Lenovo IdeaPad U260 ultraportable packs Intel Core i7

By Geoff Duncan Published December 29, 2017

Computer maker Lenovo has decided it won’t let the ultraportable market slide away this holiday season, announcing the IdeaPad U260, what it’s calling the “world’ first” ultraportable notebook computer with a 12.5-inch display. The IdeaPad U260 is just under half an inch thick, and features a U-shaped profile that Lenovo says is inspired by the look and feel of a classic leather-bound notebook.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

“The U260 is a design one can truly touch and feel that showcases the extreme attention our team places in every aspect of design, from mechanical to human interaction to color, material and finish,” said the VP of Lenovo’s Innovation Design Center Yingjia Yao, in a statement. “Our philosophy is that Idea product design should be simple, unique and provide value, and the IdeaPad U260 delivers just that through the high-quality selection of materials, advanced ergonomics and a signature design concept.”

Recommended Videos

The IdeaPad U260 features a one-piece seamless exterior cover and a black leather-patterned palm rest for a luxury look. The U260 features a 12.5-inch 1,366 by 768-pixel LCD display driven by Intel HD Graphics along with either HDD or SSD storage options (up to 320 and 128 GB, respectively). The system will support up to 4 GB of RAM, and can be powered by up to a 1.46 GHz ULV version of an Intel Core i7 processor—Pentium Core i3, and Core i5 CPUs will also be available. The system also features HDMI output for connecting to an HDTV, along with VGA output, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking, gigabit Ethernet an integrated VGA webcam for video chat, 2 USB 2.0 ports, Dolby Advanced Audio surround sound speakers, and a glass multitouch trackpad. To help with cooling, the U260 also integrates a “Breathable Keyboard,” utilizing an Intel Advanced Cooling Technology that enables heat to escape through the keyboard (and potentially warm those fingertips on cold winter nights) while maintaining spill resistance.

Lenovo says the IdeaPad U260 is available today at prices starting at $899, with mocha and “clementine orange” case colors.

[Updated with additional specs from Lenovo.]

Former Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Topics

Computing

Google Earth’s AI misadventure lasted only a day. It was a tale of dangerous ignorance.

Nuclear reactors, tanks, and historical destruction on a life-like satellite map? Yeah, that's bad.

Nano Banana AI image generator representation.

Technology behemoths are clearly not reading the room, or they are just moving faster than they should when it comes to AI deployment. Google has already stuffed its Gemini AI in every corner of its software stack, from Android to daily productivity tools like Gmail that are used by hundreds of millions of users every day. AI is everywhere. Not all of it is bad, mind you. But in a few places, it just feels forced.

In its latest AI-fication experiment, the company targeted Google Earth. The idea was to let the audience use its Nano Banana 2 AI image generator and make images that can be placed on the map view. On paper, it's a cool idea. What would the Colosseum of Rome look like in your urban neighborhood? Yeah, fun stuff like that.

Computing

AMD is apparently gearing up to raise GPU prices right after Nvidia’s steep hike

AMD has reportedly told AIB partners about a price hike that goes into effect in. August.

AMD RX 7800

AMD is next in line to raise the asking price of its Radeon GPUs, merely days after the news of a similar hike coming for Nvidia graphics cards started making waves. As per ChannelGate on Weibo (h/t VideoCardz), AMD has informed its board partners that the price of GPU and memory bundles will go up by at least 10% in August.

Is a similar price hike coming for standalone graphics cards? I won't be surprised if that happens. The situation is so bad that AMD is planning to bring back graphics cards with 4GB of onboard memory. AMD just introduced the RX 9050 GPU, which costs $279. Notably, it's just $20 less than the RX 9060 XT that offers double the graphics memory.

Computing

Microsoft will make Windows work well with just 8GB RAM. We desperately need it

The dream of a reliable and affordable Windows laptop hinges on the next milestone at Microsoft.

Surface laptop on wooden table

The year 2026 has marked a huge course correction for Microsoft after years of frustrating users with plenty of confusing processes, unoptimized UI elements, and just the generous bloatware that can bring any Windows system to a crawl. Microsoft has finally shifted into a new phase. From fixing the right-click behavior to speeding up the Search system, the company has fixed plenty of papercuts.

The next major milestone is making Windows 11 run smoothly on Windows PCs with just 8GB of RAM. That directly means entry-level and budget laptops will at least get the basics right, even if that means sacrificing the on-device AI bells and whistles. Let's face it. The increasingly AI-first approach to computing on a Windows 11 machine is a little too taxing on the hardware at hand.