Lenovo

Hewlett-Packard extended its lead in the worldwide PC market in the third quarter, increasing its shipments at more than twice the rate of the rest of the industry.

Shipments from all manufacturers increased to 68.1 million, or 13.8 percent, from the previous year, and 11.1 percent from the previous quarter, according to iSuppli, a market research company that tracks the PC industry. The third quarter is traditionally a good one for computer makers because of increased purchases during the back-to-school buying season.

HP's shipments gave it claim to 19.2 percent of the PC market, followed … Read more

I used to cringe when folks asked me to recommend a laptop that cost less than $1,000. Granted, there have been laptops at that price for a few years now, but they were generally chunky cases stocked with generations-old components and low-resolution screens--not exactly anything I'd feel good about recommending for use as a primary computer.

Imagine my surprise when computer manufacturers responded to my call for $1,000 laptops with some downright Crave-worthy systems. I expected to receive only 15.4-inch systems, because the larger case provides more room for engineers to work and keeps costs down; but I also found two 14.1-inch systems that didn't break our budget. I expected to receive cases stocked with previous-generation Pentium or Celeron CPUs; on the contrary, all but one of our review units included current-generation processors, graphics, and chipsets. I expected the cases to be leftovers from last year's crop of new laptops; instead, many in our roundup share the same case design as their more-expensive brethren.

One area where my expectations were met: performance. None of the laptops in this roundup sped through our performance benchmarks. But if I'm buying a $1,000 laptop, I'm not expecting to use it for gaming or video editing.

In the end, we were able to round up sub-$1,000 configurations from Fujitsu, Gateway, Lenovo, Sony, and Toshiba. Which ones did I like best? The answer is after the break.… Read more

I co-hosted the Buzz Out Loud podcast with Molly Wood today. Topic (suprise): Gphone. What else? Also covered: Why the Asus eee PC rocks and why the Foleo was killed too early.

Lenovo is making some changes. In the space of less than a week, the Chinese PC maker has announced it is dropping the IBM logo from its Think-branded products, and now it is entering a new, if not exactly exciting, segment of the PC market: workstations.

The newest member of the family will be called the ThinkStation, and Lenovo says its debut marks the first new Think-branded product since it bought IBM's PC business two years ago.

The first two models, the ThinkStation S10 and D10, are aimed at creative professionals and engineers, Lenovo says. The D10 will have … Read more

If you haven't already, say goodbye to that little IBM sticker on your ThinkPad.

Turns out, Lenovo doesn't need the reputable computer brand to sell its notebooks and desktops anymore. Lenovo Chief Executive Bill Amelio said as much following the company's most recent earnings results, which was noted by E-Channel Line.

"By making substantial progress on all of our critical priorities over the past few quarters, we're now a stronger, healthier company," Amelio said. "One important sign of this progress is our decision to completely transition our Think products from the IBM brand … Read more

In addition to the new Lenovo laptop we found earlier, Lenovo also has a new desktop. Micro Center has the lower-end dual core versions ($589 and $789) of the new K100, and Office Depot has a full-fledged quad core model ($1,129). Highlights seem to include a dial for balancing processor speed with noise-level/power consumption, a TV tuner on the Office Depot model, and a one-touch back-up button, similar to that on the new HP Pavilion Elite.

Aside from the TV tuner, the K100 has a home office bend to it, which means it doesn't come with the … Read more

The eagle-eyed crew over at NotebookReview tipped us off to the appearance of a new laptop on Lenovo's U.S. site. Part of the Lenovo 3000 family, the 14.1-inch Y410 was announced in the Asia markets earlier this year, but it arrived in the States without even a press release. Curious, considering the Y410 represents the company's first foray into the consumer--also known as "home/home office"--market here.

Though its boxy silver case is hardly a departure from the conservative look of the Lenovo 3000 line, the Y410 includes entertainment-oriented features you wouldn't … Read more

With HP's decision to release a slew of new laptops that offer a slick design and nice specs, it had me thinking: is this the new face of the notebook market? Are notebooks becoming commodities that can be differentiated only by design?

And if all of that is true, what will happen to brand loyalty? Is it another victim of this vicious battle?

I think it is.… Read more