July 6 - 10:50am EDT   The N510 11.6-inch netbook from Samsung that was recently leaked and powered by the NVIDIA Ion platform and an Intel Atom N-series CPU will be released sometime in July, DigiTimes reported on Monday. The netbook should be be powered by a 1.66GHz Atom processor, include 1GB of memory and house a 160GB hard drive. It will still ship with Windows XP, instead of Vista, despite Intel's netbook rules that call for XP. [full story]

July 2 - 9:05am EDT   Many of the Windows PC makers building ultraportable notebooks based on Intel's low-cost CULV platform are learning first-hand that their cheaper case designs aren't enough to sustain the systems, a research note from AmTech analyst Doug Freedman says. Many of the companies design the systems with plastic shells to keep their prices down but are discovering that the cases are cracking, often forcing major replacements. Which companies are affected aren't mentioned, but Lenovo and MSI are some of the first making systems in the category with the IdeaPad U350 and X-Slim line respectively. [full story]

June 24 - 5:20pm EDT   Lenovo is now shipping its IdeaPad S12 notebook PC in the US. The 12.1-inch netbook PC sports the prerequisite 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU and a 1280x800 resolution. The netbook will also be the first to offer NVIDIA's Ion chipset later this summer, giving it 1080p HD video and 3D video processing capabilities along with an HDMI output. The versions now shipping include an integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics processor. [full story]

June 2 - 7:45am EDT   Intel at Computex today formally outlined the details of its mid-year refresh of its notebook processors, including its Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) platform. The new platform is intended to bring ultraportable designs to low-cost but still reasonably fast systems and centers on Intel's new GS40 mobile chipset. The technology is a fraction the size of the regular notebook platform, permitting far smaller and thinner systems, but still has a GMA 4500 graphics core capable of full hardware HD video decoding, higher-level 3D features and native HDMI output. [full story]

May 27 - 5:00pm EDT   The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 netbook introduced by the hardware manufacturer earlier this month is now available to be ordered from Lenovo's website, with retail store availability for the PC being early June. Specs for the 10.1-inch, 1024x600 resolution netbook include a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, a 160GB hard disk drive preloaded with Windows XP, a Wi-Fi radio and a six-cell battery. [full story]

May 25 - 8:55am EDT   Lenovo completed its PC introductions today with a nettop as well as a low-cost, mid-size notebook. The IdeaCentre C300 has a 20-inch display and a DVD burner like many full all-in-ones but uses a 1.6GHz Atom 230 to drive down costs. It has a distinctly fashion-oriented design and comes in a more exotic red as well as black or white. [full story]

May 25 - 7:55am EDT   Lenovo chose Memorial Day to launch a range of PC updates that include a world-first. The IdeaPad S12 is the first netbook to have an option for NVIDIA's Ion platform and overcomes one of the performance setbacks for netbooks: the advanced graphics can fully decode 1080p HD in hardware and is capable of 3D that would be off limits for Intel-based video. It also helps drive visuals on the newly enlarged 12-inch, 1280x800 display or the (optional) HDMI output. [full story]

May 11 - 2:15pm EDT   Lenovo this afternoon unveiled its first major revision to the IdeaPad S series in the form of the S10-2. The new netbook is significantly friendlier with a rounded design and a thinner, lighter chassis that weighs 2.2 pounds. It also gets an improved keyboard and multiple lid color options as well as a version with 3G networking. [full story]

May 4 - 4:40pm EDT   Lenovo today inadvertently confirmed plans to rework its 10-inch S10 netbook through a user guide (PDF) for the new model. Currently known as the IdeaPad S10-2, it would have a friendlier design with rounded corners and a new display hinge but, importantly, would come with a 3G modem and a user-accessible SIM card slot behind the battery. In exchange, the ExpressCard/34 slot would be removed. [full story]

May 1 - 4:25pm EDT   Lenovo has started shipping its latest 15.6-inch notebook, the IdeaPad Y550, and offers six models of the portable PC, with prices ranging from $669 to $1,199. All include a 1366x768 widescreen display and an integrated dual-layer DVD burner. The base model has a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of RAM, along with a 250GB hard drive preloaded with Windows Vista Home Premium. [full story]

April 24 - 8:10am EDT   Lenovo is considering making a netbook under the ThinkPad name, the company's Worldwide Competitive Analyst Matthew Kohut said in an interview late Thursday. While nothing is definite, the researcher noted to Australian magazine APC that Lenovo is "exploring" a step up above the IdeaPad netbooks released so far. What this would entail isn't specified, though he explains that pressure exists to create a more business-friendly netbook and that screen sizes may go up. [full story]

March 25 - 4:25pm EDT   Lenovo on Wednesday afternoon said it would reorganize itself into major divisions in a bid to improve its focus. At the highest level, the company plans to create a group that handles "mature" markets, such as Japan and North America, as well as a second group that handles "emerging" markets like Lenovo's native China as well as Africa, the Middle East and other areas where PCs are less widespread. Previously, Lenovo had organized itself into much smaller groups based on continents. [full story]

February 24 - 11:30am EST   NVIDIA is poised to update its flagship notebook graphics chipsets at the CeBIT expo with new models that should include firsts for the category, a new scoop reveals. Without pointing to specific sources, Fudzilla claims the GeForce GTX 260M and 280M will appear next week and will be based on a smaller, more recent 55 nanometer process that will let NVIDIA include a full 128 visual processing cores and a 256-bit wide memory bus, both of which are relatively new to notebooks. NVIDIA is said to expect the top-end 280M to run about 30 percent faster than AMD's ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 and also outperform its own 9800M GTX. [full story]

February 18 - 8:20am EST   Lenovo may be one of the first PC makers to adopt NVIDIA's Ion platform in a netbook, the Taiwan-area Commercial Times paper claims. The PC maker is reportedly asking local contractor Wistron to build 11.6- and 12.1-inch IdeaPads for the spring that would combine the much faster, GeForce 9400M-level graphics of Ion with an Intel Atom processor. The company is also said mulling a 13-inch model using the same technology. [full story]

February 16 - 1:20pm EST   PC maker Lenovo is planning to launch a 12-inch netbook powered by the recently released Intel Atom N280 CPU, says a Monday DigiTimes report. Known as the IdeaPad S20, the netbook would violate Intel's restrictions for the use of its Atom chips, which aren't normally allowed for systems with greater than 10-inch screens. Lenovo would have to pay about a $10 premium per chip when purchased in bulk. Despite this, Lenovo is believed to be wagering that its offering of a unique product would help it boost sales and avoid competing in the hotly contested 10-inch market. [full story]