Hands-On with Lenovo's New IdeaPads

Got a chance to put my mitts on Lenovo's hot new IdeaPads, including the nifty 11.1-inch model U110. Some thoughts... these laptops are hot!

Nothing about the U110 (also noted as the F11 on this unit) says ThinkPad. Any IBM-ness has been well scrubbed from this machine. The aesthetics alone are dazzling: red (or black or white) lid, etched with an intricate pattern. Even the vents on the bottom of the unit are carved into an Asian-style pattern, and one corner is etched with a pattern like that on the lid.

Let's open it up. There's no bezel around the LCD, and the keyboard is also completely flat and level. The keys aren't individually raised like normal, though it's still way easy to type on the thing. There's plenty of travel when you hit buttons, but the overall look is really something new, different, and impressive.

At 2.3 pounds, the U110 is a featherweight traveler that sophisticates will thrill to. Lenovo says battery life is about four hours, and pricing will start at $1,100, or $2,000 with a solid-state hard disk instead of a traditional magnetic hard drive.

There are two other IdeaPads, too. Both are cool, but not as flashy (or as portable) as the U110. The Y510 is a 15.4-inch model that begins at $800. The Y710 is a 17-incher, starting at $1,100. Both are geared at consumers, availabe in red, black, or blue. The Y models ship within the next two weeks. Watch for the U110 in April 2008.