Lenovo launches affordable Ideapad 100 Notebook to take on Chromebooks for $250 (Rs.16,000) onwards
Lenovo today unveiled the ultra-affordable $249 Ideapad laptop line touted to take on the Chromebooks. In addition, it also announced the two higher-priced and higher performance new Z-series models at Lenovo Tech World in Beijing.
The Ideapad 100 is much like a Google Chromebook model targeted at people who are interested in handling basic computer tasks such as simple content creation and web surfing. However, the difference here would be that Ideapad 100 would run a full version of Windows 8.1.
Price starting at $250, the Ideapad 100 would be available in 14- and 15-inch screen sizes; however, the screen is 200nits (1,366 x 768). Both the laptops are powered by an Intel Bay Trail M N3540 processor chipset coupled with 8GB of RAM. These depend Intel integrated graphics and can have either have a 128GB SSD or 500GB HDD.
The 14 inch model weighs 1.9kg (0.8in, 4.19lbs) and measures 20.2mm thickness, while the 15 inch model weighs 2.3kg (0.89in, 14.88lbs) and measures 22.6mm in thickness. It comes with a 0.3MP webcam and a 1.5W speaker. The battery is expected to deliver up to 4 hours of battery life. These models are equipped with a single USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 port and an HDMI out port.
Lenovo insists that the Notebook, which features an Intel Atom processor rather than a full-powered Core processor, is good for easy things like “surfing the web, creating content and managing lists.”
Meanwhile, the multimedia-focused Lenovo Z41 and the Lenovo Z51 laptops are a bit more expensive than the Ideapad 100, but are still considered as reasonably priced. The 14-inch Z41 and the 15-inch Z51 feature a full high-definition 1920 X 1080p display at a base price of $499 with an wide range of purchase options.
In both cases, the base models will support up to an Intel Core i7 processor, either HDD or SSHD storage of 1TB, AMD R7-M360 GPU on the Z41 or the AMD R9-M375 on the Z51, 16GB of RAM, two JBL speakers, and have two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port and an HDMI out port. Both the models are expected to have four hours of battery life.
The Z41 model has a weight of 4.63 pounds, while the Z51 model has a weight of 5.07 pounds. The customers can also opt to purchase the optional RealSense 3D camera with the Z51, which users can use for 3D scanning, gaming and gesture control. The Intel camera will increase the Z51’s price to $599.
“We’ve created the new Lenovo Z41, Z51 and Ideapad 100 laptops specifically for customers who want simple and functional design,” said Bai Peng, Lenovo Notebook Business Unit, PC Group VP and general manager, adding that the three laptops will provide more options for the consumers to choose from.
The three laptops will be available in the market in June and are expected to help Lenovo maintain its position in the global PC industry.
