Where Do Ideas Come From?
January 3, 2008
Post a Comment (38 Comments)
We just launched a exciting new line of consumer products under the Idea brand. The design for these was led by my good friend Yao. The IdeaPad notebooks feature a frameless display, face recognition security, unique media controls, a clever hinge design, and much more. I’ll have Yao write more about the design in the near future. I like the distinctive quality of the design and would love to get your reaction too.
Here is a collection of images showcasing the design:
David Hill
Lenovo Meet the Modder Dean Liou
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 2
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 1
Lenovo H320 desktop
January 3rd, 2008 2:58 pm
Wow! Is that a normal 10key!? I never could master the ThinkPad’s alternative number key madness. That’s absolutely fantastic!
January 3rd, 2008 4:07 pm
loving the new hinge that is an entire piece, but i’m wondering about the structural rigidity. i’ll be honest however, i would never buy any of these since they are not thinkpads. the media controls look confusing, a video attached to your press release could have better explained how they work.
a lot of people are now wondering if you’re going to release a wide screen 11 inch X.
January 3rd, 2008 4:09 pm
I specially like the one in the centre(May be it’s the way the photo taken). I would prefer a 14 inch as it seems to be 15.4 if I am not wrong. I like the hinge design of the screen and its outer surface although I dont know the material made of. The hinge design reminds me in a way the design of thinkpads’ screens(in the top; speciacially in R51,R52..). I am not sure but when it’s closed must be seen like one piece. Isn’t there a problem with the back ports, or they don’t exist? The top right buttons with their colour and shape differentiate the overall interior design. I saw the IdeaPad logo. It is very nice and it’s pitty you didn’t place it somewhere, like the ThinkPad logo. It would make stronger the identity of the machine giving the user more confidence when using the computer. Also with its colours it would act in the design in the same way the orange buttons do. That’s all for now concerning the design. I don’t know more technical details so as to have an opinion for the differentiation with the rest of lenovo’s laptops(…must be more multimedia oriented).
Sorry for the not so good use of English.
January 3rd, 2008 4:18 pm
[...] pricey side. Consumer versions will need to carefully marry all of the above to sensible pricing. Check them out here in a great company blog that focuses on why they design Thinkpads they way they do. Technorati [...]
January 3rd, 2008 4:21 pm
My initial reaction is “WOW, this beats the pants off a Macbook – I wonder if they’ll preload it with Ubuntu”.
Like all Lenovo laptops, it seems to tick all the boxes. As a Thinkpad user, I would prefer a track point instead of the track pad.
January 3rd, 2008 5:03 pm
one question, i’m sitting here in a cafe with my friend and it just came to me, what if you just printed out a high resolution image of someone’s face and use that as login. can it be hacked like that?
January 3rd, 2008 5:20 pm
Looks good. Personally I hate numpads on laptops (it seems a bit over-the-top), but an 11in ultraportable for a decent price and a great design sounds good.
January 3rd, 2008 7:07 pm
I notice these are being offered, according to the press release on lenovo.com/us/en/, “initially offered in multiple countries including the U.S., France, Russia, South Africa, India, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, China, the Philippines and Singapore.”
Is there an expected release date for Canada? Are these machines only going to be offered through box-stores such as wallmart, futureshop, bestbuy, etc, or will premium business partners be able to resell these machines?
It would be a real disappointment being only offered through box-stores, and having a delayed release in Canada.
January 3rd, 2008 7:59 pm
HDMI?
January 3rd, 2008 9:34 pm
yes it offers HDMI on the Y710 (http://shop.lenovo.com/ISS_Sta.....010808.pdf)
January 4th, 2008 2:46 am
Why has Lenovo emphasized the no-light-leaking test for the T-series bezels as a huge benefit for rigidity and screen durability and knocked other designs such as the flat-screen + rubber grommets? It seems as though these Idea-brand laptops use the same “inferior” bezel design.
Why not have the Thinkpad tech trickle-down into the consumer-level stuff?
January 4th, 2008 5:01 am
Hi,
I like the “scratch” pattern on the out side, but the glossy inside is scarry…
However, since it does not come with a trackpoint, I will have to stick with thinkpads.
cheers
r.
January 4th, 2008 7:30 am
Yeah, shame about the lack of trackpoints. The U110 would have been top of my list otherwise. Looks like I’m still going to have to hold out for Penryn Thinkpads…
January 4th, 2008 9:46 am
Thanks Adam, The new Lenovo consumer line looks very attractive good luck.
January 4th, 2008 10:39 am
[...] Lenovo ya estaba explotando el mercado de computadores de consumo en China, India y Singapur pero el entrar en el mercado estadounidense con computadores que ofrecen tecnología multimedia, que permite a los usuarios escuchar música, reproducir videos, ver imágenes y el tener presentaciones en colores rojos azules y negro es sin duda parte de toda esta estrategia para superar a sus empresas competidoras no solo en EE. UU. sino en el mundo de la computación. [...]
January 4th, 2008 10:41 am
Que buno que diversifiquen para que ganemos los usuarios…
ABRAZO VIRTUAL
January 5th, 2008 1:28 pm
Is it possible to offer a keyboard with the trackpoint as an upgrade?
I’d like to buy your 17″ for private home use, but I am completely lost on the touchpad (after 15 years with Thinkpads).
