Lenovo's IdeaPad U110 showcased on video, available in US on April 29

We already knew Lenovo's 11-inch darling was shipping to eager US-based consumers "soon," but now we've got a definitive date for you to circle on that jam-packed calendar: April 29th. The IdeaPad U110 will indeed be available for order on Tuesday, and it'll be starting a full Benjamin less than we previously heard (down to $1,899, to be exact) directly from Lenovo. We're still waiting on the full list of specifications as well as the slate of retailers that will likely be selling it, but if you're anxious for more right this very moment, you can check out a promotional video of the unit in black and red right after the break.

[darkstar @ Apr 27th 2008 11:41PM]

HOT!

[Chuckles McGee @ Apr 28th 2008 12:58AM]

Oh please, make my babies!

[Mark @ Apr 28th 2008 1:30AM]

SPECS PLEASE!!

[tom @ Apr 28th 2008 9:02AM]

poorman's thinkpad =P

[RC @ Apr 27th 2008 11:49PM]

Those air vents look like interesting.

[Jhongerkong @ Apr 27th 2008 11:53PM]

In before someone questions doom playing ability

[andres @ Apr 28th 2008 12:03AM]

inb4 crysis

[Steffen Jobbs @ Apr 28th 2008 12:03AM]

What's with the external DVD drive? Don't tell me this notebook doesn't come with an internal one. Nah, that's not possible. The external drive was a Blu-ray or something, right?

[jaalin @ Apr 28th 2008 1:55AM]

external a much better choice for an 11" laptop imo... keeps weight down, battery power up, and for all intensive purposes, an optical drive isn't all that useful after the initial install!

[MasterCKO @ Apr 28th 2008 1:08PM]

@jaalin:

I believe you mean "for all intents and purposes."

In any case, I agree with your point. The disc drive isn't super useful all the time, so just keep it external.

[KEROLiUKAS @ Apr 28th 2008 12:12AM]

Hmmm..April 29th is magic.

[Mark @ Apr 28th 2008 1:47AM]

wonder when the centrino 2 version will come out ...

[linuxamp @ Apr 28th 2008 12:15AM]

The one in the vid has Vista. I hope it's also offered in XP or no OS.

[MeatyPi @ Apr 28th 2008 12:15AM]

truly disturbing comment, and somewhat depressing if you need a laptop to attract the females.

[Valgas @ Apr 28th 2008 12:31AM]

:( Well I'm just saying.... you know.. can't electronics be sexy and stuff? I mean... it looks nice and expensive, that's what chicks like . You know, when you're like sitting at the office at work and that hot chick that never LOOKS at you comes over and asks "Wow that's an awesome laptop. What OS is it running?"... "OS? Oh Uh, Office Sex?".

[Andrew @ Apr 28th 2008 12:35AM]

I'll admit that face recognition login and touch strip was pretty nice...
But why are all the ThinkPad/Lenova offshoots so horribly chunky.

I'm not looking for a veritable chick magnet in a laptop a la Vaslag... er... Valgas style... but I'm thinking no protruding ethernet port to start.

Maybe they are by small degrees, in this U110 design, branching away from the traditional completely chunky case that they had going before...

But they got a lot of work to do.

Hopefully the next 10 iterations of this product will bring that much-needed completely makeover... if not internal BluRay.

[Enneract @ Apr 28th 2008 12:55AM]

Lol?

Thinkpads have the cleanest and most attractive styling of any notebook on the market at the moment.

Everything else I look at, appears to have been manufactured by mattel.

Also, wtf blueray? its dead, jim.

[Enneract @ Apr 28th 2008 1:00AM]

Oh, right hd-dvd died. Ignore that!

[sinai @ Apr 28th 2008 3:10AM]

*rolls eyes*

sorry it's not made of white shiny plastic...

[leeo @ Apr 28th 2008 12:56AM]

Apparently the chick in the video couldn't afford a proper table so she had to resort to the floor.

