Lenovo announced new updates to the ThinkPad lineup as well as an entire new  series called the ThinkPad SL series. The new SL series is initially available in three new models - the SL300, SL400, and SL500. All three new notebooks feature built-in high speed mobile broadband connectivity, optional Blu-ray DVD player, as well as a black glossy cover.

As far as the rest of the ThinkPad product line, the new models being added include the following - the ThinkPad R400, R500, T400, T500, X200, and W500.

But first, let’s talk about the new SL series. The SL400 features:

• 14.1 inch widescreen display
• Up to Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz
• Windows Vista Ultimate
• Weight starting at 5.5 lbs

The SL500 features:

• 15.4 inch widescreen display
• Up to Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz
• Wndows Vista Ultimate
• Weight starting at 6.3 lbs

Unfortunately there’s not a lot of info on the rest of the new models so I’ll do my best in providing what we know.

The new T series features:

• Switchable graphics
• Support for Display Port
• Intel Centrino 2 technology

The X200 features:

• 12 inch widescreen display
• Ultraportable design
• Lighter than the X61
• Intel Centrino 2 technology

The W500 features:

• Caters towards people looking for OpenGL performance
• Intel Centrino 2 technology

Phew.. that’s a lot of new ThinkPad models.. I’m all Lenovo’d out now!

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Lenovo, ThinkPad SL300. SL400, SL500, R400, R500, T400, T500, X200, W500

Consumers interested in Lenovo branded notebooks have a few more choices now. The company introduced four new models to their consumer oriented IdeaPad notebook series - the 13 inch IdeaPad U330, the 14 inch IdeaPad Y430, the IdeaPad Y530 and the IdeaPad Y730. Not only are there new models, but Lenovo now provides additional color choices with these IdeaPad systems - adding colors such as Valencia orange, Indigo blue, Bold black, and Crimson red. I’ll highlight the major features of the new models:

IdeaPad U330:

• Slim and light weight addition to the U110 notebook series
• Available in glossy Indigo blue and Bold black
• Starts at 0.9 inches thin
• Weighs just over four pounds
• VeriFace facial recognitiontechnology
• Dolby Home Theater
• Touch sensitive multimedia controls
• HDMI
• Optional built-in DVD burner
• Switchable graphics
• LED backlit display
• Five hours of battery life
• Active Protection System

IdeaPad Y430 and Y530:

• Available in Bold black, or Crimson red
• HDMI
• Optional Blu-ray DVD player
• Framed or frameless creen

IdeaPad Y730:

• Upgrade to the Y710
• Models with Game Zone function come in Valencia orange
• Mainstream models in Indigo blue
• Frameless screen
• touch sensitive multimedia controls
• Dolby Home Theater
• One-key rescue system
• VeriFace facial recognition
• HDMI
• Optional Blu-ray DVD player
• Up to two 320GB hot swappable hard drives

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Lenovo, IdeaPad U330, IdeaPad Y430, IdeaPad Y530, IdeaPad Y730

I’ll admit it. I’m not an Apple fanboy per se but I do love the Apple television commercials - especially the ones making fun of PC’s and Windows Vista. Thus I find this parody piece from Lenovo even more hilarious simply because it turns the table on Apple and makes fun of the MacBook Air. Enjoy!

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: Lenovo, Apple, MacBook Air, Parody, ThinkPad X300

News.com is reporting that the compact Lenovo IdeaPad U110, which was introduced back in January at CES 2008, is now available at Lenovo.com and will soon be available at various retailers. Of course, I went off to Lenovo.com and promptly found a “coming soon” sign for the U110 but I’m sure it’ll be available shortly.

The U110 features:

• Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 1.6GHz
• 120GB HDD
• 2GB RAM
• 11 inch display
• Weight of 2.4 lbs
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Dolby branded audio with four speakers and integrated subwoofer
• Built-in webcam with face recognition software
• Available in red or black

All of this sounds good right? Well here’s the bad news. The U110 has a basic version which costs $1899 which also means higher end systems will of course cost more. That’s a bit pricey for a small compact system featuring only a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo. I’d be excited if this system was in the $1000 dollar range.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Lenovo IdeaPad U110

News.com is reporting that the compact Lenovo IdeaPad U110, which was introduced back in January at CES 2008, is now available at Lenovo.com and will soon be available at various retailers. Of course, I went off to Lenovo.com and promptly found a “coming soon” sign for the U110 but I’m sure it’ll be available shortly.

