Lenovo Debuts Subnotebooks For SMBsLenovo Debuts Subnotebooks For SMBs

Lenovo is fleshing out its line of notebooks with an ultraportable system for SMB customers.

The 12.1-inch widescreen V100 subnotebook falls under the Lenovo 3000 series of notebooks that the company started rolling out this year. Lenovo has positioned the 3000 as its value-oriented line, while the ThinkPad remains the high-end line of notebooks intended at enterprise customers.

Unlike the ThinkPad X60, the comparable 12-inch display model released in February, the V100 has a built-in optical drive, weighs in at about 4 pounds and is rated at 4.4-hours of battery life. While customers can purchase additional batteries, only one can be installed on the V100 at a time, says Frank Kardonski, worldwide product manager for the Lenovo 3000 line.

"The target is the small-business segment," Kardonski says.

Lenovo is offering several configurations ranging in price from $1,099 to $1,699--much less than the ThinkPad X60. The systems all have Intel Centrino Core Duo processors, ranging from 1.66 GHz to 2 GHz, a touchpad, BlueTooth (on some models), WiFi connectivity and a built-in optical drive. They will also come with support for five different memory cards, stereo microphones and 1394 firewire connectivity.

Also available on certain models is a 1.3-megapixel videoconferencing camera and a biometric scanner for authentication.

The new subnotebooks are available immediately.