It’s nice to see a brand of laptop that you respect be successful. The Thinkpad, by all accounts, is a rather arcane brand that largely refuses to sacrifice its fundamentals on the alter of coolness. Thinkpads are still boring bricks, the glossy red Edge aside – and even that model proves itself to be built in the name of functionality once you open the lid.

It’s even nicer, however, to see a brand celebrate by announcing something useful. In this case that something useful is Nvidia’s Optimus. This is, of course, Nvidia’s switchable graphics technology that makes it possible for laptops to include discrete graphics and maximize battery life. Optimus is going to be rolled out on the T410, T410s and T510. The optional graphics available on these models will still be the Nvidia NVS 3100M.

The press release quotes a battery life increase of up to 33 percent. I can believe that, as the benefit of switchable graphics has already been demonstrated on other laptops from other manufacturers. The T410 and T510 with this feature will start at $1,299 while the slim T410s will be $1,849. You can bet that the laptops won’t sell at those prices for long, however. Lenovo is almost always having some sort of online sale.

Full press release after the break.

Lenovo Reaches Major Milestone – 60 Million ThinkPad Laptops Sold

Introduces Industry’s First Business-Focused Laptops with NVIDIA Optimus Technology

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – October 5, 2010: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today announced that sales of ThinkPad laptops will surpass 60 million this month. More than 14 ThinkPad laptops are now sold every 60 seconds, contributing to Lenovo’s position as the fastest-growing major PC company¹. Throughout its 18 year history, ThinkPad has recorded many ground-breaking innovation firsts – like the first spill resistant keyboard and protective roll cage. Today, Lenovo is still innovating and is announcing elevated graphics performance by adding NVIDIA Optimus technology on ThinkPad T410, T410s and T510 laptops.

“Long recognized as a hallmark for innovation and excellence, ThinkPad has been the trusted laptop brand for business users around the world for nearly two decades,” said Peter Hortensius, senior vice president, Think Product Group, Lenovo. “With Lenovo, ThinkPad has grown even stronger for quality, reliability and performance, and we’ll continue to drive our commitment to innovation further as we design future ThinkPad laptops.”

Record of Innovation

With more than 2,000 design awards under its belt, ThinkPad has helped transform laptop computing and changed the way people use their PCs. Famous firsts include:

• First modern laptop to fly in space
• First with a spill-resistant keyboard
• First with built-in CD-ROM
• First with built-in DVD-ROM
• First with built-in wireless
• First with embedded security subsystem
• First with built-in fingerprint reader
• First dual screen mobile workstation

Watch, Play and Win with ThinkPad in October

In celebration of this milestone, Lenovo is rewarding customers with a Customer Appreciation Event featuring up to 15 percent discounted pricing on select ThinkPad models purchased in the U.S. The promotion begins today and runs through Oct. 8.

Log onto Lenovo’s Facebook page to match major ThinkPad milestones to their date in history for a chance to win a ThinkPad laptop. Learn more at this page and watch a video about past and present innovations and what the future holds for ThinkPad design. And read personal stories about users’ oldest ThinkPad laptops at Lenovo Blogs.

Killer Graphics Performance Plus Extreme Battery Life

NVIDIA Optimus technology helps make graphics automatic, instantaneous and seamless. Users no longer have to manually force switching to reduce performance and save battery life. Now they can have extended battery life and electrifying multimedia performance. By switching automatically between high performance and energy saving graphics, ThinkPad laptops with Optimus achieve up to 33 percent longer battery life over discrete only mode². That adds up to one extra hour of battery life per charge³. ThinkPad also supports Optimus technology to drive four displays via select ThinkPlus docks.

“New technologies like NVIDIA Optimus are making ThinkPads even smarter,” said Rene Haas, general manager, Notebook Products, NVIDIA. “Never before has there been a solution that so effectively eliminates the tradeoffs between riveting graphics performance and long battery life. Visual content is the most popular and important form of data today, and we’ve built the NVIDIA NVS 3100M graphics processor to be the perfect processor for the task.”

