Even with it is turned off, a new ThinkPad laptop will be able to talk to a BlackBerry phone so their owner will be able to read and send e-mail faster, the companies behind the devices planned to announce Monday.

Lenovo Group Ltd., maker of the ThinkPad, and Research In Motion Ltd. (nasdaq: RIMM - news - people ), maker of the BlackBerry, have together created an accessory card for the laptops that will wirelessly download e-mail through the owner's BlackBerry, even when the computer is off or in standby mode.

That means that when the ThinkPad boots up, new e-mail will already be loaded. There's no need to establish a secure Internet connection to the employer's servers. The user will also be able to send e-mail from the ThinkPad through the BlackBerry without an additional Internet connection.

The "Lenovo Constant Connect" card will let users combine the always-on nature of the BlackBerry with the larger keyboard and screen of the laptop, said Rick Cheston, executive director at Lenovo. For instance, a traveler could flip open the laptop to do some quick e-mailing at an airport layover, rather than spending time to set up Internet access, he said.

The card will cost $150 or less when Lenovo starts selling it in the second quarter in the U.S. It will be available in the rest of the world later this year. Initially it will work only with Microsoft Corp. (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people )'s Outlook e-mail client, but Lenovo is working on supporting IBM Corp. (nyse: IBM - news - people )'s Lotus Notes as well, Cheston said.

ThinkPads made last summer or later will be compatible with the Constant Connect card, and BlackBerrys made in the last few years will work with it, he added.

The card connects to a BlackBerry through the Bluetooth wireless technology. When the computer is off, the card stores new e-mail in flash memory.

It is already possible to connect a computer to the Internet through the Bluetooth feature of some phones, but this is a more lengthy, complicated process, and the computer must be fully on.

Businessmen of the Year

China's Yang Yuanqing and American William Amelio pursue a different PC strategy for Lenovo, challenging mindsets and market dips along the way.

William Amelio and Yang Yuanqing

Forbes Asia's first such honorees from a Chinese company are actually not to be found in China in the normal course of business. Silicon Valley correspondent Rebecca Buckman did get lucky on her visit to the Beijing offices--Lenovo Group Chairman Yang Yuanqing was in China for a Wal-Mart conference and other company business. Usually he's in Raleigh, North Carolina, as Buckman's story that follows explains. ceo William Amelio can be anywhere: working out of his office in Singapore, jetting to a foreign locale or hunkering down in a hotel (as long as it has a gym). Such is the stuff of a modern technology concern, although Lenovo is clearly a special case.

In this year of crashing markets few companies are immune from the effects. Yang and Amelio now have something else to work through. But the record to date, including managing the absorption of a signature Western brand, bodes well for the future of a global company with Chinese characteristics. As tech analyst Ezra Gottheil says, "They're trying to pull something off in two years that takes most companies five or ten." And they're doing pretty well.