Lenovo launches new IdeaPads

• All the new IdeaPads come with pre-installed Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019
• New computers include 2-in-1 IdeaPad C340, and a new all-in-one desktop

LENOVO’S IdeaPad line-up of laptops and PCs always has solid, worthwhile devices for work and play. Their latest line-up may just be a little more appealing – the PC manufacturer will be the first brand in Malaysia to offer pre-installed Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019 in their PCs.

As part of a partnership with Microsoft, Lenovo customers who purchase the newly-launched Lenovo IdeaPad C340, S340, S540 and L340 laptops, as well as the IdeaCentre AIO A340 PC, will have lifetime access to the full version of Microsoft’s Office suite. These includes the ever-essential applications like Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and One Drive.

“We know that our customers primarily use these devices for everyday work, and to them, Microsoft Office is a necessity. By ensuring that it is pre-installed, we are able to offer our customers a seamless experience as they can immediately use Lenovo devices fresh out of the box,” says Lenovo Malaysia general manager Varinderjit Singh, during the launch.

“Microsoft’s mission is to empower every organisation and every individual to achieve more. To this end, we are delighted to partner with Lenovo in this first-to-market collaboration on pre-installed Office Home & Student 2019 on Windows 10 PCs in Malaysia,” adds Microsoft Southeast Asia senior director of consumer and devices sales Vlasta Berka.

“We are looking forward to delighting customers with a complete solution of modern productivity tools for their work and life, while ensuring that their data is always safe and secure.”

The new Ideas

Part of the new slate of IdeaPads Lenovo just launched includes the IdeaPad C340. This laptop is equipped with up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processors. Battery life is said to go as long as eight hours, while Rapid Charge technology can fuel up to 80% of battery capacity in just one hour of charge.

The C340 comes with a touchscreen that you can swivel into different positions for different uses. For instance, you can prop it up into “Tent Mode” for sharing things or flatten it down into “Tablet Mode” to fully utilise the touchscreen, which you can also draw on using a digital pen. Pricing starts at US$679.37 (RM2,799).

For those that don’t require the touchscreen, the Lenovo IdeaPads S340 and S540 might make for better choices. These are designed to be slim and powerful, and are powered by up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processors. Both are also equipped with Dolby Audio speaker systems, and have slim top and side bezels to give you more screen estate without increasing the form factor.

The S540 is the more interesting one. For starters, the Dolby Audio speaker on the 14-inch version is upward-facing, providing clearer and more immersive audio. It also promises 12 hours of battery life, while Rapid Charge can give users two hours of use with a 15-minute charge.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S340 prices from US$630.83 (RM2,599), while the IdeaPad S540 starts from US849.28 (RM3,499).

The other segments

As for the people with tighter budgets, Lenovo is covering that with the IdeaPad L340. The price for this laptop may start at US$436 (RM1,799), but this laptop comes with Dolby Audio as well as the Rapid Charge technology as its more expensive brethren.

The laptop can be fitted with up to 8th Gen Intel Core i5 processing, and since this is likely to be used for work, Lenovo has included the Lenovo Vantage’s Eye Care mode into the laptop. This helps reduce blue light emission, which minimises eye strain.

But maybe a laptop is not for you. Fret not: Lenovo has also launched the IdeaCentre AIO A340. What’s immediately striking about this all-in-one desktop is its stand – a simple, elegant one that takes up minimal space while capable of holding up the 22-inch display. The stand even comes with a cable management system to help reduce desk clutter.

It also features an almost-borderless display, at the 9.5mm in its slimmest side (it manages a 90% screen-to-body ratio).

The AIO can be fitted with up to Intel Core i5 processors and discrete graphics, and up to 1TB of SSD disk space. Price starts at US$533.75 (RM2,199).

As mentioned, all of these computers come pre-installed with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019.

For those who don’t know, Office 2019 comes with the classic Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications. It’s different than Office 365, however, which is a subscription that provides the premium versions of the aforementioned apps on top of other ones like Outlook, Publisher and Access.