CES 2012 Lenovo Lounge
Ah, CES. The crowds, the aching feet, the complete and utter lack of any moisture in the air. But the lovely, lovely gadgets and toys make up for all of that. I'm not sure what constitutes being a CES veteran but this is my 4th one so, if I'm not a veteran, at least I'm not feeling like a noob any more. As you would expect, I spent most of my time in and around the various Lenovo facilities talking about our new products. Many of them have already been covered in depth, but I'll add some personal commentary distilled out of my interactions with our customers, business partners and the press about one of my favorites. And by that, I mean that while I obviously know the SPECS of our systems and may have even physically seen them once or twice before CES, over the course of talking to folks about something for 5 days, it really gives me a chance to live with the machine for a while and really figure out how I feel about it and whether it's something that speaks to me personally. Now onto the A720, our new IdeaCentre all-in-one PC. If you haven't seen it or heard about it, have a look here. While I certainly do get the utility/usage model/attractiveness of All-in-One desktops, they are not anything that's ever been at the top of my personal purchase list, mostly because I've always considered myself a laptop (or fully-expandable desktop) kind of guy. Even if they did tilt a bit , touchscreens on traditional...
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Route of the All-In-One (AIO) PC
Atish Ghosh is the branding and messaging manager for Lenovo’s Idea Product Group. He’s lived in Beijing for more than a decade, with previous stints working as a journalist and in advertising. Back in the day, I remember how computers could take up a whole room. It was sometime in the early 70’s that the personal computer that fit on top of your desk came into being. Today, with urban housing prices skyrocketing in cities like Beijing, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to find dedicated desk space for your computer. I don’t need the latest projections from IDC to tell me that the tower desktop is certainly on its way out. In five years or so, it may become the proverbial dinosaur of the IT industry. But what if I need something more than a laptop or a tablet? Multiple PCs in the Home Seems to me, the only real way forward for desktop computers is the route of the all-in-one (AIO) PC. Thanks to rapid advances in technology, AIOs are growing slimmer and more powerful by the day. With Moore’s law holding true, we’ll see AIO prices keep going down in the coming two or three years, and when that happens they’ll snap up a larger market share. But I feel the real game changer is their unique form factor. Size does matter! IdeaCentre B520 The IdeaCentre® B520 is Lenovo’s latest premium AIO for consumers, and it really takes high-performance to a new level. Quite a few AIOs today may come with a 2nd...
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A week before the holidays, the elves over at the Lenovo Outletset up shop in the Lenovo cafeteria and offered up some remarkable deals for employees to take advantage of. Ever since it debuted at CES last year, I've been a secret admirer of the A300 series of all in one form factor IdeaCentre desktop systems, so when I saw a stack of them for sale in the cafeteria, I just couldn't resist. I'm glad I acted on impulse as they were sold out quickly. With the holidays behind me, I had an opportunity to finally unpack and set up the A300. I was impressed with the initial out of box experience - the system was well protected with peel off clear plastic films to ensure it arrived without scratches, and the set up poster made startup a snap. This was the first system I ever used with a Bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse, and I was admittedly a bit curious as to how easily they would pair up with the system. I've read that this can be a challenge with some systems. The set up poster made it easy though - it walked me through several different ways to get the keyboard and mouse to connect. The first step was to pull out the insulating tab that kept the batteries (thoughtfully pre-installed) from running down while the system was shipped or in storage prior to end user setup. So many toys I helped set up for my nephews over the holidays either didn't...
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Here's some welcome news for our many tech-savvy IdeaPad and IdeaCentre owners who want to do their own repairs outside of warranty: IdeaPad and IdeaCentre spare parts are now available for purchase. People need only visit a new Lenovo website -- www.lenovospareparts.comThis will also come as good news to a number of independent local computer repair businesses who need a reputable and reliable source for these parts. Through my role managing the Lenovo Forums, I often come across unique situations where customers need Idea spare parts outside of their normal warranty. Sounds like this one might need a few parts... "I'm looking for parts to replace the screen. Know someone with one of these and they rolled a pickup truck over the briefcase with the S10-3T in it. No Thinkpad protection on it. I still have to see if the other parts still work, haven't laid eyes on it but if it's just the screen and some plastics, may be worth fixing." Of course, an upgraded Lenovo service warranty with accidental damage protection coverage could have easily resolved this person's situation. But tech-savvy customers with no such coverage who find themselves in these type of situations now have an easy way of obtaining reliable parts. What would these customers have done before? Their alternatives would have been to send the system in for billable repair work,...
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Two of Paul Scaini's passions are desktop computing and photography. As part of the ThinkCentre desktop team based in Beijing, in this post he looks through the lens at the future of desktop computing. Since I started as a commercial desktop product manager at Lenovo, I’ve received some razzing remarks about my product portfolio from friends, family and some of my laptop PC colleagues. “You know you’re in a commodity business, right?” “Desktops are a ‘sunset’ business.” “They still make desktop computers?” Needless to say, I’ve gotten a lot of experience educating people as to why desktops are here to stay. Laptop form factors have changed much more than desktops – they’ve been getting slimmer, lighter and more powerful every year – and that’s brought them the majority of attention. By comparison, the traditional desktop tower looks basically the same as it did when 486 chips were cool. However, the ThinkCentre brand’s first All-in-One (AIO) form factor (the A70z) has brought some new excitement among customers about desktops. Here are five reasons why desktops are here to stay: 1. Price: Simple fact: desktops are less expensive than their laptop cousins. Desktops still dominate the lower price bands. This is important to all companies, especially in emerging markets where the volume of desktops is higher and has a much higher growth...