The U110 features:

• Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 1.6GHz
• 120GB HDD
• 2GB RAM
• 11 inch display
• Weight of 2.4 lbs
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Dolby branded audio with four speakers and integrated subwoofer
• Built-in webcam with face recognition software
• Available in red or black

All of this sounds good right? Well here’s the bad news. The U110 has a basic version which costs $1899 which also means higher end systems will of course cost more. That’s a bit pricey for a small compact system featuring only a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo. I’d be excited if this system was in the $1000 dollar range.

[Check it out]

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Lenovo finally introduced their much anticipated ultra-thin, ultra-portable notebook today - the Lenovo ThinkPad X300. Measuring less than 3/4th of an inch at its thinnest point, the X300 is billed as the “thinnest and lightest full-function notebook in its class.” Notice the mention of the word “full-function” ? There’s a little note at the footer which then says

“Compared to major vendors offering 13-inch widescreen notebook PCs: Sony, Dell, Apple, Asus and Fujitsu Siemens. Full featured defined as including technologies such as built-in DVD burner, selection of USB ports, Ethernet connection, replaceable battery and more. “

Ah yes.. a built in DVD burner, a “selection of USB ports”, an Ethernet connection and much much more.. Does one dare think that Lenovo is comparing themselves up against say.. the Apple MacBook Air?

I think so! In any event, the X300 is certainly a feature rich ultra-portable system. Here’s the rundown of features and specs for the X300:

• Intel Core 2 Duo processor (1.2 GHz)
• Intel GMA X3100 graphics
• Weight starts at 2.9 lbs
• Maximum battery life of 10 hours
• Optional built-in 7m thin DVD burner
• Stereo speakers, digital microphone, and integrated camera
• Constructed of advanced carbon and glass fiber
• Options include ultra-wideband/wireless USB, WWAN, WLAN, and GB Ethernet support
• Bluetooth
• Built-in GPS functionality
• 13.3 inch LED backlit WXGA+ high resolution display
• Integrated fingerprint reader
• I/O port disablement
• 32 byte password protection
• 1.8 inch 64GB SSD
• Intel Centrino with vPro technology
• Up to 4GB of memory

Prices start at $2799 for the X300 and you can order one now at Lenovo.com.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Lenovo, X300, ThinkPad X300

I’m going to switch gears a bit and check out the Mobile Internet Devices section at the Intel CES 2008 booth where they had a number of small ultra-mobile and ultra-mobile like PCs one display. Enjoy the photo gallery! (I’ll try and provide specs where I can)

Sorry but I’m not sure what the above systems are. Could be reference designs for all I know.

Here are pictures of the Fujitsu Mini-Notebook system (most likely the U810). If it is the U810, then the specs are as follows:

• Intel Processor A110 running at 800 MHz
• Windows Vista or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
• 5.6 inch WSVGA Crystal View touch screen display
• Touch or pen input
• QWERTY keyboard
• Built in wireless LAN, Bluetooth, and Ethernet support
• Integrated fingerprint reader and BIOS lock
• 1GB RAM
• 40GB HDD

The left system is the Samsung Q1 Ultra which features:

• Windows Vista or Windows XP
• Split QWERTY keyboard
• Lithium Ion Prismatic batteries
• 1024 x 600 resolution display with back lit LCD
• Optional HSDPA cellular modem
• Integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Ethernet support
• Integrated video chat camera and integrated dual array microphone

The right system is the HTC Shift which features:

• Support for Microsoft Direct Push technology
• Windows Vista OS
• 7 inch touch screen display (800 x 840 resolution)
• Wi-Fi and 3G wireless support
• Screen slides out and tilts up
• QWERTY keyboard
• Fingerprint sensor
• Mouse buttons and microPad
• UMTS and HSDPA support
• Bluetooth 2.0 support
• USB 2.0
• Intel Stealey 800MHz processor
• 1GB RAM
• 1.8 inch 40 or 60GB HDD
• Measures 207 x 129 x 25 mm

Here are additional pics of the Samsung Q1 Ultra:

One of the cooler looking ultra-mobile PC’s on display at the Intel booth was a prototype system from Lenovo pictured below.  This system is based on the new Intel “Menlow” platform which utilizes a new Intel processor code-named “Silverthorne” and a new chipset code-named “Poulsbo”.  No other details were given about the Lenovo UMPC but enjoy the pics!