[KazO @ Apr 28th 2008 1:01AM]

$1899 seems a bit steep, but if this is anything like the Y510, they won't have to sell it at bargain-basement prices. My roommate has a Y510, which cost 40% less than my cheaply-bought T60w, and no, it's not a ThinkPad, but it's far nicer than the usual low-end machines it normally competes with. Good keyboard (though the U110 one looks awfully flat), nice cosmetics, solid build quality. The 'Chinese' pattern vents on this model are gimmicky, but they do attract attention.

They do need to do a better job marketing these things, though.

[Ninjakamster @ Apr 28th 2008 1:09AM]

Compare its price to other 11.1" WXGA notebooks (Vaio TZ and Asus U2E) and the price is right in line for its class.

Man, that keyboard is shiny as hell! I think it uses the more powerful LV processors instead of ULV in the TZ and U2E.

I also heard the screen is not LED-backlit, unlike the TZ and U2E though.

[Ninjakamster @ Apr 28th 2008 1:38AM]

It will have an 1.8" 120gb HDD by Toshiba, Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6ghz Low Voltage L7500 processor, 3gb of ram and weights 2.3 pounds.
The DVD drive is not built-in and at least in China, it will come with a Lenovo branded external DVD drive.

[Mark @ Apr 28th 2008 2:09AM]

The 2.5" drive in the HP 2133 is the main reason I'm considering one.

[Mog @ Apr 28th 2008 2:47AM]

I'm going to make the inevitable MacBook Air comparison...now.

Let's face it. That is what this machine is going to be compared to, perhaps even moreso than the ThinkPad X300. It's the exact same price as the MBA (once you include Apple's external SuperDrive), and it's also focused squarely on the fashion-notebook market (not to say other mobility-minded users won't find a use for it.) How does it hold up?

Well, the screen is smaller. And the keyboard, from what I remember from CES, is "less than good." I fell in love with the U110 at CES and the black one looks just as hot as the red one, but the MacBook Air - with it's 13-inch screen and illuminated keyboard - would probably be the one I would pick.* The IdeaPad has lots of flash (I *love* those illuminating media keys), but the MacBook Air is the more functional of the two designs (the MacBook Air? *more* functional than something?).

*Actually, I think I'm going to go with an iMac and an HP Mini-Note for the same price. Yay for finally finding a "companion machine" that works for me. :p

[sinai @ Apr 28th 2008 3:08AM]

and lenovo has 15-20% off coupons pretty regularly.

$1500 for this? i'm in.

[tekdroid @ Apr 28th 2008 5:11AM]

laptops that cost more than 1k are...extinct to me.
Let alone cut-down ones that try to sell u their 'prestige'.

Gloss gone wayyy too far on this model.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4182
"During a quick first test I found the keyboard hard to use and quite mushy. The advantage is that since each key on the keyboard is flushed up against the next, the average key size is bigger than what you'll get on most ultraportables with an 11.1-inch screen form factor. However, the space bar is shrunken in size and hard to use. Overall, at first blush this keyboard is nowhere near the usability of a ThinkPad style keyboard and would seem it take some getting used to -- which is often the case with ultraportable keyboards."

[A Norwegian @ Apr 28th 2008 5:37AM]

Where is the trackpoint? This is sorely missed and I will have to stock up on the X series to keep it. Trackpoint, seriously, is the best pointer device ever. No need to take your hands off the keyboard and superior when scrolling.

Lenovo - please put the trackpoint back!

[PJ @ Apr 28th 2008 7:48AM]

No nipple, no care.

Give me the TrackPoint, or give me death.

[jak0b @ Apr 28th 2008 9:48AM]

it's a nice (sub?)notebook, but i'm still waiting for them to make a new tablet pc

[Ice Max @ Apr 28th 2008 10:11AM]

no nub? no sale

[David Vogt @ Apr 28th 2008 10:34AM]

Where is my trackpoint? Lame. Count me out.

[ijyt @ Apr 28th 2008 4:07PM]

Blargh.

They finally make a pretty looking laptop but make it a fingerprint magnet. :c

[dan @ Apr 29th 2008 2:37AM]

looks like a hairy daft ape slept on it.