CES 2009

Does your laptop take too long to turn on? Linux-based instant-on operating systems have turned up on plenty of recent laptops, such as the Splashtop-powered Asus N10J, and now Phoenix is jumping into the action with its HyperSpace OS, as featured on a handful of new Lenovo laptops including the S10 Netbook. We got a chance to get a hands-on preview with HyperSpace.

Hyperspace boots up automatically when you start your laptop, instead of Windows. The emphasis is clearly on Web surfing, as the landing screen is a custom Web browser with a sidebar full of links and settings. Shortcuts on the left side are basically just bookmarks for popular Web sites and services.

I ended 2008 talking about all-in-ones, so might as well begin 2009 on the same topic. Lenovo hasn't been much of a player in U.S. consumer desktop market lately, but the IdeaCentre A600 all-in-one, announced this morning, very plainly has the home user in mind.

According to the specs in the press release, Lenovo has followed the large LCD trend common to other all-in-one vendors. The IdeaCentre has a 21.5-inch display, along with a built-in subwoofer, and an optional Blu-ray drive and digital cable tuner, features that position the IdeaCentre A600 alongside other large screen all-in-ones as a secondary home entertainment device. If its core hardware is common, the optional multipurpose motion-sensing remote control helps Lenovo's new desktop stand out.

Lenovo's new IdeaCenter A600 with motion sensing remote control.

(Credit: Lenovo)

Lenovo says the new remote works as a Media Center control, a VoIP phone, an "air mouse," (Lenovo's quotes), and a game controller. From the press release: "It is the first to bring PC users the ability to play games using the remote control's 'motion drive' feature, which controls onscreen objects according to the movement of the remote." The press release mentions no PC game titles currently available or in development that support such a control scheme, however.

Regardless of its potential gaming utility, pairing a motion sensitive remote with a large screen all-in-one makes sense. If all-in-ones are supposed to serve as PCs as well as a home entertainment centers, the latter usage model is much more seamless with the mouse and keyboard removed from the equation. HP's TouchSmart touchscreen all-in-ones have been the only product line so far to really attempt a solution for this problem, but right now TouchSmarts include only a handful of supported programs. Even if touch computing becomes ubiquitous, an interface that requires you to walk up and physically touch the display still has potential logistic issues. A device that can control the Windows environment as an air mouse, and also drive digital media like a traditional living room remote sounds like a feasible compromise.

Like other, but not all, all-in-ones, the IdeaCentre A600 is built with laptop PC components, including an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB of RAM and up to 1TB of hard drive space. Lenovo says it will start at $999 in its most basic configuration when it goes on sale in April, a remarkable price for an all-in-one with such a large LCD, regardless of its input technology.

Really like copper accents? Try the Lenovo Y650.

Kicking off the first wave of CES laptop announcements (and beating the competition by about 24 hours), Lenovo is bolstering its consumer-targeted IdeaPad line with a few new models, highlighted by the 16-inch Y650.

The new Y series includes the 16-inch Y650, the 15-inch Y550, and the 14-inch Y450. All will share a similar design, with a black, "interlocked hexagon pattern," on the lid and a copper accent band around the edge.

The 16:9 displays on all three point towards multimedia use, as does the Dolby Home Theater Surround Sound-branded audio. Both audio and video settings can be accessed from a quick-launch button that launches a software app called the OneKey Theater (hey, we just write about this stuff, we don't come up with the names).

A touch-sensitive slide bar above the screen acts as an app-switcher, and the touch pad now supports some Mac-like multitouch gestures, including image zooming.

All three models have Intel Centrino 2 class CPUs, Nvidia graphics, and optional Blu-ray drives. Look for the 16-inch Y650 in February, and the Y550 and Y450 in March. They start at $1,199 for the IdeaPad Y650, $829 for the IdeaPad Y550 and Y450.

Lenovo's S10 Netbook.

We liked the S10 Netbook from Lenovo, so we're pleased to see the company not messing with success and making only minor revisions to it, in what might be the first official laptop announcement from this year's CES show.

The 10-inch S10, most notable for its ExpressCard/34 slot, is getting an instant-on secondary operating system, as well as VeriFace facial-recognition software (we've seen facial-recognition systems work well, but also not work at all, depending on the system, lighting conditions, lunar cycle, and a ton of other variables). With decent configs starting at only $399, the S10 is one of a small handful of go-to Netbooks we rely on these days.

The updated IdeaPad S10 should be available in January.

Update: We also had some information on an update to Lenovo's IdeaPad U110 ultraportable, but Lenovo is apparently holding off on making that announcement until later in 2009.