IdeaPad Y Series

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The IdeaPad Y Series is a consumer range of laptops produced by Lenovo, first announced in 2008. [1] They are marketed as premium high performance laptops for multimedia and gaming, as part of the IdeaPad line. The most significant differences from Lenovo's traditional ThinkPad business laptops were a more consumer-oriented appearance and performance-oriented components. [2] IdeaPads feature a chiclet keyboard with rounded keys, similar to the latest ThinkPads. The first of the Y Series were the IdeaPad Y710 and the IdeaPad Y510 notebooks, with screen sizes of 17 inches and 15 inches respectively. [1] Not all features were entirely new, however. Notebook Review reported that the Y710 and Y510 notebooks had a keyboard that felt similar to the ThinkPad when used, despite the absence of the TrackPoint. [2] The Y50 and Y40, released in 2014, featured a gaming-oriented design shift and slimming down. The latest release was the Y700 in late-2015.

Lenovo Chinese multinational technology company

Lenovo Group Ltd. or Lenovo PC International, often shortened to Lenovo, is a multinational technology company with headquarters in Beijing, China, and Morrisville, North Carolina, United States. It designs, develops, manufactures, and sells personal computers, tablet computers, smartphones, workstations, servers, electronic storage devices, IT management software, and smart televisions. Lenovo is the world's largest personal computer vendor by unit sales, as of March 2019. It markets the ThinkPad line of notebook computers, IdeaPad, Yoga and Legion lines of notebook laptops, and the IdeaCentre and ThinkCentre lines of desktops.

IdeaPad

IdeaPad is a line of consumer-oriented laptop computers from Lenovo. The IdeaPad mainly competes against computers such as Acer's Aspire, Dell's Inspiron and XPS, HP's Pavilion and Envy and Toshiba's Satellite.

ThinkPad line of laptop computers and tablets by Lenovo

ThinkPad is a line of business-oriented laptop computers and tablets designed, developed, and sold by Lenovo, and formerly IBM. ThinkPads are known for their minimalist, black, and boxy design which was initially modeled in 1990 by industrial designer Richard Sapper, based on the concept of a traditional Japanese Bento lunchbox revealing its nature only after being opened. According to later interviews with Sapper, he also characterized the simple ThinkPad form to be as elementary as a simple, black cigar box, and with similar proportions that offers a 'surprise' when opened.

Contents

2014

There were two flagship laptops released in 2014 Lenovo Ideapad Y50, Y40 and Y70 Touch.

Y50

Lenovo IdeaPad Y50 was released in the second quarter of 2014.

GeForce is a brand of graphics processing units (GPUs) designed by Nvidia. As of the GeForce 20 series, there have been fifteen iterations of the design. The first GeForce products were discrete GPUs designed for add-on graphics boards, intended for the high-margin PC gaming market, and later diversification of the product line covered all tiers of the PC graphics market, ranging from cost-sensitive GPUs integrated on motherboards, to mainstream add-in retail boards. Most recently, GeForce technology has been introduced into Nvidia's line of embedded application processors, designed for electronic handhelds and mobile handsets.

In 2015, some components were upgraded with more recent or parts of higher quality:

Y40

Lenovo Ideapad Y40 was announced in US in January 5, 2014.There are currently 3 Y40 models available with variant in HDD and SSD sizes.

2013

Y500

The IdeaPad Y500 was released in the first week of January 2013, after Lenovo announced it in late 2012. The Y500 is a Modular laptop, where the BD/DVD drive [3] could be switched out for adding another Graphics card, [4] another Hard Drive, [5] or another exhaust fan with new feature called Always-On USB,a port which will ensure that even when your system is switched off and unplugged from the mains, you will be able to charge your mobile phone or any other compatible USB device. [6] Y500 Specifications:

Modular design, or "modularity in design", is an approach that subdivides a system into smaller parts called modules or skids, that can be independently created and then used in different systems. A modular system can be characterized by functional partitioning into discrete scalable, reusable modules; rigorous use of well-defined modular interfaces; and making use of industry standards for interfaces.

Scalable Link Interface brand name for a multi-GPU solution for linking two or more GPUs to produce a single output

Scalable Link Interface (SLI) is a brand name for a multi-GPU technology developed by Nvidia for linking two or more video cards together to produce a single output. SLI is a parallel processing algorithm for computer graphics, meant to increase the available processing power. The initialism SLI was first used by 3dfx for Scan-Line Interleave, which was introduced to the consumer market in 1998 and used in the Voodoo2 line of video cards. After buying out 3dfx, Nvidia acquired the technology but did not use it. Nvidia later reintroduced the SLI name in 2004 and intended for it to be used in modern computer systems based on the PCI Express (PCIe) bus; however, the technology behind the name SLI has changed dramatically.

