Lenovo first leaked details of the new nettops and home server last week via Twitter, and has now announced the products, though at the time of writing few details are available on the company's website. Regarding the nettops, the company touts them as the "thinnest yet," with measurements of just 6.3 x 6 x 0.7 inches.

Two IdeaCentre nettops are available: the Q100 has an Atom 230 processor and a VGA output, while the Q110 has an Atom 230, Nvdia's Ion northbridge/southbridge, and an HDMI video output. The Q100 comes with 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard disk drive, while the Q110 comes with 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard disk drive, according to Lenovo.

Lenovo's IdeaCentre Q100 (left) and Q110 (right)
(Click either to enlarge)

Apart from citing the Atom 230, Lenovo provided no details of the Q100's chipset. However, several third-party reports, plus similarities in photos and other data, have convinced us that the Q100 is a rebadged version of a nettop produced by Pegatron. (Like Lenovo, Pegatron offers the device with or without the discrete GeForce 9400M circuitry provided by the Ion.)

As such, the Q100 uses the SIS 672 northbridge and the SIS 968 southbridge, providing 2D/3D graphics acceleration, gigabit Ethernet, and high-definition audio, but not HD video capabilities. The device uses just 14 Watts when idling and 40 Watts "at full operation," according to Lenovo.

Because of its Nvidia Ion circuitry, meanwhile, the Q110 uses more power -- though this wasn't quantified -- and is able to support HD output via an HDMI connector. The device offers DirectX 10 graphics and resolution up to 1980 x 1080 pixels, Lenovo says.

Pegatron's nettop

While Lenovo has not given details of ports on the Q100 and Q110, the Pegatron equivalent (pictured above in a version with DVI output) is said to have two USB 2.0 ports, a microphone input, and a headphone output on its front panel. Rear I/O, meanwhile, reportedly includes four USB 2.0 ports, a gigabit Ethernet port, a line audio output, and either VGA or HDMI ports.

Features and specifications listed by Lenovo for the Q100 and Q110, augmented with information from Pegatron, includes the following:

• Processor -- Intel Atom 230 clocked at 1.6GHz
• Memory -- 1GB (Q100) or 2GB (Q110)
• Storage -- 160GB (Q100) or 250GB (Q110) hard disk drive
• Networking -- Gigabit Ethernet
• Other I/O:
  • 1 x VGA (Q100)
  • 1 x HDMI (Q110)
  • 2 x USB 2.0 (front panel)
  • 4 x USB 2.0 (rear panel)
  • Mic in, headphone out, line out
• Expansion -- n/s
• Dimensions -- 6.3 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Weight -- n/s

Lenovo's newly announced IdeaCentre D400 again employs Intel's Atom 230 CPU, but this time teams it with four hot-swappable SATA disk drives, for up to 8GB of storage. Like several previously released devices from HP, the D400 runs Microsoft's Windows Home Server software, offering backup of connected home computers, media server capabilities, and remote file access.

Lenovo's IdeaCentre D400
(Click to enlarge)

Again, technical details supplied by Lenovo are rather thin on the ground. Several credible reports, however, suggest that the IdeaCentre D400 (above) is internally identical to Acer's Aspire easyStore H340, both devices being produced by OEM manufacturer Wistron.

Lenovo says the IdeaCentre D400 has five USB ports -- one front, four rear -- and an eSATA port. Acer's specifications for its easyStore H340 version confirm those details, adding that the device uses Intel's 945GC chipset, has 2GB of RAM, and offers a gigabit Ethernet port.

Features and specifications listed by Lenovo for the IdeaCentre D400, augmented with information from Acer, includes the following:

• Processor -- Intel Atom 230 clocked at 1.6GHz
• Memory -- 2GB
• Storage -- Up to four hot-swappable SATA drives, for 8TB total (hard drive containing OS may not be hot-swapped)
• Networking -- Gigabit Ethernet
• Other I/O:
  • 1 x eSATA
  • 1 x USB 2.0 (front panel)
  • 4 x USB 2.0 (rear panel)
• Dimensions -- 8.3 x 7.9 x 7.1 inches
• Weight -- 9.9 pounds without hard drive, 11.2 pounds with one hard drive

According to Lenovo, the IdeaCentre Q100 will have a starting price of approximately $250 with Windows XP, while the IdeaCenter Q110 starts at approximately $350 with Windows Vista Home Premium. Meanwhile, the IdeaCenter D400 will start at approximately $500, the company says.

Details of the devices are not yet on Lenovo's website, but details of the Acer Aspire easyStore H340 may be found here.

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