Lenovo unveils 3000 series notebooks, desktops

First globally marketed own-brand systems

By Tony Smith • Get more from this author

Posted in IT Channel, 24th February 2006 11:36 GMT

Lenovo yesterday introduced the first of its own-brand notebook and desktop PCs to be offered globally. The move comes as market watcher iSuppli said the company had become the world's third-largest PC maker, behind Dell and HP.

lenovo 3000 series desktops

The 3000 J series desktops are pitched at small businesses, Lenovo said. They're offered with a range of Intel and AMD processors, and while the company said it recommends Windows XP Pro, it's also offering SKUs with Windows XP Home Edition and even just PC DOS.

The line-up comprises machines with 256MB to 1GB of 400MHz DDR SDRAM, and on-board graphics from VIA subsidiary S3 and SiS. Hard drive capacities range from 80GB to 160GB, and while most machines have basic DVD-ROM/CD-RW optical drives, a few have dual-layer DVD writers instead.

The 3000 C series notebooks are all Centrino systems, with either Celeron M or Pentium M processors - if you want Core Duo chips, look to the company's ThinkPad line. They all ship with Intel's integrated graphics engine and 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi adaptor, and 256MB to 1GB of DDR 2 SDRAM. HDD capacities run from 40-100GB, and again there's a mix of SKUs with DVD-ROM/CD-RW optical drives and dual-layer DVD writers.

Prices for the C series range from around £493 to £1022 including VAT in UK and $599 to $999 in the US. The desktop J series are priced from around £306 including VAT over here and $349 in the US.

In 2005, Lenovo's PC worldwide shipments reached 13.93m units from 4.32m units in 2004, according to iSuppli, an increase of 123 per cent year on year. The 2004 figure doesn't include IBM's PC sales, so Lenovo presumably feels the purchase was a wise one. Lenovo finished the year with a market share of 6.4 per cent. Dell ended the year with 17.2 per cent of the market, while HP's share was 14.7 per cent. ®

lenovo 3000 series notebooks