Lenovo Debuts Thee New IdeaPad Y-Series Notebooks

Rounding out the Lenovo announcements are several laptops that would be great for people who want something smaller than the new W700ds, but larger than the new IdeaPad S10 – The IdeaPad Y650, Y550 and Y430.

The 16″ IdeaPad Y650 is Lenovo’s pick from this litter, and as a result it comes packed with a few more bells and whistles. As thin as 1″ at its thinnest point and with a weight of only 5.6lbs thanks to the use of carbon fiber, Lenovo is calling it the thinnest and lightest laptop in its class. The Y550 is 15.6″ and the Y430 is 14″.

All three new notebooks feature glossy 16:9 widescreen displays. They also feature optional latest generation Nvidia GFX graphics for gaming/HD playback with up to a 500GB HDD and 4GB DDR3 RAM to go along with WiFi and Bluetooth. The Y650 also sports JBL speakers claiming a “rich, resonant sound”.

The new Y-series laptops will all feature the Lenovo OneKey Theater software to enhance the audio and visual experience. With the press of a button, OneKey Theater gives users a convenient way to adjust their computer’s display and sound effect settings so that they can optimize for movies, etc. on the fly. Lenovo Desktop Navigator is also included on all three models, which allows users to toggle between shortcuts, files, or frequently used programs with the touch-sensitive slide bar. A multi-touch trackpad is also included, making enlarging or reducing photo sizes easy. The Y650 gets an extra perk in the form of an ambient light sensor, automatically adjusting screen brightness based on surrounding light in an attempt to reduce eye strain.

The three laptops will also all come with the new VeriFace facial recognition technology, allowing users to capture an image of their face with their webcam and use that for security clearance to log in instead of a password. They also support file encryption and feature Lenovo’s OneKey Rescue System in case of malfunctions.

The IdeaPad Y650, complete with the looks-cool-and-maybe-even-useful ambient light sensor, starts off at $1,199. The Y550 and Y430 both start off at $829.