Lenovo makes good laptops. This much is clear. But I feel like they’re not particularly exciting. It’s like buying a Subaru. Great cars, sure, but not a lot of flair there (unless they make that gullwing prototype). But I’m going to be honest, if I were to buy a car today, it would probably be a Subaru — or a Leaf, but that’s another story. I’m not a fancy man. I just need to get around.
Same for a PC laptop. These Lenovos, starting at only $649 for a 14-incher, seem very well-equipped and ready for anything. → Read More
Lenovo has just updated its site with some encouraging words, saying that its freaky U1 hybrid tablet-laptop is “coming soon.” The news isn’t really the imminence of its arrival, but rather that it’s arriving at all. I gave it a thorough hands-on at CES, and it seemed pretty beta — but a cool idea. Maybe they’ve worked out some of the kinks? → Read More
Lenovo’s latest flatscreen all-in-one just broke cover and it’s an Intel Nvidia mash-up made in heaven. Behind the 16:9 18.5-inch 1366×768 screen hides a dual-core Intel Atom D510 CPU, which isn’t too bad on its own, but the optional touchscreen and GeForce G210 GPU makes it into a solid multipurpose desktop. Of course you’re not going to be running Crysis 2 on it, but it should handle full-screen Farmville without sweating. → Read More
Lenovo ThinkPads have offered 3G access for a while now but soon Sprint 3G and 4G WiMAX will be available as well. All buyers will need to do is select the Sprint access during the ordering process and their fancy new notebook will arrive with a Sprint SIM card already installed. It’s then just a matter of firing up the Lenovo Access Connection tool to start the service. Of course Sprint will want a monthly service charge as well, but hopefully you can con your company into picking up the tab under the guise of “mobile productivity”.Middle mangers love that type of talk. → Read More
Lenovo company chief Yang Yuanqing said that soon the majority of Lenovo products would run on the mobile web, meaning a cross of 3G and 4G technologies. Most of their current line comes with 3G built in and their ThinkPad line is just screaming out for mobile web simply because it is aimed at the on-the-go professional.
What think I on this topic? I think Lenovo is unqiuely placed to take advantage of the mobile web, along with Dell and HP. All three are seen as “business” notebook manufacturers, for better or worse, and that’s a low margin business. By adding 3G capabilities out of the box they presumably get a cut from the carriers as they sell more units. → Read More
Consumer Reports has a new report on which computer company has the best tech support. Apple wins! That’s what happens when the same company controls the hardware as well as the operating system (and several of the most prominent pieces of software). The highest ranking PC manufacturer is Dell for desktops and Lenovo for laptops. → Read More
This may very well be the first time I’ve ever seen Brando sell a product from a big name manufacturer. Normally known for whimsical crap gadgets from faraway lands (and I mean that in the best way possible), the web store is now selling the HTPC-friendly Lenovo Mini Wireless Keyboard for $64. → Read More
How many roads must a man walk down Before you call him a man? And how many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the sand? How many touchscreen all-in-ones will they announce before they see there is no demand? The answer, my friend, is I don’t know I really have no freaking idea → Read More
They had this thing on display at Unveiled, but there was only one and nobody was really allowed to touch it. But Lenovo was nice enough to let me check this one out at their party last night in the Venetian. I’ve got to start running down to this meeting at a whole other location down the street, so I can’t write a blow by blow, but the video is pretty self-explanatory. The exhibitor is pretty much on autopilot, showing off the different modes, so you’ll get the full show. → Read More
Lenovo’s Snapdragon-based Skylight smartbook is here at CES (see previous coverage). It’s light – really light. I didn’t have too much time to actually test out anything substantial but the physical design is certainly different enough to draw some attention. I couldn’t get a more firm release date than “sometime in April” and AT&T hasn’t revealed subsidized pricing. The full price, as previously reported, will be around $500. → Read More
It’s the new year, and time for some new stuff from Lenovo. The laptop manufacturer announced their latest and greatest recently, the new ThinkPad X100e and the ThinkPad Edge (amongst others). → Read More
Looks like we’re about to see Qualcomm’s ARM-based Snapdragon platform finally start to take off this year. One of the first devices out of the gate will be Lenovo’s unique “Skylight” smartbook. → Read More
Everyone’s all excited about that Freescale gizmo, but it looks like it may have competition. The Lenovo U1 has a similar convertible design, though with a slightly more rounded look. It’s also different in function: when docked, it runs Windows 7 on the dock’s low-power Intel processor, but once detached it uses an ARM CPU to run a lightweight Linux distro.