A new version of the Y500 with upgraded features was released in June along with the Lenovo Y410p. The upgraded version has following features compare to older version

Y510p

The IdeaPad Y510p was released around June 2013. This laptop features a fourth generation Haswell Intel Core i7 processor. The Y510p also comes with an ultrabay, which can house a second dedicated graphics card, a hard drive or an exhaust fan; and uses the secure boot UEFI protocol.

Haswell (microarchitecture) Intel processor microarchitecture

Haswell is the codename for a processor microarchitecture developed by Intel as the "fourth-generation core" successor to the Ivy Bridge microarchitecture. Intel officially announced CPUs based on this microarchitecture on June 4, 2013, at Computex Taipei 2013, while a working Haswell chip was demonstrated at the 2011 Intel Developer Forum. With Haswell, which uses a 22 nm process, Intel also introduced low-power processors designed for convertible or "hybrid" ultrabooks, designated by the "Y" suffix.

Specifications:

Y410p

The IdeaPad Y410p was released around June 2013. This laptop also features a fourth generation Haswell Intel Core i7 processor. The Y410p is comparable to higher end laptops such as the Alienware M14x, but this series starts at a comparatively lower price of $799. The Y410p also comes with an ultrabay, which can house a second dedicated graphics card, a hard drive or an exhaust fan; and uses the secure boot UEFI protocol.

Specifications:

2012

The IdeaPad Y Series laptops released by Lenovo in mid-2012 were the Y480 and Y580. Lenovo followed them up towards the end of the year with the Y400 and the Y500 which had almost similar specifications. The main difference is that the Y400 and Y500 have an ultrabay slot which can be swapped for another hard drive, another fan or another GPU which will work in SLI with the already integrated one to increase performance drastically.

Y480

The Y480 was released in 2012 with the following specifications: [7]

Y580

The Y580 was released in late 2012 with the following specifications: [8]

2011

The IdeaPad Y Series laptops released by Lenovo in 2011 were the Y470 and Y570.

Y470

The Y470 was released in 2011 with the following specifications: [9]

Y570

The Y570 was released in 2011 with the following specifications: [10]

2010

The IdeaPad Y Series laptops released in 2010 by Lenovo were the Y460, Y460p, Y730, Y560p, and Y560d.

Y460

Released in 2010, the IdeaPad Y460 offered the following specifications: [11]

Notebook Review noted that the Y460 offered "great gaming performance", although the system heated up considerably while gaming. The battery life and design were also praised, with the reviewer stating that there was a "huge improvement in the looks department". LAPTOP Magazine offered a similar opinion, stating that, "Lenovo delivers multimedia and gaming power in a portable design, complete with a one-of-a-kind navigation control". [12]

Y460p

The Y460p laptop was released in 2010 with the following specifications: [13]

Y730

The Y730 laptop was released as an update to the Y710 laptop, with the most significant differences being a chipset update to Intel PM45 and the ability to use DDR3 memory. [14] The laptop offered: [15] Processor: Intel Core 2 X9100 processors, (3.06 GHZ) Display: 17 inch TFT Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 3650 XT RAM: 3GB DDR3 Storage: up to 500GB hard disk drives

Reviewers disagreed on its capacity for gaming. About.com indicated that it was not very fast for high resolution PC gaming, suggesting that it was better suited for casual gamers and viewing HD videos. The screen was also indicated as being a lower resolution than industry standard. [14] On the other hand, the reviewer at GADGETBASE was extremely enthusiastic about the laptop, calling it "the ultimate notebook" with "stellar performance" for "a die-hard gamer". [15]

Y560

The Y560 laptop was also released in 2010 with the following specifications: [16]

Y560p

The Y560p laptop was released in 2010 with the following specifications: [17]

Y560d

The Y560d laptop was released in 2010 with the following specifications: [18]

2009

The Y Series laptops launched in 2009 by Lenovo were the Y450 and Y550.

Y450

The successor to the Y430, the Y450 laptop offered the following specifications: [19]

PC World gave the laptop a rating of 2.5 of 5 stars, praising the keyboard, design, and overall value. The negative points were indicated as being an uneven vertical viewing angle. [20]

Y550

Released in 2009, the IdeaPad Y550 laptop offered the following specifications: [21]

Notebook Review called the IdeaPad Y550 laptop well-built, with a wide array of options. The design was also appreciated and as with previous IdeaPad Y Series laptops, both the keyboard and touchpad were positively received. [21]

2008

The Y Series laptops launched in 2008 by Lenovo were the Y710, Y510, Y530, and Y430.

