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Tuesday 15th July 2008

Lenovo launches Centrino 2 X200

2:18PM

Lenovo has announced the launch of five new laptops to coincide with the unveiling of Intel's Centrino 2 platform earlier today.

Headlining the event was the ultra-portable X200 - Lenovo's follow-up to the X61 - equipped with a 12in 1,280 x 800 pixel screen, and based on that Centrino 2 platform.

The first examples will boast one of the new 45nm Penryn processors - either a 2.26GHz P8400 or 2.4GHz P8600 - backed up with up to 4GB of RAM. They will also include built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi and integrated mobile broadband.

The X200 will weigh only 1.34kg with the standard four-cell battery, and battery life is claimed to run to a maximum of 9.8 hours on the extended nine-cell battery under Windows XP. An impressive figure if the claims are backed up by real-world performance, especially considering the amount of power on offer.

Lenovo claimed significant reductions in noise and heat output from the new laptop, of up to 4dB and four degrees Celcius over previous models. And, unlike the first X300 laptops, the first models will not feature SSD disks - hard disk capacities of up to 320GB will be available - so prices should be a touch more reasonable, too.

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our brief encounter with it, the X200 looks to reprise Lenovo laptops' traditional strengths. It has a decent keyboard with full-sized keys, and really solid build quality. Disappointingly, though, the X200 didn't feel all that slim, certainly not in comparison to the super-thin X300. The widely-reported WiMax and GPS features will also be enabled on US models only.

Business range

Also launched at the event was the company's SL range of laptops, of which the 14in SL400 was on show. The range represents the firm's first ThinkPad aimed at small to medium sized businesses rather than corporates and, as such, eschews the business-focussed looks and features of the rest of the range.

It has a glossy lid, the option of a Blu-ray optical drive, HDMI output, but retains other ThinkPad luxuries, from a spill-resistant keyboard to active shock protection for the hard disk.

First impressions were good, though the finish felt a little cheaper than the other laptops on display, with a smooth, slightly sparkly finish to the interior black plastics. We weren't too happy to see a half-height enter key adorning the right hand side of the keyboard, though.

Finally, the X200 and SL-series announcement was accompanied at the launch by new T400 and R400 laptops, also based on the new Centrino 2 platform, and a workstation machine - the W500 - equipped with Blu-ray, ATi FireGL graphics and a WEXGA screen.

All the new laptops boast built-in mobile broadband, like the X300, and interestingly the 15in T500 and R500 machines will boast Displayport output for video and audio output over a single cable.

Jonathan Bray