Still hot on Lenovo news, Lenovo’s newest notebook could well be the first to have a NVIDIA Ion chipset. With NVIDIA’s ION graphics platform, users will enjoy brilliant 1080p high definition video with smooth playback. According to Rene Haas (General manager – Notebook GPUs, NVIDIA), “With enhanced graphics, the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 netbook is perfect for watching movies, playing popular games like Spore, flipping through vacation pictures or enhancing family videos.”

The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 is a 12-inch netbook with a 100-percent full-size keyboard, an apparent 1080p video playback (which is especially great for HD) and weighting at 3lbs. Other specifications include the following: WXGA (1,280 x 800) resolution LED-backlit panel, Intel’s 1.6GHz Atom CPU (the one big “ugh”), 1GB of DDR2 memory, 160/250/320GB HDD options, an optional 6-cell battery, Ethernet jack, WiFi, Bluetooth, three USB 2.0 sockets, an ExpressCard slot, a 4-in-1 card reader and VGA / HDMI outputs.

According to Dion Weisler (Vice president, Business Operations, Idea Product Group of Lenovo), “We’ve heard from consumers loud and clear about the need for affordable and extremely portable computing devices, and we’ve responded by introducing our third netbook with a completely new form factor, making mini-computing more usable and redefining value in today’s market. We are pioneering new territory in the developing netbook arena by being the first vendor to give customers high quality video and entertainment capabilities in a netbook with optional NVIDIA ION graphics.”

The  Lenovo IdeaPad S12 is shipped with Windows XP and will be available by June at a $449 value.

SOURCES: ENGADGET, CNET

Memorial Day is also somehow a “Lenovo Day” as Chinese PC maker Lenovo rolls out the IdeaPad U350. The Lenovo IdealPad U350 is a ultra-thin notebook that has a 16:9 aspect ratio, 13.3 inch LED, HD 1366 X 768 which is just perfect for watching movies and viewing websites. The HDMI connector allows you to fully enjoy watching movies or other multimedia in high definition.

With about 1-inch in thickness, the Lenovo IdeaPad has a Core 2 Solo, Pentium ULV or Celeron processors with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 500GB of storage. This ultra-thin notebook has a battery life of 10 hours with 8 cell battery pack and 5 hours with 4 cell battery pack. Connect wirelessly via Intel WiFi Link 5100 wireless b/g and Bluetooth. Standard specifications are Ethernet connections, 1.3 megapixel camera, Multi-card reader, Dolby Sound room via the 1.5 dual speakers and come with Windows Vista Home Basic or Home Premium.

A cool feature is the Ambient Light Sensor technology (taken from the IdeaCentre desktop line) which dajusts the screen’s brightness when in different lighting conditions for the best screen quality. Another is the VeriFace facial recognition technology which provides security via making your face as the password.

The Lenovo IdeaPad U350 will be priced between $700-$800.

SOURCES: ENGADGET, GIZMODO, CNET

In terms of connectivity there is Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N or Intel® Pro/Wireless 3945ABG(802.11a/b/g) or 802.11bg supported by Hexa-band Antenna or Triple Hexa-band Antenna(Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N Only); there is also Gigabit (PM) or 10/100 Ethernet (GM) LAN; Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR;  DVB-T Tuner or Hybrid TV Tuner w/Remote Controller.

To top it off, there is a 1.3 megapixel LG Smart Cam, and the laptop comes bundled with Genuine Windows® Vista® Home Premium, Genuine Windows® Vista® Home Basic, or Genuine Windows® Vista® Business.

Press release after the jump.

LG Electronics South Africa, a leader in consumer electronics and IT products, has introduced the LG S900 19.1-inch widescreen desktop replacement notebook computer which has been designed with computer aided design professionals and computer gamers in mind.

The brilliant silver 5.9kg LG S900 is a high performance desktop machine that offers portable convenience when required. The next-generation Intel Centrino Duo processor technology enables complex multi-tasking while delivering high quality video and audio with extraordinary performance and speed 20% improved from the previous Intel Centrino Duo processor. The LG S900 is available with up to Intel Core2 Duo Processor T7300, 2.0GHz featuring 4MB L2 Cache and 800MHz front side bus (FSB).

Thanks to the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processing unit the 19.1-inch widescreen 300nit bright display reduces fatigue and increases productivity by being able to display multiple task panes in a larger screen area and reproduces clear, bright and natural images. The NVIDIA GeForce 8600M delivers the best-in-class 3D graphics and video features while the Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 architecture gives a high degree of realism to 3D graphics which is ideal for gamers and graphics professionals. The Intel Clear Video technology delivers sharp, brilliant picture quality and the ability to playback the most widely available high definition (HD) content which means that the LG S900 doubles as a multimedia entertainment centre.

The multimedia features of the LG S900 are enhanced with the inclusion of Dolby Home Theatre technology, a webcam and multi-card reader. Dolby Home Theatre technology delivers a cinema-like surround sound experience.

Further multimedia and productivity features include the built-in 1.3 megapixel LG Smart Cam which allows for video conference and web calls while the multi card reader and DVD Super Multi Dual Layer drive means that the LG S900 can easily read and write to multiple formats with minimal fuss quickly and easily.

No offense to anyone who is anorexic, especially top models. The new Lenovo X300 surely impresses even the guys at Apple, because the MacBook Air is 0.1lbs heavier than the X300…

You should get different versions, but the most recent one I saw had an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU at 1.2GHz with 4MB cache against MacBook’s 1.6GHz, 2GB of RAM which is the same as its Apple counterpart. The hard drive is only 64GB against Apple’s 80GB, but there are 3 USB ports, and a DVD writer, which doesn’t even exist in the MacBook.

Source: Engadget via TheGadgetSite