Lenovo have outed a new line of affordable mainstream multimedia notebooks, the IdeaPad Z Series, three new machines that kick off from $649. The Lenovo IdeaPad Z360 and Z560 offer a choice of Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processors and NVIDIA GeForce 315M graphics, while the Z565 gets a choice of AMD Phenom II processors and ATI Mobility Radeon graphics. Screen sizes on offer include 13.3- and 15.6-inches, both supporting HD resolution and coming in at 16:9 widescreen.
There’s also optional Blu-ray and Dolby’s Advanced Audio with a “OneKey Theater II” button that can apparently automatically set up the best sound and visual settings for your environment. As for more mundane use, there’s a chiclet keyboard and the 15.6-inch models get a separate numeric keypad.
It’s worth noting that the apparent metal chassis is actually a “metallic effect”, but then again perhaps we expect too much for the money. The Lenovo IdeaPad Z series is expected to go on sale from June 2010, priced from $649.