Lenovo will next week ship its first own-brand dual-core notebook. The new model will be pitched a small-business buyers on a "limited budget".

The N100 is part of the Lenovo 3000 notebook family, the company's attempt to build a brand of its own rather than simply rely on the ThinkPad monitor acquired from IBM. The new machine will be offered with a choice of 14.1in or 15.4in widescreen displays, and with either Intel Core Duo or Core Solo processors.

They all have 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi and 10/100Mbps Ethernet on board. A four-in-one memory card reader, four USB 2.0 ports, Firewire and S-video all come as standard. Bluetooth is available on some systems, as are an integrated webcam and a fingerprint scanner.

The Lenovo 3000 N100 line goes on sale on 28 March with prices starting at £740. ®

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