Intel and Lenovo’s concept makes enough sense: take those ultrathing, ultra-expensive notebooks like the MacBook Air, Dell Adamo or VooDoo Envy and sacrifice a little performance, a little weight and a little thinness to bring the price down. After all, they’re already sluggish, so why not? What makes it genius, though, is how this compromise manifests itself. It turns out, these mild design and performances compromises knock a tremendous sum off the price.

The U350 is a sub-1-inch-thick, 1.6kg 13.3-inch notebook which, aside from its thin profile and conspicuous lack of an optical drive, is a fairly standard piece of notebook hardware. You can get just about anything you want in one of these guys—Core 2 Solo, Pentium ULV or Celeron processors; up to 8GB of RAM and up to 500GB of storage—but after a while you’ll start to lose the price advantage that makes it attractive in the first place. It’ll be around that $US700-$US800 pricepoint that the U350 shines. Available from July, full press release and spec sheet below. [Lenovo]

IdeaPad U350 Laptop
Display: 16:9 aspect ratio, 13.3 inch LED, HD 1366 X 768
Processor: Intel ultra low voltage CPUs and small form factor chipsets: Intel® Core 2 Solo SU3500 (1.4G, 800 MHz, 3 MB), Intel® Pentium® SU2700 (1.3G, 800 MHz, 2 MB), and Intel® Celeron 723 (1.2G, 800 MHz, 1MB) processors. Mobile Intel® GS40 and GS45 Express Chipset.
Graphics: Mobile Intel® GMA 4500M and Mobile Intel® GMA 4500MHDMemory
Memory: Up to 8 GB DDR3 800/1066 MHz DRAM
Hard Drive: Up to 500 GB 5400 rpm
Battery Life: 10 hours with 8 cell, 5 hours with 4 cell
Weight: 1.6kg
Dimensions:328mmX228mmX17-24.9mm
Connectivity: Ethernet 10/100/1000m/Intel WiFi Link 5150 1 X 2 AGN, Intel WiFi Link 5100 1 X 2 AGN, non-Intel wireless b/g/Bluetooth
Other: 1.3 megapixel camera, ambient light sensor technology, multi-touch touchpad, Dolby Sound Room/two 1.5 watt speakers, Active Protection System, Ambient Light Sensor, VGA ports, 4-in-1 multicard reader, Dolby Headphone, VeriFace 3.5, Quick Start
Software: VeriFace 3.5, Vista Home Basic/Home Premium, OneKey Rescue System

IdeaPad U350 Laptop
Lenovo is pushing the envelope on design to bring consumers ultra-thin, ultra-light and ultra-loaded PC technology. Encased in a sophisticated sleek silver shell, the IdeaPad U350 laptop starts at 3.5 pounds and measures less than one inch thick1. While thin and light to the touch on the outside, Lenovo loaded the PC inside with the latest entertainment and computing features to enhance and simply users’ digital worlds. A 16:9 aspect ratio high definition 13.3 inch LED panel and an HDMI connector allow users to fully enjoy watching movies or other multimedia in high definition.

The IdeaPad U350 laptop also packs in several unexpected features, such as Ambient Light Sensor technology, borrowed from the IdeaCentre desktop line. This technology automatically adjusts the screen’s brightness when in different lighting environments for the best picture quality. Also, Dolby Sound Room complements the video experience by providing a high quality surround-sound audio experience. And with VeriFace facial recognition technology, they can make their face their password for easy log in. A camera also comes in handy for video messaging or making Skype calls using the laptop’s WiFi connectivity2.

The laptop’s entertainment features are powered by a backbone of computing technologies, including choices of Intel Core2Solo and Pentium ultra low voltage processors, up to 8 GB high speed DDR3 memory and up to 500 GB of hard drive storage. The technologies help users to do more, faster, such as burning DVDs, compressing and opening documents and enjoying smoother, more realistic gaming. For high reliability important to individual business users whether on the clock or off, Lenovo borrowed a component of ThinkPad laptop design with the Active Protection System. This helps protect data by temporarily stopping the hard drive if the laptop should fall. The IdeaPad U350 laptop also comes with OneKey™ Rescue System to help recover data if it becomes corrupted in just a few simple steps.