Visit Lenovo Blogs for more information.

Pricing and Availability³

The ThinkPad T410, T410s and T510 laptops with Nvidia Optimus technology are available immediately through business partners and www.lenovo.com. Pricing begins at approximately $1,299 for the T410 and T510 and $1,849 for the T410s.

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo’s business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.

¹Based on IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker for 2Q 2010 compared to Dell, HP, Acer, Apple and Toshiba.

²ThinkPad T410s with Nvidia Optimus versus T410s with current Nvidia switchable graphics using MobileMark 2007.

³Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

Oh, Optimus. You took your name from a transformer and you promised so much, but you’ve been such a tease! The first Optimus notebooks came to market around the beginning of 2010, and yet here we are in June and still there are only a handful of laptops available which use the technology. Why? Honestly, I haven’t a clue.

However, there is some sign that the future will be filled with more Optimus than before. A number of new Optimus powered netbooks and laptops have been shown at Computex, and not all of them are ASUS models. Clevo, Gateway, Haier, Lenovo, MSI and Packard Bell had one Optimus ready laptop each.

When will we see these models hit the streets? That’s hard to say. No release dates have been announced yet, so all that can be said for sure is that these laptops should be out bythe end of the year.

Source: Lilputing

For those not in the know, MeeGo is a Linux-based operating system being backed by Intel. It is kind of a big deal because Intel intends MeeGo to compliment its new Atom based processors which Intel hopes will find their way into tablets and smartphones as well as netbooks. The problem with putting Atom into those devices is that Atom is x86 based, while most mobile operating systems are focused on ARM based processors. This has required Intel to come up with its own mobile operating system in order to ensure that there is actually software which runs well on Intel Atom processors as they start to infiltrate smaller devices.

MeeGo has now found its way into the wild, where it is being reviewed by various computer geeks. The folks at Ars Technica took a look at MeeGo from a general design standpoint. Their ultimate conclusion is that MeeGo is a bit disappointing right now, but has promise. Phoronix, on the other hand, took a look at MeeGo’s performance found that while it was poor in OpenGL, it allows for very quick boot times.

It should be noted that this initial release of MeeGo is for netbooks only. The basics will remain the same throughout devices, but we can expect interface changes when MeeGo arrives on tablets and smartphones. So far, MeeGo seems decisively ”meh” but the fast performance indicates this could at least be competitive in the mobile space.

Yes, I said laptop demand. As in, not just netbooks – everything.

Laptop demand has been fairly strong in the past year, which was surprising considering the state of the world economy. Laptops are not inexpensive, and I rather expected a plunge. Instead, market research groups showed that laptop shipments were on the rise. Part of that rise was netbooks, but even with netbooks discounted, laptop shipments rose 43.4 percent in the first quarter of 2010, and worldwide growth of the PC market was expected to rise by as much as 22 percent throughout 2010.

But alas, it appears some storm clouds are gathering. According to Digitimes, motherboard makers are starting to cut their performance forecasts for late 2010 because of a reduction in orders. Because all computers require motherboards, a reduction in motherboard orders directly translates to a reduction in the number of PCs which are going to be shipped.

How bad will the damage be? Hard to say. We’ll have to see how this one plays out world-wide. While American returns back to school soon, and millions of students prepare to buy laptops, Europe continues to flirt with economic disaster. The later, I’d wager, has far more effect on global notebook demand than the former.

Source: Digitimes

Recent events at Foxconn’s facilities in China have brought a huge amount of scrutiny on the company.  It appears that the workers at the Foxconn facility have a disturbing tendency to jump off tall ledges. The shit first started hitting the fans (i.e western news outlets first started to care) last year, when one suicide was allegedly linked to a Foxconn worker losing a prototype Apple product. Since then suicides have continued, prompting Chinese reporter Liu Zhiyi to go undercover and see exactly what kind of of life is causing people to see death as the only option.

