Lenovo Laptops Preloaded With Ubuntu To Be Sold in India Starting at Rs.48,000

Lenovo To Ship Laptops With Ubuntu In India Starting At INR 48,000

One can expect to get Lenovo laptops preloaded with Ubuntu in India very soon. Lenovo Thinkpad L450 will be the first of these systems to feature only one of two CPUs. However, the selection may become wider over period of time and extend to other countries.

The Thinkpad L450, which is a part of Lenovo’s mainstream L-Series of notebooks is already being sold with Windows in India. An Intel Core i3-500U or an i5-5200U will typically feature in the Ubuntu versions of this system.

The Windows version also has a Core i7 option that is carried by retailers. Lenovo has no plans to sell pre-configured systems with the Core i7 and Ubuntu, as the Ubuntu version of the system is aimed as a cheaper substitute to the Windows-based system. However, this can be bought through Lenovo’s Configure To Order (CTO) service, if someone desire to have this setup.

The pre-configured systems available from retailers will also make use of Intel HD Graphics as an alternative to a distinct GPU. However, AMD GPU options are available under the (CTO) service also.

The initial system offerings will have a 500 GB HDD and 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, irrespective of the CPU used. More models will be available with larger storage devices and more memory later. In the future too, the company may release the system with a wider range of CPUs, however, it is undecided at the present time. Apparently, the sales and popularity of the system will ascertain if Lenovo would design systems with different CPU options.

Taking everything into account, changing to Ubuntu lessens the system cost by a notable large amount. The standard L450 system with Windows 8.1 Pro making use of the Core i3, 4 GB of RAM, and a 500 GB HDD currently costs 59724 INR ($943.02 USD). However, an Ubuntu version of the system with the same hardware specs will cost only 48000 INR ($757.91 USD). Even though most people are used to using Windows nowadays, that is a far reduced price.

As of now, no exact date has been set yet for shipping the system in India. However, it will be interesting to see if Lenovo decides to ship these systems anywhere else in the world. Apparently, the success of this product in India will decide if Lenovo tries more Ubuntu systems in other countries.