Rounding out the series are the Y550 and Y450, which are the 15 and 14-inch versions of the same notebook. They’re all LED-backlit, and weirdly, at least according to the spec sheet all have the same 1366×768 resolution. Also bizarre is that the 15.6-inch Y550 weighs more than the Y650—6 pounds to 5.6. Blu-ray and discrete graphics options in all (though not the kind you can turn off or off like in the unibody MacBook Pros or some of Toshiba’s notebooks).

Still, they do start fairly cheap: $US1200 for the Y650, $US830 for the other two when they roll out in March.

IdeaPad Y650, Y550, Y450 Laptops
Lenovo’s latest IdeaPad Y Series laptops deliver powerful Hi-Definition entertainment in new sizes that are smaller, thinner and lighter than the previous generation to give more choices to consumers. The three Y Series laptops – the Y650, Y550, and Y450 – share the same modern soft black design featuring an interlocked hexagon pattern on the top cover along with a discrete copper accent around the perimeter of the laptop.

Lenovo delivers its first 16-inch widescreen laptop, the IdeaPad Y650, to the distinction of being the thinnest and lightest laptop in its class1. In fact, the laptop weighs even lighter than many 15-inch laptops, providing users with an additional inch of screen space without compromising on mobility. Making use of special materials like carbon fibre, as used in the aerospace and automotive industries, Lenovo has engineered the laptop down to a slender one-inch at its thinnest point with a weight of just 5.6 pounds.

The expanded Y Series add three new 16:9 screen sizes: the 16-inch Y650, the 15.6-inch Y550, and the 14-inch Y450 laptops. The new Y Series laptops are configurable with up to 500GB of hard drive storage space and up to 4GB of DDR3 memory.

Designed for HD and Multimedia
To provide an exceptional Hi-Definition entertainment and multimedia experience, the Y Series laptops are equipped with 16:9 format glossy widescreen panels, optional latest generation NVIDIA GFX graphics for gaming and smooth HD video playback and Dolby® Home Theater™ surround sound. The IdeaPad Y650 laptop also features JBL speakers for a rich, resonate sound.

The Y Series includes the new Lenovo OneKey™ Theatre software to enhance the audio and visual experience. By pressing a button, OneKey Theatre gives users an easy way to adjust the PC’s display and sound effect settings. Users can switch from normal mode to movie mode on the fly to optimise the picture when watching movies or playing games. The Y Series also includes Lenovo Desktop Navigator so users can toggle between shortcuts, files and other frequently used programs just by placing their finger along the touch-sensitive slide bar. For extra convenience, users can simply use the multi-touch touchpad below the keyboard and use their fingertips to enlarge or reduce image size. Additionally, an ambient light sensor on the IdeaPad Y650 laptop automatically adjusts screen brightness based on surrounding light conditions, helping to reduce eye strain.

Lenovo has added new levels of performance to its Y Series by equipping them with the latest Intel processors as well as DDR3 memory to help applications respond more quickly under multi-tasking conditions. Now users can burn DVDs in less time, compress and open large documents more easily and enjoy smoother, more realistic gaming. Y Series laptops have several wireless connectivity options including WiFi and optional Bluetooth.

For added convenience, Lenovo’s latest VeriFace™ facial recognition technology combines Windows log-in and file encryption for logging onto the PC and for password-protecting individual files.

The new Y Series also features Lenovo’s OneKey™ Rescue System to help users to recover their data and restore critical system files after system failures, viruses and other mishaps.

IdeaPad S10 Netbook
Lenovo’s IdeaPad S10 netbook – an affordable secondary PC for the home or for the first-time PC user – is ideal for connecting to the Internet, messaging with friends, completing homework or even making Skype calls. Lenovo is updating the popular IdeaPad S10 netbook with new multimedia and networking tools for social networking enthusiasts ranging from newbie’s to the most social of socialites.

While many early adopters are familiar with the world of social networking, some mainstream consumers are only taking the first steps. Through a new Lenovo tool called LenovoSocial, that comes preloaded on the netbook, users can easily connect to a resource portal that will help them navigate the vast options for participating in social networking.

