Lenovo, maker of the popular business-oriented ThinkPad line of notebook PCs, entered the consumer market on Thursday with the launch of its new line of IdeaPad computers.

IdeaPads will be offered in several models in a variety of countries. In the U.S., the models will be the all-purpose Y510, the gamer-oriented Y710, and ultraportable U110, each sporting Intel Centrino chipsets and Dolby surround sound.

Lenovo said in a statement that the new models “make a bold design statement with frameless screen, touch-sensitive control surfaces, and strange textures.”

ThinkPad’s Halo

Doug Bell, an analyst with IDC, pointed out that Lenovo is trying to use the halo from the ThinkPad’s reputation in the commercial sphere to propel its new consumer grade.

The timing of the new line’s launch is optimal, he said, considering the consumer market is growing, particularly in notebook sales. He predicted that Lenovo will be pushing the IdeaPad type through its sponsorship of the upcoming

Lenovo said that its “Ideas” marketing campaign will introduce consumers to the new PCs by illustrating the capability of ideas and how the IdeaPad sort helps in capturing and transforming those ideas.

One of the newer ideas embodied in the new machines is authentication via VeriFace Face Recognition. Lenovo said that an owner’s face can become a password, thanks to the VeriFace software and an embedded camera in each of the new IdeaPad laptops.

Losing IBM type

Bell said that, in general, the specifications on the new machines do not stand out. What is noteworthy, he said, is Lenovo’s effort to form its sort name stand out. In fact, he noted, Lenovo’s own sort has achieved sufficient of a reputation that it recently phased out the IBM stamp on its ThinkPad machines.

In the Y710, the sort name literally stands out, with a backlit Lenovo logo. The…

Original post by Top Tech News