Lenovo has taken the wraps off its latest IdeaPad laptop and IdeaCentre desktop offerings, which are built around Intel’s ultra-low-power Core processor family and ship with Windows 7 aboard. All the new products are slated to go on sale at U.S. retail outlets and online resellers between now and December.
The new machines are designed to fulfill both consumer and professional demands for improved multimedia and multitasking capabilities, as well as enhanced mobility and greater data security, the company said. What’s more, Lenovo’s new Idea machines offer faster PC boot and shutdown times as a byproduct of a joint engineering effort by Lenovo and Microsoft.
Netbook Alternatives
To be priced at $1,149, the IdeaPad Y550P is Lenovo’s first laptop to feature Intel’s Core i7 chip with Turbo Boost technology, which automatically allows the processor to run faster than the base operating frequency as long as it is operating below power, current and temperature-specification limits. The new machine also sports GeForce video graphics technology from Nvidia, a 15.6-inch widescreen HD display, Dolby Home Theater surround sound, and a touch-sensitive bar above the keyboard for quickly navigating programs and shortcuts.
Users attracted to netbook portability but concerned about overall performance will want to take a look at Lenovo’s IdeaPad U150, which is only 13.5mm thick, packs light at 1.35 kg and will be priced at $585. The new machine sports an energy-efficient Intel Core 2 Duo processor, an 11.6-inch HD widescreen display, and support for up to 8GB of DDR3 memory.
The IdeaPad U150 features an active hard-disk protection system that protects the drive if the laptop gets bumped or dropped. Moreover, the sleek and slim laptop runs the latest version of Lenovo’s oneKey rescue system, which in addition to performing data backups also includes an antivirus-scanning app that runs even before the operating system…