Gadgets and Gizmos

Lenovo Intros IdeaPad Notebooks

Lenovo plans to showcase its new IdeaPad laptops and Idea Centre desktops at CES in Las Vegas. The company said the new systems will complement its existing ThinkPad and Think Centre business PC families, which span from home office to enterprise users. Lenovo bought IBM’s personal PC business in 2005.

The new Idea Pad family includes features such as Multimedia Control Center software for playing movies, listening to music and viewing photos, Dolby Home Theater with surround sound and VeriFace Face Recognition to “make your face your password.” The company disclosed details on three models, the IdeaPad Y510, Y710 and U110.

Designed as a versatile, all-in-one laptop, the new IdeaPad Y510 comes with a 15.4-inch widescreen display, Intel Core2Duo processors, integrated graphics, WLAN connectivity, five speakers with subwoofer, an integrated camera and a DVD-RW optical drives. The new PCs will be initially offered in multiple countries including the U.S., France, Russia, South Africa, India, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, China, the Philippines and Singapore.

A trio of IdeaPad notebook PCs - the IdeaPad Y510, Y710 and U110 - will be sold in the U.S. The notebooks, powered by Intel(R: 45.91, -1.10, -2.33%) Centrino(R: 45.91, -1.10, -2.33%) processor technology, combine cutting-edge and easy-to-use technologies such as facial recognition, Dolby Home Theatre surround sound and dedicated gaming controls.

Lenovo also make a bold design statement with frameless screens, touch-sensitive control surfaces and unique textures. The new IdeaPad Y510 notebook will be available initially at BestBuy.com, Micro Center, Newegg.com, Office Depot and Tiger Direct, and the IdeaPad Y710 will be available initially at Tiger Direct. The IdeaPad Y710 comes with a set of controls, including macro buttons and a control to enhance PC performance to optimize gaming on laptops. A slider control allows gamers to over clock the CPU to maximize laptop performance,

It comes with Intel Core 2 Duo processors with integrated graphics, wireless networking an integrated camera and a DVD/DVR optical drive. Including a battery, the laptop weighs 6.4 pounds (2.9 kilograms). It can support hard drives up to 250GB. The IdeaPad Y710 comes with a set of controls, including macro buttons and a control to enhance PC performance to optimize gaming on laptops. It can support hard drives up to 500GB.