The translated article can be found on Engadget, and has been followed up today with an editorial by Engadget writer Laura June.  The findings of undercover journalist Liu Zhiyi did not reveal any blatant abuses by Foxconn – they’re not sitting behind workers with whips or anything so brutal – but rather paints the picture of a workforce which is driven into a dead in by their situation.

They’re poor, uneducated workers. They lack the money to fund higher education, and for the most part they don’t seem to have much confidence that they would succeed if they were given better schooling. They’re paid between $100 and $200 a month building products which cost many times that amount to purchase. Chances are good that you own a product that these workers have made, as the Foxconn plant has been responsible for the production of iPads, iPhones and numerous laptops over the years (remember, most laptop brands don’t actually make their own laptops, they set up a contract with a production company like Foxconn instead).

But the most depressing part of the story is the fact that, if you did not buy these products that these workers made, they would be in an even worse situation. There is simply nothing that anyone can do, barring some kind of full-scale workforce education program created by the Chinese. Worse, Gizmodo today reported that another worked committed suicide (be warned, there is a graphic picture in the report).

It was rumored that Intel’s new dual-core Atom processor, the Atom N550, would only be allowed in 10.1 inch netbooks. Now, Digitimes is reporting that Intel has decided to lift that restriction, stating that:

Intel plans to launch a dual-core Atom processor, the Atom N550, in the second half of 2010, and will also lift restrictions on the panel sizes of netbooks using the CPU, meaning vendors will be allowed to bring out 11.6-inch and 12.1-inch models, according to sources from notebook players.

Intel’s previous Atom CPUs carry restrictions which do not allow devices to have a panel size larger than 10.2-inch, to avoid netbooks cutting into demand for traditional notebooks.

Wow! That’s great! Intel is so nice! Now I can buy a 12.1 inch netbook with a dual core Atom! You know what make this announcement even more exciting? If Atom netbooks with 11.6 and 12.1 inch screens didn’t ALREADY EXIST. Take, for example, the 12.1 inch ASUS 1201N, which has an Atom N330 processor. What the article is presumably referring to are restrictions on Intel’s current Pinetrail based Atoms, which don’t show up in products larger than 10.2 inches. So, I guess it is kind of Intel to allow these products into the market with the most recent technology, but I’m more than a little bitter than Intel took them away in the first place.

What you are looking at above is the new Lenovo Z360, one of several new consumer laptops announced by Lenovo today. The Z360 is a 13.3 inch laptop which is accompanied by 15.6 inch variants called the Z560 and the Z565. These new laptops are built to “bring mobile media to the masses” and start at a price of $649. Because of the mutli-media orientation, these laptops have 16:9 widescreens, Dolby audio and optional Blu-Ray drives. The Z360 and Z560 have Intel Core processors with Nvidia graphics, while the top-spec Z565 offers AMD Phenom II processors with Radeon graphics.

Also new is a refresh of the U series with new U160, U460 and U460s models. These are your typical high-end ultraportables. They’re less than an inch thick but offer some very powerful hardware – the Intel Core i7 processor, in this case. Also included standard is Bluetooth and Active System Protection, a hard drive protection scheme carried over from the Thinkpad line.

Finally, Lenovo has announced the new A700 and B305 all-in-one desktops along with a new nettop, the Q150. The A700 is a super-thin (between .8 and 2.5 inches) and large all-in-one with a 23 inch screen and Intel Core processors. The B305 is a smaller, 21.5 inch all-in-one which has AMD Athlon X4 processors. Finally, the Q150 is an updated of the Q110 which is apparently thiner than the previous model.

