Lenovo's rumored ThinkPad netbook will launch at the start of the next year, a leak today says. It's now purportedly named the ThinkPad X100e and may ship on January 5th, just ahead of CES. System specs are only guessed at but may not necessarily cling to the Atoms found in the IdeaPads; instead, it's speculated that Lenovo may use either Intel's CULV processors or an AMD Athlon Neo.
An image of what is believed to be an upcoming Lenovo ThinkPad netbook, the x200e, has surfaced online. While the company has only said it's considering the concept, the leak suggests the computer is real and appears to have a cosmetically different form factor and that it may still use Windows XP.
Lenovo on Monday introduced the ThinkCentre A70z, an all-in-one system geared for small- and medium-size businesses. The systems offer a choice between Intel Core2 Duo or Celeron Dual Core processors, with hard-drive options reaching up to 500GB. A DVD drive, webcam, integrated speakers, and optional Wi-Fi components round out the specs.
A series of tests have revealed that even newer Windows 7 PCs are being bogged down by unnecessary software that makes them run much more slowly than Macs. Comparing factory versions of several notebooks versus clean models, PC Pro finds that Acer and Sony systems take about two whole minutes more to boot because of the "crapware," or third-party utilities and trial apps, preloaded out of the box. They also consume roughly 1GB more extra active RAM and also rob the system of as much as 2.4GB of space in Acer's case.
Having just introduced its IdeaCentre B500 all-in-one, Lenovo today quietly provided a teaser on its Flickr account for a new ThinkCentre counterpart. The lone photo has few details but does confirm built-in speakers, a webcam and a wireless keyboard and mouse combo. Most ThinkCentre PCs are higher-end and are likely to involve Core 2 processors.
After a significant delay past its original summer goal, Lenovo on Wednesday began selling a version of its IdeaPad S12 netbook with NVIDIA's Ion graphics onboard. The upgrade comes in tandem with Windows 7 Home Premium and gives it enough visual power to support the full Aero Glass interface as well as to decode 1080p video and handle some more recent 3D. Lenovo also adds Bluetooth 2.1 for wireless peripherals.
Of a recent wave of computer builders entering the smartphone space, only Apple is likely to have more than a small stake the market, Gartner research estimates today. The analyst group believes that "all" major PC firms will have signaled their intentions to build smartphones by the end of 2009 but that none of these will have more than two percent outside of the iPhone maker, even by 2012. Instead, most of the non-Apple growth will be left to traditional phone designers.
Lenovo today sparked life in its IdeaCentre desktops and IdeaPad notebooks by refreshing them for Windows 7 and adding a few completely new models. The IdeaCentre B500 is one of the few all-in-one PCs built for gamers and high-end media use with both a Core 2 Quad, unnamed but dedicated graphics and a built-in JBL speaker system. It also brings a 23-inch 1080p display, 1TB of disk space and a motion remote for an unspecified price.
Lenovo has officially launched a new 11.6-inch IdeaPad notebook in Japan, the U150. The portable is one of Lenovo's first CULV systems and runs a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor with 2GB of RAM. Making the CPU upgrade gives it a faster GMA 4500 graphics core that can better handle the 1366x768 native output. A 250GB hard drive is standard fare, and the IdeaPad is one of Lenovo's first with Windows 7 to come stock.
Lenovo today began shipping two of its ThinkPad SL series notebooks with Windows 7. The SL410 and the SL510 have 14-inch and 15.6-inch LED-backlit LCD screen, respectively, while sharing the same processor options. Either can be had with dual-core Celerons to Core 2 Duo CPUs.
Lenovo today overhauled its ThinkVision displays with multiple new models that all stress eco-friendliness first. The L2251x Wide, L2251p Wide, L2250p Wide, L1951p Wide and L1711p all use about 50 percent less power than the LCDs they replace. The L2251x Wide in particular is held up as the green example with 65 percent of its body made from post-use recycled plastics.
