Lenovo rolls out new IdeaPad laptops, Chromebooks, budget Android tablets

It's been a busy week for Lenovo, the world's number 1 maker of PCs. It started the week announcing a refresh of some of its ThinkPad business laptops, and now it ends the week rolling out a bevy of systems designed for consumers' computing needs.

At an event that jumps the gun on next week's IFA trade show in Berlin, Lenovo unveiled new IdeaPad laptops, Chromebooks, an all-in-one PC, and its latest budget-priced Android tablets. We received a glimpse of the new Chromebooks earlier in the month when Lenovo released a teaser video about the new C340 and S340 models. The C340 lineup comprises a pair of convertible Chromebooks with 360-degree hinge and touchscreen, one 11 inches (and with pink chassis color option), and the other 15.6 inches that's big enough to feature a full numeric keypad as part of its keyboard design. The S340 is a traditional 14-inch clamshell design with optional full HD touchscreen and a dark purple color choice option.

The S340 moniker is also used in the IdeaPad family of laptops, though the IdeaPad S340 is a new 13-inch value-priced notebook instead of a 14-inch system. The similarly sized S540's stepped-up feature set includes double the base RAM and storage of the S340, a RapidCharge feature, and support for Windows Hello biometric login capabilities. Both new IdeaPads can be equipped with Intel's latest 10-generation Core processors and Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics and come in a trio of color options.

Lenovo hopes to resuscitate the waning Android tablet market with its Tab M7 and M8 models. Priced under $100, the 7-inch M7 provides basic specs (MediaTek quad-core processor, 1,024x600 display resolution), while the 8-inch M8 updates the processor (MediaTek A22 Tab), doubles the RAM to 2GB, and offers 1,280x800 resolution. Both versions come with Lenovo's Kid's Mode 3.0, which logs children under 12 into a special account with child-friendly apps and educational content.

Finally, the one very non-mobile launch is the IdeaCentre A540, a new all-in-one PC design available in 24-inch and 27-inch flavors. Its base doubles as a Qi wireless charging station, and a curved metallic pipe-like connection to the display adds a touch of industrial chic to its design. The A540 is available with either AMD or Intel processors inside, though only the Intel configurations offer AMD Radeon RX 560X graphics as an option. (You otherwise get the Radeon RX 540X as the GPU.) Though the base configs only come with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of solid-state storage, a maximum of 16GB and 1TB, respectively, is available (2TB if you prefer a hard drive to an SSD).  

Known starting pricing and availability for Lenovo's new systems are as follows (per CNET):

• 11-inch Chromebook C340: $290, September
• 15-inch Chromebook C340: $430, October
• Chromebook S340: $250, September
• IdeaPad S540: $1,000, October
• Lenovo Tab M7: $90, October
• 24-inch IdeaCentre A540: $800, September
• 27-inch IdeaCentre A540: $1,300, September