New Lenovo IdeaPads Officially Launched

As if all of the new ThinkPads weren't enough, Lenovo today announced the release of four all new IdeaPad notebooks. The 13-inch IdeaPad U330, 14-inch IdeaPad Y430, 15-inch Y530, and 17-inch Y730 are all offered in a variety of attractive colors and include multi-media features and performance making them the perfect notebooks for your home.

IdeaPad U330 (view large image)	IdeaPad Y430 (view large image)
IdeaPad Y530 (view large image)	IdeaPad Y730 (view large image)

All of the new IdeaPad notebooks include the following features:

• Intel Montevina platform system
• Dual-channel DDR3 RAM, up to 4GB
• Dolby Home Theatre
• Array microphone
• Integrated 1.3M fixed Camera
• Frameless Screen
• Stylish ID design & Multi-color lid options
• Touch-sensitive controls
• 6-in-1 Multimedia card Reader
• HDMI

Lenovo Designed Software includes:

• VeriFace 3.0 facial recognition security softwareOneKey Rescue System 6.0
• Easy Capture 3.0
• Readycomm 4.0
• Lenovo Energy Management 3.1

IdeaPad U330 Overview:

• Dark blue glossy cover
• Dolby Home Theatre 2 Certification with 2x1.5W stereo speakers
• Ultra-slim LED panel
• Light weight: starting at 4.18 lbs
• Magnesium-Alluminum alloy top and bottom cover
• 13.3", 16:10 ratio LED panel 1280 x 800 pixel WXGA (250nits)
• Up to 320GB HDD (2.5" SATA 5400rpm or 7200 rpm)
• Intel 5100/5300 a/g/n WLAN
• Switchable graphics Intel Integrated & ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 with 256MB GDDR3 VRAM

IdeaPad Y430 and Y530 Overview:

• Red or Black Light Weave Texture top cover
• Stereo speakers with Dolby certificated Dolby Home Theatre
• Aluminum palm rest cover Anti-scratch, look and feel
• 14.1" WXGA (1280 x 800) Anti-Glare or Glossy type LCD (>200 nits) Nvidia Geforce 9300M GS 256MB
• 15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) res. Anti-Glare or Glossy type LCD (>200 nits) Nvidia Geforce 9300M GS 256MB or Nvidia Geforce 9500M G 512MB
• Y430 starts at 5.2 lbs
• Y530 at 6.1 lbs
• Up to 320GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
• Intel 5100/5300 a/g/n WLAN

IdeaPad Y730 Overview:

• Glossy orange cover or Glossy dark blue cover
• Hot swap secondary HDD
• Gamezone / Numberpad
• Dolby Home Theatre 2 Certification with 2x2W +2x1W stereo, 1x3W subwoofer
• Weight starts at 7.5 lbs
• 17.0" 1440x900 pixel WXGA (220nits)
• 17.0" WUXGA 1920X1200 (>300nits)
• ATI Mobility Radeon TM HD 3650 512MB/256MB DDR3 VRAM
• Up to Dual 320GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive

 

Nice to hear, any word on when they will start selling them?

 

The 430 looks very interesting

 

Wow, that U330 looks like a perfect competitor for the new Sony Z and SR series notebooks. If the price is reasonable, it might make quite a popular system.

 

This is great news, does anyone know when they will be sold?

 

awesomness, although screens probably going to be as dull as HPs...

no mention of BluRay option

 

hm...Magnesium alloy frame like a Thinkpad?? Intersting.
And what's that frameless screen feature??? Am I missing something?
But yeah, the U330 is very nice indeed.

 

any idea how much is the U330?

 

sign me up, when do they go on sale and how much? Looks like it was a good decision to wait to buy my lappy for college

 

Nice, but there's one thing I don't understand. Why even bother with the Ideapad Y430? From what I can tell, it's almost exactly the same as the Thinkpad SL400. Would it make more sense if they put the 9500GS in the Y430 and 9600GT in the Y530?

edit: It looks like they removed the slot-loading drive from the Y series. What were they thinking? That was the only feature that made it special.

 

Not really.

Ideapad Y430 is much more optimized for "home" uses with Stereo speakers with Dolby certificated Dolby Home Theatre, glossy screen and a cooler look.

SL400, as I said on another topic, is more a dell vostro with a thinkpad branding.

 

So many laptops being released, I am completely stuck on what to get now.

 

Dang the screens are still so reflective. Otherwise, quite appealing.

 

That's what I've been waiting for. The missing info is CPU choices. Some sites say P7350, which would be not very exciting. On the other hand, they claim some models have blu-ray drive option.

DDR3 is cool, contrary to Centrino 2 Vaio, which is still using DDR2.

 

lenovo said their customization system is down, but should be working tomorrow morning

 

Frameless screen means the LCD panel will be flush with the bezel.

 

Fujitsu/Sony bright screen in IdeaPad body = ideal combination.

 

where is the source information ?

 

Yes. The frameless glossy screens (which are actually a standard display with a thin plastic layer placed in front of it so it looks like it goes all the way to the edge) look like mirrors. It's really the ONLY reason I don't love the IdeaPad series. The second protective glossy layer adds a completely separate layer of reflection that becomes very distracting and can even give some people (myself included headaches). Lenovo isn't the only company doing this: Dell, HP, and other either have or will be releasing notebooks with screens that have the second glossy layer in front of the display (because it looks cool ... regardless of the fact it isn't practical).

The pre-release information from Lenovo indicates that these new IdeaPads will be offered with your choice of anti-glare (matte) or glossy screens. I hope this is true because the IdeaPad Y510 probably would have been one of the best consumer 15-inch notebook on the market last year if it hadn't been for the screen.

If the Y530 and the rest of the IdeaPads now have a matte screen option that makes them more attractive ... to me at least.

 

Anti-glare screens anyone?

 

i am really liking everything about ideapads with the exception of the screen, i might have to get used to it.

Lenovo still hasn't updated their ordering site

 

does anybody know if the new ideapads will be available in Canada? I don't even know if the previous ideapads were officially available in Canada (no ideapads listed on the Lenovo Canadian website), but you could buy the Y510 at tigerdirect.ca, which is kind of a sketchy place. I hope Lenovo will bring the Y530 to Canada officially... anyone know? Oh, and before September? lol

 

It appears that these new laptops will be available starting this fall. I wish they would release them sooner

http://www.slashgear.com/lenovos-new-ideapad-u330-y430-y530-and-y730-announced-1512522.php

 

The press release on Lenovo's site says a choice of "framed or frameless" screen. Hope that really means a choice of matte (no reflection layer) or glossy screen.

I agree the Y510 would have been one of the best all-around consumer notebooks on the market if it was equipped with a better screen.

 

I'm afraid it's very unlikely they will be available in Canada any time soon. No mention of Ideapads on the canadian website, not even a press release. That sucks. I could order it online but I like seeing and touching the thing first.

 

if I live in Canada and want to order either the U330 or Y530, how can I possibly do so? They're no available in Canada...