Y710

The first type of Y Series laptops was the Y7xx models, including the Y710 and Y730. The Y710 laptop offered the following specifications: [2]

Y510

The Y510 notebook offered the following specifications: [2]

Y530

The Y530 notebook was the successor to the Y510, with the same chassis but with an upgrade to the Intel Centrino 2 processor. While the notebook was slightly thicker than other, similar laptops, it was still portable and easy to carry around. The notebook weighed 6.6 lbs and had a form factor of 14.2 x 10.3 x 1.4 inches. [22]

Notebook Review stated that the positive points of the Y530 notebook were the build quality, the speaker system, and the comfortable keyboard and touchpad. The negative points were the NVIDIA 9300M graphics card, and the highly reflective display. [23]

Y430

The IdeaPad Y430 featured a 14.1 inch screen, an Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 processor, Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics, and weighed 5.3 lbs. [24] PC World was enthusiastic in its review of the Y430 notebook, calling it "among the best midsized laptops available" and "a joy to use". Summing up the notebook’s capabilities, PC World said, "This is a solidly built unit that's a joy to use and has plenty of grunt for most applications. It also has versatile networking options, including the ability to connect to 5GHz 802.11n routers." [25]

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Sony Vaio S series

The Vaio S series was a line of notebook computers from Sony introduced in summer 2004. They have been touted as business laptops, and their designs have focused on being thin and light. They also have features friendly to businesspeople, such as TPM chips, matte (anti-glare) displays, RAID SSDs, and extended sheet batteries, as well as continuing to include RJ-45 and VGA (D-Sub) connections.

Sony VAIO AR series was a range of high-end multimedia notebook computers from Sony introduced in June 2006 as the first laptop with integrated Blu-ray drive. It replaced the AX Series. It featured a 17" 16:10 widescreen LCD screen, with choice of 1440x900 or 1920x1200 resolutions. It was replaced by the AW series.

ThinkPad E series

The ThinkPad E Series is a notebook computer series introduced in 2010 by Lenovo. It is marketed to small and medium-sized businesses.

ThinkPad X series

The ThinkPad X series is a line of notebook computers and convertible tablets originally produced by IBM and now marketed by Lenovo.

ThinkPad W series

The ThinkPad W-series laptops from Lenovo are described by the manufacturer as being "mobile workstations", and suit that description by being physically on the larger side of the laptop spectrum, with screens ranging from 15" to 17" in size. Most W-series laptops offer high-end quad-core Intel processors with an integrated GPU as well as an Nvidia Quadro discrete GPU, utilizing Nvidia Optimus to switch between the two GPUs as required. Notable exceptions are the W500, which has ATI FireGL integrated workstation-class graphics, and the W550s, which is an Ultrabook-specification laptop with only a dual-core processor. The W-series laptops offer ISV certifications from various vendors such as Adobe Systems and Autodesk for CAD and 3D modeling software.

The first netbook in Lenovo’s IdeaPad S Series was launched in October 2008. The IdeaPad S10 was scheduled for launch in September but was delayed, with an estimated release date indicated as November 2008. Ultimately, the netbook was released in September in China, but in October in the United States.

The IdeaPad Z Series is designed primarily for entry-level multimedia users. The first three Z Series IdeaPad laptops were the Z360, Z460 and Z560, with 13 inch, 14 inch, and 15 inch screens respectively. All three laptops were released in 2010.

The first laptop in the IdeaPad U series was the U110 launched in 2008 by Lenovo. Showcased at CES 2008, the laptop also launched the IdeaPad series itself, and received the Best of CES 2008 award. The IdeaPad U series was a line of Lenovo’s consumer line of laptops, combining Lenovo’s traditional engineering with design changes that were significantly different from ThinkPad products.

The M-series desktops are part of Lenovo's ThinkCentre product line. Formerly an IBM brand, Lenovo acquired the ThinkCentre desktop brand following its purchase of IBM's Personal Computing Division (PCD) in 2005. Following its acquisition of IBM's PCD, Lenovo has released M-series desktops in multiple form factors, ranging from traditional tower, to small form factor, and all-in-ones (AIOs).

The IdeaCentre B Series all-in-one desktops from Lenovo were first launched in 2010. Like other desktops in the IdeaCentre product line, the B Series desktops were designed for home users, with a focus on the consumer PC segment. The first model in the series was the B500.