Finally, we have some additional pics of other mobile devices. One appears to be a WiBro branded UMPC but it’s not clear what the model is and one definitely is the Samsung Q1 Ultra again. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Intel, CES 2008, Mobile Internet Devices, Ultra-Mobile PCs, UMPC, Samsung, Lenovo, Fujitsu, WiBro,

It’s a new year and Lenovo is out with an entire new line of notebooks NOT called ThinkPad. That’s right folks - the company has unveiled a new notebook line called “IdeaPad” featuring systems with 17 inch and 15 inch widescreen displays. An 11 inch widescreen notebook will be unveiled later this year. All the new IdeaPad systems feature items such as:

• Dolby Home Theater sound
• VeriFace facial recognition security
• GameZone keys with secondary display
• Touch-sensitive controls
• One-Stop Multimedia Control Center
• “Fresh” looking auxiliary lights and buttons

IdeaPad is made up of three new systems - the IdeaPad Y510, the IdeaPad Y710 and the IdeaPad U110. Let’s go over the basic feature set for these systems.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y510:

• All the common features
• Features 15.4 inch widescreen display
• Integrated 1.3 megapixel digital camera
• Wireless LAN
• Up to 250GB HDD
• 6 in 1 card reader
• CD/DVD writer
• Frameless screen with a super-thin bezel
• Features “Light Weaver Texture” on the notebook shell
• Full size keyboard
• Touch sensitive multimedia controls
• Multi-light battery indicator
• Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 processor running at 1.83 GHz
• Windows Vista Home Premium OS
• Intel GMA X3100 graphics
• 2GB of memory (up to 4 GB)
• 4 speakers, 1 sub-woofer
• Weighs 6.4 lbs with battery
• Measures 14.3 x 10.2 x 1.1-1.4 inches
• 4 hour battery life
• Available on January 6th, 2008

IdeaPad Y710:

• All the common features
• Integrated 1.3 megapixel digital camera
• Secondary hard drive option
• Hinge and logo areas are illuminated by colorful halo lighting
• touch-sensitive multimedia controls
• Frameless screen
• full-size keyboard
• Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 processor running at 2.5GHz
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• 17 inch widescreen display with 1440 x 900 resolution
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD2600 graphics
• Up to 500GB SATA (with secondary HDD)
• 2GB of RAM - up to 4GB
• Dual Layer CD/DVD Recordable with Blu-ray DVD reader
• 4 speakers and 1 sub-woofer
• Weighs 7.9 lbs with battery
• Measures 15.6 x 11.2 x 1-1.5 inches
• Four hour battery life
• Available in March of 2008

IdeaPad U110

• Smallest of the new family of notebooks
• 11.1 inch widescreen display
• Thin and light notebook
• VeriFace face recognition security
• Dolby Home Theater audio
• Optional SSD
• Available in March 2008

[Check it out via DailyTech]

Technorati Tags: Lenovo, IdeaPad, IdeaPad Y510, IdeaPad Y710, IdeaPad U110

Lenovo introduced two new workstation systems today with the announcement of a new Think brand called ThinkStation. The introductions took place in cooperation with the NBA at the NBA store in New York. Incredibly, this marks Lenovo’s first new Think brand since their acquisition of the PC division from IBM and the first Think brand introduced in the last five years! The new systems are the ThinkStation S10 and the ThinkStation D10. These workstations will feature Quad Core Intel XEON processor 5400 series processors and Intel Core 2 Extreme processors which are the first processors based on a new 45 nm technology.

The new ThinkStation workstations will be available in January through Business Partners and through the Lenovo website. These new desktop workstations are designed for professionals who need the “highest performance and reliability” in the “most demanding data and graphics-intensive environments.”

The ThinkStation D10 workstation is a dual processor system and will feature the Quad-Core Intel XEON Processor 5400 series.  The D10 will start at around $1739.

The ThinkStation S10 workstation will feature the Intel Core 2 processor along with support for the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX9650.  The S10 will start at around $1199.

Both systems come with dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, multiple slots, bays, and USB ports.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Lenovo, S10, D10, Workstations, ThinkStation

Lenovo and Novell have reached an agreement where select Lenovo ThinkPad T series notebooks will come preloaded with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10. These T series notebooks with SUSE Linux will become available sometime during the fourth quarter of this year. The ThinkPad notebooks will be available for purchase by individual customers although a pricing has yet to be determined.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Lenovo, Novell, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, ThinkPad T