Check out the full press release below:

Lenovo’s Expanded Line of Consumer PCs Beg the Question: “What’s Your Idea of Fun?”
Consumers Find their Perfect PC Match with Lenovo’s Latest Laptop, Desktop and All-in-One Offerings

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – May 11, 2010: Lenovo (HKSE: 0992) (ADR: LNVGY) today expanded its lineup of consumer laptop, desktop, all-in-one (AIO) and nettop PCs with exciting new designs and technologies that make computing more enjoyable and affordable.

Lenovo’s latest IdeaPad and IdeaCentre PCs offer something for everyone, with clever features that inspire fun and creativity, and a complete range of form factors and designs that fit specific consumer needs. The new models include the IdeaPad Z series affordable multimedia notebooks – Z360, Z560 and Z565 – and the IdeaPad U series ultraportables – U160, U460 and U460s. Also announced are the IdeaCentre A700 stylish multimedia AIO, and the IdeaCentre B305 mainstream performance AIO. Alongside this expanded portfolio of all-in-ones come the IdeaCentre Q150 – an ultra-thin nettop PC, and the Lenovo H320 affordable slim tower desktop PC.

“In the less than three years since Lenovo launched its worldwide Idea brand of PCs, we have expanded our consumer footprint to more than 85 countries, firmly establishing our presence in the consumer PC market,” said Dion Weisler, vice president, Business Operations, Lenovo. “Lenovo’s consumer business recently achieved 89% year over year growth, outpacing the competition. The latest additions to the Idea portfolio demonstrate Lenovo’s commitment to leading the consumer market with stylish, feature-packed PCs that make computing more fun and enjoyable for all.”

Style and Entertainment To Go
Lenovo’s latest IdeaPad laptop PCs, the Z series and U series, are designed for consumers whose idea of fun is living life on the go and desire a laptop with features that can keep up with their exciting lifestyle.

The most recent addition to the IdeaPad family, the Z series, brings mobile multimedia to the masses through a rich, enjoyable entertainment experience at a competitive price point. Starting at just $649, the new Z series is an affordable laptop that comes across as a high-end luxury device, with its fashionable chiclet keyboard encased in a modern hairline, metallic effect cover panel. Users will enjoy watching their favorite movies on the new Z series with its high-definition (HD), 16:9 format widescreen (available in 13.3 and 15.6-inch models), optional Blu-ray Disc™ drive, and Dolby® Advanced Audio for a stunning audio experience. With OneKey™ Theater II, optimized audio-visual settings are enabled at the press of a button, making the Z series great for videos and multimedia content. The IdeaPad Z360 and Z560 are available with the all new 2010 Intel® Core™ processor family and NVIDIA® GeForce® graphics, while the IdeaPad Z565 is offered with up to AMD Phenom™ II processors and integrated ATI Mobility Radeon™ graphics.

Sleek and stylish, the IdeaPad U series caters to the fashionista in all of us. Each of the new models – the IdeaPad U160, U460 and U460s – offer ultra-portable, light designs and long battery life to allow travel-loving consumers to stay entertained and in touch no matter where life takes them. The clean and sophisticated appearance of the redesigned U series is made possible by its “U” shaped outline inspired by a closed book lying on its side, while its textured aluminum top cover adds a further touch of style and class to its elegant design.

Measuring less than one inch thick and 3.8 pounds, the 14 inch U460 and U460s can be configured with up to an Intel® Core™ i7 processor with Intel Turbo Boost Technology for impressive performance in a thin and light design. The U460 features a standard voltage processor, while the U460s and U160 come with ultra-low voltage processors for even longer battery life and lower power consumption. The U160 weighs in at a mere 2.9 pounds and 0.9 inches at its thinnest point.

For staying connected to friends and family while on the move, the U series comes with integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and a range of user-care features including an Ambient Light Sensor, Active Protection System and data recovery tools.

Expanded All-in-One Portfolio
Lenovo’s latest A700 and B305 all-in-one PCs are perfect for individuals or families that enjoy the powerful performance of traditional desktop PCs but desire the fun features of an AIO design such as touch screen capabilities, HD monitor and a streamlined appearance.