Apple has successfully recaptured its fourth place spot in US computer market share, according to early estimates from IDC. The Mac creator had slipped in spring but should now have bounced back to claim 9.4 percent of shipments, or about 1.64 million Macs. The number is a rapid 35.2 percent growth in what it had shipped one season earlier and is a rare example of a sharp year-over-year growth in the current climate, as it represents an 11.8 percent boost over Apple's share a year ago, in summer 2008.
Activist group Greenpeace has released a new edition of its Guide to Greener Electronics, which ranks major high-tech corporations in terms of their alleged environmental friendliness. Among the companies favored by Greenpeace's press efforts is Apple, which the group notes recently disclosed its carbon emissions. Apple has risen in rankings from 11th to 9th, aided not by the disclosure but by being the "most progressive" computer maker in terms of removing product toxins.
HP's plans for a notebook with a 3D display could soon be followed by at least one and as many as three more computer makers, a Taiwan area newspaper said on Friday. The Commercial Times claims that local assembler Wistron is not only contracted by HP to build the notebooks but has been tapped by Dell to build a similar design. Talks are also reportedly underway with Lenovo and Sony as well.
Lenovo recently released its latest all-in-one nettop, the IdeaCentre C100. It sports an 18.5-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio screen with a 1600x900 resolution but measures just 2 inches thick. The system can be equipped with either a single- or dual-core 1.6GHz Atom.
Lenovo today became the latest PC vendor to enter the multi-touch game with updates to both the ThinkPad T400s and the X200 Tablet. Both now recognize at least two fingers and, besides being better-suited to Windows 7, have a new companion app known as SimpleTap that provides quick finger-driven shortcuts to simple but important tasks like changing the volume, toggling Wi-Fi or putting the system to sleep.
China Unicom on Friday confirmed in its interim results that it had reached an agreement with Apple to carry the iPhone in China. The news supports word of finished talks and will launch the smartphone sometime in the fall. Most terms aren't available, but China Unicom has said the deal extends for three years and that two models will be involved, at least one of which is likely the 16GB iPhone 3GS.
At least two netbooks based on NVIDIA's Ion graphics technology are being consciously delayed, according to reports. Lenovo is said to be postponing the Ion version of the IdeaPad S12, waiting until the release of Windows 7 in October. The new OS should make an Ion S12 more attractive than one loaded with Vista, the company says.
Sony has quietly pulled the VAIO TT from its lineup. The move ends Sony's current participation in the ultraportable world and comes without any sign of an immediate replacement. Dropping the system leaves only the Atom-based VAIO P and VAIO W with screens below 10 inches in Sony's lineup.
Lenovo this afternoon put an end to speculation and launched its IdeaCentre Q series of mini desktops as well as its first Windows Home Server. The Q110 is Lenovo's first home nettop and gets NVIDIA's Ion chipset, giving it enough power to decode 1080p in hardware as well as render reasonably modern 3D as well as accelerate some heavily optimized tasks like video encoding. Its other specs aren't known but involve HD video output and should be based on an Intel Atom chip at its $349 price.
PC maker Lenovo has began recalling certain batteries used in its ThinkPad notebooks, Chinese daily DigiTimes reported on Friday. The possibly affected notebooks include the ThinkPad R60, R61, T60, T61, X60 and X61, though the issue isn't thought to be safety related. Some of the batteries may not be able to be charged or suffer from irreparable damage, Lenovo said. The company has provided users with a downloadable diagnostic tool that will show whether their battery qualifies for a replacement.
The Chinese government has relented in its plans to impose web filtering software on computers, a statement from the country's industry and technology minister suggests. Li Yizhong claims that the Communist Party will "absolutely not" force installation of Green Dam-Youth Escort on every computer sold in the country, despite the fears of both corporations and political dissenters. Nominally meant to block pornography, critics have claimed that the software could easily be used to extend censorship beyond current network filtering techniques.
Before any type of official announcement, Lenovo has put up a product page for its Q700 home theater PC. There will be two models of the PC available, both powered by Intel's 2.5GHz Dual-core CPU, 4GB of RAM and Intel's integrated X4500 processor. Either has a DVD recorder, but the higher-end model gets a 640GB hard drive instead of the standard model's 320GB HDD. Either is preloaded with Windows Vista Home Premium 64. The standard model also lacks a network card, while the upgraded variant has a LAN connection.
