lenovo

It may be time for Lenovo to reign in some of its designers. As much as we appreciated the way it integrated the "Cloud of Promise" Olympics theme into its red "Xiang" laptop, its latest effort is a little kooky.

The company has come up with a "Winter Edition" of its Y410 Audio DJ Series, featuring what it calls a "Snowmountain" theme on the lid of the 14.1-inch laptop. Mumbai-based TechShout says the computer, which was designed specifically for the Indian market, bears the outline of the world's five highest … Read more

UPS delivered a new Lenovo computer yesterday. It was supposed to go to my wife, but no such luck.

We live in an apartment building that has been accepting UPS packages for over 30 years. The system is pretty well grooved in by now. So it was quite unusual for a package to be missing, seven hours after the UPS website said it was delivered. Also strange was the name of the person who signed for the package; it wasn't anyone who works in our building.

Last night, my wife called UPS and was told the computer was not … Read more

Despite some anticipation of weakening U.S. consumer confidence, PC shipment growth here nearly doubled between the third and fourth quarters of 2007, to reach 8.8 percent, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker report released Wednesday.

Dell actually expanded its market share in the fourth quarter, after a string of disappointing quarters while it reshuffled its ranks and its product lineup. Dell used momentum derived from its new retail push to drive its shipments up by more than 15 percent in the quarter--growth far ahead of the rest of the U.S. The Texas PC maker finished … Read more

In August, Lenovo announced that Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 would be available on ThinkPads in the fourth quarter of 2007. Though that didn't happen, Lenovo finally released details Tuesday.

Novell SLED 10 will be available on the ThinkPad T61 and ThinkPad R61 with Intel Centrino processors. Operating system features include the Firefox Web browser, RealPlayer, Macromedia Flash Player, OpenOffice, and more.

Lenovo says it will provide customer support for the hardware and the operating system, while Novell will be responsible for updates. The lowest-end model will be $949, and both models are available beginning Tuesday.

Next month ThinkPads … Read more

LAS VEGAS--At Lenovo's press dinner the other night there was an unidentified handheld on display, sitting casually next to the three new consumer-friendly IdeaPad laptops the company had come to Las Vegas to push.

No one--not even the PR people for Lenovo--could give me specific details. All they could say was that it is only available in China, the company's home market. This video gives a bit more detail, including that it runs Linux and uses a new 45-nanometer chip from Intel.

From what I saw, it had a lot of nice features, even if it was a … Read more

Lenovo kept the focus on its new IdeaPad laptops at the show, but it also introduced a new desktop line, albeit very quietly. The three IdeaCentre models depicted here will come out in Europe at first, and although a U.S. introduction is likely, specs, pricing, and which models will cross over are all still to be determined. The last time we reviewed a true Lenovo home desktop was in March of 2006, with the Lenovo 3000 J-Series. It appears that Lenovo has paid attention to desktop design trends in the meantime.

Getting a jump on the product-launch blitz that is CES 2008, Lenovo has announced a whole new brand of consumer-oriented laptops and desktops. Called IdeaPad and IdeaCentre, the lines are intended to complement the company's flagship business-oriented ThinkPad and ThinkCentre lines. While today's announcement does not include any specifics on desktop models, we learned plenty about the new IdeaPad laptops.

Watch the Lenovo Idea Pad U110 video on CNET TV.

The first full line of entertainment-oriented Lenovo laptops to hit the United States (we saw one consumer model, the Lenovo 3000 Y410, sneak into the States last fall), IdeaPads include such welcome design touches as textured lid finishes and a sleek "frameless" screen that's ergonomically situated a bit farther away from the keyboard than most laptops. Also key to the IdeaPad look are touch-sensitive media controls above the keyboard and a bright orange button, called the Shuttle Key, which can be used on its own to control volume or in combination with the touch controls for additional functionality (somewhat like a Fn key). There's Front Row-like media software, called Shuttle Center, and Dolby Home Theater sound. Every IdeaPad is also outfitted with a built-in 1.3-megapixel Webcam, VeriFace software for biometric security via face recognition, and a ThinkVantage-like Novo key that provides quick system recovery should you ever encounter a data-destroying virus.

Tonight's announcement includes the first three laptop models in the IdeaPad line: the 17-inch Y710, the 15.4-inch Y510, and the 11.1-inch U110. Individual specs and details after the break.… Read more

In trying to milk its Olympics marketing campaign for all it's worth, Lenovo has proven that successful designs can't just be slapped on any product of any size or shape. And that's a shame because the "Cloud of Promise" theme was nothing short of stunning when unveiled for the Beijing Olympics torch, but it quickly loses its dramatic visual effect when applied elsewhere.

The distinctive swirls may have made an acceptable accent on Lenovo's limited-edition laptops, but its latest appearance--on a USB flash drive--is downright cheesy. In an unforgiving close-up image first seen … Read more

If you shop online for a new Windows computer, every manufacturer recommends Vista on their web site. For home use they all suggest Vista Home Premium, for business use, Vista Business gets the nod. All the manufacturers sell other versions of Vista of course, most if not all sell Windows XP too, yet their websites universally recommend Vista Home Premium or Business.

Except IBM.

Yes, IBM no longer plays in this game. Back in 2005, IBM sold their personal computer division to Lenovo.

However, IBM still sells their old notebook and desktop computers, albeit as "IBM Certified Used Equipment&… Read more