Ever since late last year, LG has been struggling against the worldwide menace of LCD bezels. I think it’s great, personally — thin-bezel displays means nice multi-monitor setups, more efficient use of space, etc. Their new Blade notebooks mostly use it to look cool, but there ain’t nothing wrong with that, either.
The new 14″ P430 and 15.6″ P530 models focus on being thin and sexy, though I have to say they only half succeed. The body portion of those laptops is looking a bit chunky, though you can’t fault the design from other angles — partly because they’ve cribbed the face design directly from Apple. I know, pretty much everybody does in the laptop world these days, but still.
That bezel really is something, though. They say it’s 40% narrower, essentially letting them put a 14-inch screen on a case designed for a 13.3-inch one. Doesn’t sound like a lot, I know, but in practice, these little usability tweaks make a lot of difference.
These thin guys are more “real” laptops than, say, the MacBook Air, though: they’ve got Core i7s inside, a nice GT520M graphics card, and presumably room for a full-sized hard drive in there. The P430 will be launching everywhere in the world except for the US in May, and the P530 in June.
P430 and P530 Feature Super Slim, Super Light Designs in Super Strong Exterior
SEOUL, May 3, 2011 – LG Electronics (LG) today introduced two notebooks – the P430 and P530 – as the first in the company’s new “Blade” series to be launched later this month.
LG’s Blade series comprises ultra-slim notebooks that deliver the ultimate in style without sacrificing performance. Compared with LG’s first generation slim notebooks (models P210 and P420), the Blade series boasts a noticeably slimmer profile. The P430 and P530, with 14-inch and 15.6-inch LED LCD screen respectively, offer outstanding features that set them apart from the competition in slimness, weight and material.
“The Blade series is the fruition of many months of effort by LG engineers and designers to develop portable computers that deliver beyond the performance, looks and value that today’s consumers have come to expect,” said J.J. Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of LG Electronics PC Business Unit. “Leveraging tomorrow’s technology and breakthrough design, LG will continue to offer slim, beautiful notebooks that raise the bar in portable computing.”
■ Three Super Slims: Screen, Bezel, Body
The minimalist, sophisticated designs of the P430 and P530 feature a super-slim LED LCD screen, bezel and body, creating a new style icon for fashion-forward consumers. The notebooks’ new display technology, developed in collaboration with LG Display, allows the LED LCD screens to be incredibly thin while still delivering rich, sharp images. With respective depths of 4.5mm and 4.7mm, the screens of the P430 and P530 are up to 50 percent thinner than any other notebooks in their class.
Thanks to LG’s world-class bezel technology, LG Blade notebooks boast bezels that are more than 40 percent narrower than other notebooks in the same class. This allows the 14-inch P430 to be designed around a 13.3-inch-class notebook. Together, the thinner display and narrower bezel contribute to LG’s new Blade series being up to 22 percent slimmer than the closest competing product in its class.
– Super Light, Maximum Mobility
The P430 and P530 boast extremely lightweight bodies to maximize mobility. Weighing in at just 1.94kg with a depth of 23.8mm, the P430 is lighter than conventional 13-inch notebooks, while the P530, at 2.2kg, weighs less than traditional 14-inch notebooks. Unlike most notebooks with 14- and 15.6-inch screens, LG’s P430 and P530 are comfortable to carry around in a shoulder bag, making them the ideal companions for work-ing on the road.
– Super Material, Sturdy Exterior
Designed with a metallic case, the P430 and P530 offer a more durable alternative to other slim-style notebooks. The metal casing results in a stronger exterior, ensuring extreme protection despite its ultra-slim depth. With a brushed aluminum finish and diamond cutting, a technology that uses real diamonds to cut the edge of the case, LG’s Blade notebooks have a smooth, high quality cover with a refined and luxurious look. The P430 and P530 are available in two colors: Misty Blue and Titan Black.
– Perfect Mix with Unbeatable Performance
Thanks to the second generation Intel Core i7 processor, the P430 and P530 boast outstanding performance. Intel’s new quad-core processor is 20 percent and 50 percent faster than the previous generation Intel Core i7 processor and the second generation Intel Core i5 processor, respectively. The notebooks also include NVIDIA Graphics GeForce GT520M – which boasts 50 percent better performance than integrated graphics cards – to deliver exciting, game-friendly graphics.
The P430 and P530 include an array of multimedia features including a 1.3 HD web-cam, SRS and DLNA technology to easily share and enjoy photos and videos with other DLNA-enabled devices.
LG’s “Style by Blade” campaign will accompany the roll out of the P430 at the end of May and the P530 a month later in markets throughout Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia.