Lenovo adds to IdeaPad notebook and netbook range

IdeaPad U350, S12 and Y650 'thin books' unveiled

The new Lenovo notebooks offer enhanced connectivity and longer battery life

Lenovo has added two new notebooks and a netbook to its range, all designed to be as portable as possible.

The company explained that customers are demanding thinner and lighter PCs with enhanced connectivity and extra long battery life to fit in with an increasingly mobile lifestyle.

"To meet this growing category for 'thin books' we are bringing customers products like the new IdeaPad U350 laptop, the IdeaPad S12 netbook and our recently introduced IdeaPad Y650 laptop," said Dion Weisler, vice president of business operations for the Idea Product Group at Lenovo.

The S12 netbook is the successor to the popular S10 and the recently announced S10-2. As the name suggests, the S12 sports a 12in screen, making it larger than most netbooks.

Weighing in at 1.36Kg and measuring just under 25mm at its thinnest point, the larger screen allows for a full sized keyboard as well as a six-cell battery with a promised life of up to six hours. It also bundles in an Intel Atom processor, 1GB of memory and a 160GB hard drive.

Lenovo said that the European version of the S12 uses Intel's graphics platform, contrary to reports which suggested that it would be using Nividia's Ion system.

The S12 uses multi-touch technology on the touchpad, VeriFace facial recognition and Lenovo's Quick Start platform giving fast access to basic applications such as email and the internet.

The silvery IdeaPad U350 laptop, meanwhile, is a fully fledged 13.3in widescreen notebook weighing around 1.58Kg and measuring less than 25mm thick when using a four-cell battery.

With a strong emphasis on entertainment, the U350 features HDMI output, an ambient light sensor and Dolby Sound Room for improved surround-sound audio.

It is powered by either an Intel Core 2 Solo or Pentium ultra low voltage processor, and offers up to 8GB of DDR3 memory and up to 500GB of hard drive storage.

The final addition to Lenovo's line up is the G550 Laptop, aimed predominately at small to medium business users. Running on an Intel Centrino processor and Nvidia graphics platform, the G550 incorporates a 15.6in widescreen and includes all the features required by today's mobile businessman, according to Lenovo.

The S12 netbook and the U350 laptop will be available in July for around £349 and £449 respectively. The G550 is expected to hit shelves next month, but pricing is yet to be confirmed.