlackBerry email to ThinkPads automatically' intrigued me. I wondered, what could BlackBerry and Lenovo be doing together? How could one benefit the other?
BlackBerry, as you know, makes great messaging phones and has a reputation for super-reliable 'instant' email. In most cases, the BlackBerry messaging system is so quick that it will alert you to email faster than your computer, even when connected to your Exchange server. So, in summary, if you've got a BlackBerry, you know when you've got a message.
Lenovo makes computers. Decent ones given they used to be made by IBM and were used up on space shuttles and so on, but still pretty standard PC notebooks running Windows.
Anyway, back to the press release. Here's the first paragraph:
Lenovo and Research In Motion (RIM) today announced that the two companies will work together to promote new Lenovo mobile solutions that will help on-the-go business users enhance their mobile computing and communications experience through tighter integration between Lenovo ThinkPad laptop computers and BlackBerry® smartphones.
Sounds interesting, albeit a little jargon laden. But let's read on.
Leveraging Lenovo's extensive global R&D capabilities and engineering prowess in laptop computers together with RIM's expertise in smartphones and wireless solutions, Lenovo plans to develop and deliver a range of industry-leading solutions and technologies that can help professionals conduct business more effectively on the go.
Extensive global R&D and engineering prowess, that's some big talking from some big companies (especially Lenovo whose reputation largely comes from buying IBM's Thinkpad division).
Lenovo Constant Connect will allow enterprise email received on a user's BlackBerry smartphone to be automatically synchronised via Bluetooth® onto the user's ThinkPad laptop – even if the ThinkPad laptop is off – without the user having to take any additional steps.
Now, if that doesn't make any sense to you, you're not alone. Let me summarise it for you in English. The Lenovo, while off, will, by some form of voodoo magic automatically synchronise email your email from your BlackBerry to your Thinkpad - even though, when your Thinkpad is powered on and connected to the network, it can get your email by itself. WTF?
'This level of integration and availability dramatically improves access to email on the Lenovo ThinkPad laptop from wherever a BlackBerry smartphone can access a connection. In addition to greater flexibility and convenience, it can also reduce the need to use the laptop with fee-based Wi-Fi® networks.'
With a little more investigation, and with no thanks to the hype filled press release, it turns out that this 'breakthrough' product is actually an ExpressCard that stores emails from your Bluetooth connected BlackBerry and then replicates them to your email client when the user turns the machine on.
According to Rich Cheston, an executive director in Lenovo' software and peripheral business unit Lenovo Constant Connect 'lets a traveler rushing between flights or in a taxi can get the latest e-mail without having to stop, turn on the PC and and log-in over a Wi-Fi hotspot.' Just like they can on their BlackBerry already. And, in fact, to clarify a little for Rich, this new device only saves the person from having to find a WiFi hotspot or connect via Mobile Broadband to get their email. They still have to stop and turn on their PC in order to sync the email over from their Blackberry to their PC.
That is, unless Lenovo has invented some sort of pocket computer that you can whip out at any time and read your email. Oh wait, that's a Blackberry.
Whether or not you consider Lenovo Constant Connect a 'breakthrough' or not won't change the fact that Lenovo and Research in Motion have plowed serious effort into a device that is, well, a solution looking for a problem.
Unfortunately, this is a pretty common occurrence in the tech world. Engineers, housed in little rooms with dim lights put out product after product, most of which either don't work well, or don't work at all. Either that, or it's zany marketing people looking desperately for some way to differentiate their thoroughly commoditised product selling ideas to thick bigwigs who have more money than sense.
Call me crazy, but I'd love to hear from somebody who would actually pay money for Lenovo Constant Connect.
And in the meantime, if Lenovo has any other million dollar ideas, I emplore them to just give the money to me, and I will give them the exact same result as their engineers... bugger all that's of use to anyone and I will throw in a really stupid press release!