Lenovo has heard your prayers for more affordable laptops, and has delivered its most inexpensive IdeaPad yet starting at $249 (about £180, AU$330).
That’s the entry-level price of a Lenovo IdeaPad 330 equipped with an Intel Celeron N4000 processor, 15-inch HD (1366 x 768) screen, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive and a DVD drive. That spec list might not seem particularly impressive, but you’re looking at a laptop running the full version of Windows 10 for less than the price of a Chromebook.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 330 is an extremely configurable platform, with options to upgrade to a 15 FHD (1920 x 1080) display, 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8750H CPU, Nvidia GTX 1050 discrete graphics, 16GB of RAM, 2TB HDD, or a 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD. So, if you want a more powerful device, you have some options.
There’s also a 14-inch and 17-inch version of the IdeaPad 330 with all the same configurable options; however the former tops out with a Nvidia MX150 GPU. Pricing for the 14-inch and 17-inch Lenovo IdeaPad 330 starts a little higher at $349 (about £260, AU$470) and $499 (about £370, AU$670), respectively.
The S means slim
If the IdeaPad 330 looks enticing, but is just a little too much on the thick side for your tastes, there’s also the IdeaPad 330S series.
Available as either a 14-inch or 15-inch clamshell, these notebooks start at 3.5 pounds, while measuring just 0.7 inches thick thanks to ditching the optical drive. The IdeaPad 330S also features an aluminum top cover, plus narrow bezels for the top and sides, just like the Lenovo Yoga 920.
Spec-wise the Lenovo IdeaPad 330S starts with high-definition (1366 x 768) displays, Intel Pentium Silver processors, 4GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD. There are also optional upgrades that include 8th-gen Intel Core i7 CPUs, Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics, Full HD (1920 x 1080) displays, 16GB of RAM, and up to a 256GB SSD or 2TB HDD.
Pricing for the IdeaPad 330S 14-inch starts at $499 (about £370, AU$670) while the IdeaPad 330S 15-inch starts at $449 (about £330, AU$600).
A premium Ultrabook for less
Last but not least, if you want the Ultrabook experience without the Ultrabook price, look no further than the Lenovo IdeaPad 530S.
Weighing in at three pounds and measuring a mere 0.6-inches thin, the IdeaPad 530S features the best design and features of all the IdeaPads Lenovo has announced.
Inside its all-aluminum chassis you’ll find the latest Intel Core i7 processors and up to Nvidia MX150 graphics, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Both versions of the Lenovo 530S come with a stock 1080p display, and users can upgrade the 14-inch version with a QHD (2560 x 1440) screen if they so choose.
The IdeaPad 530S 14-inch starts at $799 (about £590, AU$1,070), while the IdeaPad 530S 15-inch starts at $849 (about £630, AU$1,140).
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