14 DAY TRIAL // During the CEATEC 2009 show, held between October 6 and October 10 in Japan, Lenovo, one of the world's leading vendors of personal computer systems, has showcased the latest addition to its line of IdeaPad portable PCs, dubbed IdeaPad U150. Designed as a new ultraportable PC based on Intel's CULV platform, the new laptop comes with a sleek design and a compact form factor that places the system somewhere in between an ultraportable, and a small-sized netbook PC.
The IdeaPad U150 appears to be Lenovo's alternative to some of the other thin and light laptops that have been launched recently, including HP's Mini 311, a system that has been designed on NVIDIA's highly appreciated ION platform. The IdeaPad U150, however, is built on Intel's CULV platform, which means that it takes advantage of the higher-performance CULV processors and chipsets, when compared to Intel's Atom processors and netbook graphics.
Spec-wise, the IdeaPad U150 has been built with an 11.6-inch display and is powered by Intel's Pentium SU4100 processor, clocked at a cool 1.3GHz. The system, which will reportedly be configurable, will also provide customers with a choice for 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard disk drive, while the integrated graphics will be supported by Intel's X4500 solution. Additionally, the system will also sport a multitouch trackpad, HDMI output, a 1.3MP webcam and a 6-cell battery pack that is expected to deliver as many as seven hours of runtime.
The laptop is said to be just 13.5mm thick and weigh in at 1.35kg, which makes it easy to carry around, much like some of the netbooks that have been made available on the market. Apparently the IdeaPad U150 is scheduled to ship with Microsoft's Windows Vista Home Basic, which means that it could become available really soon, as it doesn't need to wait for Windows 7. Price-wise, you are looking at a system that will go for under US$800.
