Lenovo to Launch 12-inch Intel Atom N280 Powered Netbook

Our well known news informer DigiTimes claims that Lenovo plans to materialize an Intel Atom N280 powered IdeaPad S20 netbook featuring a 12-inch panel. If accomplished, Lenovo will be one step ahead of the competition, which currently offers only 10-inch netbook solutions for a reason described below.

Lenovo reportedly plans to launch an Atom N280-based IdeaPad S20 netbook featuring a 12-inch panel. The specification would break Intel's restrictions for netbook products that state devices cannot offer panel sizes larger than the 10-inch category, according to sources at notebook makers. As a consequence for breaking the restrictions, Lenovo will lose out on preferential pricing for the N280 processor, and would end up having to buy at Intel's officially announced price, which is around US$10 higher than typical quotes to vendors of Lenovo's size, the sources noted. The sources commented that Lenovo hopes the decision will help boost its netbook sales by avoiding the fierce competition in the 10-inch segment.
The IdeaPad S20 netbook with an Atom N280 processor and GN40 chipset, and Windows XP will be priced at around NT$20,000 (US$586), the sources detailed.
In the related news, Asustek Computer's 10-inch Atom N280-based Eee PC 1004DN is expected to be priced around US$379, while Acer is already selling its Atom N280-based netbook at NT$17,000.