The IdeaCentre A700 is a stylish, ultra-slim AIO PC that packs the latest processor and graphics into a curvaceous aluminum body measuring merely 0.8 inches at its thinnest point and only 2.5 inches at its thickest. The A700 includes just about every home entertainment feature you can think of, beginning with a 23 inch Full HD widescreen, up to Intel® Core™ i7 processor with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, HDMI in/out support for connecting to other HD devices such as a TV or gaming console, JBL designed speakers with Dolby® Home Theater™ and the latest DirectX® 11 graphics. The A700 also features a unique 3-in-1 mouse1 that functions as a standard mouse, air mouse/pointer and motion-drive games controller. For faster, more responsive application performance, the A700 can be configured with up to 8GB DDR3 memory and up to 2TB of storage so users don’t have to worry about running out of hard drive capacity when saving their favorite movies, music and games.

Those who are seeking high-performance gaming and family entertainment can turn to the IdeaCentre B305, which delivers compact performance with up to AMD Athlon™ II X4 Quad-Core Processor. Available in a 21.5 inch widescreen form factor, the B305 offers Full HD resolution video playback and optional DirectX 11 graphics. The B305 also features LED Panel Technology, providing a greater dynamic contrast ratio compared with standard LED-backlit screens, for clearer, sharper images and richer colors.

Lenovo is for the first time introducing touch screen capabilities on the IdeaCentre A series and B series all-in-one models, with select A700 and B305 configurations offering Lenovo NaturalTouch fingertip touch screen technology, and a suite of touch-enabled multimedia applications developed to enhance the touch screen experience. The A700 is the world’s first PC to utilize Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) touch screen technology, as used in certain medical applications, for the most reliable and responsive touch experience.

The IdeaCentre A700 and B305 feature the unique Lenovo Enhanced Experience certification that delivers an optimized boot and shutdown process, rich multimedia capabilities and easy system maintenance tools. Each of the new IdeaCentre A series and B series models include 5-in-1 media card readers and side and rear mounted USB ports. The new all-in-one models also include integrated high-speed 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Lenovo Rescue System software to quickly and easily recover data if a document is lost or becomes corrupt.

Ultra-Thin Nettop PC
If your idea of fun is tricking out your living room entertainment center, then the Lenovo IdeaCentre Q150 is the perfect solution. At just 0.82 inches wide and 6.7 inches high, the Q150 enhances the living room entertainment experience and can fit into just about any small space in the home. The Q150 is an affordable nettop PC that can be connected to a TV or monitor, or even mounted behind with the VESA bracket to create a virtual all-in-one. Featuring an optional NVIDIA® ION™ 512MB graphics processor, which delivers smooth Full HD (1080p) video via the onboard HDMI output, the IdeaCentre Q150 is a great way to enjoy internet video in your living room. The IdeaCentre Q150 also features an optional multimedia remote with an integrated trackball mouse and mini keyboard for convenient multi-tasking of e-mails, web browsing and video playback all on a single device.

An Essential PC for Work and Play
Lenovo today also updated its essential brand of affordable home computers with the introduction of Lenovo’s first slim tower desktop PC, the H320. Lenovo’s essential family of laptop and desktop PCs are intended for consumers who want the latest technology, including multimedia and security features, for use at the office or while relaxing at home.

The latest generation of Lenovo H series desktop PCs can meet the computing needs of just about any family member whether it is for work, play or education. The H320 presents a purposely slim and compact form factor, around half the size of standard desktop computer2. With the capabilities of a larger traditional desktop, the H320 boasts powerful performance with the all new 2010 Intel® Core™ processor family, and up to 8GB of memory on select models.

The H320 is equipped with user care features like Lenovo Eye Distance System3 which alerts you if you are too close to the screen, and Lenovo Dynamic Brightness3, which protects your eyes by automatically adjusting screen brightness based on surrounding light conditions. These features require a compatible Lenovo monitor such as the L2361p.

