Lenovo is introducing a few new low-cost laptops, including a model that looks like a typical Windows notebook, but which has a price (and some of the features) you’d expect to find from a Chromebook.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 100 is a Windows PC with a starting price of $249. It should be available starting in June.

lenovo 100_01

The IdeaPad 100 comes in two sizes: there’s a 4.2 pound model with a 14 inch display and a 5.1 pound model with a 15 inch screen. Both feature Intel Bay Trail processors, 1366 x 768 pixel displays, and other features you’d expect from an entry-level machine.

While they’re hardly the only low-cost Windows laptops, Lenovo is introducing them at a time affordable laptops featuring Google’s browser-based operating system are one of the few growth areas in the PC market.

Lenovo’s new laptops are relatively slim, measuring 0.8 inches thick for the 14 inch model and 0.9 inches thick for the 15 inch version. The company plans to offer them with up to an Intel Pentium N3540 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, and up to 500Gb of hard drive storage or 128GB of solid state storage.

Each model features a USB 3.0 port, a USB 2,.0 port, HDMI and Ethernet jacks, an SD card reader, headset jack, 0.3MP webcam, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0.

The laptops feature a mono 1.5 watt speaker and a 30 Whr battery which Lenovo says is good for up to 4 hours of run time.

If you’re looking for a light-weight laptop with a small display and long battery life, the IdeaPad 100 might not be all that tempting. But if you’re looking for an affordable machine for use around the house, it might fit the bill. It’s a shame there aren’t at least options for larger batteries or higher-resolution displays though.

Lenovo’s other new laptops are the Z41 and Z51 which have 14 and 15.6 inch full HD displays, respectively. Those models also have AMD graphics and starting prices of $499.

 

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9 replies on “Lenovo IdeaPad 100: Windows laptop with Chromebook-like price”

  1. Or… buy a used X220 for $200. You get an i5, a good screen, up to 16GB of RAM, and one of the best keyboards around, weighing in well under four pounds. And a battery that provides 9+ hours of life is cheap and easy to find. Even the cheapest, worst battery (which I’ve only seen one of, they’re rare, the 9+ hour model appears to have been standard) gets 4+ hours.

    Lenovo, just… re-sell old X series laptops. Stop making s*** that barely runs, with crap battery life and keyboards like the new LaVie Z.

    1. Nobody said it did, but most people would have given their eye teeth for four hours of battery life just a few years ago.

      We’re not talking road warrior laptops here — these are the type of cheap laptops that will be used within easy range of a power outlet 95% of the time.

  2. This would be a perfect laptop for the older generation who just want a laptop they can move around the house.

  3. It’s hard to feel any sense of excitement here as there doesn’t appear to be anything innovative with these IdeaPad 100 models. For the less computer savvy users (like my parents) – a Chromebook turned out to be the right answer. I’m no longer their on-call computer technician.

    1. Innovation isn’t the goal — pushing volume is the name of the game at this price.

    2. Exactly. One of the reasons for growth in the ChromeBox/ChromeBook sector is that admin costs over the life of the device are far, far lower than for conventional OSs. Five major school systems in the area here have laid off “admins” and outsourced services, cutting support costs to little more than a few cable pullers.

    3. ” I’m no longer their on-call computer technician.” They taught you how to wipe your own butt. The least you could do is show them how to use a real computer.

      1. I’m fairly sure that they can do everything that they wanted to do on their Chromebook, so this “real computer” elitism is uncalled for. That’s also not a good comparison. I bet cybernevets doesn’t call their parents once a week with what amounts to “Help, I forgot how to do it and accidentally got my arm stuck in my own anus” issues.

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