Lenovo Announces New Y-Series IdeaPads

Lenovo today added three new notebooks to its IdeaPad Y Series. Designed as thin, consumer-oriented systems, the 14-inch Y450,  15-inch Y550, and 16-inch Y650 (pictured at right) each sport stylish black chassises with copper-colored accents, and interlocking hexagon patterns, which remind us of the video game Qubert, on the back of their lids.  Starting at prices of  $839 for the two smaller systems and $1,199 for the 16-incher, the notebooks come with:

• Glossy 16:9 screens with a resolution of 1366×768
• Multi-touch touchpads
• Veriface facial recognition software
• Optional Nvidia GFX discrete graphics
• Up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM
• Up to 500GB of hard drive capacity
• Lenovo Desktop Navigator, a shortcut bar for launching frequently used programs
• OneKey Theater software that lets users switch between movie mode and normal mode settings
• OneKey recovery software
• Ambient light sensor on Y650

We expect to be getting some hands-on time at CES with at least one of these systems, most likely the 16-inch Y650. We have high expectations, because we’ve reviewed the 15-inch IdeaPad Y510 and Y530 in the past and thought highly of both. When we look at the Y650 in particular, we’ll be comparing it to other 16-inch systems we’ve reviewed in the past. As the system’s specs and size emphasizes multimedia playback. We will have to see how the video quality compares to competitors like the stunning HP HDX 16, the innovative Fujitsu LifeBook N7010, and the disappointing Samsung R610-64G.