Lenovo launches own-brand PCs

Posted on 24 Feb 2006 at 10:18

PC manufacturer Lenovo is to begin selling its own-brand range of PCs and notebooks. This is the first time that the company has put its own label onto its products and represents another step to be considered a world player alongside Dell and HP.

The Chinese company has traditionally been an OEM for other brands although its international profile leapt after the acquisition of the IBM PC division in 2004. Since the buyout of IBM, Lenovo has been happy to continue to trade on the IBM well-respected brand name but now hopes to create some brand equity in its own right.

Leaving the blue chip customers to its Big Blue brand, the new Lenovo 3000 product lines are aimed at small businesses and consumers, offering new notebook to be known as the Lenovo C Series and new Lenovo J Series desktop PCs in a new silver casing.

Taking their cue from the remote diagnostics features of the IBM lines, the machines feature a single button system recovery to help users diagnose, get help, and recover systems from catastrophic software. The company is also offering automatic updates and simple connectivity for simple wired or wireless networking.

The Lenovo J100 and J105 desktop PCs are designed for small business users and offer a choice of processors. The Lenovo J100 features a SiS 661 chipset with choice either of Pentium 4 or Celeron D processors, while the Lenovo J105 features an AMD Socket 754 board with either AMD Sempron or Athlon processors.

The C100 notebook is built around an Intel 915 GM Chipset with either Pentium M or Celeron M processors. Some models in the range also include Centrino and offer integrated 802.11 a/b/g wireless LAN, Bluetooth and 10/100 Ethernet and modem. Lenovo claims that the 8-cell lithium ion battery provides up to five hours of battery life.

Both, the Lenovo J Series and C Series are available immediately. Prices for the J105 and J100 start at £260 and £280, respectively while prices for the C100 start at £460. The company says that the Lenovo 3000 products will mostly be sold through its dealer network.

Look out for the UK's exclusive review of the Lenovo J105 (featuring the AMD Sempron) in issue 139 of PC Pro, hitting shop shelves 16 March.

Author: Steve Malone