Other new features on the IdeaPad S10 netbook include Lenovo Quick Start. With this functionality, users will have the ability to access a number of frequently used applications including a web browser, music player, photo viewer, instant messaging tools and Skype. New to the netbook is Lenovo’s VeriFace™ facial recognition technology, a convenient tool for easy log-in. Similar to the IdeaPad Y Series laptops, the netbook features multi-touch functionality on the trackpad and Lenovo’s OneKey™ Rescue System.

The new IdeaPad S10 netbook’s 10.2-inch LED backlight display, 0.9 inch thick frame and 2.4 pound weight make it an ideal companion to tote in a backpack or shoulder bag. Colour choices include black, white, red, blue, or pink.

Pricing and Availability4
The new IdeaPad Y650, Y550, Y450 laptops and S10 netbook will be available beginning in March. Manufacturer suggested retail pricing (MSRP) for models starts at $1,199 for the IdeaPad Y650, $829 for the IdeaPad Y550 and Y450, and $349 for the IdeaPad S10 netbook. The IdeaCentre A600 all-in-one desktop will be available beginning in April with MSRP for models starting at $999.

IdeaPad Y650
16:9 16-inch HD 1366 X 768 WLED type display
Intel Centrino 2 – Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 1066 MHz FSB and 6 MB L2 cache, Intel GM45 Chipset, Intel GMA 4500 MHD graphics
Memory – Up to 4 GB, DDR3 800/1066 MHz DRAM
Graphics – Up to Discrete nVidia N10M-GE1/256M GDDR3 VRAM
Storage – Up to 500 GB, 5400 rpm
Battery – 3.5 hours with UMA, 2.5 hours with discrete, 6-cell 2000mAH
Weight – 5.62 pounds
Dimensions – 390 X 260 X 26.1 mm
Intel® WiMax/ WiFi Link 5100 a/g/n, 10/100/1000 Ethernet, Bluetooth® (Option)
9.5 mm SATA Optical (DVD Rambo, Optional Blu-Ray Combo & Rambo)
Dolby Home Theatre sound
Lenovo Desktop Navigator
Ambient Light Sensor technology
VeriFace 3.5 facial recognition
2 X 2 watt JBL speakers
Integrated 1.3 megapixel USB 2.0 LCD camera
6-in-1 multicard reader
2 USB 2.0 ports, E-sata, RJ45, VGA, Mic-In, Headphone, HDMI, TV, optional 34 mm Express Card slot, mini-PCIe slot (WLAN)
VeriFace™ 3.5, EasyCapture 3.5, Power2GOBD 5.5 (w/ BD optical support), Power2GO(W/O BD optical support), PlayMovie 1.51.3928(For Home Premium and BD optical), WinDVD(For Home Basic w/o BD Optical ), Dolby control centre, OneKey Theatre, Napster 4.1.0.4(Only for US), Wild Tangent, Norton Internet Security 2008, Lenovo Energy Management Software 3.1, OneKey Rescue System, Lenovo ReadComm 4.0, Carbonite, Microsoft/Lenovo Portal, Microsoft Office Ready, Adobe Reader 8.1, Windows Live 1.0, Office Ready 2007, Lenovo Desktop Navigator, DDNi (Only for USA)

IdeaPad Y550
16:9 15.6-inch HD/full HD, 1366 x 768 display
Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 800 MHz FSB and 2 MB L2 cache, Intel GM45 Chipset, Intel GMA 4500 MHD graphics
Memory – Up to 4 GB DDR3 800/1066 MHz DRAM
Graphics – Intel GMA x4500, Up to Nvidia NB10P-GE1 w/512 MB GDDR3 VRAM
Storage – Up to 500 GB, 5400 rpm
Battery – 4.5 hours with UMA, 3.5 hours with discrete
Weight – 6 pounds<
br> Dimensions – 385 x 255 x 26-37 mm
Latest 5100 a/g/n wireless, Ethernet, optional Bluetooth
Dolby Home Theatre sound
Lenovo Desktop Navigator
VeriFace 3.5 facial recognition
Touch sensitive controls
One Key Theatre, One Key Rescue software, Easy Capture 3.5, Power2Go, Lenovo Ready Comm 4.0, Win DVD, Dolby control centre, Napster 4.1.04, Wild Tangent, Norton Internet Security 2008, Lenovo Energy Management Software 3.1, Carbonite, Microsoft/Lenovo Portal, Microsoft Office Ready, Adobe Reader 8.1, Windows Live 1.0, Office Ready 2007, DDNi
Home Premium SP1 32/64 bit

