Lenovo prepping G-series IdeaPad netbooks?

Ah, the unsourced Digitimes rumor -- not quite as accurate as simply making things up, but almost always more interesting. This time the erstwhile trade rag says Lenovo's working on a new line of IdeaPads to compete with the flood of netbooks that's consumed the market. The IdeaPad G-series, as it's supposedly called, is said to feature a 14.1-inch display and run on the Centrino 2 platform -- which doesn't sound like much a netbook to us, but who are we to argue with a sketchy trade rumor? We asked a Lenovo rep about them, and while he didn't dive into any specs with us, he had heard of the G-series, but said they're probably / most likely not coming to the States, since they want to keep that premium vibe over here while they build the brand. We'll see how things shake out in the second half of the year, when these are supposed to hit, but it sounds like it'll probably be an Asia-only launch.

[Via I4U News]

[l.caelestis+spam @ Jul 15th 2008 7:51PM]

What's so great about Centrino 2? I don't get it. I just want to hear about laptops with good CPU's that use little power and more processing power.

[roman.kim @ Jul 15th 2008 8:00PM]

I surprised it's not called the E-series. But hey, if they can make a portable computer with a 14.1-inch display and Centrino 2 at netbook prices, they win.

[BigD145 @ Jul 15th 2008 8:17PM]

It's a laptop, not a net300k. You can already get a 14.1 display at about $600-700 using the contractor site. It's called the SL400.

[Shiva N Singh @ Jul 15th 2008 8:03PM]

maybe that's what's the improvement with Centrino 2?
lower power usage, better integrated graphics, better performance, ddr3 ram support, etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrino#Montevina_platform_.282008.29

[huh @ Jul 15th 2008 8:30PM]

make a solid < 3lb convertible tablet (touch screen) with a good keyboard, 13.x" screen, 2GB memory, decent camera and 32GB memory for $500 and you'll make a killing. Exactly the device the social entrepreneurs, sales people and so on could use. Lenovo would be a good company to do this.

[huh @ Jul 15th 2008 8:32PM]

Oh yeah, and at least 4 hour battery life. Atom 1.6ghz could be good enough with 2gb. RAM is cheap and important in performance.

[Mark L. @ Jul 15th 2008 9:54PM]

They should make a sub notebook for the US student market. All of these sub notebooks (I refuse to call them 'netbooks') just try to make a mini version of a laptop. Lenovo should adapt what it's doing for the ThinkPad X200 and just use a TrackPoint instead of a trackpad and keep the business matte look, but better designed for compact use.

[Andrew Scala @ Jul 15th 2008 11:43PM]

I had forgotten about the trackpoint. That would really be fantastic on a netbook.

[Mark L. @ Jul 15th 2008 10:28PM]

They should make a sub notebook for the US student market. All of these sub notebooks (I refuse to call them 'netbooks') just try to make a mini version of a laptop. Lenovo should adapt what it's doing for the ThinkPad X200 and just use a TrackPoint instead of a trackpad and keep the business matte look, but better designed for compact use.

[roberto luongo @ Jul 15th 2008 10:44PM]

you know, i could post the following comment on any story and it would still be relevant (and funny):

i was trying to see this on my new iphone but it wouldn't load.

we are such tools of Steve Jobbs and his stupid iphone.

and while i'm at it, i am not a microsoft fanboy. i hate microsoft fanboys. and apple fanboys. there is no rite answer to the microsoft vs apple. different ppl have different needs. If you are just doing email and word processing then you need windows. if you are doing graphic design and stuff, then you need apple. apples are wayyy overpriced for what most people use them for. and ipods work fine on windows. if you have itunes. did i mention what tools we are of bill gates?

[Philip V. @ Jul 16th 2008 10:27AM]

I've been using the Lenovo G400 for about half a year now. I'm from the Philippines.

[Philip V. @ Jul 16th 2008 10:30AM]

I've been using the Lenovo G400 for about half a year now. I'm from the Philippines.