January 5th, 2008 8:36 pm
these look great and it’s most gratifying to finally see design get appropriate attention in this product area (yesterday’s Wall Street Journal article was excellent)…as a long-time user of ThinkPads, a big issue for me is how quickly surfaces can discolor with use; you may want to look at the radically new Lextra Fiber Graphics plastic decoration which actually feels like a textile and breathes, yet tends to not show wear since the fibers ‘give’–technology also used to make mousepads (www.mouserug.com)
thanks
January 6th, 2008 3:43 am
Re: Stefan on Face Recognition
There is a blog entry by Matt Kohut on the face recognition technology. He tried to cheat the system by using a print-out of his face but the system didn’t buy it.
January 7th, 2008 9:23 am
Stefan:
Any face recognition system can be tricked with a picture, since it is 2D only. 3D systems are too expensive and hardly used.
January 8th, 2008 7:20 pm
Layout is unique and the general design is remarkable. Will they feature different coloured panels? With the extra features I’d imagine that the performance will be improved somewhat.
Nice product…..
January 9th, 2008 6:55 pm
Personally I like the Designs of those new Lenovo Consumer-Notebooks, even those are very glossy. Especially the little red IdeaPad U110 looks very promising. – See also from CES:
–> http://www.notebookreview.com/.....ewsID=4182
–> http://www.notebookreview.com/.....ewsID=4188
January 12th, 2008 10:46 am
Nice and clean case design. The screen lid without frame is very thin and of course nice and modern, I would like to know if its structural rigidity is compromised with this solution. However the design purity has its drawback in the much overpopulated media controls tab, wouldn´t it be better to have smallest and simpler icons? When the good design achievements are going to be applied in the old fashioned thinkpad line?
January 12th, 2008 9:32 pm
I am a reviewer at NBR and I can’t wait to get my hands on these. The U110 in particular looks awesome – I really want to try the kb.
January 15th, 2008 10:25 am
Nice to see that Lenovo has the balls to introduce some fresh innovative designs.
The Y710 is now on my shopping list. I hope it will be available in spring time.
NOW: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE “YODA” subnote book?
You got 2 red dot awards, a lot of press publicity and… nothing happened so far?
Was it only a design study or do you wait for the Californian FruitCompany to introduce a super-slim notebook first to see if there is a market?
Questions…Questions…Questions…!?
January 15th, 2008 10:30 am
Will the U110 be available in “male” colors as well?
Bright red is targeted to the female executive, right?
January 16th, 2008 9:02 am
Designs to make your jaw drop come from MacWorld Expo. Check out the MacBook Air.
http://www.betanews.com/articl.....1200429755
January 16th, 2008 3:56 pm
Please begin including the trackpoint in the consumer laptops. Easy and inexpensive option.
January 18th, 2008 11:44 am
very nice, but where is the trackpoint and where is the uk release date – they’re already out in france!
February 13th, 2008 1:03 am
Why dont we have a trackpoint alternative to the touchpad? that is a most sought after option in favor of the thinkpad. Also, is there an option for fingerprint recognition for website logins?
March 12th, 2008 6:54 pm
Gar, there’s an easy way to fix the problem. Create a face-video through shaking and nodding the head.
March 12th, 2008 6:56 pm
It’s still bypassable, but to beat it, you’d have to bother creating a holographic image of a face, instead of stealing a photograph online.
March 16th, 2008 5:24 pm
[...] Where Do Ideas Come From? » Jak to tak vypadá, máme tu nástupce ThinkPadu od Lenova (IBM) – IdeaPad. Po ThinkPadu se mi bude stýskat… [...]
June 22nd, 2008 6:50 pm
New ideas?
I want a 3D display – should be easy with a notebook or laptop.
tOM
June 22nd, 2008 7:02 pm
For face recognition, why not use UV and infrared LEDs and filtered sensors to avoid forgery by picture and to manage odd lighting situations, eg, sunshine, night, cafe, neon, night club…
Have the keyboard or surround be an environmental light reference for normalising colour sensors, eg, by colouring it grey or white, or having colour swatches.
BTW, trackpads work very well. Download the synaptics driver for more options.
tOM
June 23rd, 2008 8:03 pm
Love the new IdeaPads; solid machines with a fresh new design.
One thing I do miss a lot from older machines is the non-widescreen 14 inch option with a native resolution up to 1400*1050. Those were the best for development-related work: the ideal amount of vertical desktop real estate.
Seems all manufacturers inclusive of Lenovo have retired their non-widescreen LCD manufacturing plants!
April 12th, 2009 3:57 am
as DESIGN is finding its way into the ‘value-added’ laptop ’shell’ developments these days, not too far behind we believe will be the value of TEXTURE. It’s only a matter of time; and when laptop designers developers, merchandisers, etc., realize they can create and product product with an exclusive patented multicolor fiber coating technology that FEESL GREAT then we expect we will hear from someone. The time is getting closer every day to deliver laptops with a surface that “People Love To Touch” that also offers high performance durability (check out your UPS driver’s shirt logo for a taste of what a cousin to our laptop product feels like (be careful!!).
Great–we would love to hear from the right person on this subject–try a Reply, you will not be sorry!
April 12th, 2009 4:00 am
forgot to even mention the durable, soft, cool, brightly-colored graphic image wrist rests; peel-n-stick is how they apply until a savvy molder offers the IMD version–which is not much more permanent, actually. Seriously, to avoid hot or cold, icky and sticky when power typing on your machines, these add-ons are the ticket–we’d love to tell you more about them!
B. Abrams