Lenovo intros multimedia PCs for gaming, dual-screen laptop

At CES 2009 this week, Lenovo is launching an all-in-one desktop and three new notebooks, all geared to multimedia entertainment and gaming. The Chinese-based computer company, spun off from IBM a few years back, is also upgrading its W700 ThinkPad with an optional slide-out second screen and its S10 subnotebook with social networking software. Lenovo first dipped its toes into the US consumer waters at CES 2008, with the introduction of its first IdeaPad notebook PCs for this market. The upgraded ThinkPad W700ds, though, should draw a lot of attention because of its 17-inch main display and its 10.5-inch secondary display. Lenovo has also provided a more affordable quad processor and increased the maximum amount of RAM from 4 GB to 8 GB. During the pre-briefing, Ninis Samuel, Lenovo's director of marketing, drew an analogy between the second screen and the side rearview mirror on a car. The smaller screen "kind of sits at a 30-degree angle," according to Samuel. Research shows that business workers are 60% more productive when using dual displays, he contended. Samuel predicted that the smaller screen will be used for viewing online reference materials, e-mail, and social networking sites, for instance. Lenovo will also display some other business PCs at the show. "But that's not the focus of CES," noted Craig Merrigan, Lenovo's VP of branding and strategy. Consumer models set for rollout include the IdeaCenter A600 All-in-One and the IdeaPad Y650, Y550 and Y430 laptops, all outfitted with screens with 16:9 aspect ratios. Lenovo's new all-in-one offers a frameless, 21-5-inch screen with 1920 x 1080 "full" HD resolution. It also comes with a unique new four-in-one optional remote controller, combining a "motion drive," for accessing on-screen gaming objects according to the movement of the remote; a VoIP handset; a Vista Media Center/TV remote; and an air mouse for wireless control of the cursor on the screen. The all-in-one provides Intel Core 2 Duo processing technology; up to 1 TB of hard drive space; up to 4 GB of fast DDR3 memory; an optional Blu-ray player; a bass sub-woofer; Dolby Home Theater audio certification; high-speed Wi-Fi; a 6-in-1 media card reader; VeriFace face recognition technology, for using a facial image as your logon password; and side-mounted USB and FireWire ports with extra USB ports on the rear of the panel. Lenovo's newly expanded lineup of Y Series notebooks adds three new 16:9 aspect screen sizes: the 16-inch Y650, 15.6-inch Y550, and 14-inch Y450. All come with Intel processors; Dolby Home Theater surround sound; optional Nvidia GFX graphics for video and gaming; and Lenovo OneKey Theater software for adjusting the display and sound effect settings. The software includes a "movie mode" for optimizing the picture when watching movies or playing games. All of the IdeaPads are configurable with up to 500 GB of hard drive space and up to 4 GB of memory. With a chassis constructed of special materials such as carbon fiber, the top-of-the-line Y650 is only one-inch thick at its thinnest point. The Y650 also comes with JBL speakers, the Lenovo officials said. Meanwhile, Lenovo has updated the IdeaPad S10 netbook with Lenovo Quick Start, for rapid access to frequently used applications, and LenovoSocial, a new set of social networking software tools which the company plans to expand on in the future.