Lenovo’s latest ultrathin notebook, the IdeaPad U150, was spotted more than a month ago in Japan, was officially announced a couple weeks ago, and can now be purchased on Lenovo’s website in the U.S. I’m just left wondering what void it was supposed to fill.

The U150 is an 11.6-inch CULV notebook, slotting in between the budget netbooks and the full-size Core 2 Duo notebooks. It weighs about 3 lbs with a 0.75-inch thickness and no optical drive to speak of, coupled with the 11.6-inch screen it is certainly high portable. Realistically it’s a smaller version of the IdeaPad U350 13.3-inch CULV that I reviewed recently. The rest of Lenovo’s U Series notebooks are all CULV-based, powered by Intel’s low-power dual-cure chips, but the U450p and U550 feature larger screens and built-in DVD burners.

So where does that leave the U150? With the cheapest configuration in the U.S. running $699, and the Core 2 Duo version jumping up to a whopping $849, the U150 doesn’t compete well on price. The U150 does have switchable ATI graphics, unique for the CULV field, and a handy HDMI output, but the configurations on sale today just aren’t terribly competitive.

Do you really get enough added features and performance to opt for the U150 over the $429 IdeaPad S12 netbook, much less the $599 NVIDIA Ion version? It’s looking like the market for the U150 may be a bit smaller, with the netbooks and larger/cheaper CULVs carving up their pieces of the pie.

That said, you can view the IdeaPad U150 configurations here and even get 10% off through 11/17 using this coupon code: USPBANNERS

Read other posts about the IdeaPad U150 or CULV laptops

Last week Lenovo’s forthcoming 11-inch CULV was spotted at CEATEC Japan, and now the user’s guide was found online with a full set of specs to it.

It looks like a pretty run of the mill CULV these days. While it lacks an ExpressCard slot, the U150 will have a USB/eSATA combo port, HDMI output, and Bluetooth/WiMax/3G wireless options. It also uses a 2.5-inch hard drive for easy expandability and for some reason there are display sizes listed, 11.6 and 11.1 inches.

If you hit the source link below you can check out a quick hands-on video of the U150. It looks like a decent enough box, but it’s playing a crowded space. Hopefully an NVIDIA Ion option will appear to help the U150 stand out from the pack.

Read other posts related to the IdeaPad U150 or CULV laptops

Display: 11.6” HD display OR 11.1” HD display
CPU: Intel Montevina SFF ULV BGA processor
Memory: DDR3 SO-DIMM (2 RAM slots)
HDD: 2.5” SATA (160 / 250 / 320GB 5400rpm) or 16/32GB mini-PCIe SSD
Webcam: 1.3MP pixels
29Wh 3-Cell battery size and weight: 291.8 x 192.4 x 24.4mm / 1.35kg
57Wh 6-Cell battery size and weight: 291.8 x 192.4 x 34.3mm / 1.50kg
2x USB 2.0 ports
1x eSATA / USB combo port
Headphone and mic-in jacks
VGA and HDMI out ports
4-in-1 card reader
Kensington lock
RJ45 LAN port
Bluetooth / WiMAX / Integrated 3G on particular models / countries
Multi-touch touchpad with 3-finger flicks, 2-finger scrolling

Source: [Lenovo Consumer Support] via [NetbookChoice]