Todays & Tomorrows Technology

As well as their NVIDIA Ion-equipped version, Lenovo have revealed a VIA Nano based IdeaPad S12 netbook. The 12.1-inch WXGA machine uses VIA’s Nano ULV 2250 processor, running at 1.30GHz, together with the company’s integrated Chrome9 HC3 graphics chipset.

Like its Intel-based brethren (which are available in both integrated-graphics and Ion forms), the Nano IdeaPad S12 has 1GB of RAM, a 150GB 5,400rpm hard-drive and WiFi b/g. There’s also a standard 6-cell Li-Ion battery. We’d obviously expect graphics performance to lag behind the 1080p-capable version.

What you do get with the Nano S12 is a cheaper machine. Prices start at $449, compared to at least $50 more for the Intel models, and it’s listed as beginning shipping in “more than four weeks” time.

SlashGear stopped by the Pepcom Digital Experience in New York this week, and caught up with one of the more interesting netbooks on the horizon: Lenovo’s S12. While it may physically resemble one of the company’s previous models, albeit with a larger 12.1-inch display, what makes the S12 really special is the NVIDIA Ion chipset inside. The demonstration – which you can see after the cut – showed silky-smooth simultaneous HD encoding and playback.

In fact, the Lenovo S12 was using its HDMI port to output 1080p content onto a big-screen HDTV while also re-encoding a 1080p clip into an iPhone-friendly format. Both moved on at a fair clip, and the playback was completely smooth and unaffected by the encoding process.

When you consider that the S12 is otherwise pretty much identical to a mainstream netbook today, it’s all the more impressive. As well as Ion there’s a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM and up to 320GB hard-drive, together with WiFi, Bluetooth and an ExpressCard slot. Full specifications are here. The Lenovo S12 with NVIDIA Ion is expected to go on sale this month, priced at $499.99; cheaper models, lacking Ion, will start at $449.99.

The latest batch of new laptop and ultraportable rumors are spilling out of the Far-East, tipping new touchscreen models running Windows 7 and at least one ultra-thin from LG. According to industry sources, HP, Acer and Lenovo have all placed orders with Taiwanese capacitive touchscreen manufacturer Cando; meanwhile MSI are said to be supplying LG with an ultra-thin notebook that will ship in the second half of 2009.

The Cando touchscreens in question are the company’s 12.1-inch model, which have recently become the first such panel to receive Windows 7 compatibility certification. That means Microsoft agree that the panels will work with Windows 7’s extensive multitouch technology. Shipments are expected to begin in August, with Cando currently capable of producing 400,000 to 500,000 panels per month, rising to 1m per month in 2010.

As for the LG ultra-thin notebooks, no hardware specifications are known but according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News report the company is in talks with telecom providers regarding bundling WWAN connectivity. That would imply that the notebook will have integrated 3G.

The first image and set of rumored specs for the ThinkPad T400s was leaked a few days ago. While Lenovo is still mum about the release date, price or specs come these two videos of the T400s. The first video demonstrates just how well built and tough this thing is. No worries, I won’t spoil the ending for you – just make sure to click on over to watch it get run over by a 26,000 pound DOW truck. The second video shows the T400s getting physically abused by the “tornado chasing” team members. It’s a crime treating such a great laptop this way!

According to the rumor mill, this new model is only 0.83-inches thick, bringing down the size considerably from the 1.12-inch thick original T400 model. It comes with a 2.4GHz or 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, an integrated 4500MHD graphics processor, 2GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive. The display is 14.1-inch LED-backlit featuring a 1,440 x 900 resolution.

Expect the T400s to come preloaded with Windows Vista Business, has a DisplayPort, eSATA port, Ethernet, a 5-in-1-card reader, Bluetooth, a 3G radio and a fingerprint scanner. Pricing information or a release date is forthcoming.

Lenovo is apparently slimming down its T400 series ThinkPads, with the new T400s being caught in the wilds of technologyland. Despite looking nearly a century old in these hands-on shots, the laptop seems to be pretty modern under the hood, with SSD, DisplayPort, eSATA, WWAN, a 14.1-inch WXGA+ LED backlit display, 5-in-1 multicard reader... the list goes on. It's all packed in at around 0.83-inches thick (including a built-in disc drive), and under four pounds, which makes Apple sound a little silly for crowing about packing a little SD card slot into its latest unibody lineup. Word is that the build quality hasn't been traded in for the slimness, and while there's no word on price, hopefully it won't be too much more than the T400, which currently starts out at $750.