After releasing several teaser images and specs on its website recently, PC maker Lenovo has unceremoniously launched the full-blown product page for its IdeaPad U450p notebook PC. The U450p uses Intel's CULV chips, but unlike the previously released IdeaPad U350, it uses a larger 14-inch LCD and adds an optical drive. With the official release, specs are now known for the notebooks.
Chinese computer maker Lenovo has suffered a net loss in its most recent fiscal quarter, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company lost the equivalent of $16.01 million, as compared to a net profit of $110.5 million posted in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue is meanwhile noted to have slipped 18 percent in Q109, from $4.21 billion to $3.46 billion. When ignoring restructuring costs and some one-time expenses, Lenovo claims it turned a small profit.
Apple has maintained a decisive lead in technical support rankings for 2009, according to a new Laptop study. Of ten major companies tested, only Apple managed an "A" grade for its help, earning it across both its ability to solve problems on calls and online; it also kept hold times to under five minutes and located its support only in North America. The company is further helped by having a dedicated retail network that can address questions in person, the magazine adds.
Lenovo recently showed its upcoming IdeaCentre C100 all-in-one nettop PC to a group of journalists, revealing a 20-inch screen and a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU with either 1GB or 2GB of RAM. Initial versions will have a 20-inch screen and run on the Windows Vista operating system, though later versions will have Windows 7 and a touchscreen. A DVD burner will be integrated, while hard drives will range from 80GB to 160GB units.
The number of 3G phone users in the US should overtake those in Japan for the first time in the space of two years, a new TeleGeography study says. Although Japan has had the largest 3G base since becoming the first country to get the speed in 2001, it's expected that the sheer number of users in the US will eclipse Japan's by 2011. The delay comes partly because of very quick adoption in the Asian country, where about 85 percent of all its users have 3G hardware.
Computer manufacturer Lenovo has posted a teaser page for an upcoming IdeaPad U450p notebook, revealing nearly no information at all as a full-blown product page does not yet exist. At 14 inches, it's the larger sibling to the recently launched 13.3-inch IdeaPad U350 and will add an optical drive. Like the U350, it will be powered by a range of Intel's Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) processors, though which ones exactly isn't known.
AT&T on Monday grew its netbook lineup to include two 3G versions of common netbooks. Its version of Acer's Aspire One, Dell's Inspiron Mini 10 and Lenovo's IdeaPad S10 will all have built-in 3G modems for online use anywhere in a coverage area as well as free access to AT&T's Wi-Fi hotspots. The three have similar 10-inch displays, 1GB of memory, 160GB hard drives, Windows XP and multi-touch trackpads.
Apple has sunk a full position in the US computer market during the spring, according to early estimates by IDC. The Mac producer is expected to have dropped from fourth place in the winter to fifth in the spring as it should have shipped 12.4 percent fewer computers than it did a year earlier, falling to 1.21 million Macs. Its market share is poised to remain the same at 7.6 percent but will have been eclipsed by Toshiba, which could jump over a full percentage point to ship 7.7 percent of PCs in the US.
Google chief Eric Schmidt last evening said he would talk to Apple to determine whether or not he should recuse himself from the Mac maker's board of directors following the unveiling of Chrome OS. The executive told those at Allen & Co's technology conference that there is currently "no issue" with his remaining on the board but that he will ask Apple if it sees a conflict of interest to have another desktop operating system developer involved in its decisions. Apple itself hasn't commented on any possible change in relationship.
The economic crunch is making a major impact on the viability of solid-state drives in notebooks, according to new research from iSuppli. As prices for the NAND flash memory that form the heart of these drives have in some cases more than doubled -- 128 percent for a 2GB chip -- the costs for the SSDs themselves have gone up proportionately, making it difficult or occasionally impossible to offer an SSD option in a given notebook. The jump is the result of a known shortage triggered by the economy, as companies producing memory deliberately cut production to raise prices and save money.