IdeaPad Y450
16:9 14-inch W LED 1366×768 display
Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 800 MHz FSB and 2 MB L2 cache, Intel GM45 Chipset, Intel GMA 4500 MHD graphics
Memory – Up to 4 GB DDR3 800/1066 MHz DRAM
Graphics – Intel GMA x4500, Up to Nvidia NB10P-GE1 w/512 MB GDDR3 VRAM
Storage – Up to 500 GB, 5400 rpm
12.7 mm SATA optical (DVD Rambo, optional Blu-Ray Combo and Rambo)
Battery – 4.5 hours with UMA, 3.5 hours with discrete
Weight – 4.6 pounds
Dimensions – 340 X 232 X 21-34.8 mm
Dolby Home Theatre sound
Lenovo Desktop Navigator
Touch sensitive controls
VeriFace 3.5 facial recognition
One Key Theatre, One Key Rescue software, Easy Capture 3.5, Power2Go, Lenovo Ready Comm 4.0, Win DVD, Dolby control centre, Napster 4.1.04, Wild Tangent, Norton Internet Security 2008, Lenovo Energy Management Software 3.1, Carbonite, Microsoft/Lenovo Portal, Microsoft Office Ready, Adobe Reader 8.1, Windows Live 1.0, Office Ready 2007, DDNi
Home Premium SP1 32/64 bit

The U330, which is the cousin to the U110, also has an integrated webcam with facial recognition software, touch sensitive media controls, HDMI out, and an LED-backlit display. Lenovo is also dropping a couple other consumer notebooks: Y730 and Y530 update the Y710 and Y510, while Y430 throws in a 14-inch version. Lenovo expects to release the U330 in the fall.

IdeaPad U330
Lenovo designed its “U” series to be all about expressing ideas with style. The IdeaPad U330 notebook is a super-slim ultra-light addition to the widely-acclaimed IdeaPad U110 notebook, introduced in the spring. Available in a glossy Indigo blue and Bold black, the notebook starts at 0.9 inches thin and weighs just over four pounds. Equipped with the latest version of VeriFace™ facial recognition technology, consumers can now access encrypted files and record a 30-second video message for other users. Designed with Dolby® Home Theatre and touch-sensitive multimedia controls, the notebook comes equipped with HDMI and an optional built-in DVD burner.

The IdeaPad U330 notebook also includes switchable graphics. This enables the user to run energy efficient integrated graphics while on battery power and then switch to discrete graphics for more powerful performance when “plugged in.” The notebook also includes an LED backlit display, five hours of battery life and Lenovo’s Active Protection System (APS), a feature pioneered on ThinkPad notebooks. Lenovo’s APS technology helps protect the data on the hard drive if the notebook should fall. And if the operating system should crash, users can recover their data at the touch of a button with the One-Key Rescue System1.

The Decor
The top is a sharp red with tendril textures—actually quite classy in person. Flip it upside-down and you’ll see that even the air vents feature a touch of style.

The Weight
Lenovo’s U110 weighs just 1.1kg (and 1.3kg with the larger battery). That’s less than 200 grams more than the Eee and, trust me, it’s freakin’ light. So you know though, 1.3 kg feels way, way heavier than 1.1. The “ohhh” factor is lost with the bigger battery.

The Screen
In the past, I’ve found that the Eee screen was too small for enjoyable use. The HP Mini Note was borderline. Now I’ve found the perfect size. 11.1″ WXGA (1366×768) is just right for comfortable multitasking. And it’s LED. Ooooh!

The Keyboard
I’m digging the keyboard. The Backspace button has been chopped a bit beyond my penchant for typos, but the keyboard is generally spacious enough for sure. And the subtly concave “piano painting” buttons feel excellent to the touch.