Pricing and Availability4
All of the PCs will be available through www.lenovo.com. The IdeaPad Z360, Z560 and Z565 are available beginning in June. Manufacturer suggested retail pricing (MSRP) for the Z360, Z560 and Z565 will start at $649. The IdeaPad U160, U460 and U460s are available beginning in June and will start at $699. The IdeaCentre A700 will be available beginning at the end of June and will start at $999. The IdeaCentre B305 will be available beginning in June and start at $699. The IdeaCentre Q150 will be available beginning at the end of June and will start at $249. The Lenovo H320 will be available beginning at the end of June and start at $549.

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook.

About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo’s business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.

1 Optional 3-in-1 mouse
2Standard desktop PC refers to Lenovo H2xx series dimensions of 175x360x409mm
3These features require a compatible Lenovo monitor such as L2361p
4 Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

Home theater specific motherboards are actually rather rare. The only company that consistently makes motherboards which are oriented towards the home theater market is Zotac, which has a very fine line of mini-ITX motherboards and tiny, barebones systems. But now MSI appears to be getting in on the act with the new MSI 740GM-P25. This Micro-ATX motherboard supports AM3 processors, has a PCIe Gen2 x17 slot, two DDR3 RAM slots and 6 SATA ports as well as Gigabit Ethernet and VIA 8-channel audio.

The new board should be arriving within the next week or two, and will ask that you part ways with only 59 of your hard earned dollars. That is a really good deal. I love the Zotac boards, but they do usually cost well over 100 bucks. Combining the MSI 740GM-p25 with a cheap Athlon dual core would result in a nice HTPC with a very low price tag.

Source: Anandtech

Finally, the reviews of Ion 2 are coming in, although not through netbooks. Instead, the first reviews for Ion 2 are coming in through home-theater oriented nettops such as the Zotac ZBOX. Equipped with a dual-core Atom and Ion 2 graphics, the Zotac ZBOX promises to provide for all of your home theater needs in a single tiny package.

But can it keep its promise? Well, sometimes. It seems that Ion 2, while technically more powerful, is handicapped by a platform bandwidth issue. As a result, the overall performance of Ion 2 isn’t much better than the original Ion. In fact, in some cases it is worse. According to AnandTech:

NVIDIA’s Next Generation ION isn’t exactly the follow on that we expected. While GPU performance has improved, in many cases it’s a bit slower than the original ION thanks to the anemic PCIe x1 connection to the chipset. This isn’t NVIDIA’s fault, it’s simply a reality that we have to deal with.

Didn’t see that coming, did you? Its a shame, because getting Ion right could be a big victory of Nvidia, but it seems that this new incarnation may not be what we were hoping for. The only real question to answer now is how Optimus, once it is implemented in Ion 2, benefits battery life.

Source: Anandtech

Acer apparently felt left out when Dell leaked its new Inspiron laptops yesterday. In response, Acer has decided to leak their own products on Amazon.de, and they’ve even one-upped Dell by leaking not one, but five laptops with Phenom II processor, two of which are Phenom II X3 while the others are Phenom II X4.

We have more details, too. The Phenom II X3 is called the N830 and is clocked at 2.1Ghz, while the Phenom II X4 is called the N930 and is clocked at 2Ghz. The mobile video solutions are impressive as well, consisting of Radeon 5450 or 5650 mobile GPUs, which are quite capable of gaming at lower resolutions.

The fact that these products came out on Amazon.de doesn’t mean we’ll see these specific models elsewhere in the world, but it does indicate that a board range of Phenom II powered laptops will be coming to a store near you. It will be interesting to see how, exactly, this goes over with consumers. Battery life will be much lower than with Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, but AMD will undoubtedly try to make up for that with low prices. Given that Arrandale processors from Intel are currently in tight supply, and that prices have risen as a result, this could be an appealing product.

Source: Semi-Accurate