Not sure how it’s going to handle the segue if you’ve got work in progress and need to dock it, but I’m sure Lenovo has that handled. → Read More
Well hello there, Handsome. File this one under “Stuff I Want Despite No Practical Use In My Household” and cross file it into the “Not Bad For $60” folder. We’re looking at an HTPC-friendly remote control with built-in keyboard, trackball, and media buttons from Lenovo. → Read More
Take that, fat-cats in Congress! OMG! Did you hear? Lenovo has just added a BIOS feature to its new ThinkPads allowing you to swap Ctrl and Fn! Apparently this was a big request for many people in the world and Lenovo, being good guys, listened intently and pushed this passed the faceless bureaucrats in accounting and GOT THIS THROUGH! Hope, people, is what Lenovo promised, and change is what you get. → Read More
A pair of new additions have been announced for Lenovo’s ThinkPad line. So all of those business people who shunned Windows Vista and held onto XP can finally take the plunge to a new OS. These new notebooks are optimized to run Windows 7 along with a host of other little goodies. → Read More
You can always count on Lenovo to have a solid entry in pretty much any PC category. They were previously unrepresented in the home theater PC area, though, so they decided to get on that. The Q700 looks like a nettop, but has a lot more firepower: an actual Core2 (Duo or Quad) processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, up to 600GB of storage… although to save space they’ve gone with integrated graphics. They claim it’ll do 1080p with no problems, but as usual I’m skeptical (it depends on the source). I’d upgrade the processor if I were getting one. → Read More
Quick Version: The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 represents one of the first netbooks to feature VIA’s Nano platform as a configuration option. You’ll gain some extra horsepower over Intel’s Atom setup while saving about $70 off the total system price, making the Nano a good option for those of you who want to watch 720p video. All that power comes at a price, though: decreased battery life, as the included six-cell battery only manages a little over four hours. → Read More
Green Dam, a filtering software that’s supposed to protect China’s population from harmful content (and can be called a piece of garbage on more than one level), seems to trigger anticipatory obedience (you could also call it business sense, I guess) within some PC companies. Even though the Chinese government postponed its plans to make the software mandatory with all PC shipments in the country from July 1, Acer, Asustek and Lenovo already bundle their hardware with Green Dam.
UPDATE – Information from Lenovo after the jump. → Read More
Ah, the netbook. Back in 1999 or so I remember one of my co-workers spent over $3,000 for a mini Sony Vaio PCG-C1, the kind with the tiny keyboard and woefully underpowered processor. Fast forward a decade and we’ve come full circle with the netbook. These still woefully underpowered laptops still have tiny keyboards but they cost a pittance and, for a certain subset of users, they’re some of the most compelling pieces of hardware to come out ofTaiwan and Japan in years. Origin Story The netbook was supposed to save the PC industry. Cast your memory back to 2007. We were just on the edge of the global financial precipice. Desktop sales were flat and laptop sales were soaring. All seemed fine. But there was a problem: the laptop market was considerably different than the desktop market. Desktop PCs sat comfortably in a den and were upgraded over time. Junior wanted to play The Sims so he installed a new graphics card. Sis wanted a scanner – she added an all-in-one. Dad was going through a mid-life crisis so he bought a new case. PCs generated sales in peripherals and, once the PC was maxed out, it was relegated to the basement and a new one purchased. PCs cost a pittance to make and could be sold at a slight profit. Laptops, on the other hand, were stagnant. You bought a laptop and held onto it. For many it became a main computer, but one you never upgraded. You could add some memory and plug in a printer, but you weren’t purchasing overpriced graphics cards or hard drives. → Read More