The IdeaCentre is a line of consumer-oriented desktop computers. The first IdeaCentre desktop, the IdeaCentre K210, was announced by Lenovo on June 30, 2008. While the IdeaCentre line consists entirely of desktops, they share a common design language with the IdeaPad line of laptops and hybrids. One such feature was Veriface facial recognition technology.

The IdeaCentre K Series desktops from Lenovo are described by the manufacturer as being gaming-oriented desktops. Typical features on the desktops include mid-range to high-end processors, discrete graphics cards, multiple hard disk drives, multiple RAM DIMMS, multiple USB ports, and multiple optical disk drives. The K Series desktops also come with a physical switch on the CPU that allows users to shift between different levels of processing power. For example, the K330 offered red for high performance, blue for moderate performance, and green for less processing- and resource-intensive tasks.

In addition to the ThinkPad and IdeaPad laptops, Lenovo also offers a value-priced series of laptops. Called ‘Essential’ on the Lenovo Web site, the products available in this line include the G Series, B Series, and V Series. Launched in 2009, the first laptop in the Essential range was the G530.

Lenovo’s line of ‘Essential’ desktops is a collection of budget-conscious machines designed for consumers, and advertised as being "affordable, space saving, and energy efficient". The Essential desktop line is different from both Lenovo’s ThinkCentre line and Lenovo’s IdeaCentre line. Lenovo defines its ThinkCentre desktops as business-oriented computers, while the IdeaCentre desktops are meant primarily for entertainment. The Essential range of desktops can be categorized as being between the two – meant more for ordinary everyday use.

ThinkStation

The ThinkStation products from Lenovo are professional workstations designed for high-end computing. In 2008, Lenovo expanded the focus of its "THINK" brand to include workstations, with the ThinkStation S10 being the first model released. In 2014, Lenovo introduced the P Series workstations.

ThinkCentre Edge

The ThinkCentre Edge is a series of desktop computer from Lenovo, designed primarily for home offices and small businesses. The product series features desktops in both tower and All-in-One form factors, designed to save up to 70% desk space as compared to traditional tower desktop PCs.

The Dell Inspiron series of laptop computers was introduced in 2000 as a consumer oriented line, available to the general public through electronics and department stores, contrasting to the business/enterprise-oriented Dell Latitude series of laptop computers, and are usually ordered from Dell directly via the website, phone, or mail-order.

References

  1. 1 2 Sal Cangeloso (3 January 2008). "New from Lenovo: three IdeaPad notebooks" . Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jerry Jackson (9 January 2008). "Lenovo IdeaPad Hands-On Roundup" . Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  3. ↑ Y500 DVD
  4. ↑ Y500 addon Graphics card
  5. ↑ Y500 HDD
  6. ↑ Y500 addon Fan
  7. ↑ "IdeaPad Y480 Laptop Specs". Lenovo. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "IdeaPad Y580 Laptop Specs". Lenovo. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  9. ↑ "IdeaPad Y470 Datasheet" (PDF). Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "IdeaPad Y570 Datasheet" (PDF). Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  11. ↑ Kevin O'Brien (22 June 2010). "Lenovo IdeaPad Y460 Review" . Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  12. ↑ Avram Piltch (17 May 2010). "Lenovo IdeaPad Y460 Review" . Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  13. ↑ "IdeaPad Y460p Datasheet" (PDF). Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  14. 1 2 Mark Krynin (13 January 2009). "Lenovo IdeaPad Y730 17-inch Desktop Replacement Laptop PC" . Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  15. 1 2 "Lenovo IdeaPad Y730 Review". 13 February 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  16. ↑ "IdeaPad Y560 Tech Specs" (PDF). Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  17. ↑ "IdeaPad Y560p Datasheet" (PDF). Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  18. ↑ "IdeaPad Y560d Datasheet" (PDF). Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  19. ↑ Jerry Jackson (18 June 2009). "Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 Review" . Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  20. ↑ "Lenovo IdeaPad Y450" . Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  21. 1 2 Kevin O'Brien (30 November 2009). "Lenovo IdeaPad Y550 Review" . Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  22. ↑ Joanna Stern; Ken Sander (24 October 2008). "Lenovo IdeaPad Y530 (40512AU) Review" . Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  23. ↑ Kevin O'Brien (2 December 2008). "Lenovo IdeaPad Y530 Review" . Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  24. ↑ "Lenovo IdeaPad Y430" . Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  25. ↑ Elias Plastiras (18 August 2008). "IdeaPad Y430 Review" . Retrieved 19 September 2011.
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