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Lenovo gets official with Win7-powered IdeaPad and IdeaCentre machines
Lenovo already got official with a couple of its Windows 7-powered machines last week, but it looks like the rest of the crop is landing today. Of course, we've already seen the 11.6-inch IdeaPad U150 and 15.6-inch U550 pop up in various corners of the globe this month, and the IdeaPad U350 has been around since the summer. That said, we'll take the OS refresh and minor spec bumps any day of the week (along with new colors on the S10-2), and that's exactly what we're getting. We'll spare you the rehash (it's all there in the read link if you need a refresher), but over on the desktop front, we're pretty stoked about the stylish (and previously rumored) all-in-one IdeaCentre B500. Packing a Core 2 Quad CPU, 1TB of HDD space, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM and a 23-inch LCD, this thing may actually perform fairly well in tasks more strenuous than checking email. The business-minded K300 and bargain-priced H230 ($299 starting point) are less thrilling from a hardware perspective, but they'll certainly fit their respective molds quite well. The whole lot should be available to order soon directly from Lenovo, and there's bound to be plenty of options for those not content with base configurations. %Gallery-76494%
Lenovo IdeaPad U350 review roundup
If you have laptop needs but only a netbook-sized cavity in your carry-on, you need one of the growing number of notebooks that slot in between the eee-clones and pricey ultraportables. Lenovo's IdeaPad U350 is the latest, a svelte, 13.3-inch machine with a funky rubberized back and sophisticated design. It's been hitting test benches at various places and is getting good but not quite great reviews. Laptop Magazine loved the design and the $679 starting price, but found battery life (3.5 hours) to be disappointing. Computer Shopper was a bit more positive, knocking its performance but calling the system "feather-light" and its 1,366 x 768 screen "gorgeous." Finally, StarkSilverCreek's review is the least flattering, including concerns about excessive heat and a system fan that hardly ever turned off. Overall it seems like a decent choice if you don't mind a warm lap and can't quite swing a T400s, but if you're looking for alternatives perhaps you'd be interested in a Timeline 8000 or the like. Read - Laptop Magazine Read - Computer Shopper Read - StarkSilverCreek
Lenovo IdeaPad U350 thin-and-light hands-on
A month after Lenovo announced its new IdeaPad U350 the thing is finally ready for the prime time, and let us tell you: it wasn't hard to spot. While in theory this is "just another thin-and-light" in a rapidly growing, CULV-aided market segment, the craftsmanship and materials used on the U350 make it our favorite bit of Lenovo design since the U110, and very well might set it apart from the budget-minded pack. We're particularly digging the textured rubber back, but the ribbed metal palm rest also excellently avoids the glossy-plastic-of-death. Otherwise the laptop settles pretty nicely into a thin-and-light groove, with both of those particulars in spades and CULV under the hood. We would prefer some NVIDIA 9400M to Intel's integrated graphics, but at least there's HDMI out, and Intel's chipset tends to be a bit better on the power sipping front. Check out the gallery for some head-to-head shots with Lenovo's T400s -- which is clearly superior in most regards, but goes for double the price.
Lenovo gets budget-friendly with IdeaPad U350, G550 and IdeaCentre C300
The IdeaPad S12 isn't the only new kit flowing from RTP today, as Lenovo is also choosing to celebrate Memorial Day with two new lappies and an all-in-one desktop. Starting things off is the IdeaPad U350 (shown above), a thin-and-light machine that packs a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display (1,366 x 768), an HDMI output, an ambient light sensor and your choice of Intel's 1.4GHz Core 2 Solo SU3500, the 1.3GHz SU2700 or 1.2GHz Celeron 723. There's also room for a 500GB hard drive, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, a GMA 4500M / 4500 MHD graphics set, 1.3 megapixel camera, multi-touch trackpad, twin 1.5-watt speakers, Vista Home Basic / Premium and an optional 8-cell battery good for up to 10 hours of use. Next up is the business-like G550, which sports a 15.6-inch display, a non-nonsense enclosure, WiFi, Bluetooth, DVD burner and a numeric keypad for crunching those end of quarter numbers. You'll also get upwards of 4GB of DDR3 RAM, up to 320GB of hard drive space, a Core 2 Duo processor, GMA X4500 or GeForce G105M graphics, HDMI output and up to five hours of battery life with the included 6-cell Li-ion. Wrapping things up is the IdeaCentre C300 all-in-one, which aims squarely at the low-end with a lackluster Atom 230 processor, integrated Intel graphics and a preposterously low price tag. The machine features a 20-inch LCD, up to 2GB of DDR2 memory, a 160GB to 640GB HDD, Ethernet, WiFi, 1.3 megapixel camera, FireWire, six USB 2.0 sockets, a 6-in-1 multicard reader and a starting price tag of just $449. Not a terrible choice for the devout web surfer in your family, we must say. The full release and specifications list awaits you just past the break.
Samsung's U350 Smooth arrives wrinkle-free on Verizon
Of, course, by the "Samsung Smooth U350 arrives wrinkle free", we mean: smoothly boring. For $29 after a 2-year deal and rebate you'll get yourself a pretty low end flip with a VGA camera, Bluetooth, a 160 x 128 display, 336 hours standby, 300 minutes talktime, oh, and some lovely Verizon branding. Notably absent is any type of 3G connectivity, this one is a 1X affair, so if your dreams were of a super low cost EV-DO device, you'll need to peek elsewhere. With that snobbery done, you'll also get what should be a pretty tough set that just may wow Grandma's socks right off is she's looking for something smallish to tote to bridge club Wednesdays. Follow the read for the nitty gritty.[Via Phonescoop]
Verizon's Samsung Smooth is not
Calling a bottom-of-the-line, EV-DO-less clamshell the "Smooth" might be reaching, but then again, we can kinda understand Verizon's dilemma here -- it's not like you can call it the "Rough," the "Disappointment," or the "Crap" and expect to sell too many. The phone, which goes by the u350 moniker when it's dealing with the FCC, should be within shouting distance of free on contract (after the $50 rebate is applied) thanks to a VGA cam, lack of memory expansion, and the aforementioned lack of 3G data. A good backup phone? Sure, but a smooth backup phone? That's a stretch, guys. Look for this one to be on shelves before the month's out.
Samsung SCH-u350 gets pictured by the FCC
Sammy typically does a bang-up job of hiding actual photos of its devices in FCC documentation, so here's a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, the SCH-u350 is just about the most boring flip imaginable -- as far as we can tell, it doesn't even do EV-DO -- but on the upside, this is some of the more artistic photography we've seen in any FCC filing. Look at that depth of field, the angle, the geeky ruler... if anything, we wouldn't mind seeing this on a brochure, because the spec sheet certainly won't be drawing our attention. Speaking of spec sheets, we don't have one, but you can pretty much gather that it'll be rounding out the low end, possibly when it takes the place of the long-running u340 on Verizon.[Via phoneArena]
PQI's "pen-like" retractable Cool Drive U350
Power Quotient International -- best known for squeezing exorbitantly large amounts of data onto incredibly small modules -- is at it again with its zany flash drive antics, and this time the company is unveiling a retractable version to keep that presumably delicate USB connector safe. The Cool Drive U350 will be available in 0.5/1/2/4GB sizes and play nice with both Windows XP and OS X-based systems, but differs from the stockpile of other alternatives by "automatically retracting the USB head into the main body" when the outer tab is pulled. Although the U350 is a tad lengthy at 7.75 centimeters, at least it's less likely to be "misplaced" when out and about, and the "pen-like" mechanism will give you one more thing to fidget with while on the subway if nothing else.[Via Far East Gizmos]