(Update: proven fake) Google's just-announced Chrome OS may have already been spotted courtesy of a leak from a staffer for a part supplier for Acer, which is already confirmed as one of those producing netbooks using the new platform. Installed on an older notebook to prove it doesn't require a new PC, the private beta is extremely minimal and has a Windows 7-like taskbar with a program launch menu and running apps showing on the bar as icons. A search field can be added to the bar.
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.
Only Windows PCs may be required to carry China's controversial Green Dam Youth Escort content filtering app, computer makers said on Friday. Although the government officially requires every computer sold in the country to have the software included, any system that can't install Green Dam, including any of Apple's computers or Linux PCs, doesn't have to bundle it. The exemption also applies to any computer that doesn't meet the "technical requirements" for an install, according to one anonymous PC vendor.
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.
Large PC builders are dragging their feet when it comes to environmental promises, claims Greenpeace. The activist group has once again updated its Guide to Greener Electronics, which assigns relative rankings to major high-tech corporations. A new development is the assignment of "penalty points" to major PC builders, including HP, Dell and Lenovo. The companies have delayed plans to strip PVC and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from computers, Greenpeace says, and in the case of HP, none of its current systems have reduced toxicity.
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.
Lenovo on Tuesday launched an anticipated refinement of one of its most important notebooks in the ThinkPad T400s. The 14-inch notebook takes advantage of both an LED-backlit display as well as the same, small and light drive cage used in the X301 to shrink both the thickness and weight of the T400 without compromising its feature set. It measures just over 0.8 inches thick and is 20 percent lighter at just under 4 pounds, but can still fit a DVD or Blu-ray drive as well as regular Core 2 Duo notebook processors.
Clearwire on Tuesday officially released its 4G WiMAX wireless broadband network in Atlanta, making it the largest city in the US to offer the service. The service, CLEAR, is available to about three million people in a 1,200-square mile area, offering users DSL-like cable speeds wherever they are, wirelessly. Running on a WiMAX radio system from Motorola, the service is said to deliver realistic download speeds between 4 and 6Mbps, with burst speeds greater than 15Mbps. In comparison, existing 3G networks provide download speeds between 1 and 1.7Mbps.
Dell's rumored Android device may have finally been captured in an image captured in a Chinese forum post (membership required to see). The image shows a handset with a full and reportedly capacitive (finger-controlled) touchscreen running Google's mobile OS, but reveals few other clues as to its features. It clearly exists in a prototype stage and not yet close to product.
New images show there may soon be an addition to Lenovo's ThinkPad T400 notebook range with a new, slimmer model, the T400s. Its 0.83-inch thickness represents a noticeable reduction from the T400's 1.12-inch design. Specs will be shared with the range, according to SOBlog, including a choice of 2.4GHz and 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors and a 14.1-inch, LED-backlit display with a 1440x900 resolution. Due to the T400s' slimness, users won't be able to upgrade from Intel's integrated 4500MHD graphics processor, however.
At the Computex show currently taking place in Taiwan, MSI has shown off its WindBOX nettop PC powered by NVIDIA's Ion chipset. The computer's presence at the show indicates MSI is the latest to jump on the NVIDIA Ion bandwagon, with Acer and Lenovo confirmed to be releasing Ion-based PCs, with ASUS, Foxconn, Pegatron and, most recently, Dell and HP, rumored to be releasing their own as well.
Computer makers HP and Dell will both launch netbooks and all-in-one desktop PCs running on NVIDIA's Ion platform sometime between the start of July and the end of September, says a Tuesday Digitimes report. The unnamed industry sources claim the two manufacturers will join ASUS, Foxconn, Lenovo and Pegatron in providing Ion-based computers, all of which have been linked earlier to the hybrid graphics and system chipset. Models and their features aren't mentioned in the slip.
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.
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.
Taiwan's handset manufacturer HTC is due to release an Android-powered smartphone in China in June, its chief executive Peter Chou told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. The phone will be a version of the Magic, the second Android-powered handset from HTC that went on sale in Europe recently, although with custom software from China Mobile, the world's biggest wireless provider, at about 500 million subscribers. With the Magic, HTC hopes to double its China sales to 1.6 million.
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.
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.
