Lenovo's LaVie Z is lighter than the new MacBook, with a bigger display and more ports

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lenovo lavie macbook laptop lavie z

Following a brief appearance at CES 2015, Lenovo’s notebook collaboration with NEC is finally hitting Western shores as the LaVie Z and LaVie Z 360. Both 13-inch systems are largely the same as announced in January, striking an impressive balance between performance, features and portability, though they’re ever so slightly heavier and a bit pricier than originally expected.

The standard LaVie Z comes in at 1.87 pounds, up from the 1.72 pounds we heard before, and will set you back $1,499 after an instant discount. Meanwhile, the LaVie Z 360, which adds a full 360-degree hinge system like the one found on Yoga laptops, tips the scales at 2.04 pounds and is $1,700.

lenovo lavie macbook

For those keeping scores, the non-convertible LaVie Z is lighter than Apple's new MacBook, while the 360 model is virtually the same -- the 12-inch MacBook is 2.03 pounds. Apple’s laptop still has an edge when it comes to thickness as it’s just 0.52 inches tall compared to the LaVie Z’s 0.67 inches.

The key to the LaVie Z’s weight is its use of a magnesium-lithium alloy for the chassis, which is supposed to weigh half as much as aluminum. 

lenovo lavie macbook

When it comes to specs, both models are equipped with 13.3-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) displays, an Intel Core i7-5500U processor, 8GB of LPDDR3 memory, a 256GB SSD, Intel HD Graphics 5500, 802.11ac wireless, and Bluetooth 4.0. You also get two USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI-out port, an SD card reader, Yamaha speakers and a 6-cell battery that should be good for 9 hours of use.

Both devices will ship with Windows 8.1 and are eligible for free update to Windows 10 when it launches this summer. The only other difference besides the hinge is that the 360 model comes with a touch screen.

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Havn't been here in a while due to all the Microsoft crud..
oh look Lenovo's has been dug up again after that stink died down

uh bye again.
 
I narrowly avoided buying a laptop once which didn't have an HDMI out, but HDMI in... really. Don't think it's something many people require. I quite like this and the Lenovo AMD E-350 netbook my wife used to have was pretty good for the money, but prefer the Asus Zen model styling over the more business look of these Lenovo models.

Not sure I'm in the target demographic for these devices. I wouldn't pay that sort of money for something with no discrete graphics solution. Graphics performance over weight/size reductions for me.
 
This looks nice. I have 2 Lenovo Laptops (Y580 for gaming, and Thinkpad X240 for work) and I am more than satisfied with it. Gonna have to take a look at this one as a possible replacement for the X240.

Have we heard anything about battery life yet?
 
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