Lenovo Debuts First NVidia "Ion"-Powered Netbook

Today Lenovo announced the first netbook powered by NVidia’s Ion technology.  Dubbed the IdeaPad S12, the netbook comes with the option of an onboard NVidia chipset designed to bring 1080p-quality video to the low-powered netbook range.  NVidia’s Ion will let netbooks perform many of the tasks common to more powerful (and expensive) laptops, including gaming, video transcoding, and HDMI options.

The IdeaPad S12 sports an Atom processor with a 12.1-inch screen and a full-size keyboard, along with a 160 GB hard drive and 1 GB of RAM.  There’s also a webcam featuring Lenovo’s face recognition technology, VeriFace, as well as a 4-in-1 multicard reader.  The six-cell battery will yield about six hours of battery life.  Although the major draw is the Ion GPU, a lower-cost version will be available with an Intel integrated graphics chipset.

The  IdeaPad S12 comes and white and black and will be available beginning in June.  Expect to shell out $449 for the version with Intel graphics, or $499 for the Ion-powered version.

Read the full press release after the cut.

–Aric A.




Lenovo Energizes Mini-Computing with its First 12-Inch Netbook Debuts World’s First Netbook with NVIDIA’s ION Graphics Processor

RESEARCH
TRIANGLE PARK, NC – May 25, 2009: Lenovo today announced the IdeaPad
S12, the company’s first 12-inch netbook. The new netbook takes the
best in connectivity, style and entertainment features in Lenovo’s
other netbooks and brings users the next level in netbook computing
with improved usability and performance. These enhancements include a
12.1-inch screen, a 100 percent full-size keyboard and new graphics
options with the NVIDIA ION™ platform.

“We’ve heard from
consumers loud and clear about the need for affordable and extremely
portable computing devices, and we’ve responded by introducing our
third netbook with a completely new form factor, making mini-computing
more usable and redefining value in today’s market,” said Dion Weisler,
vice president, Business Operations, Idea Product Group, Lenovo. “We
are pioneering new territory in the developing netbook arena by being
the first vendor to give customers high quality video and entertainment
capabilities in a netbook with optional NVIDIA ION graphics.”

Elevating Power and Performance
Whether
it’s looking at photos, playing music, emailing or cruising online,
consumers want smaller and more portable PCs. The Lenovo IdeaPad S12
netbook is raising the bar for higher levels of netbook computing with
choices of the Intel Atom processor with Intel integrated graphics or
the Intel Atom processor with NVIDIA ION graphics. Also, for the first
time on a netbook with NVIDIA’s ION graphics platform, users will be
able to enjoy brilliant 1080p high definition video with silky smooth
playback.
“NVIDIA ION graphics help deliver the same features
found in premium PCs at lower price points and new form factors,” said
Rene Haas, general manager, Notebook GPUs, NVIDIA. “With enhanced
graphics, the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 netbook is perfect for watching
movies, playing popular games like Spore, flipping through vacation
pictures or enhancing family videos.”

The IdeaPad S12 netbook
offers plenty of up and running time with up to six hours of battery
life to support the mobile demands of netbook users1. Because netbook
users need to stay connected wirelessly, the netbook comes with WiFi
connectivity and ready for 3G with an ExpressCard slot to enable
connectivity2. To hold the photos, music and videos users keep on their
netbooks, the IdeaPad S12 netbook offers ample hard drive storage and
memory with up to 160 GB of storage and 1 GB of memory. For peace of
mind in case data becomes corrupted, Lenovo’s OneKey™ Rescue System can
help recover user data or device settings.

Loaded with Style and Entertainment
In
addition to the netbook’s sleek and sophisticated ring pattern design
in black or white, users can make the netbook their one-stop
entertainment device, starting from the moment they turn it on.
Lenovo’s expanded VeriFace facial recognition technology makes logging
in a snap by recognizing the user’s face. If users want “on demand”
functionality, they can go into the Lenovo Quick Start environment and
check email, browse the Internet and more without waiting for the full
operating system to boot. They can also don any set of headphones and
enjoy surround sound audio with Dolby Headphone technology. If opting
to watch video on an external monitor, they can easily connect through
the netbook’s VGA port or HDMI port on select models. They can also
choose among several multimedia formats to upload through the 4-in-1
multicard reader.

An Improved Computing Experience
Lenovo
designed the IdeaPad S12 netbook for consumers looking for a super
thin, portable and affordable device that offered a familiar, computing
experience. Lenovo enlarged the netbook’s WXGA screen from 10.1 inches
to 12.1 inches for better viewing and made the keyboard 100 percent the
size of a full-size laptop to make typing easier and less cramped. And
when it comes to portability, by measuring less than an inch thick4,
the netbook leads the industry for thinness compared to other 12-inch
netbooks. The lightweight IdeaPad S12 netbook weighs in at just three
pounds5.

Pricing and Availability
The
IdeaPad S12 netbook will be available in June through business partners
and www.lenovo.com. Pricing for models starts at $449. Models with the
NVIDIA ION graphics will be available later this summer.