Glowy Button Things
Touch the panel above the keyboard for a tattoo-like glow of buttons. They offer some hot key support and extra sound control. Looks kinda neat, works kinda crappy.

The Footprint
The 27 x 19.6 x 1.8-2.2 cm dimensions can be tough to picture. That’s quite small. Just know that it’s officially beyond impulse purse stuffing size.

The Hookups
Tons of good stuff here: 3 USB ports, FireWire, multi-card reader, Mini-PCIe, Express Card, mic, headphones, Ethernet, and VGA out.

Little Extras
Lenovo packed in the little details. You get two batteries (4-cell and 7-cell) depending on your desired weight load. You get an external USB DVD drive since it lacks one of its own. Oh, and you get a cloth for the unbelievable smudgetastic glossy finish.

The Speed
The Lenovo U110 is not a speed machine. You can look at Vista’s performance rating of 3.5 to draw your own conclusions (3.0 is Aero graphics minimum), or you can know that, more often than not, it can become a bit irritating waiting for programs to launch. It’s not a “OMG THIS IS SOOOO SLOOOW” slow, but it is “Boy, I wish Office would load a bit faster” slow.

The Battery
The 4-cell 1750mAH battery is rated at two hours. In the default “balanced” processing mode, I received less than an hour of runtime from normal use. Since the 7-cell battery is rated at six hours of use, expect only three.

VeriFace 2.5
VeriFace scans your face and loads your computer without the need for typing. And it works great…when it works. Booting Vista, a Veriface animation pops up for about three seconds and loads with no problem. But for some reason—and correlation is by no means causation—I found that when waking the computer, VeriFace had recognition problems quite often. You are left sitting there like an idiot, double checking your lighting, positioning and hairdo…realising that maybe you aren’t pretty enough to touch this beautiful computer.

The Price
It’s US$1899. That’s US$100 more than the MacBook Air. For that, many Windows lovers may consider Lenovo’s X300. And they’d be right to. EVDO and a solid state drive would be great additions to the U110. And for not much more money, size or weight, you can get that with the X300.

Should You Buy It?
Let’s put it this way—it’s buyable. It’s not the fastest Vista laptop, and if you want any decent battery life you’ll lose a chunk of the ultra-sexy form factor. But if you want a fully-capable laptop that’s extremely mobile—one that I’d say can conceivably function as your main computer—then sure. Because while the smaller battery’s life may be less than optimal, the real purchase-preventer here seems to be the price. And if you don’t care, neither do we.

Processor (speed, L2 cache, FSB) Intel® Core™2 Duo L7500 (1.60 GHz, 4 MB, 800 MHz) Operating system Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium Display/resolution 11.1″ widescreen WXGA (1366 x 768) LED backlit Video graphics Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 Hard drive 120GB 4200rpm Parallel ATA Memory 2GB PC2-5300/667 MHz (up to 3GB in retail) Optical drive Dual Layer CD/DVD Recordable (external via USB) Camera 1.3 megapixel integrated camera Sound 2 speakers, Dolby® Home Theater™ Integrated communications 10/100 Ethernet, Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AG, Bluetooth (select models) Weight 2.4 lb. with 4 cell battery (1.09 kg) Dimensions 10.8” x 7.7” x 0.72”-0.88” (275mm x196mm x 18.4 -22.4mm) Warranty 1 year system /1 year battery Battery life (4-cell Li-Ion plus 7-cell Li-Ion) Approx. 8 hr. (4-cell approx. 2 hr., plus 7-cell approx. 6 hr.) Expansion 3 USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, VGA, 6-in-1 card reader (SD/SD Pro, MS/MS Pro, MMC, XD), Mini-PCIe slot, Express Card slot, microphone jack, headphone jack Included software VeriFace™ 2.0; EasyCapture 2.5; OneKey Recovery 4.65; Energy Management 3.1; Adobe Reader 8.1; Power2GO 5.5; Shuttle Centre 2.0; Norton Antivirus 2007 (90 days of virus definitions); Microsoft Windows Live™ portal; Microsoft Office® (trial version)

[Lenovo]